The Duchess War The Brothers Sinister Book 1 (Audible Audio Edition) Courtney Milan Rosalyn Landor Books
Download As PDF : The Duchess War The Brothers Sinister Book 1 (Audible Audio Edition) Courtney Milan Rosalyn Landor Books
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...
The Duchess War is the first full-length book in the Brothers Sinister series. It is preceded by The Governess Affair, a prequel novella.
The Duchess War The Brothers Sinister Book 1 (Audible Audio Edition) Courtney Milan Rosalyn Landor Books
What would you do to protect secrets from your past? That's what Minnie must decide in the Duchess War. With the help of her impoverished but genteel great-aunts, she's hidden every vestige of her former life as Minerva Lane and reinvented herself as the quiet mouselike Wilhelmina Pursling. Enter Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont. After their rather amusing meet-cute in the Guildhall (when Minnie is hiding from the cretin everyone wants her to marry), it's obvious that Minnie and Robert are meant to be.Everyone has secrets in the Duchess War, and some of those secrets have the power to hurt more than others. So when her best friend's fiancé begins accusing Minnie of writing seditious handbills and claims to know Minnie isn't who she claims to be, Minnie must figure out who is really behind the bills and expose them to protect her own secrets. And when she finds out that Robert is connected, she knows the choice will be between protecting herself and exposing him.
The Duchess War is a fun, interesting romance that also happens to delve into class differences, workers' rights and betrayal as well as what makes a family, love and loyalty. It's an enjoyable love story that touches on social issues without overwhelming the story.
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The Duchess War The Brothers Sinister Book 1 (Audible Audio Edition) Courtney Milan Rosalyn Landor Books Reviews
This was my first Courtney Milan novel. I’ve read her novellas and admired the smooth prose and refreshing scenarios but I’ve never been moved by her characters’ emotions as other readers seem to be. This novel was no different, except that it suffered from the extra length, which felt dictated by the publisher’s word count rather than the demands of the story itself. There are good things in this novel but overall it was very unsatisfying.
Robert and Minnie have an intriguing first meeting, but then the story unfolds in a way which I found rather drawn out and unrealistic. Robert aims to improve the conditions of the working class but his methods are nonsensical, and Minnie’s determinedly mousy behaviour just annoyed me rather than eliciting my sympathy. Her scandalous background is hinted at but not explained properly until much later in the book, and I was irritated by all her melancholy (and overly metaphorical) musings on her necessarily small and insignificant life, because I didn’t know exactly what had happened to her before.
The battle of wits between Robert and Minnie over proving who wrote the seditious handbills struck me as an obvious romance novel construction. Their dialogue often felt too modern, with the sexual innuendo being particularly anachronistic. By the time Minnie made a particularly illogical and martyr-ish decision that would only happen in Romanceland I was rather wishing that in the rest of the book Robert would find some other nice girl to marry. Minnie could just wallow in her misery for all I cared.
After their marriage the book regained my interest, and the swifter pace of this portion just highlighted the plodding nature of the first half. After almost giving up earlier because there were more interesting books demanding my attention, I enjoyed the last part of the book. Maybe it’s because less of it was from Minnie’s point of view, and she behaved more like a real person than a tortured romance heroine. But I never really felt the connection between them.
While I can appreciate Milan’s polished writing, I felt all the way through that a modern romance novel was unfolding in front of me. I never had much of a sense of time or place. Real historical issues are addressed in this book but the characters' unrealistic behaviour makes it feel like a romance fantasyland version of the 19th century. Of course, this is true of most historical romances out there, but so many people rave about Courtney Milan that I expected better. The relationship between Robert and Minnie isn't emotionally involving enough to make up for the things that frustrated me about this book.
This book lives up to the promise of the prequel, The Governess Affair. I found it absorbing and a little maddening, but good enough to lose sleep to.
I found the handling of Robert's crusading excellent. He has all the right intentions, but because of his enormous privilege, he sometimes screwed it up. He forgot to consider other people's feelings. He came from a position of power, and it made him make mistakes. I sort of love that his entire character development was pretty much privilege-checking and apologizing. And his family loves and teases him about both parts.
"Sebastian grinned. "On the eve of your wedding, Robert, we shall offer you the sorts of female delights that you have always lusted after. Philosophical tracts upon philosophical tracts, all of them advocating political change that would result in an upheaval of the current social order. We shall set forth their essays, and then..." He paused, as if for dramatic emphasis. "Then, my friends, we shall argue about them!""
On the other hand, Minnie has a secret past. An atypical secret past. If you like cloak-and-dagger Napoleonic spy stories, you might enjoy this. She has lived her entire adult life trying her very hardest to blend in, to fly under the radar, to not make waves. That doesn't mean she's not blazingly smart. And Robert loves her for that. Also, he thinks of her with really STRONG analogies. It's so refreshing to realize he's thrilled to find a woman who can outmatch him. I want people to think of me as a great powerful beast just pretending to be good!
"He had that sense again, of a great beast pacing in its cage. He wanted to touch her cheek, to turn her face up to his. He wanted to whisper that all would be well."
""Physiological fact," His Grace said. "Arousal makes me stupid. It makes me say idiotic things like `I like your tits' and, `Help, we've had a paste emergency over here.' It makes me want to stay around you even though I know I'm overmatched, even though I'm sure you're going to win." His voice lowered. "You see, I want to watch you do it.""
(swoon)
Of course, this is a Milan book, so at least one person has to have psychological damage (I actually like this feature, but it seems good to warn people.) Minnie is terrified of crowds. Robert had a hellish childhood of rejection. And Robert's mother has Issues. None of these things is actually solved in this book, just... ameliorated by love and behaving like adults.
I liked that it was work for these people to get together, even though they had feelings for each other. Feelings don't operate in a vacuum, and I like a story that shows that.
Be aware that this is more Victorian than Regency, so there are trains and industrialization and stuff like that, and the role of women is slightly less constrained. Also, can one assert there is a Boston marriage in industrial England? Because there so is, and I love it.
"And when they failed to find men that they loved after a handful of Seasons, they had refused to marry for convenience. Instead, they'd retired together to the small farm that Caro owned just outside of Leicester--friends and spinsters for the remainder of their lives. They were as close as sisters. Closer, Minnie suspected."
I am really looking forward to the Christmas-themed book in this series, which should be out annnnnytime in the next couple days.
Read if You have enjoyed other Courtney Milan books. You would like a new series of romances about adults. You would love to see a pair of inexperienced lovers actually TALK about sex.
Skip if You don't want labor action in your romance. A smart woman pretending to be meek is going to bother the hell out of you. You have trouble reading about neglected children.
Also read
The Governess Affair (The Brothers Sinister)
What would you do to protect secrets from your past? That's what Minnie must decide in the Duchess War. With the help of her impoverished but genteel great-aunts, she's hidden every vestige of her former life as Minerva Lane and reinvented herself as the quiet mouselike Wilhelmina Pursling. Enter Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont. After their rather amusing meet-cute in the Guildhall (when Minnie is hiding from the cretin everyone wants her to marry), it's obvious that Minnie and Robert are meant to be.
Everyone has secrets in the Duchess War, and some of those secrets have the power to hurt more than others. So when her best friend's fiancé begins accusing Minnie of writing seditious handbills and claims to know Minnie isn't who she claims to be, Minnie must figure out who is really behind the bills and expose them to protect her own secrets. And when she finds out that Robert is connected, she knows the choice will be between protecting herself and exposing him.
The Duchess War is a fun, interesting romance that also happens to delve into class differences, workers' rights and betrayal as well as what makes a family, love and loyalty. It's an enjoyable love story that touches on social issues without overwhelming the story.
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