Historical Romance Review: The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan
The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #4)
bought
Synopsis from Goodreads
An idealistic suffragette...
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.
Amazon US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK
8/10
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“Don’t hide it on my account,” he growled. “You have the most damnably beautiful punctuation that I have ever seen. You make a man feel greedy.”Wistful. This book made me feel wistful, enchanted and a little bit sad, ladies and gents. It's extremely beautiful, and I think most authors would sell their souls to be able to manipulate words the way Miss Milan does.
However, last two books of Milan I find that I don't feel for her characters the way I used to feel. They are so brilliant on their own they really don't need each other to grow. They are already fully formed and don't require correction or redemption.
Free is an intrepid journalist and an owner of a newspaper "by women for women". She is a strong woman, a suffragette and she fights for what she believes with all her heart.
Edward is a scoundrel by his own definition, but we, readers, don't really see him the way he does. He is a brave, just man, an entrepreneur, a skillful manipulator and a professional forger due to his past, however he is NOT a scoundrel.
When Free and Edwards' paths collide he does everything in his power to help her because he admires her as a woman and as a person. They have amazing banter between them, and it's Edward who almost constantly yields to Free's iron will and expertise. I found that slightly tiring, - that absence of conflict between the main characters, and I also wasn't convinced by the attraction between them. Call me jaded, I know!
Overall, it's a wonderful read, and I really liked it. It just wasn't as powerful as Courtney's other books like, for example, The Heiress Effect.
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Ну, красивейшая книга, конечно! Диалоги, описания, характеры - как обычно, у Милан они безупречны. Странно только, что этот роман меня не взволновал, не тронул. Это уже вторая книга этой писательницы, после которой со мной такое происходит.Я попыталась определить, почему я так себя чувствую, и пришла к выводу, что герои чересчур безупречны. Им нет необходимости меняться или раскаиваться в грехах по отношению друг к другу, и вот это меня почему-то доводило до ручки. Я привыкла к тому, что в историческом романе обязательно присутствует эмоциональный конфликт, но здесь как такового его нет.
Да, Эдвард помогает Фредерике избежать тюрьмы и краха её газеты, в то же время, испортив планы своего брату, однако его отношение к ней самой на протяжение всей истории практически безупречно. Между ними нет ссор, только дьявольски умные диалоги, полные флирта, и мне почему-то было скучно...
Однако не поймите меня неправильно, книга написана прекрасно, это просто мои личные тараканы, что не дали мне ею насладиться как следовало. Посему, читать очень советую.
