Aren't Sold on Bridgerton's Kanthony? It Was Even Worse in the Books

Shondaland's Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn's romantic novel series, has diverged greatly from its source material. For example, Season 2, which focused on the love story of Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma (aka Kanthony) featured many changes from Quinn's The Viscount Who Loved Me.

Surprisingly, those fans who have read the book actually claim that the show has improved the couple and their relationship.

Although Season 2 of Bridgerton is the favorite so far for many fans, there are those who aren't completely sold on the main romantic storyline, which is a classic enemies-to-lovers trope heavily mixed with a love triangle. Viewers say that the adaptation is filled with often unnecessary drama and that the main characters are hard to relate to. But, as it turns out, Viscount Who Loved Me tells a story that is even harder to accept.

While the show's Kate and Anthony and their behavior raise questions, their book counterparts are even more controversial.

Either because of his trauma from the death of his father or for some other reason, Anthony Bridgerton is incredibly aggressive in the books. He is quick to irritate and often reacts with physical violence. The duel with Simon Basset in Book 1 is just the first red flag, followed by instances where Anthony actually strangles other male characters. His angry outbursts are even more pronounced in his solo book.

Fans find the way Anthony behaves with his love interest irredeemable. He grabs Kate, he threatens her, he forces her to dance, he yells at her, he humiliates her… and he even kicks her in the stomach! Seriously, how much less attractive could Quinn make her protagonist?

As for Kate, she is not very sympathetic either. She is not exactly a headstrong, independent character, and her reaction to all the repulsive things Anthony did to her doesn't sit well with readers. Instead of walking away, Kate chooses to put up with Anthony's behavior time after time and remains desperately in love with him.

Many readers thought that Kate's attitude in the book sends a very disturbing message, and it's great that the Netflix adaptation managed to avoid this.

All in all, the book Kanthony seems much more toxic and difficult to accept than their on-screen counterparts. If the show at least had some endearing moments of flirtatious banter and friendly competition, the book seemed to focus too much on the enemy part of the enemies-to-lovers trope.