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A review by danielles_reads
Once Upon a Marquess by Courtney Milan
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was the perfect read for me after finishing an anger-inducing 1 star sequel and DNFing a mind-numbingly confusing book. I had such a fun time with this silly book, and I loved the balance between the romance, family antics, and serious plot about treason. Imagine my surprise when I looked at Goodreads afterwards and realized how many people dislike this one 😅
I do agree with the negative reviewers that this is a bit over-the-top silly sometimes, but Rosalyn Landor’s performance is so great that I was more enjoying her different bird accents rather than focusing on the bird roleplay itself lol. It may be a little too ~quirky~ but I think it’s beautiful to be your whole weird self with someone who embraces it and is weird right alongside you.
Anyway, I was surprised by how interested I was in the treason plot. It provided some really interesting forced character growth for the Worth family, with some intriguing tension between Judith and Christian. Since this is a romance novel, I had already assumed thatAnthony was actually alive and well , but knowing that plot element didn’t decrease my enjoyment at all, since that wasn’t the main thing causing the tension.
I really liked all of Judith and Christian’s interactions, as well as their growth separately, with Judith learning to let go of things she can’t control and Christian accepting himself and being honest with himself and others. I loooved the letters they wrote to each other, which were so funny and lovely. Christian was so dedicated to helping Judith no matter how she felt about him (I loved that he’s the reason she has a successful clockmaking business! ), which was so sweet! And I don’t think I’ll ever get over the sexy bread scene 😂😮💨
And honestly it was nice to see how a more typical family deals with daily life compared to the rich land-owning families of the time. Judith dealt with so much stress and it was great to see her be rewarded for it.
I loved Benedict and Theresa, and even though they both felt a bit younger than they were at times, they provided hilarious entertainment within the more serious scenes. But they also had some serious moments too that showed how close they were with Judith, like with Benedict’s experience with school and breaking the plates. And man, all those cats!
Also the ending was so intriguing! I wasn’t planning on continuing in the series right away but I started the next one just after finishing because of that ending!
I do agree with the negative reviewers that this is a bit over-the-top silly sometimes, but Rosalyn Landor’s performance is so great that I was more enjoying her different bird accents rather than focusing on the bird roleplay itself lol. It may be a little too ~quirky~ but I think it’s beautiful to be your whole weird self with someone who embraces it and is weird right alongside you.
Anyway, I was surprised by how interested I was in the treason plot. It provided some really interesting forced character growth for the Worth family, with some intriguing tension between Judith and Christian. Since this is a romance novel, I had already assumed that
I really liked all of Judith and Christian’s interactions, as well as their growth separately, with Judith learning to let go of things she can’t control and Christian accepting himself and being honest with himself and others. I loooved the letters they wrote to each other, which were so funny and lovely. Christian was so dedicated to helping Judith no matter how she felt about him (
And honestly it was nice to see how a more typical family deals with daily life compared to the rich land-owning families of the time. Judith dealt with so much stress and it was great to see her be rewarded for it.
I loved Benedict and Theresa, and even though they both felt a bit younger than they were at times, they provided hilarious entertainment within the more serious scenes. But they also had some serious moments too that showed how close they were with Judith, like with Benedict’s experience with school and breaking the plates. And man, all those cats!
Also the ending was so intriguing! I wasn’t planning on continuing in the series right away but I started the next one just after finishing because of that ending!