Book Light Confessional: Historical Romances & Courtney Milan

You guys, sometimes I just enjoy a good historical romance. (And admittedly I occasionally enjoy the totally worthless and trashy ones too). Historical romances are like junk food for the brain to me: not something I eat too often but just what I need sometimes.

Not that long ago, the marvelous Angie of Angieville introduced me to Courtney Milan’s historical romances via the novella “The Governess Affair.” And after I devoured that little gem, I went to the library and picked up a few of the other Milan books they had, which turned out to be the first two books in the Turner Brothers series. I proceeded to wolf those down as well. So here I am on the other side of a three-book/novella Courtney Milan stint, and these are my general thoughts:

I love that she surprises me. There seems to always be a point in her books where I’ve been enjoying the story so far, but then something a little (or a lot) cliché happens and I start to think, maybe this book won’t be that good after all. But Milan always manages to resolve the cliché situation in a brilliantly not-so-cliché way. Which I thoroughly appreciate. And that bit of doubt that gets proven wrong always seems to make me love the story all the more.

I also love that her characters are emotionally honest. When they realize they care about each other, they consistently show it through their actions, and they don't act or speak in ways that contradict that. Similarly, I like that her characters are respectful to each other even before they necessarily like each other. Not that they don’t argue and make each other mad, but there’s a core of respect, especially on the part of the men, that I really, really like. And speaking of the men, I adore ’em. The women are strong (and hallelujah for that), but it’s the fact that the men don’t seem to be surprised by it that wins me over every time. And not only are they not surprised, they also support the heroines and let them know it’s okay to become even stronger. I love that the men are secure enough in themselves that the strength of the heroines doesn’t cause them to resort to pettiness and pride (that happens all the time in historicals and it makes me grrr).

So yep, new Courtney Milan fan over here. I’m excited to eventually get to her other books and see if what I liked about the three stories I’ve read so far continues to hold true. I certainly hope so.