This is the book that started it all. 
 My Julia Quinn obsession, that is. I used to loiter around Barnes and Nobles when I wasn't busy with school or work. I'd pick up a handful of romance novels, snag a comfortable chair and just read. All day. I'd be there from their opening to just a couple of hours before they closed. During one of these instances, I picked up 
 The Duke and I 
 , not knowing what was in store for me when I started reading it. 
 I mean, I'm a very loyal Julia Quinn fan, but this is probably one of the few that I didn't quite enjoy. 
 This story follows Daphne Bridgerton, who after a hilarious encounter in a hallway of a ball with a very drunk Nigel Berbrooke (Laffy. Oh, I love you, Laffy!) receives some assistance from Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, who not only witnesses the entire pitiful exchange, but just so happens to also be a good friend of her brother, Anthony. There are ample amounts of hilarious banter, intimate scenes and just the right amount of tension that makes you hold your breath as you wonder what's going to happen next. They come up with a fake courtship - to keep others from assuming Daphne is a spinster in the making, and to keep the mothers of society from bombarding him with their single daughters. Even though they faking it, their burgeoning feelings for each other renders the entire situation all too real and pretty soon, their fake courtship turns into a very real proposal (and marriage!). 
 Granted, there were definitely a few things that I didn't like about Daphne's relationship with Simon. The fact that despite knowing that Simon was against having children (for reasons of his own that are revealed), she took advantage of his drunken state to have sex with him and refused to let him pull out of her. She planned the entire thing. I didn't like how she handled his reasons about being afraid to father children; how she manipulated the situation and just completely wronged him. I hated that her behavior was glossed over with humor and how Daphne just made it all seem like she did nothing wrong and couldn't understand why Simon was furious with her and left. I mean -- really? Come on now. 
 All in all, the book ended with a happily-ever-after, but I really wish someone had taken Daphne to task for what she did; Simon was one of my more favorite characters in the Bridgerton series but in the end, not even Simon could excuse Daphne's actions. Pfft.