The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan

Miss Jane Fairfield has four hundred eighty days until her sister reaches her majority and she can free her from her guardian.  However, during those days she must find a way to ward off any suitors after her one hundred thousand pound dowry because if she marries before her sister is old enough, her sister could be lost forever.  Her solution is simple, be dreadful at all times.  Dress flamboyantly.  Say the wrong things to important people and make them uncomfortable so they stay away yet do not completely shun her due to her wealth.  One man sees through her ruse though.  Mr. Oliver Marshall finds the bold Jane intriguing and finds himself drawn to her even though she is far from what he needs in his life as he tries to achieve success in Parliament.  Yet when he is asked to teach her a sharp lesson, he finds himself wavering but maybe not quite enough.  Will Oliver find the courage to keep Jane, just as she is, or will he push her away?

Everytime I start a new Courtney Milan story, I know I am in for a emotional, layered tale.  Each piece fits and builds to the next and you slowly savor it as you go.  The romance of Jane and Oliver is slow, built upon friendship first and put to the test due to Oliver's ambitions.  I really adored Jane and how she is ignorant on purpose.  Her clothing choices were a delight and created a vivid blur in my mind.  Jane is bold, stubborn and her uncle, her sisters guardian, feels she is a bad influence due to her birth and having to be dreadful and find a way to protect her sister from her uncles attempts to cure her seizures, weary.  Jane forces Oliver to not stand back and be walked over due to his upbringing.  He has felt out of place due to having a duke for a father (on the wrong side of the blanket) and being accepted by his half brother and being raised by his working class father.  He rarely tells the whole truth to people as a result and Jane lets him do this.  Together they fit yet they shouldn't.  Jane is wrong for where he wants to go in the world but he needs her to be himself.  There is a secondary romance between Jane's sister and a wonderful suitor that I almost wished would have been a whole story in and of itself but it just added another layer to shaping Jane and Oliver.  This is another winner from an author I think is tops for the historical genre.  True love finding a place between an unlikely, yet perfectly fit, couple who need to accept themselves with subtle humor, a dash of heat and a promise to make you smile.  4 1/2 stars

Review copy provided by the author via netgalley.com

The Brothers Sinister series
Best enjoyed in order but this one could be read as a standalone

                                                                                             Late 2013             2014