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The Worth Saga #1
Once Upon a Marquess
The last man Judith Worth wants to see again is Christian Trent, the Marquess of Ashford—the man who spent summers at her family home, who kissed her one magical night…and then heartlessly ruined her father. But when a tricky business matter arises, he’s the only one she can ask for help. With any luck, he’ll engage a servant to take care of the matter, and she won’t even have to talk with him.
But Ashford has never forgotten Judith. He knows she will never forgive him for what he’s done, but when offered the chance to assist her, he arrives in person. His memory of Judith may have haunted him, but it pales in comparison to the reality of the vivacious, beautiful woman he rediscovers. Throughout his life, he has always done what is correct. But now, he finds himself doing something utterly wrong…falling in love with the one woman he can never have.
But Ashford has never forgotten Judith. He knows she will never forgive him for what he’s done, but when offered the chance to assist her, he arrives in person. His memory of Judith may have haunted him, but it pales in comparison to the reality of the vivacious, beautiful woman he rediscovers. Throughout his life, he has always done what is correct. But now, he finds himself doing something utterly wrong…falling in love with the one woman he can never have.
277 pages, Paperback
First published December 8, 2015
413 people are currently reading
4772 people want to read
About the author
Courtney Milan
68 books5,483 followersCourtney Milan writes books about carriages, corsets, and smartwatches. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. She is a New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller.
Courtney pens a weekly newsletter about tea, books, and basically anything and everything else. Sign up for it here: https://bit.ly/CourtneysTea
Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
Courtney is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.
Courtney pens a weekly newsletter about tea, books, and basically anything and everything else. Sign up for it here: https://bit.ly/CourtneysTea
Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
Courtney is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 725 reviews
January 9, 2016
I've never read a Courtney Milan book. I've heard lots of good stuff about this author though and when I saw this book go up on Netgalley I about broke my finger requesting it.
I may need an Netgalley intervention quicker than I thought. I used to read historical romance, and I liked it at the time.
I think I've read too many stabbing, killing and porny mayhem books though. Because in this book I was just bored.
Judith is not a bad character at all though. I don't want to distract people from reading this book and series. It's def. a case of it being me. She is fiesty and really for a romance book she sets a pretty decent standard. She is taking care of her family after her father and brother are found guilty of treason. She has been selling everything the family owned and trying to get by.
I had nearly a thousand pounds set aside so my sisters might have a chance at a decent marriage. I know they won't find lords; I had hoped for vicars.
Vicars!!! Oops, sorry I totally have Joey from friends forever burned in my head when vicars get involved.
Juliet is having a hard time and she know needs Christian's help. Christian is the Marquess and helped in the conviction of Juliet's father and older brother. Who just happened to be his best friend.
There is doubts in Juliet and her sisters head of their brother's guilt.
But he is now missing and thought to be dead, so they just need those sisters married off.
This is just pure formula romancey for me. I think romance readers would probably enjoy it much more than I did because I'm totally known for reading things wrong.
booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
The lovely Heather K's review is wonderful and she loved the book. Go check out her review.
I may need an Netgalley intervention quicker than I thought. I used to read historical romance, and I liked it at the time.
I think I've read too many stabbing, killing and porny mayhem books though. Because in this book I was just bored.
Judith is not a bad character at all though. I don't want to distract people from reading this book and series. It's def. a case of it being me. She is fiesty and really for a romance book she sets a pretty decent standard. She is taking care of her family after her father and brother are found guilty of treason. She has been selling everything the family owned and trying to get by.
I had nearly a thousand pounds set aside so my sisters might have a chance at a decent marriage. I know they won't find lords; I had hoped for vicars.
Vicars!!! Oops, sorry I totally have Joey from friends forever burned in my head when vicars get involved.
Juliet is having a hard time and she know needs Christian's help. Christian is the Marquess and helped in the conviction of Juliet's father and older brother. Who just happened to be his best friend.
There is doubts in Juliet and her sisters head of their brother's guilt.
But he is now missing and thought to be dead, so they just need those sisters married off.
This is just pure formula romancey for me. I think romance readers would probably enjoy it much more than I did because I'm totally known for reading things wrong.
booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
The lovely Heather K's review is wonderful and she loved the book. Go check out her review.
January 3, 2016
3.3 stars
Look, I'm a Milan fangirl, so I kind of feel like you'll have to pry my Milan books from my cold bony dead fingers but I do get what you all were saying about this book. Have you ever put something together and then turned around to discover there are still some parts left in the bag? (Ikea, not for noobs) Well, I feel like Milan had this problem but instead of hiding the evidence in a blackhole drawer, she jammed them into any nook and cranny she could find.
We have the Worth family whose father was found guilty of treason, especially scandalous because he is an Earl, and hung (hangs?) himself in jail. The eldest brother is found guilty of knowing about it and put on a ship to be deported for 7yrs. This book starts us off with the second eldest, Judith. She's left to take care of the younger siblings, Camilla, Benedict, and Theresa. Camilla goes AWOL right away, way to go Judith. The storyline of searching for Camilla weaves in and out, perhaps a innocent small screw that came from our leftover bag.
"I thought about it," he finally said. "But here's the thing about having been in love that first time: I always knew, every time after, that what I was faced with was a pale imitation. I never found someone else I could trust with my soul. After the first time, nothing else was acceptable."
Christian is our Marquess and he was a childhood friend of the eldest brother Anthony and as younger sisters and older brother friends are wont to do (my favorite trope, by the way) Christian and Judith fell in love. However, Christian was selected to look into the evidence against father Worth and Anthony and so he had a hand in convicting Judith's family, thus stripping her of her status and life she had always known. Christian's part in the conviction was pivotal in creating the crack between our couple and I think would have really worked if we didn't have all the other distractions going on. I'll scientifically call this a missing "doohickey", it definitely belongs but probably not placed how and where it should have been.
Now, where things went a little awry for me and what seems like a 2X4 stuck into our book, were Christian's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, night terrors, and opium addiction, Theresa's "I'm not bratty, I'm different", and Benedict's little big secret. Christian's and Theresa's issues are there to give the characters depth, which I constantly discuss wanting, but jammed in, they lost some of their value. I couldn't get a beat on Christian, his jokes at importune times were off tune and while it's important to set characters up for future books, I could have done with less Theresa. Benedict's little big secret is pretty obvious as the story goes on but the explanation was extremely rushed at the end.
"It isn't all my fault," Judith said. "It's just all on my shoulders. Try it, sometime, and see how well you do."
As always, the Milan heroine is who and what I liked best, bless Judith. If I was in charge, you can bet Theresa's cat loving heart would be the first butt out of Dodge (anyone else sneeze a couple times imaging living in this house?). Judith was strong and heartbreakingly human in her breakdown. Even though she and Christian didn't have the complete emotional depth, chemistry, and passion I like between my leads, they have some devastating moments, in both good and bad ways.
"If I'd married," she said softly, "I would never know what I was capable of doing. It turns out that when you take away my kid gloves and my morning dresses, I can do quite a bit. This may sound ridiculous, but I'm proud of myself."
This is first in a seven (7!!!) planned series and I get it, I really do, this book fell to first in a series syndrome because this kind of series arc requires one hell of a set-up. It's not the best Milan book I've ever read and it's parts might not fit together all right but there can still be beauty in disorder and this book has little parts of that. I don't think this will be a favorite of many but I do think you're going to want to read it if you plan on continuing with the series, lots of Worth family information that will be good to know for future books. The next in the series is a novella featuring Daisy, a friend of Judith's, and then book two will feature the AWOL Camilla. Hopefully, the unnecessarily necessary added in parts that felt disjointed in this book won't be needed in the next as the reader has the Worth family story now. Reading the synopsis for the whole series has me giddy for future books.
*******************************************************************************
This is not a drill, I repeat not a drill! This has (finally) been released!
Sorry work, catch ya on the flip side!
Look, I'm a Milan fangirl, so I kind of feel like you'll have to pry my Milan books from my cold bony dead fingers but I do get what you all were saying about this book. Have you ever put something together and then turned around to discover there are still some parts left in the bag? (Ikea, not for noobs) Well, I feel like Milan had this problem but instead of hiding the evidence in a blackhole drawer, she jammed them into any nook and cranny she could find.
We have the Worth family whose father was found guilty of treason, especially scandalous because he is an Earl, and hung (hangs?) himself in jail. The eldest brother is found guilty of knowing about it and put on a ship to be deported for 7yrs. This book starts us off with the second eldest, Judith. She's left to take care of the younger siblings, Camilla, Benedict, and Theresa. Camilla goes AWOL right away, way to go Judith. The storyline of searching for Camilla weaves in and out, perhaps a innocent small screw that came from our leftover bag.
"I thought about it," he finally said. "But here's the thing about having been in love that first time: I always knew, every time after, that what I was faced with was a pale imitation. I never found someone else I could trust with my soul. After the first time, nothing else was acceptable."
Christian is our Marquess and he was a childhood friend of the eldest brother Anthony and as younger sisters and older brother friends are wont to do (my favorite trope, by the way) Christian and Judith fell in love. However, Christian was selected to look into the evidence against father Worth and Anthony and so he had a hand in convicting Judith's family, thus stripping her of her status and life she had always known. Christian's part in the conviction was pivotal in creating the crack between our couple and I think would have really worked if we didn't have all the other distractions going on. I'll scientifically call this a missing "doohickey", it definitely belongs but probably not placed how and where it should have been.
Now, where things went a little awry for me and what seems like a 2X4 stuck into our book, were Christian's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, night terrors, and opium addiction, Theresa's "I'm not bratty, I'm different", and Benedict's little big secret. Christian's and Theresa's issues are there to give the characters depth, which I constantly discuss wanting, but jammed in, they lost some of their value. I couldn't get a beat on Christian, his jokes at importune times were off tune and while it's important to set characters up for future books, I could have done with less Theresa. Benedict's little big secret is pretty obvious as the story goes on but the explanation was extremely rushed at the end.
"It isn't all my fault," Judith said. "It's just all on my shoulders. Try it, sometime, and see how well you do."
As always, the Milan heroine is who and what I liked best, bless Judith. If I was in charge, you can bet Theresa's cat loving heart would be the first butt out of Dodge (anyone else sneeze a couple times imaging living in this house?). Judith was strong and heartbreakingly human in her breakdown. Even though she and Christian didn't have the complete emotional depth, chemistry, and passion I like between my leads, they have some devastating moments, in both good and bad ways.
"If I'd married," she said softly, "I would never know what I was capable of doing. It turns out that when you take away my kid gloves and my morning dresses, I can do quite a bit. This may sound ridiculous, but I'm proud of myself."
This is first in a seven (7!!!) planned series and I get it, I really do, this book fell to first in a series syndrome because this kind of series arc requires one hell of a set-up. It's not the best Milan book I've ever read and it's parts might not fit together all right but there can still be beauty in disorder and this book has little parts of that. I don't think this will be a favorite of many but I do think you're going to want to read it if you plan on continuing with the series, lots of Worth family information that will be good to know for future books. The next in the series is a novella featuring Daisy, a friend of Judith's, and then book two will feature the AWOL Camilla. Hopefully, the unnecessarily necessary added in parts that felt disjointed in this book won't be needed in the next as the reader has the Worth family story now. Reading the synopsis for the whole series has me giddy for future books.
*******************************************************************************
This is not a drill, I repeat not a drill! This has (finally) been released!
Sorry work, catch ya on the flip side!
December 28, 2015
I'm a tough critic when it comes to historical romance, but Courtney Milan always delivers. I'm serious. Always. Her latest book begins a new series, The Worth Saga, which follows a family who have been ruined by a scandal. It is typical Courtney Milan stuff, and by that I mean a very high quality, slow-burn romance, an intelligent, independent female MC, and a host of multidimensional and interesting characters.
This is a second-chance romance, which sometimes is tricky for me. I tend to like my characters to meet each other during the course of the story, and when characters already know each other, sometimes I feel like the authors can get lazy and insinuate intimacy without having to write it into the plot-line. However, Courtney Milan cut no corners with this one. There is a lot of uncomfortable history between Judith and Christian, and they have to work their way into each other's trust again. I loved the dynamic between Judith and Christian. When their guards are down, they have a relationship built on humor and silly debates, and their banter was really enjoyable to read.
If I had to pick a favorite MC, Christian would easily win. I really loved the depth of his character. He would probably be diagnosed with mild OCD today, or social anxiety, but Christian was even more complex than what meets the eye. I liked everything about how Courtney Milan imagined him, and even more as the book went on.
Judith was a strong, resourceful character, even if I didn't connect with her quite as much. I loved how passionate she was about her family, and how she pulled herself up from nothing to try to take care of her eccentric siblings. I was a little confused at how easily she reached out to Christian for help, even with the animosity between them, and the separation between her and Camilla, but it mattered less and less as the book went on. Courtney Milan's awesome writing swept me away in the story, and the details became less important.
This book doesn't end on a cliffhanger (we get a HEA, folks), but it does end on a dramatic note that leads into the next story in the series. I, for one, can barely wait.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
This is a second-chance romance, which sometimes is tricky for me. I tend to like my characters to meet each other during the course of the story, and when characters already know each other, sometimes I feel like the authors can get lazy and insinuate intimacy without having to write it into the plot-line. However, Courtney Milan cut no corners with this one. There is a lot of uncomfortable history between Judith and Christian, and they have to work their way into each other's trust again. I loved the dynamic between Judith and Christian. When their guards are down, they have a relationship built on humor and silly debates, and their banter was really enjoyable to read.
If I had to pick a favorite MC, Christian would easily win. I really loved the depth of his character. He would probably be diagnosed with mild OCD today, or social anxiety, but Christian was even more complex than what meets the eye. I liked everything about how Courtney Milan imagined him, and even more as the book went on.
Judith was a strong, resourceful character, even if I didn't connect with her quite as much. I loved how passionate she was about her family, and how she pulled herself up from nothing to try to take care of her eccentric siblings. I was a little confused at how easily she reached out to Christian for help, even with the animosity between them, and the separation between her and Camilla, but it mattered less and less as the book went on. Courtney Milan's awesome writing swept me away in the story, and the details became less important.
This book doesn't end on a cliffhanger (we get a HEA, folks), but it does end on a dramatic note that leads into the next story in the series. I, for one, can barely wait.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
May 21, 2016
Review written May 21, 2016
3 1/2 Stars - Nice enough but not impressive as a CM (rightly) should be. Luckily a fabulous and simply perfect audiobook narrator in RL
Book #1
A new series (The Worth Saga) from an author whose historicals I usually higly appreciate. Downloaded this first part a month ago and I was at last listening to the 9 hrs audiobook narrated by one of the very best - Rosalyn Landor.
**********************************************
Once Upon a Marquess is the oldest sister in the Worth family, Judith's, and her older brothers old best friend Charles Trent's (the Marquess of Ashford), struggling love-story. A mostly serious, with lighter funnier parts, nevertheless quite slowly neatly told second-chance romance. There is a black and terribly sad past, injustices that are hard to forgive, broken hearts and lost loved family. Status, honor, truth and old unresolved secrets. We start, as so often in romances in a enemy-to-lovers place.
**********************************************
Ms. Milan truly has her very own specific tone and expression. A style I really like and appreciate. Milan's characters are in my opinion always intelligent thinking adults (as I prefer). They are never overbearing impressive or surreal inhuman infallible heroines or heroes. Not the sexiest, prettiest, most beautiful in the world (as I pleased thanks for). Her heroes and heroines are all somehow uniquely memorable and always interesting to meet. So even this time. But (yes there is a slightly disappointed BUT from me here) I didn't really feel for the story this time. I wasn't amazed, stunned, glued to the book or overly happy. These characters are interesting, the storyline and plot is good enough, but honestly, I was a tiny bit bored at parts.
It is sad to write in a Milan review but maybe is Once Upon a Marquess a bit too casual gray, pale and sad for me. Maybe was it filled with too much depressing facts, lacking in the truly (shimmering grand pink) romantic part and too much a story about day to day problems for a tired older poor sister. There are a lot of problems, hate, trouble, kittens, siblings, grieving, old depressing stuff and maybe also too many back flashes for my taste. I expected more. I know I rightly can.
Oh well, there are some high class good stuff here...
Once Upon a Marquess is after all a good enough 3.5 stars romance novel. — I enjoyed the dialogue between the main characters, I smiled about their cute lovely love, I really liked this damaged odd hero and I'm intrigued about two missing siblings and their life stories.
Finally: I looooove to listen to Ms Rosalyn Landor, I sincerely admire Ms Courtney Milan's great writing AND I will continue this new CM series. A promising start. I'm sure there will be future great books.
**********************************************
I LIKE - to listening to this fantastic narrator ... always
3 1/2 Stars - Nice enough but not impressive as a CM (rightly) should be. Luckily a fabulous and simply perfect audiobook narrator in RL
Book #1
A new series (The Worth Saga) from an author whose historicals I usually higly appreciate. Downloaded this first part a month ago and I was at last listening to the 9 hrs audiobook narrated by one of the very best - Rosalyn Landor.
**********************************************
Once Upon a Marquess is the oldest sister in the Worth family, Judith's, and her older brothers old best friend Charles Trent's (the Marquess of Ashford), struggling love-story. A mostly serious, with lighter funnier parts, nevertheless quite slowly neatly told second-chance romance. There is a black and terribly sad past, injustices that are hard to forgive, broken hearts and lost loved family. Status, honor, truth and old unresolved secrets. We start, as so often in romances in a enemy-to-lovers place.
‘She took a bite. Oh, God. Bread. The difference between dry, indigestible leatherlike biscuit and real, soft, salivation-worthy bread was air, nothing but air trapped in perfect little pockets.
Air was delicious.
Salt tickled her tongue. The bread was warm and yeasty, the crust tearing in her teeth. She let out a moan.
“Oh,” Christian said. “Just stab me now and be done with it.”
**********************************************
Ms. Milan truly has her very own specific tone and expression. A style I really like and appreciate. Milan's characters are in my opinion always intelligent thinking adults (as I prefer). They are never overbearing impressive or surreal inhuman infallible heroines or heroes. Not the sexiest, prettiest, most beautiful in the world (as I pleased thanks for). Her heroes and heroines are all somehow uniquely memorable and always interesting to meet. So even this time. But (yes there is a slightly disappointed BUT from me here) I didn't really feel for the story this time. I wasn't amazed, stunned, glued to the book or overly happy. These characters are interesting, the storyline and plot is good enough, but honestly, I was a tiny bit bored at parts.
It is sad to write in a Milan review but maybe is Once Upon a Marquess a bit too casual gray, pale and sad for me. Maybe was it filled with too much depressing facts, lacking in the truly (shimmering grand pink) romantic part and too much a story about day to day problems for a tired older poor sister. There are a lot of problems, hate, trouble, kittens, siblings, grieving, old depressing stuff and maybe also too many back flashes for my taste. I expected more. I know I rightly can.
‘The bread was perfect. The kippers were perfect. The number of cats in the household was… oh very well..’
Oh well, there are some high class good stuff here...
Once Upon a Marquess is after all a good enough 3.5 stars romance novel. — I enjoyed the dialogue between the main characters, I smiled about their cute lovely love, I really liked this damaged odd hero and I'm intrigued about two missing siblings and their life stories.
Finally: I looooove to listen to Ms Rosalyn Landor, I sincerely admire Ms Courtney Milan's great writing AND I will continue this new CM series. A promising start. I'm sure there will be future great books.
**********************************************
I LIKE - to listening to this fantastic narrator ... always
February 6, 2016
Actual rating: 4.5Love was a knife, and try as you might to hold it properly, it would always twist in your grasp, cutting your fingers.
I've just finished the most wonderful book. These are the first and foremost words I want to repeat again and again when talking about this book. At first, I wanted to start my review explaining how Courtney Milan is extremely talented, which she is, and how complicated my relationship with her books, which it is, but I decided I don't want to go into self-philosophy of exploring the nature of my relations with this author. No, I just want to talk about how wonderful and beautiful and heartfelt this book was. How complex and vulnerable characters were. How easily it was for me to connect with them and sympathize with them. This book is not your typical historical romance. I'd say 70% of it is a historical fiction with mystery and the last 30% are sensual and breathtaking beauty of a relationship between MCs.
Do you want a story with exciting mystery to solve and historical detail to enjoy, where love is not always conquers everything, where circumstances and consequences will haunt you till you make amends with them? You got it!“But I’ve learned that I’m stronger than hard, better than pain, and that with enough luck, horrible can go away.”
Do you want to read a book where heroine was cast from society and thrown in a new environment where she has to take care of her younger siblings, because her father and brother were traitors, and she was betrayed by the one person she loved the most. You got it! The transformation from genteel lady to strong independent woman who doesn't need society to survive any longer. She put her head in her hands, but she didn’t let herself weep. Weeping was what one did when one ran out of options, and Judith wasn’t finished. She was a Worth. She wasn’t going to give up. Not now. Not ever.
Her life was already its own once-upon-a-time. There was enough joy in the story, enough sorrow mixed in. It might not be the sort of tale that mothers told their children, but it was still a good one. Not everything hurt. It would all turn out.
Do you want a story about family bond and obstacles that only unite them and make them stronger? You got it!Judith sat next to her. “Tee, sweetheart. I’m sorry I shouted at you. I lost my temper. I shouldn’t have done.”
A sniffle met her.
“I love you, though,” Judith said. “I will always love you, no matter how many cabinets you break, how many cats you bring home. I can’t promise never to be angry with you, but I will still love you.”
Do you want a flawed vulnerable hero with fears and guilt and pain, who hides behind jests and mockery, but deep down wants to redeem his past and become a better man? You got it.There would be no apology. There would be no promises. There would never be a reconciliation. What Christian had done was irrevocable, and all the doubts he’d pretended out of existence had welled up in his dreams with the fury of phantasms that would no longer be suppressed.
“I’m sorry. I tried, too. It lasted about a minute before I decided it wouldn’t help one bit. I am who I am. I don’t care if people think I’m off, or if they wonder if I’m ever going to get married. I don’t mind if they strike me from whatever list they’ve put me on. I am never going to stop being the person that I am, and I don’t see why I should apologize for it.”
He’d been right, but sometimes doing the right thing hurt people.
Do you want a slow-burning sizzling romance, where doubts and hurt are turning it into bitter-sweet and the more real to believe and feel.Once, she’d thought herself in love with him. With that pale scar on his cheek from the time he’d cracked his head on a rock. With the dark curl of his hair. With the way he could make her laugh despite herself.
She’d loved the way he looked at her—precisely like this. He had always sparked her imagination to a riot. She’d wanted more than his hand on hers, more than his lips on hers. He was the only person in the world who could make her feel both comfortable and uncomfortable all at the same time.It would be easier if he were not so innately fair. She’d spent eight years building him up in her mind as a villain. Someone who jumped to conclusions. Someone, perhaps, who had purposefully hurt her and her family. Someone who was unthinking, uncaring, unfeeling. It hurt to be reminded that he thought, he cared, and he felt.
Where every scene between characters is filled with tension and you can read between lines, because you are a witness initiated into the tangle of their past lives and mistakes. You hurt with them, you dream with them, you want an absolution with them. But is it possible to have? You need to live through this book to find out.Kissing her hurt. He did it again, letting himself feel every ounce of that pain. This, this is what they might have had. He might have had this tenderness without the accompanying shards of glass piercing his heart. He might have had this sweetness without regret or pain. He might have been able to kiss her without casting shadows.
He’d rather kiss her with shadows than not kiss her at all.
But what good book is without humor in it? What girl can resist a hero with an excellent terrible sense of humor?He sighed and tried to take the complaint seriously. “Why am I to be so censured? Am I accused of murder?”
Lillian dropped her handkerchief. “Is there any danger of that?”
“He’s joking,” his mother said with a shake of her head. “You know how he is—always joking about murdering people.” She gave him a reproachful look.
“Not always,” Christian put in unhelpfully. “Sometimes I joke about murdering baby elephants.”
If you are still not convinced, there's this scene with bread... After that you may say that I play dirty, but all is fair in love and in convincing your friends to read a book you enjoyed a lot *wink*“Come here,” he said, “and I’ll show you.” She sank onto his lap. His arm came around her—and he took the bread. “Here.” He held it out to her and she took a bite. “God, yes,” he whispered. “Have the rest.”
She did, and when she finished, she licked butter off his fingers. His hand tightened around her waist. His eyes met hers and he leaned in, so that she could rest her forehead against him. “Might I have a taste, Judith?”
His breath whispered against her lips.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “Please.”
He let out a long sigh and then shifted up, melding their mouths together. He tasted of bread and lemonade, of hope and want and innocence all at once, of all the things she’d once believed and never allowed herself to feel.
If you are ready to be invested into this story, it won't disappoint you. It is an extremely intelligent book, I can hardly name it a 100% historical romance. It is more than just a romance story wrapped in a historical decoration. I promise you, that you don't have to be a fan of that genre to enjoy this story. You just have to be ready to feel.
July 8, 2016
4.5 stars EASILY.
"It was no surprise that he'd fallen in love with Judith again. He'd never fallen out of love with her, and over the years, she'd become... more. More beautiful. More capable. More sure. More of everything he respected. She'd become so much that she scarcely had need of him."
And so begins a brand new series from Courtney Milan. Courtney Milan, as we all know, is a writer who writes really complex and realistic characters and relationships with a deeply rooted social justice edge. The Worth Saga is a culmination of everything we have come to know about her writing, and also shows how much she has evolved as a writer. She has always had great concepts for her characters and relationships, but sometimes her execution has floundered. But I think she has come to a point with her writing that I can mostly expect really solid books from now on.
The premise of The Worth Saga is that Judith's father and brother were convicted of treason and therefore their titles and lands were stripped from the family. Judith's father committed suicide. Anthony was shipped off to Australia but never reached the place. Judith believes in her brother's innocence above all else. Judith has three younger siblings--- Camilla, Theresa and Benedict. Camilla has lived with a distant uncle after their 'scandal' but because the uncle refused to take in Theresa because she was 'odd', Judith refused his offer to take them in and has since made ends meet to take care of Theresa and Benedict.
Christian Trent was Anthony's best friend. However he had discovered evidence pertaining to Anthony's guilt and had provided the evidence. Christian had also been courting Judith and the book explores the past and how Judith and Christian had been in love with each other 8 years ago. But after the scandal, Judith obviously hates him. But now 8 years later, she needs his help to ensure the funds for her siblings are in order and they cross paths again.
"You are the beginning, the zeroth item, the unspoken predicate of my heart. You can't put me first; I know that. You can't put yourself first.," he said. "You have a younger sister collecting cats, another one who is still missing. You have another brother who is off in the world. I know you can't put yourself first. So let me do it for you."
Christian was an AMAZING hero. He was funny, witty, single-minded deeply moral, generous and a good, good man. He didn't have a choice back then when he gave evidence on Anthony, but now he is beginning to suspect that Anthony committed treason because his morals drove him to turn against his country. He agrees to help Judith in exchange for Anthony's journals because he wants to know if his suspicions are right.
Christian ALWAYS put Judith before him. He wanted so desperately to be back in Judith's life that he would allow her to hate him just so she wouldn't be indifferent to him. He wanted to help her so much, to help her find Camilla, to ease her burden that she had taking care of her younger siblings, and most of all, to make her happy, to make her laugh, to make her feel like she didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders. That someone could share her burden with her. That was what was so important about the relationship to me. That Christian put Judith before himself, that he wanted to share in everything she had. That he respected her and treated her as his equal and better in all ways. His willingness to admit he was wrong.
And the bonus of Christian--- his sparkling humor. His terrible puns that I absolutely adored. How could Judith resist him?
"If I had married, there is much I would not have learned of myself. This has been hard and painful and horrible. But I've learned that I'm stronger than hard, better than pain, and that with enough luck, horrible can go away."
Judith was an incredible, incredible character. Probably one of the top 1% of romance heroines. She was so incredibly complex and well rendered. Her relationships with her siblings are fraught with guilt and devotion and duty and love and that was just brilliant. She fought and worried over both of her siblings and couldn't understand them but made the effort. Just like real people and real families. I mean, this is about The Worth Family, we must have investment in the sibling relationships--- OR at least, I LOVED that Milan MADE us interested in the sibling relationships, which is a step up above most writers.
Judith struggles with her belief that Anthony was in the right, and it was Christian who wronged the family. But of course, she realizes that even if Anthony had committed treason for a good, moral reason, he had still left her to pick up the pieces and hold the family together. She has to learn to hate Anthony while still loving him. That Christian wasn't all at fault. And that she could still deserve happiness, that she could still love Christian. And that was just stunning and complex and amazing to me.
Judith is also determined, intelligent, witty, capable, and an amazing sister and friend. I really can't explain it better than Milan's own words:
"There were no knights, no castles, no magic. But there was laughter, and there was love, and while Judith still had breath in her body, she would make sure they had enough. Her life was already its own once upon a time. There was enough joy in the story, enough sorrow mixed in. It might not be the sort of tale that mothers told their children but it was still a good one. Not everything hurt. It would all turn out.
Milan has created such rich, memorable characters and relationships that I can't (but will have no choice) but to wait for the rest of The Worth Saga. Camilla's book is going to wreck me the same way Judith's did, I'm sure, especially from what we've learnt of what Camilla had to go through in life.
"It was no surprise that he'd fallen in love with Judith again. He'd never fallen out of love with her, and over the years, she'd become... more. More beautiful. More capable. More sure. More of everything he respected. She'd become so much that she scarcely had need of him."
And so begins a brand new series from Courtney Milan. Courtney Milan, as we all know, is a writer who writes really complex and realistic characters and relationships with a deeply rooted social justice edge. The Worth Saga is a culmination of everything we have come to know about her writing, and also shows how much she has evolved as a writer. She has always had great concepts for her characters and relationships, but sometimes her execution has floundered. But I think she has come to a point with her writing that I can mostly expect really solid books from now on.
The premise of The Worth Saga is that Judith's father and brother were convicted of treason and therefore their titles and lands were stripped from the family. Judith's father committed suicide. Anthony was shipped off to Australia but never reached the place. Judith believes in her brother's innocence above all else. Judith has three younger siblings--- Camilla, Theresa and Benedict. Camilla has lived with a distant uncle after their 'scandal' but because the uncle refused to take in Theresa because she was 'odd', Judith refused his offer to take them in and has since made ends meet to take care of Theresa and Benedict.
Christian Trent was Anthony's best friend. However he had discovered evidence pertaining to Anthony's guilt and had provided the evidence. Christian had also been courting Judith and the book explores the past and how Judith and Christian had been in love with each other 8 years ago. But after the scandal, Judith obviously hates him. But now 8 years later, she needs his help to ensure the funds for her siblings are in order and they cross paths again.
"You are the beginning, the zeroth item, the unspoken predicate of my heart. You can't put me first; I know that. You can't put yourself first.," he said. "You have a younger sister collecting cats, another one who is still missing. You have another brother who is off in the world. I know you can't put yourself first. So let me do it for you."
Christian was an AMAZING hero. He was funny, witty, single-minded deeply moral, generous and a good, good man. He didn't have a choice back then when he gave evidence on Anthony, but now he is beginning to suspect that Anthony committed treason because his morals drove him to turn against his country. He agrees to help Judith in exchange for Anthony's journals because he wants to know if his suspicions are right.
Christian ALWAYS put Judith before him. He wanted so desperately to be back in Judith's life that he would allow her to hate him just so she wouldn't be indifferent to him. He wanted to help her so much, to help her find Camilla, to ease her burden that she had taking care of her younger siblings, and most of all, to make her happy, to make her laugh, to make her feel like she didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders. That someone could share her burden with her. That was what was so important about the relationship to me. That Christian put Judith before himself, that he wanted to share in everything she had. That he respected her and treated her as his equal and better in all ways. His willingness to admit he was wrong.
And the bonus of Christian--- his sparkling humor. His terrible puns that I absolutely adored. How could Judith resist him?
"If I had married, there is much I would not have learned of myself. This has been hard and painful and horrible. But I've learned that I'm stronger than hard, better than pain, and that with enough luck, horrible can go away."
Judith was an incredible, incredible character. Probably one of the top 1% of romance heroines. She was so incredibly complex and well rendered. Her relationships with her siblings are fraught with guilt and devotion and duty and love and that was just brilliant. She fought and worried over both of her siblings and couldn't understand them but made the effort. Just like real people and real families. I mean, this is about The Worth Family, we must have investment in the sibling relationships--- OR at least, I LOVED that Milan MADE us interested in the sibling relationships, which is a step up above most writers.
Judith struggles with her belief that Anthony was in the right, and it was Christian who wronged the family. But of course, she realizes that even if Anthony had committed treason for a good, moral reason, he had still left her to pick up the pieces and hold the family together. She has to learn to hate Anthony while still loving him. That Christian wasn't all at fault. And that she could still deserve happiness, that she could still love Christian. And that was just stunning and complex and amazing to me.
Judith is also determined, intelligent, witty, capable, and an amazing sister and friend. I really can't explain it better than Milan's own words:
"There were no knights, no castles, no magic. But there was laughter, and there was love, and while Judith still had breath in her body, she would make sure they had enough. Her life was already its own once upon a time. There was enough joy in the story, enough sorrow mixed in. It might not be the sort of tale that mothers told their children but it was still a good one. Not everything hurt. It would all turn out.
Milan has created such rich, memorable characters and relationships that I can't (but will have no choice) but to wait for the rest of The Worth Saga. Camilla's book is going to wreck me the same way Judith's did, I'm sure, especially from what we've learnt of what Camilla had to go through in life.
April 20, 2018
(2.5 stars.) This was Romance Most Fowl. If you like cutesy, pun-filled conversation and somewhat mannered characters (albeit all this done cleverly) you may think this is a 5-star book. I myself am probably lacking a personality chip which would allow me to love stories with cute, punny-funny dialogue, lots of food and lots of animals. I do recognize that this story has some interesting moments, some appealing characters, and lots of promise for the books to follow, but I found much of it tedious to read.
Milan has some deeply troubled characters here but she didn't allow me any time to wallow in angst. (And angst is to me what mud is to a pig.) Just when things would start to get dark or serious, the characters all resort to humor and clever dialogue, with "fowl" language and kittens and "visits with the queen" or perhaps some food burning /preparation.
In addition, too many characters spend too many years avoiding important conversations. That means Christian not talking to Judith, Christian not talking to his mother, Judith not working hard enough at getting in touch with her estranged sister. There are lots of little things going on all the time here, lots of characters and their problems, lots of set-up for the next books, but there is never a moment in it that I can really pinpoint and say "Oh, this is excellent." Mostly I found moments that could have been excellent.
There's no denying that Courtney Milan is one of our best and brightest HR writers, but I felt she was trying too hard to get too much into this one novel. Maybe cutting down on some of the tedious cute stuff would have made me happier. But I have my fingers crossed for The Worth Saga #2.
Milan has some deeply troubled characters here but she didn't allow me any time to wallow in angst. (And angst is to me what mud is to a pig.) Just when things would start to get dark or serious, the characters all resort to humor and clever dialogue, with "fowl" language and kittens and "visits with the queen" or perhaps some food burning /preparation.
In addition, too many characters spend too many years avoiding important conversations. That means Christian not talking to Judith, Christian not talking to his mother, Judith not working hard enough at getting in touch with her estranged sister. There are lots of little things going on all the time here, lots of characters and their problems, lots of set-up for the next books, but there is never a moment in it that I can really pinpoint and say "Oh, this is excellent." Mostly I found moments that could have been excellent.
There's no denying that Courtney Milan is one of our best and brightest HR writers, but I felt she was trying too hard to get too much into this one novel. Maybe cutting down on some of the tedious cute stuff would have made me happier. But I have my fingers crossed for The Worth Saga #2.
December 17, 2015
I love the previous books by Ms. Milan, but, I'm sad to say, this is not as good as those... :(
The writing strives hard to be witty (see the cats obsession, the swans, the baby elephants...), but it soon becomes annoying and interrupts the flow of the story.
Also both hero and the heroine are mildly annoying in their enimity/freindship/love. I said mildly because I didn't particularly like neither of them: they just left me indifferent. I couldn't care less if they got together or not.
I'm really, really sorry about this review, but maybe I was expecting something excellent like Brothers Sinister's series and just remained disappointed... so, being very generous I'll rate it 3 stars.
Still, since I love Ms. Milan's writing style, I'll try the next one and see if it becomes better!
The writing strives hard to be witty (see the cats obsession, the swans, the baby elephants...), but it soon becomes annoying and interrupts the flow of the story.
Also both hero and the heroine are mildly annoying in their enimity/freindship/love. I said mildly because I didn't particularly like neither of them: they just left me indifferent. I couldn't care less if they got together or not.
I'm really, really sorry about this review, but maybe I was expecting something excellent like Brothers Sinister's series and just remained disappointed... so, being very generous I'll rate it 3 stars.
Still, since I love Ms. Milan's writing style, I'll try the next one and see if it becomes better!
February 8, 2017
Did not finish at 25%.
Wow. What a disappointment. I consider myself a Milan fan, but this was kind of bad. What happened? (I have a theory. This book felt like the book written by someone who had no interest in writing it and was just desperately banging out pages in between plot elements from her outline, very much like a high schooler using extra words to try to eke out a few more paragraphs toward a mandatory wordcount.)
Premise: heroine and hero have a convoluted, vaguely tragic backstory: her father and brother were investigated by the hero and found guilty of treason: the father was hung, the brother was transported, shipwrecked, and presumed dead... ON SEQUELBAIT ISLAND. Heroine is plucky and keeping her family together, hero still has a crush on her. Heroine is secretly using the proceeds of her clockmaking skills to try to fund a Season for an estranged sister. The money gets stuck at the solicitor's office, so she asks for the hero's aristocratic help getting it unstuck. Something something something some bullshit about baked goods.
From my notes as I began to read: "I want to like this so much, but four chapters in, I find it talky, precious (way, way too much of a certain type of overstuffed wordplay for me), too many unnecessarily complex minor plot elements, too much backstory dumping. The hero just said "shite" in front of heroine. It's 1866. He's a marquess, she's an earl's daughter. It feels too modern for me. I am having worried, disappointed feelings."
So one problem I have here that may not apply to everyone (which is why I'm giving this a couple stars, even though I didn't actually enjoy it at all) is the prose. It is very precious in a way I personally dislike a lot. Here, have a gander at this wordsmithing:
'There was not an ice sculpture's chance in Hades's ballroom that he would have done so. "And as we both know," he said, "I am not much given to following orders."
She sniffed. "The matter is beneath you. I need someone to glower and look manly while I ask questions."
"I glower." Christian fixed her with his most intense gaze. "Behold this manly glowering."'
Do you like that sort of thing? "An ice sculpture's chance in Hades's ballroom"? If so, good, there's a lot more where that came from. If no, you may want to avoid reading this book.
Another problem is the characters. The way they think and speak and behave with each other seems to me to bear little connection to who the book claims that they are. The hero seems to be claimed to be extremely strange, maybe kind of Aspergers-y? But he spends most of his time being very jocular and making the worst dad jokes. Or, here, in one paragraph he veers from purple emotion to contradicting the thing he just said to himself:
'"We're not friends." They never would be. Not when she could scarcely look him in the eyes. Not when every time he looked at her, he remembered falling in love with her. Not when he still woke up in a cold sweat thinking of what had happened to Anthony. He was sure that he'd done the right thing, exposing the truth about her father and her brother. But he had never been able to quell that tiny whisper of doubt.'
So is he totally sure he did the right thing, or struggling with doubt about it? Can we get clear on this so anything that follows makes sense, motivation-wise? This may seem like a small thing, you may be thinking "You know what he means", but it was the moment I felt the sinking "oh no" that I had been trying to ignore really well up. The book isn't consistent. The characters aren't real people. They're thumbnail sketches in an outline, doing what the outline tells them they have to do because the author has a deadline, not real characters doing what they would authentically do and feel and think in that situation. (The heroine, in spite of what he claims here, has looked him in the eye plenty, beginning with an opening scene with him where she does one of those awful "fierce heroine shouts at hero and bosses him around so we know how fierce she is" things - my lady is no shrinking violet, she invites the hero to her house and then demands aggressively that he literally take out the trash for her.)
Here's another section I highlighted. The heroine, Judith, has been forced to move to a crummy part of town and do her own shopping. A nearby new neighbor is a sort of friend, and they do their marketing together. The book tells us that they have a little game they play to pass the time.
'"What shall you get at the market today?" Daisy asked after they'd gone about twenty yards.
This was the usual start of their game.
"Would you know," Judith said, "that we are fresh out of gold leaf in our household?"
She and Daisy had started the game years ago, when one of the local boys had accused them of thinking too highly of themselves.
"No!" Daisy turned to her in mock horror. "Not out of gold leaf! Why, however will you gild your beef?"'
This goes on for a few pages. And yet I'm left with no sense of who neighbor Daisy is, who Judith is, how they are friends (since we are then informed that this is the only time they see each other and the only thing they ever talk about), Judith's position in the neighborhood, etc. I feel that I'm being lectured at. Someone is describing an idea of a relationship to me rather than showing me the relationship. The book's author has the idea that this would be cute, right, this is a cute idea, that the heroine would have this dynamic with a neighbor in her crappy new neighborhood. But aside from whether you agree that it's cute, is that something that would happen? Does that feel real? Does it feel like real humans? Not to me, not as executed. This book, to this reader, has a serious case of Tell, Don't Show.
Sooooo the premise of this book is that Judith and her family are in very reduced circumstances. The treason scandal and death of father and brother means that they're almost totally destitute. Judith has quarreled with one of her sisters, who is about to make her debut in society, but in spite of having not spoken to her sister for several years, she's been saving the money she gets from making little clockwork gadgets, and wants to give it to her in hopes that her sister can make a decent marriage. Okay. I mean, not really okay - I think that's an unnecessarily complex backstory. But then it gets more complicated. Judith needs the hero's help, because somehow the money she has sent her sister has gotten stuck in transit, and the lawyers who have it won't tell her why or what to do. So her idea is that she'll recruit this aristocrat to go with her and he will force the lawyers something something something. Wow! That's a lot of things, a lot of strained coincidences to force people together for a book. You're at 20% into the book, Judith and the marquess are driving over to the law offices, and then THE SWAN INCIDENT goes down.
'"It happened so fast; the bird spread its wide, white wings and lowered its beak, a mere ten feet ahead of them. No, six. The distance between them was dropping all too fast.
And Christian was looking at her, not watching the road.
"Swan!" she said. "Swan!"
His grin broadened. "I'm a swan? That's utterly delightful!"
She grabbed his arm. "No! Swan! In the road!"'
I should have asked: do you like puns? Dad jokes? How much do you like them, though? Because you will get so many in this book. I hope you really like both of them. Because after the above "Duck? Where?" joke, you get seven pages - SEVEN PAAAAAAAAAAAGES - of the hero and heroine conversing with each other in the character of imaginary swans. Seven pages of really bad, unfunny swan dialog! Like, what am I reading? What is happening? Is this the same author who wrote those books you liked?
Judith and the marquess meet with the solicitor who has stalled Judith's money. The solicitor gives them a hard time. Allow me to remind you, in case you'd forgotten the title, that the hero is a marquess, a rank described in Frederica as "a second-best nobleman" (It's a joke, see, because the kid saying it doesn't understand how extremely fancy and powerful marquesses are, Regency kids say the darndest things!) and the solicitor is a plain Mister who works for a living. Also the lady in the room is the daughter of an earl but whatever.
'"Mr. Ennis sighed. "Lord Ashford, you called yourself a family friend, did you?" [...] "That's what we're calling it these days, then." The man looked upward. "I see that standards of friendship have altered considerably in the last years." He didn't look at Judith. Instead, he gave Christian a pained smile. "I shall do my best to... what was it you wanted? Ah, yes. You wanted me to assist in some of your inquiries."'
Wow, hmmm, that's pretty salty material, did I miss something where everyone in the world treats this marquess like he's a bumbling nobody? I don't know. I had a couple more things anger-highlighted, but forget it, it's all just Judith fudging that she hasn't spoken to her sister in something over a year, and then vaudeville-mugging "Six and a half years is something" and I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED COURTNEY MILAN! *sobs*
I feel bummed that I actually excitedly pre-ordered this book. Really kind of a drag, I was looking forward to it. But this is the type of historical I explicitly try to avoid in my reading - anachronistic, precious, silly, unreal characters doing and saying unreal things - so I'm going to call it at 25%.
Wow. What a disappointment. I consider myself a Milan fan, but this was kind of bad. What happened? (I have a theory. This book felt like the book written by someone who had no interest in writing it and was just desperately banging out pages in between plot elements from her outline, very much like a high schooler using extra words to try to eke out a few more paragraphs toward a mandatory wordcount.)
Premise: heroine and hero have a convoluted, vaguely tragic backstory: her father and brother were investigated by the hero and found guilty of treason: the father was hung, the brother was transported, shipwrecked, and presumed dead... ON SEQUELBAIT ISLAND. Heroine is plucky and keeping her family together, hero still has a crush on her. Heroine is secretly using the proceeds of her clockmaking skills to try to fund a Season for an estranged sister. The money gets stuck at the solicitor's office, so she asks for the hero's aristocratic help getting it unstuck. Something something something some bullshit about baked goods.
From my notes as I began to read: "I want to like this so much, but four chapters in, I find it talky, precious (way, way too much of a certain type of overstuffed wordplay for me), too many unnecessarily complex minor plot elements, too much backstory dumping. The hero just said "shite" in front of heroine. It's 1866. He's a marquess, she's an earl's daughter. It feels too modern for me. I am having worried, disappointed feelings."
So one problem I have here that may not apply to everyone (which is why I'm giving this a couple stars, even though I didn't actually enjoy it at all) is the prose. It is very precious in a way I personally dislike a lot. Here, have a gander at this wordsmithing:
'There was not an ice sculpture's chance in Hades's ballroom that he would have done so. "And as we both know," he said, "I am not much given to following orders."
She sniffed. "The matter is beneath you. I need someone to glower and look manly while I ask questions."
"I glower." Christian fixed her with his most intense gaze. "Behold this manly glowering."'
Do you like that sort of thing? "An ice sculpture's chance in Hades's ballroom"? If so, good, there's a lot more where that came from. If no, you may want to avoid reading this book.
Another problem is the characters. The way they think and speak and behave with each other seems to me to bear little connection to who the book claims that they are. The hero seems to be claimed to be extremely strange, maybe kind of Aspergers-y? But he spends most of his time being very jocular and making the worst dad jokes. Or, here, in one paragraph he veers from purple emotion to contradicting the thing he just said to himself:
'"We're not friends." They never would be. Not when she could scarcely look him in the eyes. Not when every time he looked at her, he remembered falling in love with her. Not when he still woke up in a cold sweat thinking of what had happened to Anthony. He was sure that he'd done the right thing, exposing the truth about her father and her brother. But he had never been able to quell that tiny whisper of doubt.'
So is he totally sure he did the right thing, or struggling with doubt about it? Can we get clear on this so anything that follows makes sense, motivation-wise? This may seem like a small thing, you may be thinking "You know what he means", but it was the moment I felt the sinking "oh no" that I had been trying to ignore really well up. The book isn't consistent. The characters aren't real people. They're thumbnail sketches in an outline, doing what the outline tells them they have to do because the author has a deadline, not real characters doing what they would authentically do and feel and think in that situation. (The heroine, in spite of what he claims here, has looked him in the eye plenty, beginning with an opening scene with him where she does one of those awful "fierce heroine shouts at hero and bosses him around so we know how fierce she is" things - my lady is no shrinking violet, she invites the hero to her house and then demands aggressively that he literally take out the trash for her.)
Here's another section I highlighted. The heroine, Judith, has been forced to move to a crummy part of town and do her own shopping. A nearby new neighbor is a sort of friend, and they do their marketing together. The book tells us that they have a little game they play to pass the time.
'"What shall you get at the market today?" Daisy asked after they'd gone about twenty yards.
This was the usual start of their game.
"Would you know," Judith said, "that we are fresh out of gold leaf in our household?"
She and Daisy had started the game years ago, when one of the local boys had accused them of thinking too highly of themselves.
"No!" Daisy turned to her in mock horror. "Not out of gold leaf! Why, however will you gild your beef?"'
This goes on for a few pages. And yet I'm left with no sense of who neighbor Daisy is, who Judith is, how they are friends (since we are then informed that this is the only time they see each other and the only thing they ever talk about), Judith's position in the neighborhood, etc. I feel that I'm being lectured at. Someone is describing an idea of a relationship to me rather than showing me the relationship. The book's author has the idea that this would be cute, right, this is a cute idea, that the heroine would have this dynamic with a neighbor in her crappy new neighborhood. But aside from whether you agree that it's cute, is that something that would happen? Does that feel real? Does it feel like real humans? Not to me, not as executed. This book, to this reader, has a serious case of Tell, Don't Show.
Sooooo the premise of this book is that Judith and her family are in very reduced circumstances. The treason scandal and death of father and brother means that they're almost totally destitute. Judith has quarreled with one of her sisters, who is about to make her debut in society, but in spite of having not spoken to her sister for several years, she's been saving the money she gets from making little clockwork gadgets, and wants to give it to her in hopes that her sister can make a decent marriage. Okay. I mean, not really okay - I think that's an unnecessarily complex backstory. But then it gets more complicated. Judith needs the hero's help, because somehow the money she has sent her sister has gotten stuck in transit, and the lawyers who have it won't tell her why or what to do. So her idea is that she'll recruit this aristocrat to go with her and he will force the lawyers something something something. Wow! That's a lot of things, a lot of strained coincidences to force people together for a book. You're at 20% into the book, Judith and the marquess are driving over to the law offices, and then THE SWAN INCIDENT goes down.
'"It happened so fast; the bird spread its wide, white wings and lowered its beak, a mere ten feet ahead of them. No, six. The distance between them was dropping all too fast.
And Christian was looking at her, not watching the road.
"Swan!" she said. "Swan!"
His grin broadened. "I'm a swan? That's utterly delightful!"
She grabbed his arm. "No! Swan! In the road!"'
I should have asked: do you like puns? Dad jokes? How much do you like them, though? Because you will get so many in this book. I hope you really like both of them. Because after the above "Duck? Where?" joke, you get seven pages - SEVEN PAAAAAAAAAAAGES - of the hero and heroine conversing with each other in the character of imaginary swans. Seven pages of really bad, unfunny swan dialog! Like, what am I reading? What is happening? Is this the same author who wrote those books you liked?
Judith and the marquess meet with the solicitor who has stalled Judith's money. The solicitor gives them a hard time. Allow me to remind you, in case you'd forgotten the title, that the hero is a marquess, a rank described in Frederica as "a second-best nobleman" (It's a joke, see, because the kid saying it doesn't understand how extremely fancy and powerful marquesses are, Regency kids say the darndest things!) and the solicitor is a plain Mister who works for a living. Also the lady in the room is the daughter of an earl but whatever.
'"Mr. Ennis sighed. "Lord Ashford, you called yourself a family friend, did you?" [...] "That's what we're calling it these days, then." The man looked upward. "I see that standards of friendship have altered considerably in the last years." He didn't look at Judith. Instead, he gave Christian a pained smile. "I shall do my best to... what was it you wanted? Ah, yes. You wanted me to assist in some of your inquiries."'
Wow, hmmm, that's pretty salty material, did I miss something where everyone in the world treats this marquess like he's a bumbling nobody? I don't know. I had a couple more things anger-highlighted, but forget it, it's all just Judith fudging that she hasn't spoken to her sister in something over a year, and then vaudeville-mugging "Six and a half years is something" and I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED COURTNEY MILAN! *sobs*
I feel bummed that I actually excitedly pre-ordered this book. Really kind of a drag, I was looking forward to it. But this is the type of historical I explicitly try to avoid in my reading - anachronistic, precious, silly, unreal characters doing and saying unreal things - so I'm going to call it at 25%.
June 29, 2018
I almost always enjoy Courtney Milan stories but I have to be in the right mood. They tend to be weightier than other historical romances and this is no exception. It takes a while to figure out what's at the heart of the Worth family fall from grace. All we know at first is that Judith's father and older brother were convicted of treason. Her father committed suicide and her brother was transported and hasn't been heard from in nearly a decade. Which leaves Judith on her own to take care of her nutty siblings.
Milan doesn't gloss over the details of being poor and she doesn't permit easy answers. This becomes particularly apparent when we learn details of the treason and we find that no small part of this story is a substantial criticism of British foreign policy in the 1860s. Never sloppy, she makes it present by not only tying the Worths into the problem but also family friend (and love interest) Christian Trent (the eponymous Marquess of Ashford). So yeah, weighty issues that are, if not insurmountable, at least heavy going.
And I couldn't help but feel that Milan piles on a bit by making Judith's siblings willful in the way that intelligent children can be when they're testing boundaries and deciding what to take seriously (and what not to). While I like that Judith is realistically annoyed, even though she loves them, and suffers the occasional blow-up, I found it frustrating that she had exactly zero support and that nearly every turn was met by one setback after another. I almost wanted her to just give up and try something easier. Wrestling alligators in Florida, maybe? Gunfighting in the American West? At any rate, yes, this is an indication of how engaged I was with the story, even through the frustration.
It helped, of course, that I liked Christian immensely. I liked how well he knows Judith and how assiduously he works with whatever framework is needed to help Judith forward. He can't just step in because it turns out that his testimony is what sunk her brother and father and that he gave that testimony despite being a family friend and being more than a little attached to Judith. Which speaks to his character, I think—and explains why it is that Judith has a hard time working with him, let alone forgiving his "transgression". I liked how stolid he is and that he makes no hasty apologies or explanations because he knows that doing so can only damage what little they have left. Until she is ready to hear truth, details will only serve to sever their association and prevent the progression needed to get to where they can be completely frank.
At any rate, this is a solid, though complex, four stars. The plot is heavy and there is a lot of pain to go through as they heal enough to come together. I didn't appreciate some of the twists and betrayals Judith endures where, at one point, I was all "can this woman catch just one break?!?" It doesn't help that many of the details where obvious setup for an overarching plot for the series, including an epi-epilogue to setup the next book. Still, I was in the right mood and this hit the spot very well.
A note about Steamy: There are two and a half explicit sex scenes placing this in the middle of my steam tolerance. I liked how well Milan gears those to illustrate the emotional connection between the two and how at least some of what is communicated is miscommunication. It was an interesting dynamic that enhanced the story, I think.
Milan doesn't gloss over the details of being poor and she doesn't permit easy answers. This becomes particularly apparent when we learn details of the treason and we find that no small part of this story is a substantial criticism of British foreign policy in the 1860s. Never sloppy, she makes it present by not only tying the Worths into the problem but also family friend (and love interest) Christian Trent (the eponymous Marquess of Ashford). So yeah, weighty issues that are, if not insurmountable, at least heavy going.
And I couldn't help but feel that Milan piles on a bit by making Judith's siblings willful in the way that intelligent children can be when they're testing boundaries and deciding what to take seriously (and what not to). While I like that Judith is realistically annoyed, even though she loves them, and suffers the occasional blow-up, I found it frustrating that she had exactly zero support and that nearly every turn was met by one setback after another. I almost wanted her to just give up and try something easier. Wrestling alligators in Florida, maybe? Gunfighting in the American West? At any rate, yes, this is an indication of how engaged I was with the story, even through the frustration.
It helped, of course, that I liked Christian immensely. I liked how well he knows Judith and how assiduously he works with whatever framework is needed to help Judith forward. He can't just step in because it turns out that his testimony is what sunk her brother and father and that he gave that testimony despite being a family friend and being more than a little attached to Judith. Which speaks to his character, I think—and explains why it is that Judith has a hard time working with him, let alone forgiving his "transgression". I liked how stolid he is and that he makes no hasty apologies or explanations because he knows that doing so can only damage what little they have left. Until she is ready to hear truth, details will only serve to sever their association and prevent the progression needed to get to where they can be completely frank.
At any rate, this is a solid, though complex, four stars. The plot is heavy and there is a lot of pain to go through as they heal enough to come together. I didn't appreciate some of the twists and betrayals Judith endures where, at one point, I was all "can this woman catch just one break?!?" It doesn't help that many of the details where obvious setup for an overarching plot for the series, including an epi-epilogue to setup the next book. Still, I was in the right mood and this hit the spot very well.
A note about Steamy: There are two and a half explicit sex scenes placing this in the middle of my steam tolerance. I liked how well Milan gears those to illustrate the emotional connection between the two and how at least some of what is communicated is miscommunication. It was an interesting dynamic that enhanced the story, I think.
February 21, 2016
My biggest problem with this book is that it felt forced, and Courtney Milan's stuff has never felt forced to me before. I can tell she really struggled with this one. I feel like I would have been able to tell even if I hadn't read her newsletter where she confessed that Once Upon a Marquess had given her tons of trouble, to the point where she basically had to scrap it and start the book over (not to mention the author's notes where she hints at it more vaguely).
There was just too much she was trying to do and fit into this one book for any of it to work as well as she wanted it to.
Once Upon a Marquess is the first of an eventual seven book series (plus novellas) about the Worth family, so it had a lot of set-up to get out of the way. Judith Worth is the heroine of this one; her father and brother were convicted of treason eight years before. Her father committed suicide before he could be executed, and her brother Anthony was transported, and then lost at sea. Amidst the fallout of the scandal, Judith has had to take care of her two younger siblings. Her life now could not be more different to the life of ease she knew as an Earl's daughter. On top of all that, it was the evidence of the man she loved, her brother's best friend and the Marquess of Ashford, that ultimately convicted them.
This book opens with Judith reaching out to Christian (very reluctantly) in matters only he can help her with. Of course, their tense relationship warms from there and a lot of past issues are worked through. Unfortunately, their relationship suffers because Milan has to juggle so many balls that her focus is split.
Here is a list of all the stuff in this book she had to fit in to the plot:
1. The treason and its fallout. This takes up a lot of space not only because it will be a shadow that falls over the remaining six books (and assorted novellas), but because the circumstances surrounding it are complicated and need to be explained by the characters not only so they understand it, but so we do as well. She also wove the treason throughout a central arc of this book that involves a couple of mysteries, so she can't just brush it under the rug.
2. One of those mysteries is what happened to the trusts she'd reserved for her siblings. This is the reason why she needs Christian's help, because her shady lawyer is giving her the runaround.
3. Judith's relationship with her siblings. They get almost as much page-time as Christian does. I can see why she wanted them to be fully fleshed out characters, especially since presumably one day they will each get their own books, but taking the time to build their characters from the beginning necessarily took away from time she could have been spending with Judith and Christian.
4. Judith's friendship with Daisy. Sadly, this whole thing felt shoehorned in, and I was keenly aware the whole time that Daisy would also be getting her own book. Her scenes always felt like set-up for that future book rather than being good of their own accord (excepting one near the end of the book that really worked).
5. Christian and Theresa are both atypical characters. Christian is an addict and has what we would diagnose as moderate OCD. Theresa is . . . difficult. But because the book was so stuffed, their neuroatypicality kind of got lost in the shuffle and so their mannerisms were constantly teetering on the border between being affecting and cutesy character tics.
6. Anthony. He is the absent center of this book, and took up a lot of mental space, even though he is presumed dead. I get that he was important to Christian and Judith, and that dealing with what he'd done was part of their emotional arcs, but still. A lot of space taken up by a character, and who knows when we'll get to meet him. (Also, Of course she's not going to waste that opportunity.)
I feel like maybe if the book had been longer, she could have given more room to all of that, or maybe even just putting off a couple of those items until later books may have given the others breathing room. As a result of all the cramming, it took me way longer than usual to get into the book. At points, the tone actually felt off; it was harder to get to know the characters so it was harder to accept the things they said and the way they were acting (a key example being the way Judith and Christian joke with each other, despite supposedly hating one another, or at least Judith hating Christian).
Anyway, it does end up all working, but it doesn't work as well as it could have, and it takes way too long to get there. I'm hoping now all the set up is done, the next books will be back up to Courtney Milan standard.
[3.5 stars]
There was just too much she was trying to do and fit into this one book for any of it to work as well as she wanted it to.
Once Upon a Marquess is the first of an eventual seven book series (plus novellas) about the Worth family, so it had a lot of set-up to get out of the way. Judith Worth is the heroine of this one; her father and brother were convicted of treason eight years before. Her father committed suicide before he could be executed, and her brother Anthony was transported, and then lost at sea. Amidst the fallout of the scandal, Judith has had to take care of her two younger siblings. Her life now could not be more different to the life of ease she knew as an Earl's daughter. On top of all that, it was the evidence of the man she loved, her brother's best friend and the Marquess of Ashford, that ultimately convicted them.
This book opens with Judith reaching out to Christian (very reluctantly) in matters only he can help her with. Of course, their tense relationship warms from there and a lot of past issues are worked through. Unfortunately, their relationship suffers because Milan has to juggle so many balls that her focus is split.
Here is a list of all the stuff in this book she had to fit in to the plot:
1. The treason and its fallout. This takes up a lot of space not only because it will be a shadow that falls over the remaining six books (and assorted novellas), but because the circumstances surrounding it are complicated and need to be explained by the characters not only so they understand it, but so we do as well. She also wove the treason throughout a central arc of this book that involves a couple of mysteries, so she can't just brush it under the rug.
2. One of those mysteries is what happened to the trusts she'd reserved for her siblings. This is the reason why she needs Christian's help, because her shady lawyer is giving her the runaround.
3. Judith's relationship with her siblings. They get almost as much page-time as Christian does. I can see why she wanted them to be fully fleshed out characters, especially since presumably one day they will each get their own books, but taking the time to build their characters from the beginning necessarily took away from time she could have been spending with Judith and Christian.
4. Judith's friendship with Daisy. Sadly, this whole thing felt shoehorned in, and I was keenly aware the whole time that Daisy would also be getting her own book. Her scenes always felt like set-up for that future book rather than being good of their own accord (excepting one near the end of the book that really worked).
5. Christian and Theresa are both atypical characters. Christian is an addict and has what we would diagnose as moderate OCD. Theresa is . . . difficult. But because the book was so stuffed, their neuroatypicality kind of got lost in the shuffle and so their mannerisms were constantly teetering on the border between being affecting and cutesy character tics.
6. Anthony. He is the absent center of this book, and took up a lot of mental space, even though he is presumed dead. I get that he was important to Christian and Judith, and that dealing with what he'd done was part of their emotional arcs, but still. A lot of space taken up by a character, and who knows when we'll get to meet him. (Also, Of course she's not going to waste that opportunity.)
I feel like maybe if the book had been longer, she could have given more room to all of that, or maybe even just putting off a couple of those items until later books may have given the others breathing room. As a result of all the cramming, it took me way longer than usual to get into the book. At points, the tone actually felt off; it was harder to get to know the characters so it was harder to accept the things they said and the way they were acting (a key example being the way Judith and Christian joke with each other, despite supposedly hating one another, or at least Judith hating Christian).
Anyway, it does end up all working, but it doesn't work as well as it could have, and it takes way too long to get there. I'm hoping now all the set up is done, the next books will be back up to Courtney Milan standard.
[3.5 stars]
May 3, 2017
Can't say I liked much about this book.
✘ I didn't get the mix of depressing subject and very inappropriate humor.
✘ The brother's actions were execrable. So much like a man to do something supposedly honorable (NOT!) and then leaving a woman to take the fall.
✘ I didn't find the antics of the cat obsessed sister very funny. Did she have a disability or was she supposed to be only eccentric? The fact that at 14 she didn't understand that poor people cannot adopt 10+ cats seem to point to the former.
✘ After destroying her life, why didn't Christian find a way to help Judith financially instead of pretty much leaving her to starve?
✘ Love scenes felt forced. They didn't kiss until 3/4 of the book - which made sense, as she hated him and he was dying of guilt - but with all that baggage, how do you go from the first kiss to jumping in bed in just a few days?
✘ More and more, I seem to be disliking Rosalyn Landor as a narrator. Her performances seem so mannered and her male voices are so stuffy!
Definitely not continuing the series.
✘ I didn't get the mix of depressing subject and very inappropriate humor.
✘ The brother's actions were execrable. So much like a man to do something supposedly honorable (NOT!) and then leaving a woman to take the fall.
✘ I didn't find the antics of the cat obsessed sister very funny. Did she have a disability or was she supposed to be only eccentric? The fact that at 14 she didn't understand that poor people cannot adopt 10+ cats seem to point to the former.
✘ After destroying her life, why didn't Christian find a way to help Judith financially instead of pretty much leaving her to starve?
✘ Love scenes felt forced. They didn't kiss until 3/4 of the book - which made sense, as she hated him and he was dying of guilt - but with all that baggage, how do you go from the first kiss to jumping in bed in just a few days?
✘ More and more, I seem to be disliking Rosalyn Landor as a narrator. Her performances seem so mannered and her male voices are so stuffy!
Definitely not continuing the series.
Read
December 14, 2015dnf @ 45%
What a disappointment! Once upon a time Courtney Milan was one of my favorite HR writers. Not anymore. Nothing worked for me in this story. Based on characters' conversations, they, along with the story, can be transported to modern times with just a little adjustment to their attire or the transportation they used. The sprinkled socio-political drivel was off-putting. Over-the-top dialog was bogged down with too much cleverness and became tedious and annoyingly cute. It seems the author tries too hard to make every phrase, every sentence so clever that the narrative becomes overloaded and heavy. And the characters...The hero's flippancy, at least at the beginning,comes across as callous and not attractive. I can't judge how the romance worked since I didn't finish the story but @ 45% there was no noticeable chemistry between the protagonists.
And finally, it would be remiss not to mention CATS, lots and lots of cats. The heroine's family was poor and had barely enough to eat but they had enough to feed 4 grown cats and then numerous kittens. Right!
What a disappointment! Once upon a time Courtney Milan was one of my favorite HR writers. Not anymore. Nothing worked for me in this story. Based on characters' conversations, they, along with the story, can be transported to modern times with just a little adjustment to their attire or the transportation they used. The sprinkled socio-political drivel was off-putting. Over-the-top dialog was bogged down with too much cleverness and became tedious and annoyingly cute. It seems the author tries too hard to make every phrase, every sentence so clever that the narrative becomes overloaded and heavy. And the characters...The hero's flippancy, at least at the beginning,comes across as callous and not attractive. I can't judge how the romance worked since I didn't finish the story but @ 45% there was no noticeable chemistry between the protagonists.
And finally, it would be remiss not to mention CATS, lots and lots of cats. The heroine's family was poor and had barely enough to eat but they had enough to feed 4 grown cats and then numerous kittens. Right!
November 7, 2018
When things go bad...
It's amazing how quickly the people who claim to care, will turn their backs when you've hit rock bottom. I found Once Upon a Marquess thoroughly entertaining and exactly how I would imagine things would go when the "Ton" turns their favour. The "good" people turn their backs while the "bad" will protect your back. But, there are always exceptions.
The characters were engaging, the storyline kept my attention and the connection between Christian and Judith jumped off the pages. This is a story with secrets and intrigues that you can't help hoping will fix the problems the Worth family faces. But, alas, in this instalment, we get some answers but not exactly the answer I was hoping for.
The narrating was done by one of my favourite in historical romance, Rosalyn Landor. Her voice is so easy to listen to and her talent for changing her voice makes her remarkable.
Courtney Milan writes her usual best and I can't wait for more in this series.
It's amazing how quickly the people who claim to care, will turn their backs when you've hit rock bottom. I found Once Upon a Marquess thoroughly entertaining and exactly how I would imagine things would go when the "Ton" turns their favour. The "good" people turn their backs while the "bad" will protect your back. But, there are always exceptions.
The characters were engaging, the storyline kept my attention and the connection between Christian and Judith jumped off the pages. This is a story with secrets and intrigues that you can't help hoping will fix the problems the Worth family faces. But, alas, in this instalment, we get some answers but not exactly the answer I was hoping for.
The narrating was done by one of my favourite in historical romance, Rosalyn Landor. Her voice is so easy to listen to and her talent for changing her voice makes her remarkable.
Courtney Milan writes her usual best and I can't wait for more in this series.
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December 15, 2015
Courtney Milan's writing style hasn't changed much, it's still multi-layered and complex. Her characterizations are precise as always, and they touch the human nature with all its emotions on a very precise level, which few others can claim to do. This also can be said of the plot and the structure of the story: it's engaging, the mystery part stays mysterious until I was satisfied that it was time to solve it, and the side characters and overall atmosphere weren't flat but rather dimensional.
And after all this praise and reassurance of the author's talent, it's time to point out what went wrong for me. And as it is most often the case with my favourite authors; the writing et cetera is good, but the main characters didn't appeal to me. They had a sweet past, so this one definitely falls into the second chance/loved you for years category, but I wasn't able to connect to them in the present.
Judith is likable and okay as a heroine, and I guess nowadays it's a good thing if the heroine doesn't annoy me, but Christian? Phew, he was something else. His character wasn't flat, but somehow I just wasn't able to grip his essence, I wasn't able to see him as a rounded up hero. His sense of humor is a big part of his personality, but I quickly became exasperated. He just isn't able to call it quits for once, and to not make a bad joke out of every conversation Judith, or anyone else for that matter, and it was exhausting in a big way.
Overall, this novel will only stay in my memory because of the hero, but I have high hopes for the next installment.
And after all this praise and reassurance of the author's talent, it's time to point out what went wrong for me. And as it is most often the case with my favourite authors; the writing et cetera is good, but the main characters didn't appeal to me. They had a sweet past, so this one definitely falls into the second chance/loved you for years category, but I wasn't able to connect to them in the present.
Judith is likable and okay as a heroine, and I guess nowadays it's a good thing if the heroine doesn't annoy me, but Christian? Phew, he was something else. His character wasn't flat, but somehow I just wasn't able to grip his essence, I wasn't able to see him as a rounded up hero. His sense of humor is a big part of his personality, but I quickly became exasperated. He just isn't able to call it quits for once, and to not make a bad joke out of every conversation Judith, or anyone else for that matter, and it was exhausting in a big way.
Overall, this novel will only stay in my memory because of the hero, but I have high hopes for the next installment.
December 10, 2015
While I enjoyed it for the most part, the romance aspect, and Christian, felt second to the Worth family drama. I didn't even feel anything romantic between the two until the two-fifths to halfway point, and that was only because of the flashbacks (when young Christian started to see young Judith as something more than his friend's pesky, younger sibling). The chemistry felt way off to me because, before that, they came off as good, bantering friends rather than two people who once shared a romantic affection for one another.
However, I will say that it wasn't all too bad that the romance took its time. I strongly dislike novels in which the H and h have history--bad history--and they just forget it within seconds of being in one another's vicinity again. I liked that Milan allowed their (or, well, Judith's mostly) anger and hostility room to breathe and work itself out.
And, for the record, I really disliked the predictable route the book and Judith took near the end.
Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this novel, with some pretty laugh-out-loud moments. And although I was enjoying it, there were times I felt that the romance was sacrificed in order to fit in more humour.
One thing that had me cheering was that Milan avoided doing something that so many authors seem to love to do these days: the mention of other women and the H's sexual past.
This is literally the extent to which other women are mentioned. THIS is what authors need to learn to do. Most of these authors who have separations (or just a manwhore H) between their leads would have thrown in here how there had been other women in his bed blah blah blah (yes, I'm looking at you Lyon f'ing Redmond)...but not Courtney Milan! Fuck, YES, this is what I needed, not a rundown of every pot he's dipped his wick in. None of Christian's sexual history is ever mentioned. It's not that I can claim he was a virgin or that he was celibate or anything, but the only woman ever mentioned when it came to him is Judith. That's it.
Christian was a really enjoyable and likable character. I liked him from the very beginning and I could see what Judith saw in him. There were some very romantic and sigh-worthy lines in the book, and most of those came from Christian. This guy...he never failed to make me believe that he really loved Judith.
(When she asks why he never married:)
My only problem with Christian was that I didn't feel he was given as much Christian-time that I felt he deserved. He plays a part throughout the entire book, sure, but his appearances mainly have to do with the Worth family. We know things about him (I think he has OCD and colourblindness? He definitely has , which he reveals to the reader himself.), but he's not who the story revolves around. He simply plays a part in it.
I get that it's called the "Worth Saga" and it's about the Worth family. However, because the entire series is about them, they're going to continue to play a central role, while Christian will never be playing a pivotal role in another story (especially not in the capacity in which he was meant to here, being the love interest and all). I found it to be a little weird that he plays a secondary role within a book that he's supposed to be a lead in. Then again, everyone felt like support characters in comparison to Judith.
The "twist" in the story didn't surprise me too much and I (and I think others) saw it coming a mile away. And that, combined with Christian's treatment, didn't make me too happy, tbh.
I guess it's not too surprising then that Christian played a secondary role in the novel. After all, he played a secondary role when it came to Judith's life. And that's kind of where the romance didn't feel all that strong. To me, it felt like Christian loved her. I saw this in the lines he said, in the way he looked at her and acted, in the way he didn't give up, even after eight years of her silence on her part. But I'm still not sure about Judith. Her feelings felt tepid to me throughout the book. It's Christian who shows her throughout the book that he's sorry and that he loves her, not Judith.
Even when she pushes him away for an idiotic reason, he's still the one to go after her. I was hoping it would be her time to regret and try and earn him back, but it didn't happen. And that was disappointing.
Christian,
He definitely deserved better than to be placed lowest on the totem pole. (And definitely better than to be even below the POS brother.)
Maybe it's because the story was so concentrated on the family that the more romantic scenes between Christian and Judith felt out of place. Even when they're having a suggestive exchange about bread and butter, it felt like it jumped into intimacy for the sake of having the scene. It felt forced and out of place. Even though their hostility had lessened, I didn't think they were quite to that level. But then again, it felt like all of the more intimate scenes between them were out of place. It felt more like Milan had a need to include them, not the desire, because they didn't feel at all organic.
There were also a couple of spellings errors, but nothing at all vastly annoying. (Though one did stick out to me: “Very well.” She took his head and gave it a firm shake. “Truce. I hate you.”)
Oh, and there was a Wizard of Oz reference, I think?
Odd, since this book takes place mid 1800s and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz wasn't published until the 1900s.
However, I will say that it wasn't all too bad that the romance took its time. I strongly dislike novels in which the H and h have history--bad history--and they just forget it within seconds of being in one another's vicinity again. I liked that Milan allowed their (or, well, Judith's mostly) anger and hostility room to breathe and work itself out.
And, for the record, I really disliked the predictable route the book and Judith took near the end.
Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this novel, with some pretty laugh-out-loud moments. And although I was enjoying it, there were times I felt that the romance was sacrificed in order to fit in more humour.
One thing that had me cheering was that Milan avoided doing something that so many authors seem to love to do these days: the mention of other women and the H's sexual past.
Every night that first year, looking out his window and wondering how she did. Every night he’d imagined her coming to him. Every empty soirée he’d attended, every perfectly lovely young lady who would never do because she was not Judith.
This is literally the extent to which other women are mentioned. THIS is what authors need to learn to do. Most of these authors who have separations (or just a manwhore H) between their leads would have thrown in here how there had been other women in his bed blah blah blah (yes, I'm looking at you Lyon f'ing Redmond)...but not Courtney Milan! Fuck, YES, this is what I needed, not a rundown of every pot he's dipped his wick in. None of Christian's sexual history is ever mentioned. It's not that I can claim he was a virgin or that he was celibate or anything, but the only woman ever mentioned when it came to him is Judith. That's it.
Christian was a really enjoyable and likable character. I liked him from the very beginning and I could see what Judith saw in him. There were some very romantic and sigh-worthy lines in the book, and most of those came from Christian. This guy...he never failed to make me believe that he really loved Judith.
(When she asks why he never married:)
“I thought about it,” he finally said. “But here’s the thing about having been in love that first time: I always knew, every time after, that what I was faced with was a pale imitation. I never found someone else I could trust with my soul. After the first time, nothing else was acceptable.”
My only problem with Christian was that I didn't feel he was given as much Christian-time that I felt he deserved. He plays a part throughout the entire book, sure, but his appearances mainly have to do with the Worth family. We know things about him (I think he has OCD and colourblindness? He definitely has , which he reveals to the reader himself.), but he's not who the story revolves around. He simply plays a part in it.
I get that it's called the "Worth Saga" and it's about the Worth family. However, because the entire series is about them, they're going to continue to play a central role, while Christian will never be playing a pivotal role in another story (especially not in the capacity in which he was meant to here, being the love interest and all). I found it to be a little weird that he plays a secondary role within a book that he's supposed to be a lead in. Then again, everyone felt like support characters in comparison to Judith.
The "twist" in the story didn't surprise me too much and I (and I think others) saw it coming a mile away. And that, combined with Christian's treatment, didn't make me too happy, tbh.
I guess it's not too surprising then that Christian played a secondary role in the novel. After all, he played a secondary role when it came to Judith's life. And that's kind of where the romance didn't feel all that strong. To me, it felt like Christian loved her. I saw this in the lines he said, in the way he looked at her and acted, in the way he didn't give up, even after eight years of her silence on her part. But I'm still not sure about Judith. Her feelings felt tepid to me throughout the book. It's Christian who shows her throughout the book that he's sorry and that he loves her, not Judith.
Even when she pushes him away for an idiotic reason, he's still the one to go after her. I was hoping it would be her time to regret and try and earn him back, but it didn't happen. And that was disappointing.
Christian,
He definitely deserved better than to be placed lowest on the totem pole. (And definitely better than to be even below the POS brother.)
Maybe it's because the story was so concentrated on the family that the more romantic scenes between Christian and Judith felt out of place. Even when they're having a suggestive exchange about bread and butter, it felt like it jumped into intimacy for the sake of having the scene. It felt forced and out of place. Even though their hostility had lessened, I didn't think they were quite to that level. But then again, it felt like all of the more intimate scenes between them were out of place. It felt more like Milan had a need to include them, not the desire, because they didn't feel at all organic.
There were also a couple of spellings errors, but nothing at all vastly annoying. (Though one did stick out to me: “Very well.” She took his head and gave it a firm shake. “Truce. I hate you.”)
Oh, and there was a Wizard of Oz reference, I think?
The wicked witch would bring her sister home, as if hard work were a magic wand that she could wave over the world?
Odd, since this book takes place mid 1800s and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz wasn't published until the 1900s.
June 6, 2016
While reading a Courtney Milan story - any Courtney Milan story - I'm always guaranteed to laugh, to sigh, to fall for a new book boyfriend, and to come away knowing the time spent reading was time well spent!
One Upon a Marquess is the first book in the Worth Saga series. It's laugh out loud funny, passionate, romantic, intriguing, and everything I love about Courtney Milan's stories. She gives us amazing characters to cheer for and fall in love with. They're complex people who don't just follow the rules unquestioningly. They are smart...as in clever, intelligent, compassionate, and morally strong. They are people I would be proud to call family.
Christian and Judith....how I adore them! Everything about them from Christian's lists to Judith's unconditional love for her family made this a truly wonderful story!
An ARC was provided by the author, through Netgalley. In appreciation I'm giving her an honest review.
One Upon a Marquess is the first book in the Worth Saga series. It's laugh out loud funny, passionate, romantic, intriguing, and everything I love about Courtney Milan's stories. She gives us amazing characters to cheer for and fall in love with. They're complex people who don't just follow the rules unquestioningly. They are smart...as in clever, intelligent, compassionate, and morally strong. They are people I would be proud to call family.
Christian and Judith....how I adore them! Everything about them from Christian's lists to Judith's unconditional love for her family made this a truly wonderful story!
An ARC was provided by the author, through Netgalley. In appreciation I'm giving her an honest review.
July 7, 2024
Review from 2016
A for narration' B for content.
I always find books and audiobooks by Courtney Milan difficult to review, usually because she explores such complex, meaty themes that it’s hard to talk about them all without writing a literary treatise! Once Upon a Marquess presented me with just that challenge because, as the first in a series that the author is envisioning as seven full-length novels plus several spin-off novellas, there is a lot of setting up to be done and a lot of back-story to get through whilst also telling the story of two former lovers who were torn apart by a scandal that rocked English society.
Lady Judith Worth, daughter of the Earl of Linney, is now the sole support of her siblings Benedict, Theresa and Camilla. Eight years previously, their father was convicted of treason and subsequently committed suicide, and their elder brother, Anthony, was transported following his conviction for the same crime. They are living in very reduced circumstances, supported by Judith’s talent for designing and making clockwork devices. She has earned enough money over the years to be able to send Benedict to Eton, to set something aside for her sisters and to keep a roof over their heads, but life is far from easy. One sister, Camilla, is missing and hasn’t been heard from in almost seven years; Theresa is… different and, as Judith discovers at the beginning of the story, Benedict is being badly bullied at school and won’t go back there.
When she was just nineteen, Judith fell in love with Anthony’s best friend, Christian Trent, the Marquess of Ashford and he with her, but the trials ruined the family irrevocably and the couple hasn’t seen each other since the earl’s funeral. Worse still, it was Christian’s evidence that ultimately convicted both her father and Anthony, making him the last man on earth Judith wants to see. But a situation has arisen in which she is unable to make any headway and she needs help. Specifically, she needs help from someone in a position of authority and the only person she knows in such a position is Christian. She writes to him asking for assistance, expecting him to send his man of business to her and is thrown when Christian himself arrives on her doorstep offering his assistance.
Surprise, fury, hurt and upset are just a few of the feelings his presence evokes in Judith, but ultimately she has nowhere else to turn and they agree to an uneasy truce.
It’s quickly very clear that neither Christian nor Judith ever really fell out of love with each other. This allows the author to spend more time explaining Judith’s family dynamic – which is a very trying one at times – and to embed the background for this book and the rest of the series, which has much to do with the Opium Wars, Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China and China’s sovereignty. But the time spent on the set-up, background and Judith’s family takes time away from the development of the romance, which takes a back seat for much of the story.
I read the print version of the book recently and I confess I had trouble getting into it, so much so that I set it aside at around the 25% mark. (I finished it a couple of weeks later and enjoyed it more than I’d expected to). While I liked both central characters, their initial encounters felt forced and artificial and there was too much going on for me to really be able to take it all in.
And this leads me to say that ultimately, Once Upon a Marquess is too busy. We have the mystery surrounding Anthony’s death or disappearance, the mystery surrounding the identity of the guardianship of Camilla and Theresa and the missing money; and there are too many characters with “quirks”. Judith’s propensity for assembling and disassembling clockwork devices has ultimately enabled her to support her family, but there’s no question it’s an odd habit. Christian has an unusual sense of humour, is colour-blind, has what I can only describe as a mild form of OCD and suffers from night terrors which, as a child, led to his becoming an opium addict courtesy of the medicine administered by his well-meaning mother. Theresa has what I’m guessing is a form of ADHD and a tendency to collect stray cats, and then there’s Benedict’s secret, which ultimately impacts on all of them.
On the plus side, the writing is absolutely sublime and the central characters are very well drawn. Christian is almost unbearably sweet, witty, moral, generous and so wants to be a part of Judith’s life that he encourages her to hate him if that’s what it will take for her not to run away from him again. And Judith is another of Ms Milan’s strong, complex, intelligent heroines; a woman struggling to do the right thing for her family – even though they drive her nuts. Her love for her siblings and her guilt that she can’t give them everything they deserve leap off the page and make her a wonderfully human character.
It’s a very ambitious book that would probably have benefitted from being a bit longer. None of the things I’ve listed as contributing to the overall “busy-ness” is uninteresting or irrelevant, but the romance gets less page-time than it deserves, and the resolution, while an HEA, is rushed.
The problems inherent in the story are, of course, still present in the audio version, but listening to Rosalyn Landor’s smooth-toned and emotionally nuanced narration definitely makes it easier to believe in the depth of the feelings Judith and Christian still harbour for each other. The exchanges I found overly mannered in the first part of the book are far less stilted because of the way Ms Landor imbues their attempts at normal conversation with a sense of unexpressed and inexpressible longing beneath the surface. She is extremely good at letting listeners hear the weariness and frustrations that often lie beneath Judith’s words, and she really captures the essence of the family dynamic between the Worth siblings. As is always the case when I listen to her, I feel that I’m listening to someone who understands the material on an instinctual level; her pacing and inflection are perfect whether in narrative or dialogue and all the characters are clearly and appropriately differentiated.
Even taking my reservations into account, there is a lot to enjoy in Once Upon a Marquess. It’s beautifully written, the setting is intriguingly complex and Christian is an absolute sweetheart, but it’s not my favourite of Ms Milan’s books. Rosalyn Landor’s narration greatly enhances the story, and is the main reason I feel able to recommend the audiobook to anyone who enjoys intelligently written and complex stories with a strong historical background.
I suspect that I would have given a lower rating for content had I been reviewing the print edition. This is one of those times when the narrator elevates the story.
A for narration' B for content.
I always find books and audiobooks by Courtney Milan difficult to review, usually because she explores such complex, meaty themes that it’s hard to talk about them all without writing a literary treatise! Once Upon a Marquess presented me with just that challenge because, as the first in a series that the author is envisioning as seven full-length novels plus several spin-off novellas, there is a lot of setting up to be done and a lot of back-story to get through whilst also telling the story of two former lovers who were torn apart by a scandal that rocked English society.
Lady Judith Worth, daughter of the Earl of Linney, is now the sole support of her siblings Benedict, Theresa and Camilla. Eight years previously, their father was convicted of treason and subsequently committed suicide, and their elder brother, Anthony, was transported following his conviction for the same crime. They are living in very reduced circumstances, supported by Judith’s talent for designing and making clockwork devices. She has earned enough money over the years to be able to send Benedict to Eton, to set something aside for her sisters and to keep a roof over their heads, but life is far from easy. One sister, Camilla, is missing and hasn’t been heard from in almost seven years; Theresa is… different and, as Judith discovers at the beginning of the story, Benedict is being badly bullied at school and won’t go back there.
When she was just nineteen, Judith fell in love with Anthony’s best friend, Christian Trent, the Marquess of Ashford and he with her, but the trials ruined the family irrevocably and the couple hasn’t seen each other since the earl’s funeral. Worse still, it was Christian’s evidence that ultimately convicted both her father and Anthony, making him the last man on earth Judith wants to see. But a situation has arisen in which she is unable to make any headway and she needs help. Specifically, she needs help from someone in a position of authority and the only person she knows in such a position is Christian. She writes to him asking for assistance, expecting him to send his man of business to her and is thrown when Christian himself arrives on her doorstep offering his assistance.
Surprise, fury, hurt and upset are just a few of the feelings his presence evokes in Judith, but ultimately she has nowhere else to turn and they agree to an uneasy truce.
It’s quickly very clear that neither Christian nor Judith ever really fell out of love with each other. This allows the author to spend more time explaining Judith’s family dynamic – which is a very trying one at times – and to embed the background for this book and the rest of the series, which has much to do with the Opium Wars, Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China and China’s sovereignty. But the time spent on the set-up, background and Judith’s family takes time away from the development of the romance, which takes a back seat for much of the story.
I read the print version of the book recently and I confess I had trouble getting into it, so much so that I set it aside at around the 25% mark. (I finished it a couple of weeks later and enjoyed it more than I’d expected to). While I liked both central characters, their initial encounters felt forced and artificial and there was too much going on for me to really be able to take it all in.
And this leads me to say that ultimately, Once Upon a Marquess is too busy. We have the mystery surrounding Anthony’s death or disappearance, the mystery surrounding the identity of the guardianship of Camilla and Theresa and the missing money; and there are too many characters with “quirks”. Judith’s propensity for assembling and disassembling clockwork devices has ultimately enabled her to support her family, but there’s no question it’s an odd habit. Christian has an unusual sense of humour, is colour-blind, has what I can only describe as a mild form of OCD and suffers from night terrors which, as a child, led to his becoming an opium addict courtesy of the medicine administered by his well-meaning mother. Theresa has what I’m guessing is a form of ADHD and a tendency to collect stray cats, and then there’s Benedict’s secret, which ultimately impacts on all of them.
On the plus side, the writing is absolutely sublime and the central characters are very well drawn. Christian is almost unbearably sweet, witty, moral, generous and so wants to be a part of Judith’s life that he encourages her to hate him if that’s what it will take for her not to run away from him again. And Judith is another of Ms Milan’s strong, complex, intelligent heroines; a woman struggling to do the right thing for her family – even though they drive her nuts. Her love for her siblings and her guilt that she can’t give them everything they deserve leap off the page and make her a wonderfully human character.
It’s a very ambitious book that would probably have benefitted from being a bit longer. None of the things I’ve listed as contributing to the overall “busy-ness” is uninteresting or irrelevant, but the romance gets less page-time than it deserves, and the resolution, while an HEA, is rushed.
The problems inherent in the story are, of course, still present in the audio version, but listening to Rosalyn Landor’s smooth-toned and emotionally nuanced narration definitely makes it easier to believe in the depth of the feelings Judith and Christian still harbour for each other. The exchanges I found overly mannered in the first part of the book are far less stilted because of the way Ms Landor imbues their attempts at normal conversation with a sense of unexpressed and inexpressible longing beneath the surface. She is extremely good at letting listeners hear the weariness and frustrations that often lie beneath Judith’s words, and she really captures the essence of the family dynamic between the Worth siblings. As is always the case when I listen to her, I feel that I’m listening to someone who understands the material on an instinctual level; her pacing and inflection are perfect whether in narrative or dialogue and all the characters are clearly and appropriately differentiated.
Even taking my reservations into account, there is a lot to enjoy in Once Upon a Marquess. It’s beautifully written, the setting is intriguingly complex and Christian is an absolute sweetheart, but it’s not my favourite of Ms Milan’s books. Rosalyn Landor’s narration greatly enhances the story, and is the main reason I feel able to recommend the audiobook to anyone who enjoys intelligently written and complex stories with a strong historical background.
I suspect that I would have given a lower rating for content had I been reviewing the print edition. This is one of those times when the narrator elevates the story.
May 29, 2024
Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (I was left wanting a bit more from the steamy scenes – they were fine but maybe some more explicitness and emotional pull overall? The first scene was pretty short)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 (I listened to audio, so it’s harder to tell scene length, but the first scene was quite short, not sure if I’d usually count it)
Humor: Yes! She’s delightfully witty
Perspective: Third person POV from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast (on audio to me at least)
When mains are first on page together: Not too far in, I think about 3%
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the romance. There is a bit of a continuation of the family story that leaves off on a suspenseful note at the very end (like a teaser for the next book)
Epilogue: Yes, 14 months later
Format: listened to the audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
Should I read in order?
This is the first in Milan’s Worth Saga.
Basic plot:
Judith is working to keep her family afloat after their father’s fall from society, when the catalyst of her problems, Christian, comes back into her life.
Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian – 1866
- childhood friends
- second chance-ish – 8 years since seeing each other
- bit of animosity between the mains – the hero proved the heroine’s family were traitors to the crown and ruined them socially and financially
- class difference
- brother’s best friend
- heroine makes geared trinkets (clockwork devices)
- lower steam – 1-2 full scenes towards the end
Ages:
- didn’t catch them...maybe late 20s, early 30s?
First line:
If it could have spoken, the tea table would have groaned.
My thoughts:
It has been forever since I have read Milan! The last I’ve read from her was her first two books and I wasn’t in love with them – but this one had so much more that I enjoyed!
The writing in this one was really delightful. Milan covers plots and unique characters that I don’t see anywhere else. Her dialogue was so fun and witty. The humor was amazing and the character depth was amazing. I loved a lot about this one!
But, I felt like the romance was lacking here :( This is second chance, which I generally dislike so that was a downer for me. I always feel like I’m missing all the feels with second chance and I’m just left reading about the mess. It wasn’t too bad in this one because they never had a full relationship, and there was a lot of background coverage.
I just felt like the actual romance started pretty late in this one and was quite light when we got there. Overall it was a really good story and I’m definitely curious about the rest of the series and have moved it up a bit on my TBR!
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (I was left wanting a bit more from the steamy scenes – they were fine but maybe some more explicitness and emotional pull overall? The first scene was pretty short)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 (I listened to audio, so it’s harder to tell scene length, but the first scene was quite short, not sure if I’d usually count it)
Humor: Yes! She’s delightfully witty
Perspective: Third person POV from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast (on audio to me at least)
When mains are first on page together: Not too far in, I think about 3%
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the romance. There is a bit of a continuation of the family story that leaves off on a suspenseful note at the very end (like a teaser for the next book)
Epilogue: Yes, 14 months later
Format: listened to the audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
Should I read in order?
This is the first in Milan’s Worth Saga.
Basic plot:
Judith is working to keep her family afloat after their father’s fall from society, when the catalyst of her problems, Christian, comes back into her life.
Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian – 1866
- childhood friends
- second chance-ish – 8 years since seeing each other
- bit of animosity between the mains – the hero proved the heroine’s family were traitors to the crown and ruined them socially and financially
- class difference
- brother’s best friend
- heroine makes geared trinkets (clockwork devices)
- lower steam – 1-2 full scenes towards the end
Ages:
- didn’t catch them...maybe late 20s, early 30s?
First line:
If it could have spoken, the tea table would have groaned.
My thoughts:
It has been forever since I have read Milan! The last I’ve read from her was her first two books and I wasn’t in love with them – but this one had so much more that I enjoyed!
The writing in this one was really delightful. Milan covers plots and unique characters that I don’t see anywhere else. Her dialogue was so fun and witty. The humor was amazing and the character depth was amazing. I loved a lot about this one!
But, I felt like the romance was lacking here :( This is second chance, which I generally dislike so that was a downer for me. I always feel like I’m missing all the feels with second chance and I’m just left reading about the mess. It wasn’t too bad in this one because they never had a full relationship, and there was a lot of background coverage.
I just felt like the actual romance started pretty late in this one and was quite light when we got there. Overall it was a really good story and I’m definitely curious about the rest of the series and have moved it up a bit on my TBR!
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
January 7, 2022
I waited so long to read this because so many reviews said this was one the weaker CM books... Honestly, I don't see it. The characters are quirky and lovable, the romance is cute and the story interesting and genuinely made me emotional at times. Maybe my only critique would be the literal singular page it took to resolve the "lying to push the other person away for a mysterious reason" issue, but it wasn't bad enough to truly take away from my enjoyment of this book. I just love CM's writing, she's not written a single dud yet in my opinion and still absolutely recommend her 100000%.
February 4, 2024
3.5⭐️ The story was dusted with genuinely romantic sentiment and quirky humor. If only that was enough. This time Milan’s writing style came across as choppy. Perhaps my head wasn’t in the right place. Occasionally I had trouble following who was talking. There were also several plot threads that seemed deliberately obscured which could have been unraveled quickly by applying logic. Anyway, the story felt like a washing machine clicking through cycles but ultimately only going in circles.
September 14, 2016
reread: september 2016
WHY IS ANTHONY WORTH RUINING ME LIKE THIS and when will i have my judith/anthony hug
first read: january 2016
why you should read this book
1) there's a brother. his name is anthony. the curse is real and going strong
2) A GAY OLD MARRIED COUPLE OF SWANS is canon (don't ask just read)
3) JUDITH & CHRISTIAN WERE FAB (the violet/seb vibe was strong)
4) KITTENS EVERYWHERE
5) siblings. all the siblings. siblings everywhere. beautiful siblings. heartbreaking siblings. SIBLINGS AT EVERY PAGE READY TO RUIN YOU
ALSO (i can't believe i forgot) THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO VIBE ON THE SIDE STORY WAS BEAUTIFUL AND GIVE ME ANTHONY'S REVENGE STORY ALREADY
WHY IS ANTHONY WORTH RUINING ME LIKE THIS and when will i have my judith/anthony hug
first read: january 2016
why you should read this book
1) there's a brother. his name is anthony. the curse is real and going strong
2) A GAY OLD MARRIED COUPLE OF SWANS is canon (don't ask just read)
3) JUDITH & CHRISTIAN WERE FAB (the violet/seb vibe was strong)
4) KITTENS EVERYWHERE
5) siblings. all the siblings. siblings everywhere. beautiful siblings. heartbreaking siblings. SIBLINGS AT EVERY PAGE READY TO RUIN YOU
ALSO (i can't believe i forgot) THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO VIBE ON THE SIDE STORY WAS BEAUTIFUL AND GIVE ME ANTHONY'S REVENGE STORY ALREADY
April 11, 2018
3.5/5; 4 stars; B+
I just re-read this in preparation for the coming of book 2 on April 24th. Finally. Yay! Before writing a few thoughts I will mention that I saw an update on Courtney Milan's website where she gives an explanation of sorts as to why it was so darned hard to get this book written and the next one. Turmoil and challenges abound in the nature of those of the #metoo movement. If you want to read about it here is a link:http://www.courtneymilan.com/shortnot...
So, this book. This book definitely has a frenzied note of mental illness/instability coming from a few different angles. Not only was Judith dealing with a little sister who was decidedly outside the norm but her estranged friend, Christian, Lord Ashford, had his own issues with mental illness to wrangle and manage. I really loved how Judith rose from the ashes of her life and carried on with courage and determination to care for her younger siblings, despite what would have been a catastrophic fall from grace for a member of an aristocratic family. Judith definitely carried the story for me but I also came to appreciate Christian's character and how he befriended Judith without trying to take away all her power and accomplishments. On one hand, I think he could have tried harder to find a way to help her and her siblings after the family disaster, but on the other hand I get that the social rules and restrictions of the time, along with Judith's own animosity were pretty restrictive.
Anyway, like all the books I've read by this author, the female characters, in particular, are strong and interesting, and there are intriguing legal nuggets scattered here and there.
I just re-read this in preparation for the coming of book 2 on April 24th. Finally. Yay! Before writing a few thoughts I will mention that I saw an update on Courtney Milan's website where she gives an explanation of sorts as to why it was so darned hard to get this book written and the next one. Turmoil and challenges abound in the nature of those of the #metoo movement. If you want to read about it here is a link:http://www.courtneymilan.com/shortnot...
So, this book. This book definitely has a frenzied note of mental illness/instability coming from a few different angles. Not only was Judith dealing with a little sister who was decidedly outside the norm but her estranged friend, Christian, Lord Ashford, had his own issues with mental illness to wrangle and manage. I really loved how Judith rose from the ashes of her life and carried on with courage and determination to care for her younger siblings, despite what would have been a catastrophic fall from grace for a member of an aristocratic family. Judith definitely carried the story for me but I also came to appreciate Christian's character and how he befriended Judith without trying to take away all her power and accomplishments. On one hand, I think he could have tried harder to find a way to help her and her siblings after the family disaster, but on the other hand I get that the social rules and restrictions of the time, along with Judith's own animosity were pretty restrictive.
Anyway, like all the books I've read by this author, the female characters, in particular, are strong and interesting, and there are intriguing legal nuggets scattered here and there.
December 15, 2015
If I had to pick my number one, favorite romance author, it would be Courtney Milan. No hesitation. She's a lawyer. She clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She puts lawyer-geek jokes about the Rule Against Perpetuities in her historical romances. She's smart. She's funny. She's basically my hero.
Still, her latest effort, Once Upon a Marquess, didn't quite ring my bell. I'm excited about this new series and its premise, focusing on the five Worth siblings, who used to be aristocracy until their father and brother were convicted of treason. This first book stars the eldest Worth daughter, Judith, who more than anyone has borne the burden of holding the family together since their ruin. She manages to support herself and her siblings -- albeit not in the style to which they are accustomed -- by designing clockworks. She scrapes together enough money to send youngest brother, Benedict, to Eton (where he is mercilessly bullied), and to set aside a small allowance for her two sisters' come-outs. But when the money for her sisters goes missing and Judith's solicitor won't explain what happened, Judith has no option but to call on an old acquaintance who owes her a debt of honor -- none other than Christian Trent, Marquess of Ashford, Judith's ex-intended and the man whose testimony condemned his best friend, Judith's brother Anthony, to transportation from England.
One of the themes of this book that I enjoyed is the idea that even doing the right thing can have irrevocable consequences, as when Christian did the right thing by offering testimony on behalf of the Crown, but as a result lost his best friend, his intended bride, and ruined their family. He is haunted by guilt, particularly since Anthony was lost at sea during the transport to Australia. There are other examples of the same theme, where telling the truth, though right, nevertheless brings pain and consequences. Even a mother's love for her son, and her actions to protect him, have consequences that Christian still wrestles with years into his adulthood. Eventually, we learn that even Anthony's treason, though a crime against England, may have been morally right when viewed from another perspective.
I also enjoyed some of the foibles that make these characters unique. Christian suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or something very like it (and having been diagnosed with OCD myself, I think Milan did a credible job portraying his thought processes). Judith's younger siblings, Theresa (14) and Benedict (12), are very believable characters who behave in age-appropriate ways. Judith has a close friend, Daisy, with an intriguing backstory that will be the subject of a novella due out early next year, and I'm looking forward to that.
Yet this book bothered me in a few important ways. First, while I'm hardly a stickler for historical accuracy, some of the dialogue here was so anachronistic it pulled me out of the story and was very distracting. There were a few scenes between Judith and Christian where Milan was working so hard to make the dialogue clever and sharp that I think she sacrificed verisimilitude in search of a few good one liners, and in my opinion, that was not a good trade.
Second, I have noted before that I have a squick in historical romance where the couple consummates their relationship before the hero is able to commit to the heroine. I don't care whether they have formally committed to each other, so long as he is able to, but if he's engaged to someone else or otherwise unavailable to commit, it isn't honorable to expose his lover to pregnancy and social ruin and all the consequences of extramarital sex in that time period. Unfortunately, Once Upon a Marquess gender-flips that trope, and I found it just as unpalatable when Judith was the seducer, knowing she didn't intend for the relationship with Christian to have a future, and knowing that he did intend to marry her. Their first love scene struck me as deeply dishonest and wrong, and so I couldn't enjoy that part of the story at all.
Finally, the pacing of this novel was a little bit clunky and uneven. I suspect that's because Milan had to use this book to set up, not only Judith and Christian's story, but also to lay the groundwork for the rest of the novels in the series. There were times when the narrative was definitely bogged down by sequel fodder. I also found the ending too hasty and tidy to be fully satisfying, especially since most of the book was spent building certain conflicts (sorry to be vague, but I'm dodging spoilers), and then at the end Christian and Judith each decided, mostly by force of will rather than any external intervention, that those conflicts just weren't as troublesome as they'd initially believed. I understood their change of heart, but it wasn't as satisfying, from this reader's perspective, as an actual external resolution to the problem would have been. Actually fixing the conflicts wouldn't have left much room for sequels, so I get it.
Still, her latest effort, Once Upon a Marquess, didn't quite ring my bell. I'm excited about this new series and its premise, focusing on the five Worth siblings, who used to be aristocracy until their father and brother were convicted of treason. This first book stars the eldest Worth daughter, Judith, who more than anyone has borne the burden of holding the family together since their ruin. She manages to support herself and her siblings -- albeit not in the style to which they are accustomed -- by designing clockworks. She scrapes together enough money to send youngest brother, Benedict, to Eton (where he is mercilessly bullied), and to set aside a small allowance for her two sisters' come-outs. But when the money for her sisters goes missing and Judith's solicitor won't explain what happened, Judith has no option but to call on an old acquaintance who owes her a debt of honor -- none other than Christian Trent, Marquess of Ashford, Judith's ex-intended and the man whose testimony condemned his best friend, Judith's brother Anthony, to transportation from England.
One of the themes of this book that I enjoyed is the idea that even doing the right thing can have irrevocable consequences, as when Christian did the right thing by offering testimony on behalf of the Crown, but as a result lost his best friend, his intended bride, and ruined their family. He is haunted by guilt, particularly since Anthony was lost at sea during the transport to Australia. There are other examples of the same theme, where telling the truth, though right, nevertheless brings pain and consequences. Even a mother's love for her son, and her actions to protect him, have consequences that Christian still wrestles with years into his adulthood. Eventually, we learn that even Anthony's treason, though a crime against England, may have been morally right when viewed from another perspective.
I also enjoyed some of the foibles that make these characters unique. Christian suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or something very like it (and having been diagnosed with OCD myself, I think Milan did a credible job portraying his thought processes). Judith's younger siblings, Theresa (14) and Benedict (12), are very believable characters who behave in age-appropriate ways. Judith has a close friend, Daisy, with an intriguing backstory that will be the subject of a novella due out early next year, and I'm looking forward to that.
Yet this book bothered me in a few important ways. First, while I'm hardly a stickler for historical accuracy, some of the dialogue here was so anachronistic it pulled me out of the story and was very distracting. There were a few scenes between Judith and Christian where Milan was working so hard to make the dialogue clever and sharp that I think she sacrificed verisimilitude in search of a few good one liners, and in my opinion, that was not a good trade.
Second, I have noted before that I have a squick in historical romance where the couple consummates their relationship before the hero is able to commit to the heroine. I don't care whether they have formally committed to each other, so long as he is able to, but if he's engaged to someone else or otherwise unavailable to commit, it isn't honorable to expose his lover to pregnancy and social ruin and all the consequences of extramarital sex in that time period. Unfortunately, Once Upon a Marquess gender-flips that trope, and I found it just as unpalatable when Judith was the seducer, knowing she didn't intend for the relationship with Christian to have a future, and knowing that he did intend to marry her. Their first love scene struck me as deeply dishonest and wrong, and so I couldn't enjoy that part of the story at all.
Finally, the pacing of this novel was a little bit clunky and uneven. I suspect that's because Milan had to use this book to set up, not only Judith and Christian's story, but also to lay the groundwork for the rest of the novels in the series. There were times when the narrative was definitely bogged down by sequel fodder. I also found the ending too hasty and tidy to be fully satisfying, especially since most of the book was spent building certain conflicts (sorry to be vague, but I'm dodging spoilers), and then at the end Christian and Judith each decided, mostly by force of will rather than any external intervention, that those conflicts just weren't as troublesome as they'd initially believed. I understood their change of heart, but it wasn't as satisfying, from this reader's perspective, as an actual external resolution to the problem would have been. Actually fixing the conflicts wouldn't have left much room for sequels, so I get it.
May 23, 2016
Rounded up from 3.5 because ... Courtney Milan. Seriously.
I love Milan. She does great banter and great chemistry. Her plot lines are interesting and often unique and her characters are engaging. As always, she brings the laughs even when the story itself is poignant and dramatic.
The beginning of this book finds our leads -- Judith and Christian -- in a heartbreaking situation. They've been in this awful situation for 8 years but things are finally coming to a head. Their situation seems truly hopeless, but this being a romance I trust the author will pull it off and pull it off she does. Very nicely too. And believably. Milan is just so good at this.
So why not a big ol' 5 star? Well ... it's the eldest brother. See, Judith's father, the Earl of Liffy, committed suicide after being convicted of treason and her brother, Anthony, having been aware of it and doing nothing to stop it, has been transported. He was also presumably lost at sea on his way to the hinterlands. It's an awful situation for Judith and her siblings who now live in poverty with Judith having to bear all the responsibility for them for the past eight years.
What bugs me about this? Well here's how I feel:
FUCK ANTHONY! FUCK HIM SIDEWAYS!
I don't usually get this angry, but seriously. That guy ...
He left his family to rot without saying a word in his defense or giving anyone even the tiniest explanation, which could have helped them. Maybe made it easier on them. Of course there are extenuating circumstances that semi-flesh out his motives, but they don't make it any better. He's still a huge turd.
Spoilery rant:
Oh, but Anthony feeeeeels so much. His intentions! Yeah, the road to hell ... for everyone else. I've written in other reviews that I have no patience for "world savers" who sacrifice all the people around them for some cause they don't even understand. So, yeah, that's how I feel about the "beloved" Anthony.
Judith's loyalty to Anthony, even as he's presumed dead, is hard to stomach. And as it's written in such a way that I feel I'm supposed to think his cause was just really took away from the story. And that's why it's not a straight 4 or 5 star even as I loved the leads and the siblings.
I'm already reading the follow-up novella and I hope Milan gets muse-struck and gets Camilla's story out quickly. Even as I rant about that one element, I love the family and I want to see more of them.
I love Milan. She does great banter and great chemistry. Her plot lines are interesting and often unique and her characters are engaging. As always, she brings the laughs even when the story itself is poignant and dramatic.
The beginning of this book finds our leads -- Judith and Christian -- in a heartbreaking situation. They've been in this awful situation for 8 years but things are finally coming to a head. Their situation seems truly hopeless, but this being a romance I trust the author will pull it off and pull it off she does. Very nicely too. And believably. Milan is just so good at this.
So why not a big ol' 5 star? Well ... it's the eldest brother. See, Judith's father, the Earl of Liffy, committed suicide after being convicted of treason and her brother, Anthony, having been aware of it and doing nothing to stop it, has been transported. He was also presumably lost at sea on his way to the hinterlands. It's an awful situation for Judith and her siblings who now live in poverty with Judith having to bear all the responsibility for them for the past eight years.
What bugs me about this? Well here's how I feel:
FUCK ANTHONY! FUCK HIM SIDEWAYS!
I don't usually get this angry, but seriously. That guy ...
He left his family to rot without saying a word in his defense or giving anyone even the tiniest explanation, which could have helped them. Maybe made it easier on them. Of course there are extenuating circumstances that semi-flesh out his motives, but they don't make it any better. He's still a huge turd.
Spoilery rant:
Oh, but Anthony feeeeeels so much. His intentions! Yeah, the road to hell ... for everyone else. I've written in other reviews that I have no patience for "world savers" who sacrifice all the people around them for some cause they don't even understand. So, yeah, that's how I feel about the "beloved" Anthony.
Judith's loyalty to Anthony, even as he's presumed dead, is hard to stomach. And as it's written in such a way that I feel I'm supposed to think his cause was just really took away from the story. And that's why it's not a straight 4 or 5 star even as I loved the leads and the siblings.
I'm already reading the follow-up novella and I hope Milan gets muse-struck and gets Camilla's story out quickly. Even as I rant about that one element, I love the family and I want to see more of them.
February 6, 2017
FINALLY was all I could think when Courtney Milan, at last, released Once Upon a Marquess, the first book in her newest historical series the Worth Saga. And it was everything I hoped it’d be, better even. Courtney’s ongoing ability to combine unique characters and lushly rich, not of the norm plots continues to amaze. It’s always wonderful to see an author’s prose evolve with each new work and Courtney’s growth was on full display here. With an intense depth that practically leapt off the pages and a sharp wit not to be denied, the book went even further and addressed the often grey realities of what we as individuals perceive as right or wrong.
Judith was incredible and by far the best part of the entire book. After quite literally losing everything, she could’ve easily fallen apart and lesser people probably would have; but not Judith. She fought. She worked. She survived. At the tender age of nineteen, Judith had to become a mother, a father, a caregiver and sole provider for her youngest brother and sister. No small feat for a someone who never would have expected to be in such a position. But that didn’t stop her and she became a better person because of it.
Judith was incredible and by far the best part of the entire book. After quite literally losing everything, she could’ve easily fallen apart and lesser people probably would have; but not Judith. She fought. She worked. She survived. At the tender age of nineteen, Judith had to become a mother, a father, a caregiver and sole provider for her youngest brother and sister. No small feat for a someone who never would have expected to be in such a position. But that didn’t stop her and she became a better person because of it.
“Not everything hurt. To discover that now, when so much had been broken, seemed almost freeing.She was so strong all the time because she had to be, and not even for her own sake, but for the sake of her family. That was the main reason why her and Christian’s relationship was so beautiful because he could be strong for her while she was busy being strong for everyone else. For once, Judith could lay down her burdens on someone other than herself, someone who loved her enough to put her first. Kind, caring, funny Christian, who has become one of my favorite heroes ever, was Judith’s perfect match in every respect. Oh how these two made my heart hurt.
“If I’d married,” she said softly, “I would never know what I was capable of doing. It turns out that when you take away my kid gloves and my morning dresses, I can do quite a bit. This may sound ridiculous, but I’m proud of myself.”
“Nothing ever made sense because I was trying to sort everything into place from one to ten. That was the mistake. You are the start of every list I’ve ever made. You are the beginning, the zeroth item, the unspoken predicate of my heart. You can’t put me first; I know that.”Apart from our feels inducing couple, all the cats (and there were MANY), bad jokes about fowl and the very sexy bread scene (you’ll know what I’m referring to once you read it), I have to say the second best thing about the book were the Worth siblings themselves. From hated and beloved Anthony, to steadfast Judith, long lost Camilla, quirky Theresa and precious baby Benedict. Each of them vastly different and equally fascinating and I found myself completely immersed in the often cruel but all too real world Courtney built around them. But as Judith points out a number of times, their hardships made them who they are, good, bad and everything in between. So even if the wait is long, I very much look forward to reading more about them. I have a tissue box at the ready for Camilla’s book since I have a feeling that one’s gonna be a doozy.
Her eyes were wide and shining. “Christian.”
“You can’t put yourself first,” he said. “You have a younger sister collecting cats, another one who is still missing. You have another brother who is off in the world. I know you can’t put yourself first. So let me do it for you.”
December 28, 2015
I just wasn't feeling this, which is a shock considering I adore Courtney Milan. But the chemistry between the leads didn't draw me in and the plot as well as the secondary characters weren't exceptional so I abandoned this roughly half-way in. Perhaps I'll try to revisit this before the sequel releases but...I doubt it.
May 24, 2017
2.5 stars. The characters didn't seem quite real to me, and the whole plot hinged on family issues, so it was kind of boring.
December 29, 2018
As much as I adore Courtney Milan, I cannot stand this book. Other reviewers have described their problems better than I could.
May 1, 2018
I liked this. Second chances love stories are my favorite and I really liked both Christian and Judith in here (they actually communicatedwith each other...what sorcery is this?!?!). Their interactions were great, esepcially when Christian kept reminding Judith why she hates him and I loved that they both realized that the last eight years had shaped them into the people they currently are (especially Judith) and that they wouldn't turn back the clock even if they could.
There were a few things that bothered me in here, like Christian is a Marquess which is pretty high up in nobility yet Judith's family solicitor pretty much regarded him as insignificant and with no power. Or that this book is setting up the stage for multiple books and novellas ---we have two missing siblings as of right now. And that some storylines were dropped pretty abruptly because future books need to pick them up. But considering that the last four or five historical romance novels I've attempted to read in the last two months I've DNF-ed in the first fifty pages, those quibbles are not so big.
I liked this book overall. And I'll read more of this series. So 4 stars for that alone.
There were a few things that bothered me in here, like Christian is a Marquess which is pretty high up in nobility yet Judith's family solicitor pretty much regarded him as insignificant and with no power. Or that this book is setting up the stage for multiple books and novellas ---we have two missing siblings as of right now. And that some storylines were dropped pretty abruptly because future books need to pick them up. But considering that the last four or five historical romance novels I've attempted to read in the last two months I've DNF-ed in the first fifty pages, those quibbles are not so big.
I liked this book overall. And I'll read more of this series. So 4 stars for that alone.
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