The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan [Review]

The Heiress Effect (Brothers Sinister #2) by Courtney Milan
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: March 29, 2014

Brothers Sinister
0.5. The Governess Affair
1. The Duchess War
1.5. A Kiss for Midwinter
2. The Heiress Effect - Paperback | Kindle
3. The Countess Conspiracy
4. The Suffragette Scandal
4.5. Talk Sweetly to Me

Courtney Milan
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Synopsis (Goodreads):

Miss Jane Fairfield can’t do anything right. When she’s in company, she always says the wrong thing—and rather too much of it. No matter how costly they are, her gowns fall on the unfortunate side of fashion. Even her immense dowry can’t save her from being an object of derision.

And that’s precisely what she wants. She’ll do anything, even risk humiliation, if it means she can stay unmarried and keep her sister safe.

Mr. Oliver Marshall has to do everything right. He’s the bastard son of a duke, raised in humble circumstances—and he intends to give voice and power to the common people. If he makes one false step, he’ll never get the chance to accomplish anything. He doesn’t need to come to the rescue of the wrong woman. He certainly doesn’t need to fall in love with her. But there’s something about the lovely, courageous Jane that he can’t resist…even though it could mean the ruin of them both.

Thoughts on The Heiress Effect: Flat out, Courtney Milan writes characters and situations that simply flay me. Jane's acceptance over her shortcomings is heartbreaking. The way Oliver quietly shoves his wants and desires down because he believes it's the only way to achieve what he craves made me go all wibbly.

Both Jane and Oliver are flawed and those flaws makes them perfect for one another. Once they get past the front they both project to those around them, that is.

This is one book where I can't say that one of the characters got to me more than the other. They both had issues they had to work around. Jane's family situation was terrible. Her sister's guardian isn't a *bad* man, exactly. In some ways, that made Jane's situation even harder to take. If he'd been evil or malicious in his actions, it would have been easy to hate him. Instead, he's trying to do what he feels is right. It's just that his right causes more damage than good.

Meanwhile, what Oliver is asked to do just hurt. Given what was on the line, I can understand why he considered it. It was easy to see how easily it would be to cross that line the first time. And once you've crossed it, it becomes easier and easier to do it again.

I really, really enjoy Courtney Milan's books. She creates characters that shine in their imperfections and I am so smitten with them. This book? Wonderful!