Courtney Milan: The Heiress Effect (2013, Courtney Milan)
English language
Published Dec. 19, 2013 by Courtney Milan.
Miss Jane Fairfield has made a career of social disaster. She wears outrageous gowns and says even more outrageous things. The only reason she's invited anywhere is because of her immense dowry--which is all part of her plan to avoid marriage and keep the fortune-hunters at bay.
Mr. Oliver Marshall is the illegitimate son of a duke. His acceptance in society is tenuous as it is. If he wants any kind of career at all, he must do everything right. 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.
Courtney Milan certainly knows how to write a good regency romance with great characters, I found some parts too slow, the romance was well done, I would have liked even more of Jane's sister romance with Anjan^^
It’s just a fluffy fun feminist romance with two very strong people who refuse to bend. I mean, it’s Milan and she’s great.
There's a somewhat contrived setup, where the eponymous heiress has to agree that she will marry the first man to make her an offer, so she sets about making herself so ridiculous and unpalatable that no one will, so she can retain control of her fortune until her sister is no longer under her uncle's control. This part was probably supposed to be hilarious, but was only 'okay' for me.
I started to get really into this book about half-way through, when the couple agrees they probably can't make it work and separate to pursue their respective goals. I'm weird that way, I guess?
Other things going for the book: a really compassionate portrayal of someone mentally ill; an indian barrister studying in England who manages to navigate a society that regards him with the most insidious benevolent paternalistic racism, a second disabled character fighting to make her own choices …
There's a somewhat contrived setup, where the eponymous heiress has to agree that she will marry the first man to make her an offer, so she sets about making herself so ridiculous and unpalatable that no one will, so she can retain control of her fortune until her sister is no longer under her uncle's control. This part was probably supposed to be hilarious, but was only 'okay' for me.
I started to get really into this book about half-way through, when the couple agrees they probably can't make it work and separate to pursue their respective goals. I'm weird that way, I guess?
Other things going for the book: a really compassionate portrayal of someone mentally ill; an indian barrister studying in England who manages to navigate a society that regards him with the most insidious benevolent paternalistic racism, a second disabled character fighting to make her own choices about treatment, and a tense scene with a cactus.
The resolution is "I should never have asked you to change so you could marry me. I'm gonna change so I can marry you!" which in retrospect, is a bit um, but at the time felt well earned.
