Offer From a Gentleman, An 
Sensuality: 7
Miss Sophie Beckett is the illegitimate daughter of the earl of Penwood. Raised in his home, Sophie has a tolerable existence until the earl marries, when her life takes a distinct turn for the worse. Sophie's new stepmother hates her, and when the earl passes away, she relegates Sophie to the role of servant. Sophie's days are pure drudgery, until one night her fellow servants conspire to help her attend a masquerade ball.
Her life changes irrevocably when she meets handsome Benedict Bridgerton and falls head over heels in love. Benedict is equally smitten, but when the clock strikes midnight his beautiful mystery lady runs from him, leaving only her glove in his hand. He searches London for her, but she seems to have vanished. What Benedict doesn't know is that Sophie's stepmother has discovered her outing and thrown Sophie out of their London townhouse. Sophie leaves London, and it isn't until three years later that Benedict and Sophie's paths cross once again, when he saves her from the unwanted attentions of a drunken lord. Sophie recognizes Benedict immediately, but much to her dismay, he doesn't know her in her maid's dress. Soon, however, Benedict falls in love with Sophie all over again. Believing her to be a servant, he cannot conceive of a way to make her his, as she adamantly refuses to become his mistress. Both struggle with their feelings for each other, their unwillingness to compromise their principles, and the seemingly insurmountable wall separating a member of the nobility and a servant. To add to their difficulties, Sophie's vindictive stepmother discovers her presence in London and sets out to make her life even more miserable. It will take the combined force of the large Bridgerton family to help these two stubborn people realize a happy future together.
Quinn brings a fresh approach to this charming retelling of the Cinderella story, enhancing the tale with a strong Regency setting and the warmth of Benedict Bridgerton's large family. Quinn has a reputation for witty dialogue and endearing characters, and she delivers both in this delightful novel. --Lois Faye Dyer
Reviews
Within the attractive cover of "An Offer From A Gentleman" is a good story but not a great one. It's the third in the Bridgerton series (following "The Duke And I" and "The Viscount Who Loved Me" and the hero of this story is Benedict Bridgerton, the second son. Our heroine is Sophie Beckett, illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood. When the Earl dies his second wife treats Sophie like a slave although has to keep her on in her house because of the terms of her late husband's will. Sophie's life is that of drudgery with no love from her step-family although the servants all care for her. When the Earl's late wife and her two daughters attend the Bridgerton Family Masquerade, the servants arrange for Sophie to go - one night as a lady of the ton. As soon as she arrives she is discovered by Benedict Bridgerton and they spend time together talking and waltzing. She has to rush off in a Cindarella-esque manner but rather than leaving her slipper she leaves a glove. Benedict searches for her but is unable to find her.
Two years later Sophie finds herself rescued from a difficult situation by Benedict - but he doesn't recognise the house maid of a friend of his as the mysterious woman at the masquerade. However he isn't able to just ignore Sophie or treat her like a maid and thus his pursuit of her - to become his mistress - begins. But Sophie is more proud and is adamant that she will not have an illegitimate child. An impasse - one which is impossible to resolve?
Although fairly well written and well paced, this book didn't quite hit all the right notes for me. The required misunderstanding between the two was rather drawn out and at the end Sophie has to try to explain why she didn't tell Benedict she was the woman at the masquerade; did Julia Quinn see that she needed to try and explain away this flaw in the plot? It didn't work for me. Secondly I felt that their behaviour to each other didn't really account for the love that they found - yes there was initial lust between two attractive people but they didn't really seem to genuinely communicate with each other in a way that might have brought true harmony. Perhaps these are over-picky quibbles but this book didn't quite work for me. If you want a really accurate Regency this book isn't for you - Julia Quinn's characters speak with modern American sentence forms in many cases - but it's still a good read and a reasonable addition to the Bridgerton series, but not as good as "The Viscount Who Loved Me".
The fact that a publisher paid Quinn for a copy-catted story is pretty astounding. I could have done the same.
The story is entertaining enough once the whole Cinderella theme isn't the main focus.
Personally, read these from 1-8th...don't start in the middle or you will miss half the fun. The series is wonderful. Enjoy them all, I guarantee you will.