The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan
Series: Brothers Sinister (#2)
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Miss Jane Fairfield can’t do anything right. When she’s in company, she always says the wrong thing—and rather too much of it. No matter how costly they are, her gowns fall on the unfortunate side of fashion. Even her immense dowry can’t save her from being an object of derision.
And that’s precisely what she wants. She’ll do anything, even risk humiliation, if it means she can stay unmarried and keep her sister safe.
Mr. Oliver Marshall has to do everything right. He’s the bastard son of a duke, raised in humble circumstances—and he intends to give voice and power to the common people. If he makes one false step, he’ll never get the chance to accomplish anything. He doesn’t need to come to the rescue of the wrong woman. He certainly doesn’t need to fall in love with her. But there’s something about the lovely, courageous Jane that he can’t resist…even though it could mean the ruin of them both.
There are a lot of wonderful reviews for this book.
There’s a reason.
A while back I wrote a review for a different historical romance that was pretty much a how-to for writers wanting to break into the game. Courtney Milan’s reaction to it would probably be something like this:
I’ve read…a lot of HRs. What can I say? It’s my go-to genre for rainy days. Whenever I’m feeling blue or have had a shitty week at work I know I can pick one up and have my frown turned upside down by witty banter, silly miscommunications, some steamy sex and a HEA.
As much as I love these books, I can’t read them one after another because there are so many recurring themes and overused tropes that they all start to blend together until I can’t remember if it was the Duke with the shadowed past that had been the one to sweep the virginal Mary Sue off her feet and make her forget about her qualms concerning premarital sex…or if it had been the Earl.
I was beginning to think that I’d never come across a book that would stand out from the rest of the pack in almost every single way. And then Courtney Milan pulled up outside my house and said
Ignoring everything I’ve ever learned about stranger danger, I got in. And I’m so, so happy I did. This book was decidedly free of the tropes you’d expect from an HR. Not only that, but it tackled tough issues like labor rights and racism and medical malpractice. I know what you’re thinking; the front door, shut it. Well it’s shutted.
I really can’t say enough about The Heiress Effect or how much I enjoyed reading about a female from this time period that knew what she wanted and wasn’t willing to dim her brilliance for the sake of a man. Nor can I say enough about how brilliantly this all came together in the end.
To be honest, this book felt more like historical fiction than romance and that was largely due to the prevalence of the period accurate issues addressed within it. But really, HR, HF, who cares? The book is good peeps, go read it.
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