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A review by allthatnas
The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I live for rakes in romance novels so I was most looking forward to Sebastian's book, especially since it came with a best friends to lovers trope. The idea of a male character who makes sure the situation is as comfortable and risk-free as possible (of both social and sexual consequences) for his partners was kind, but I thought it was dealt with in a more matter of fact tone in a Kiss for Midwinter, whereas here it felt just a tad saccharine. I was also somewhat disappointed that Sebastian wasn't more rakish.
I expected this book to be lighter than it turned out to be. It was surprisingly melancholic at times and I'm not sure if I would have liked it less had it been the first story I'd read from this series. You see these characters at a low point in this instalment which made me wonder if perhaps you needed to enter the story with some attachment to them already, because if not, I don't think you'd able to have a fair assessment of who they are from just reading this. At their best, Violet and Sebastian are like partners in crime, but deep down they turn out to be a lonely pair that only feels understood by one another. I think you most prominently see the latter dynamic in this novel. I don't think this book is meant to act as a standalone, which is fine, but they felt unevenly spread out over three novels instead of being chiefly contained to this one, which felt a bit messy.
All 3 books so far have followed a similar story structure where a scandal involving the heroine is in danger of being exposed while the romance brews in secret, but I thought the author juggled the plot and the romance with relative ease in previous novels, but was slightly off balance in this one. That said, these two incite my sympathy with barely any effort and Courtney Milan has no qualms about exploiting my weakness for sad hot messes.
A comic relief character being revealed to be dealing with or hiding serious issues is not a new idea, but what I liked here was that it's Sebastian himself who demands to be seen as more than that. This book also has some top tier tropes you'd want from a best friends to lovers romance, because yeah, of course they have a secret greenhouse no one else knows about.
I expected this book to be lighter than it turned out to be. It was surprisingly melancholic at times and I'm not sure if I would have liked it less had it been the first story I'd read from this series. You see these characters at a low point in this instalment which made me wonder if perhaps you needed to enter the story with some attachment to them already, because if not, I don't think you'd able to have a fair assessment of who they are from just reading this. At their best, Violet and Sebastian are like partners in crime, but deep down they turn out to be a lonely pair that only feels understood by one another. I think you most prominently see the latter dynamic in this novel. I don't think this book is meant to act as a standalone, which is fine, but they felt unevenly spread out over three novels instead of being chiefly contained to this one, which felt a bit messy.
All 3 books so far have followed a similar story structure where a scandal involving the heroine is in danger of being exposed while the romance brews in secret, but I thought the author juggled the plot and the romance with relative ease in previous novels, but was slightly off balance in this one. That said, these two incite my sympathy with barely any effort and Courtney Milan has no qualms about exploiting my weakness for sad hot messes.
A comic relief character being revealed to be dealing with or hiding serious issues is not a new idea, but what I liked here was that it's Sebastian himself who demands to be seen as more than that. This book also has some top tier tropes you'd want from a best friends to lovers romance, because yeah, of course they have a secret greenhouse no one else knows about.