The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

Book One in The Brothers Sinister series

Published December 6, 2012

“Well, then,” he said, keeping his voice low. “I’ll do it my way, and you try it yours—and we’ll see who wins out.”

“That’s impossible,” she said flatly. “You can’t flirt with me. I’m going to be at war with you.”

“No, you won’t,” he said politely. “Try going to war with an unwilling combatant. I don’t think even you can manage that.”

Grade: A+

Official Summary from Author’s Site:

Miss Minerva Lane is a quiet, bespectacled wallflower, and she wants to keep it that way. After all, the last time she was the center of attention, it ended badly—so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. Wallflowers may not be the prettiest of blooms, but at least they don’t get trampled. So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention.

But that is precisely what she gets.

Because Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, is not fooled. When Minnie figures out what he’s up to, he realizes there is more to her than her spectacles and her quiet ways. And he’s determined to lay her every secret bare before she can discover his. But this time, one shy miss may prove to be more than his match…

I Say:

The Duchess War is one of my favorite books EVER. It’s one of my top three romance novels—and I’ve read hundreds at this point. It is one of those books that makes you feel better about being a human, and want to be a better human. Sometimes I giggled helplessly, sometimes I wept for the characters. Stop reading this review and just go read it. CarrieS at Smart Bitches Trashy Books said it best: “Read it right away - yes, now.  Everything on your to-do list can wait, believe me.” Actually, just go read Carrie’s review, because I can’t really top it. But I’ll offer a few thoughts (below the jump, of course!).

First of all, I absolutely adore the main characters. Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, wants to atone for his father’s many sins (some of which are discussed in The Governess Affair) and in fact wants to not be a duke at all. He’s very thoughtful, but not very good at conveying those thoughts to other people:

“I’ll give you twenty minutes,” he said. “If I don’t see you downstairs by then, I’ll come up for you.”

 For a few moments, there was no answer. Then: “The beautiful thing about marriage is the right it gives me to monogamy. One man intent on dictating my whereabouts is enough, wouldn’t you think?”

He stared at the sofa in confusion before he realized that she thought he’d been threatening to drag her out.

Robert was good at many things. Communicating with women was not one of them.

Miss Wilhelmina Pursling, born Miss Minerva Lane, has a scandalous, unconventional past—hence the name change. She is fiercely intelligent and highly methodical, which I greatly admire, and is not afraid to threaten or sass Robert:

“I don’t wish to have to slowly drop hints and build up a store of proof that would inevitably point you out as the culprit,” she said. “But I will if I have to. If I do it my way, when it’s all said and done, people will say, ‘Well, Minnie really kept her head, even when a duke was about.’”

“And men will marry you because of that?” he asked dubiously.

“I only need one man to do so,” Minnie shot back. “More would be illegal.”

The crime of which she speaks is of publishing radical handbills, encouraging workers to organize. Robert wrote them, but Minnie is suspected of writing them, and the titular war is one in which she tries to get him to stop. The book has many themes: what “family” means, acceptance, loyalty, choice. Possibly my favorite theme, though, is the difference between expectation and reality. The difference between what Robert thinks will happen and what actually happens is sometimes comic, sometimes heartbreaking. It’s funny when he thinks that Minnie’s version of investigating is

Bad disguises, ham-handed questions, attempts to go through his rubbish in search of clues…

and he finds he grossly underestimated her. It’s heartbreaking when he thinks he has to choose between Minnie and his family…but it’s really not a spoiler to tell you that everything works out, and he and Minnie become stronger because of it.

This book is possibly the best example of why I love to read romance novels—it illustrates how two people can become better human beings for being together. Robert and Minnie both have overcome horrible childhoods to become reasonably normal people, but together they bloom and become more.

The Governess Affair explored sisterhood; now The Duchess War explores brotherhood. Mr. Oliver Marshall is the son of Robert’s father and the titular governess; Robert loves his brother and considers him his superior. One of his greatest grievances with society is that it considers Oliver inferior because he is illegitimate.

I won the first toss, therefore I win everything from here on out did not make a satisfying battle cry. Especially when he’d only won that first round because his father had cheated.

As with the siblings in The Governess Affair, Robert gets a glimpse of how Oliver views the world, and it is heartbreaking. I won’t tell you what it is, though, because you should be reading this book and you’ll have to find out. In any case, I’m SO EXCITED to get to know Oliver in The Heiress Effect.

There is plenty of angst in this book, but it is also SO FUNNY. The best part is when Sebastian, Robert’s cousin, and Violet, their friend, enter the action. They are preparing to board the train with Robert when he sees Minnie sitting in second class, and they insist on coming with him to visit her. The ensuing conversation is simply brilliant, and ends thus:

“Oh, dear,” Sebastian said. “Were we not supposed to have said any of that?”

“Of course we could,” said Violet. “We specifically mentioned that he never played princess. That makes him manly. You still think him manly, Miss Pursling, do you not?”

“I feel it important to make no comment.” Miss Pursling looked down, but her eyes sparkled.

“You know,” Sebastian said, “I must object to that line of reasoning. It takes supreme confidence in one’s manliness to play princess. Maybe we’ve only made him appear insecure.”

“Maybe,” Violet said all too loudly, “if we don’t mention that, she won’t notice.”

I adore Sebastian and Violet. They would lead an EXCELLENT screwball comedy.

Robert embodies a rare trope, one I enjoy very much (spoiler): the male virgin. Especially in the time period, his reasoning makes a lot of sense:

“I can’t ruin my hand’s reputation,” he said, “or hurt its feelings, or get it with child. It has proved by far the safest option available to me.”

And on the wedding night the theme of expectation vs. reality comes up again. Namely, the marriage consummation goes rather less well than expected, and only once Minnie and Robert start communicating instead of expecting everything to just work out do things get good.

Bottom Line:

Robert tells Minnie, “You are the best choice I have ever made” and tells the newspapers, “Why would I take a conventional wife, when I could have an extraordinary one?” Reading this book could be one of the best choices you ever make. Why would you read a conventional book, when you could read something extraordinary?

Postscript:

In this book, Milan addresses social issues like workers’ rights and hygiene and treatment of animals. I really appreciate it, and it adds depth to the novel, but I don’t think my discussing it would do it justice! Just know that it is an intelligent and deep book for many, many reasons, including this.