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!
Source: Library
An idealistic suffragette...review review
Miss Frederica "Free" Marshall has put her heart and soul into her newspaper, known for its outspoken support of women's rights. Naturally, her enemies are intent on destroying her business and silencing her for good. Free refuses to be at the end of her rope... but she needs more rope, and she needs it now.
...a jaded scoundrel...
Edward Clark's aristocratic family abandoned him to die in a war-torn land, so he survived the only way he could: by becoming a rogue and a first-class forger. When the same family that left him for dead vows to ruin Miss Marshall, he offers his help. So what if he has to lie to her? She's only a pawn to use in his revenge.
...and a scandal seven years in the making.
But the irrepressible Miss Marshall soon enchants Edward. By the time he realizes that his cynical heart is hers, it's too late. The only way to thwart her enemies is to reveal his scandalous past... and once the woman he loves realizes how much he's lied to her, he'll lose her forever.
Nobody knows who Miss Rose Sweetly is, and she prefers it that way. She's a shy, mathematically-minded shopkeeper's daughter who dreams of the stars. Women like her only ever come to attention through scandal. She'll take obscurity, thank you very much.As someone who loves a good hate to love romance, I was beyond excited for this novella. Even though I wasn’t as convinced by the pairing, I was willing to give it a go because it was Courtney Milan. I was convinced that if anyone could make a pairing like this work, it would be her. But I was sadly very mistaken.
All of England knows who Stephen Shaughnessy is. He's an infamous advice columnist and a known rake. When he moves into the house next door to Rose, she discovers that he's also wickedly funny, devilishly flirtatious, and heart-stoppingly handsome. But when he takes an interest in her mathematical work, she realizes that Mr. Shaughnessy isn't just a scandal waiting to happen. He's waiting to happen to her...and if she's not careful, she'll give in to certain ruination.
There was absolutely no chemistry between either of these characters. Again, I love a good hate to love romance but I felt like the majority of this novella had Lydia completely hating Jonas. I couldn’t understand why she went from hating this man to loving him because she talked endlessly about how this man made her angry. There always needs work to be done for me to believe that two characters truly loved each other when it’s hate to love, but it’s especially important in a novella.
Who even was Jonas? Aside from an awkward person who is also very frank and open, I knew he was the doctor. He had a lot of thoughts that would scandalize society but he didn’t really care but that was all! I wanted to love him but there nothing else about him for me to care about!
Overall, I’m not sure if the novellas of this series will work for me. I’m more than willing to give Courtney Milan all the chances in the world but I was highly disappointed by this one.
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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