I can't remember when I read my first Courtney Milan historical romance but I do remember enjoying it a lot. She has some of the most forward thinking, open minded characters in historical fiction. Her books are such a job to read and I always find myself falling in love with her words. I was fortunate enough to have access to almost the entire Brothers Sinister series through my library and went on to binge read the series. In the next couple of posts I'll share my thoughts on most of the books in this series!
This post features the reviews for the prequel novella and the first book in the series! I'll be linking the reviews to the rest of the series as I post them!
She will not give up…I will be very honest and admit that I wish this hadn't been just a novella. I always struggle with novellas as the stories are always so quick to begin and end. I love a good slow burn romance when it comes to my historical romances but this wasn’t it.
Three months ago, governess Serena Barton was let go from her position. Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake.
He cannot give in…
Hugo Marshall is a man of ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner’s son to the right hand man of a duke. When his employer orders him to get rid of the pestering governess by fair means or foul, it’s just another day at the office. Unfortunately, fair means don’t work on Serena, and as he comes to know her, he discovers that he can’t bear to use foul ones. But everything he has worked for depends upon seeing her gone. He’ll have to choose between the life that he needs, and the woman he is coming to love…
I think my biggest issue with this novella comes in the fact that I couldn’t understand Serena as a character. Maybe it was the premise that really fooled me but I expected so much more from her. She wasn’t as brave or as formidable as I had hoped she would be. Like I mentioned above, I think that this would have worked better as a full length novel instead of as a novella because of certain plot points. I felt as though the way in which Serena was wrong that needed to be explored more in the sense of how it affected her. Because at the start of this novella, I didn’t think that she was left in a position where she truly knew what she wanted as a way of vengeance. It’s hard to say that any person in her position would know right away what they needed or wanted but based on what she was saying, I was not convinced.
I loved Hugo, however, and I felt like Milan was able to give him more characterization than Serena. In my opinion, Milan was better able to articulate what Hugo wanted and why he wanted these things. I could better understand his motives in the short novella better than I could Serenas which was really disappointing.
I will say that one of my favorite aspects of this novella was the consent that is present between both of these characters. I don’t think that we often see such explicit conversations around consent but I think that it does have a place in historical fiction and it should be done more often.
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Sometimes love is an accident.I have actually taken a lot of time to think about how I feel about this book and I’ve come to the conclusion that I really enjoyed it. Like I said in my review of the novella that began this series, I think that Milan’s work is better in the form of a novel. There is just so much more room for her to flush out the characters, the romance, and the world that she has created to give us a story we’d love. There are so many aspects of this book that I love.
This time, it’s a strategy.
Miss Minerva Lane is a quiet, bespectacled wallflower, and she wants to keep it that way. After all, the last time she was the center of attention, it ended badly—so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. Wallflowers may not be the prettiest of blooms, but at least they don't get trampled. So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention.
But that is precisely what she gets.
Because Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, is not fooled. When Minnie figures out what he’s up to, he realizes there is more to her than her spectacles and her quiet ways. And he’s determined to lay her every secret bare before she can discover his. But this time, one shy miss may prove to be more than his match...
I’ll be honest when I say that I was nervous about this book based on the premise. It sounded like there would be nothing but miscommunication as the main driving force of the conflict. Personally, I don’t like this concept even though I understand it happens quite frequently. I found however, that this was not the case in The Duchess War. Both characters have a past that they are not fond of but are able to work through. In this instance, it’s not just the woman who has a dark past that is not allowing her to move on from it or vise versa. Both characters bring a lot of drama and baggage to the relationship and a crucial part of the story is how they work together through these issues.
MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE STORY (highlight to read!)
Along the same lines, I really loved how both of these characters had a different angle to share when it comes to trauma inflicted by parents. On one hand we have Minnie whose father has basically ruined her life and left her with nothing. Robert, on the other hand, is a Duke. He has the title, the land, the house, and so much more, because of who is father is. But Minnie and Robert’s fathers were selfish in wanting to look out only for themselves and not for the well beings of their children. Now, as adults, both Minnie and Robert are grappling with his to handle the choices their fathers made.
In the end, I loved many of the side characters that brought a lot of light into the middle of the angst. Even though I wasn’t always rooting for Minnie and Robert’s romance (if I’m honest, I was bored quite a lot), by the end I found myself so happy when they ended up together.
Brothers Sinister Series
The Goveunness Affair (#0.5)--this post!
The Duchess War (#1)--this post!
A Kiss for Midwinter (#1.5)
The Heiress Effect (#2)
The Heiress Effect (#2)
The Countess Conspiracy (#3)
The Suffragette Scandal (#4)
Talk Sweetly to Me (#4.5)
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