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A review by jackiehorne
Once Upon a Marquess by Courtney Milan
3.0
A new historical series by Milan gets off to an interesting, but not entirely successful beginning. Judith, our long-suffering heroine, has been gallantly holding her family together after her father and eldest brother were convicted of treason for what we later in the novel find out is giving military information to the Chinese during the Opium Wars. Judith's first love, the titular Marquess, Christian Trent, was involved with uncovering the treason (why, I wasn't ever quite sure of, giving how young he was at the time, and how most of the ton seemed to regard him with suspicion because of his odd behavior; perhaps they will be revealed in later novels in the series). Judith broke with Christian, in spite of his offer of marriage after her father's suicide and her brother's transportation.
But now Judith needs Christian because some money she's sent to a lawyer, money intended for her estranged sister who is living with an uncle, has somehow gone astray. Not sure why Judith found this predicament enough to contact Christian for his help, when she wouldn't accept his help after the treason (plot contrivance?). The two discover that said estranged sister has not in fact been living with her uncle, and Christian spends much of the novel chasing missing sister down, without much success.
In fact, the plot here (beyond the romance arc) consists primarily of set-up for future novels: the missing sister; the traitorous brother (whom all thought drowned, but is revealed late in the novel to still be alive); odd younger sister; younger brother tormented at school for being related to traitors.
What's left is the romance plot, which is compelling: two young lovers split apart by their differing commitments to justice and family loyalty who come together again 8 years later only to discover their feelings of betrayal haven't entirely eliminated their feelings of love. Writing intense, emotional scenes between her lovers is Milan's strength, and she does it here to good effect. But the novel spends much of its time showcasing Judith and Christian flirting and word-playing their way back to one another, and at times, the cleverness slipped into unintelligibility; I had to stop more than a few times and reread, just to try and get the joke. Not what you want to have happening when you're deep in the emotions of the characters....
Judith as a character is interesting, but not very active for a Milan heroine. She has an unconventional job, but its not central to the story, or even something we see her doing. Not my favorite Milan heroine.
I liked Christian better, even if I didn't always understand him. He suffered from nightmares as a child, which has had a huge impact on his later life. He's also an unconventional smart-ass, a pretty unusual character for a Victorian aristocrat. I didn't really get until the end of the novel that Christian, which made his motivation in his interactions with his family members hard to understand, and the reconciliation at novel's end far less impactful.
The black moment scene was pretty lame for a Milan novel, no doubt why the reconciliation scene followed almost immediately after, with little in the way of drawn-out torment for either lover.
All in all, a mixed bag. Here's hoping future books in the series come together better than this one does.
But now Judith needs Christian because some money she's sent to a lawyer, money intended for her estranged sister who is living with an uncle, has somehow gone astray. Not sure why Judith found this predicament enough to contact Christian for his help, when she wouldn't accept his help after the treason (plot contrivance?). The two discover that said estranged sister has not in fact been living with her uncle, and Christian spends much of the novel chasing missing sister down, without much success.
In fact, the plot here (beyond the romance arc) consists primarily of set-up for future novels: the missing sister; the traitorous brother (whom all thought drowned, but is revealed late in the novel to still be alive); odd younger sister; younger brother tormented at school for being related to traitors.
What's left is the romance plot, which is compelling: two young lovers split apart by their differing commitments to justice and family loyalty who come together again 8 years later only to discover their feelings of betrayal haven't entirely eliminated their feelings of love. Writing intense, emotional scenes between her lovers is Milan's strength, and she does it here to good effect. But the novel spends much of its time showcasing Judith and Christian flirting and word-playing their way back to one another, and at times, the cleverness slipped into unintelligibility; I had to stop more than a few times and reread, just to try and get the joke. Not what you want to have happening when you're deep in the emotions of the characters....
Judith as a character is interesting, but not very active for a Milan heroine. She has an unconventional job, but its not central to the story, or even something we see her doing. Not my favorite Milan heroine.
I liked Christian better, even if I didn't always understand him. He suffered from nightmares as a child, which has had a huge impact on his later life. He's also an unconventional smart-ass, a pretty unusual character for a Victorian aristocrat. I didn't really get until the end of the novel that Christian
Spoiler
was not telling his mother about his opium addition because he didn't want her to feel guilty for starting him down the drug path by giving him laudanum for his nightmares when he was a childThe black moment scene was pretty lame for a Milan novel, no doubt why the reconciliation scene followed almost immediately after, with little in the way of drawn-out torment for either lover.
All in all, a mixed bag. Here's hoping future books in the series come together better than this one does.