Historical Romance Review: The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

The Duchess War by Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #1)

bought

Synopsis from Goodreads
Sometimes love is an accident.

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 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...

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9/10

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“He felt as if he'd woken up, weak and confused, only to be told that he'd spent the last three weeks in bed with a fever--and that during his illness, Queen Victoria had abdicated the throne and run off with a lion-tamer from Birmingham. The world seemed an entirely different place.”  

I always loved how honest Courtney Milan's writing feels. She has this wry, slick and oddly vulnerable voice that really hits the spot and makes you feel everything with her characters.



Both men and women in her novels are bashful, self-deprecating and at the same time spirited in a very rational way (translation: no TSTL heroes). I really really love that.

The Duchess War starts with a cliche - the duke hides in the library and sees this mousy little woman who finds the same hiding spot he is occupying at the moment to hide from her fiance.
However, the dynamic of conversation between these two, the spark, the game they start playing with each other totally blows your mind straight away.

And it only gets better and better throughout the book. This is a light, heartwarming, very touching, humorous and witty read. I laughed, I sighed with wonder and I cried just a tiny bit.

Now I will have to hold my tongue so as not to give you any spoilers, but if by any chance you love historical romance and haven't read Milan's books yet, you have to try her. She will blow you away. You will finish her book and walk away a better person.

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Как обычно, Милан пишет сногсшибательный исторический роман с задорными, милыми, стеснительными героями-интровертами, обладающими острым языком и замечательной рассудительностью, и мне это безумно импонирует.

Миан заставляет нас смеяться, вздыхать и плакать вместе со своими героями, и Война Герцогини в этом плане - не исключение.

Книга начинается с клише. Герцог, прячущийся за занавеской в библиотеке видит молодую серую мышку, которая пытается спрятаться от своего возможного обручённого в том же самом месте, что и он. Однако как только эта парочка начинает диалог, их острые, интересные перепалки просто завораживают.

И чем дальше в лес, тем становится интереснее и тем больше они раскрываются нам как персонажи своими страхами и слабостями. Вот эта искра, которой так хороша писательница сохраняется на протяжение всей книги и создаёт милейшую, добрую и прекрасную атмосферу, которая оставила меня со слезами на глазах к концовке и с щемящим сердцем.

Поэтому, хоть и без спойлеров, но читать эту книгу и вообще всё, что пишет Милан очень советую.