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2013 Book Review #99: The Heiress Effect
Title: The Heiress Effect
Author: Courtney Milan
Genre: Regency romance
Thingummies: 5
Synopsis: They’re both bastards with very good reasons not to marry. She pretends to be an idiot; he pretends to be servile. Both have plans—and neither planned on each other.
Thoughts: There are two big reasons I like Milan’s books, aside from the usual reasons of good characterization, witty dialogue, and well-done emotional arcs.
The first is that her characters aren’t stupid. Milan takes semi-standard romance plots in which misunderstandings and tensions keep the lovers apart that in a typical book would run the length of the book, and breezes through them in the first third. Her characters’ problems could never be cleared up in one simple conversation. Instead, they have that conversation at the point that sensible people would, clear up those problems, and then discover that they have new, legitimate, deeper problems keeping them apart. Most books wear their initial set-up into the ground; she uses it as a launch pad.
Here, the girl pretends to be a boor to keep away marriage proposals she can’t afford to receive. The guy is trying to make nice to a lord he detests for the sake of his political career. The lord wants him to humiliate her so she’ll go away. I won’t say how they resolve this, but they figure out the other’s secrets and solve the initial problem early on. But each of their fundamental life situations and outlooks continue to be an issue, and it takes a more complex solution to win their happily-ever-after.
The other reason I like her books is that she’s a total history nerd. She chose her time period not just because it’s romantic and has easy reasons to force her characters into certain molds. The plot genuinely hinges on a major Parliamentary bill being passed at the time. Meanwhile, we’re also forced to confront society at the time’s attitude towards everything from Indian subjects to mental illness. I’m a history buff, too, and it’s lovely to see someone actually engaging with the major issues of the day instead of just swooning over pretty dresses. (Not that there isn’t still a healthy dose of clothing-porn. Which I also appreciate.)
Author: Courtney Milan
Genre: Regency romance
Thingummies: 5
Synopsis: They’re both bastards with very good reasons not to marry. She pretends to be an idiot; he pretends to be servile. Both have plans—and neither planned on each other.
Thoughts: There are two big reasons I like Milan’s books, aside from the usual reasons of good characterization, witty dialogue, and well-done emotional arcs.
The first is that her characters aren’t stupid. Milan takes semi-standard romance plots in which misunderstandings and tensions keep the lovers apart that in a typical book would run the length of the book, and breezes through them in the first third. Her characters’ problems could never be cleared up in one simple conversation. Instead, they have that conversation at the point that sensible people would, clear up those problems, and then discover that they have new, legitimate, deeper problems keeping them apart. Most books wear their initial set-up into the ground; she uses it as a launch pad.
Here, the girl pretends to be a boor to keep away marriage proposals she can’t afford to receive. The guy is trying to make nice to a lord he detests for the sake of his political career. The lord wants him to humiliate her so she’ll go away. I won’t say how they resolve this, but they figure out the other’s secrets and solve the initial problem early on. But each of their fundamental life situations and outlooks continue to be an issue, and it takes a more complex solution to win their happily-ever-after.
The other reason I like her books is that she’s a total history nerd. She chose her time period not just because it’s romantic and has easy reasons to force her characters into certain molds. The plot genuinely hinges on a major Parliamentary bill being passed at the time. Meanwhile, we’re also forced to confront society at the time’s attitude towards everything from Indian subjects to mental illness. I’m a history buff, too, and it’s lovely to see someone actually engaging with the major issues of the day instead of just swooning over pretty dresses. (Not that there isn’t still a healthy dose of clothing-porn. Which I also appreciate.)