The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan (Brother Sinister #4)
Historical Romance
Released: July 15, 2014
Self Published

Reviewed by May

“I won’t give you the easy answer. It doesn’t exist. Go write the messy, difficult story.”

Courtney Milan is at it again, and she is giving us a glorious entry into her Brothers Sinister series. You do not need to be familiar with the series to enjoy this one, although her last book (The Countess Conspiracy) got an A+ from me and I can’t recommend it enough.

In this book, we find a heroine who is running a women’s newspaper and fighting for rights and shedding light on all kinds of horrors. Things are going to get even harder for her now that a certain gentleman has decided to ruin her life and business. Luckily for her, there is a man who can help – it is his brother who is leading the efforts to ruin her business after all. Our hero’s younger brother- the man who is assuming a title that isn’t his. The man who caused so much of the pain and suffering our hero went through over the last few years with one simple action…

So we have interesting characters and I can go on and on about the skill of Milan’s writing, the loads of reasons I loved it, and so much more. Instead I think I’ll share with you five reasons why you ought to give it a read.

#1: Edward

“I’m dishonorable and disreputable. I lie and I cheat, and I am telling you plainly that you are only a means to an end for me.”

Oh, Edward. Tortured, mixed up, never to be trusted Edward. He has quite the back story and there were details of his life that were so awful, and yet explained so much. His heart has been smashed, his path an impossible one. You want him to find love from page 1.

#2: Free

“Suffragette,” she said, “is pronounced with an exclamation point at the end. Like this: “Huzzah! Suffragettes!”

Her nickname is Free, and that’s how I think of her. She’s a Suffragette running a newspaper by women, for women. Free, sister to one of the brothers sinister and amazingly capable woman is someone you’d want to be friends with. Someone so full of heart, hope, and who focuses on the good she can do through her work. You can’t help but love her.

#3: A great plot.

“You claim that this man trusts you, but you’ve just offered to betray that trust. That tells me you are not trustworthy. I don’t know what you’re about, Mr. Clark, but go about it elsewhere.”

There is a plot. A villain. A lot of work they must do together. She doesn’t trust him and he doesn’t trust himself or anything else. He only knows that here is a woman who is making him see hope. See goodness once again and why he ought to make the most of his own life. Meanwhile things happen and other characters and events support, build, and enrich the love story that remains firmly at the center of this book.

#4: The banter and developing attraction.

“You’re far too strong.”

“Ah, you noticed.” He straightened, brushing his hands off, and gave her a wicked smile. “I’ve done some metalwork. But we can talk about how attractive my muscles are at some time when we are not illicitly entering a building.”

From another man, that casual boast would have been downright disturbing. But Mr. Clark didn’t leer or wink. He didn’t waggle his brows to make sure she’d understood his lewd implications. He simply turned away and studied the room as if he hadn’t been outrageous at all. As if he’d spoken the simple truth.

And maybe he had.

They are immediately drawn to each other, but the trust they develop and love they eventually feel takes time. My favorite thing was how each wanted to support, encourage, and build up the other. Never do they work against each other, rather they compliment and strengthen each other in all the wonderful ways only Milan can write.

#5 Her family

“It would be much easier if you could just beat me into a bloody pulp now.”

Marshall shrugged. “I’m getting old. I never beat a man into a bloody pulp before breakfast anymore. It will do you some good to stew. Come on in and meet my wife.”

From her brother Oliver to his 1/2 brother (the duke) and everyone else in her family, they are a delight to revisit and their contributions to this story helped it sparkle but never did anything to detract from it or steal the spotlight away. These are characters I’ve grown to love through this series and I was especially delighted to see her parents as well as checking in on everyone in general.

There is no equal to Courtney Milan, no other author who writes such intensely beautiful, at times painful historical romances. She writes stories that I can point at and say “here, this is how it should be done.” Novels that should be held up as examples of all that a romance novel can be, books that consume me and leave me unable to read anything else for days. Milan writes books the way I would want them written; while somehow never making them predictable or in a way that I could guess what might happen next.

The Suffragette Scandal is a strong story by itself or as a fitting installment in her current series.

Grade: A

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