The Duchess War

Courtney Milan

Dec 2012 · The Brothers Sinister Book 1 · Courtney Milan

About this ebook

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 books in the Brothers Sinister series:
½. The Governess Affair (free prequel novella)
1. The Duchess War
1½. A Kiss for Midwinter (a companion novella to The Duchess War)
2. The Heiress Effect
3. The Countess Conspiracy
4. The Suffragette Scandal
4½. Talk Sweetly to Me

Ratings and reviews

,,,I thoroughly enjoyed the book but found some of the terminology jarring. No matter how Minerva was brought up, as a virgin, I find it hard to imagine at that time for her to say C--K out of the blue, when she hardly knew the man.. Also other words that jarred, made it sound too modern and out of it's time. Minerva had twelve years of living with spinsters and had relearned how to behave and had succeeded in becoming a mouse. It just didn't fit with who she was within the period. Saying all that though..... It was still worth the read. They are minor niggles but worth mentioning I think.

Overall the story is good and love described and formidably wriitten , some plots are still a catch though

I would highly recommend this book for modern historical romance buffs. I am thrilled to have discovered this author -- she is an excellent writer, producing three-dimensional, naturally flawed characters, shaped and developed by their pasts and environment. Some of my favorite aspects of this book is how much goes into helping the reader to understand what the characters are thinking, how they use their intellect and logic, and the most satisfying way in which they come to their realizations and then subsequent schemings. I appreciated the occasional bursts of laughter from the characters’ witty banter and repartee (it made me look forward to the story of Sebastian Malheur in later sequels). It's refreshing to have heroines like Minerva Lane who are not defined by their appearance, but rather respected for their intelligence and skill and strength of character. The hero Robert Blaisdell is not your typical nobleman, but a man seeking to revolutionize English society, adding a (modern) social critique of the times. They each are forced to difficult decisions regarding each other, and finding trust and acceptance in their compromises. This is a refreshing take on the whole genre -- I would recommend anyone looking for a smart, well-developed, and engaging historical novel. I look forward to finishing the Brothers Sinister series, because I can tell how very very well-written and clever they are. Details of law and science and medicine are brought up throughout. Overall, an excellent mix of smart, strong, capable female characters with goals and dreams, and the rare, special men able to appreciate them.

About the author

 Courtney Milan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical romance. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist.

Courtney lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband, a medium-sized dog, and an attack cat. Before she started writing historical romance, she experimented with various occupations: computer programming, dog-training, scientificating.... But her favorite job is the one she's now doing full time--writing romance.

If you want to know when Courtney's next book will come out, please visit her website at http://www.courtneymilan.com, where you can sign up to receive an email when she has her next release.