The Countess Conspiracy (CBR7 #19)

In my past reviews of the main novels in Courtney Milan’s Brothers Sinister series I’ve enjoyed talking about the different tropes that Ms. Milan has turned on their heads in this landmark series. In The Duchess War the male protagonist shows the insecurities that one would typically expect in the female protagonist. In The Heiress Effect the ‘damsels in distress’ save themselves. This trend continues in The Countess Conspiracy as the gentleman at the center of the story puts his considerable efforts to work putting forward the career of his lady love.

It’s entirely typical in Romances of all stripes to have the female protagonist work to help further the career aspirations of her love as a way of showing the depth of her affections. In The Countess Conspiracy Milan shows what this looks like from the other side as Sebastian Malheur works to support the scientific work of the woman he loves, Violet Waterfield the widowed Countess of Cambury. Violet, you see, is the foremost scientist in regards to genetics and sexual heredity. It’s also the 1860s, and woman are not to discuss such things, let alone study and publish about them.

With that as the central issue of the book, of Sebastian no longer wanting to act as the public face of Violet’s research, the reader is also treated to the story of Sebastian redeeming himself with his brother and proving his love for Violet is both true and longstanding. While this book hs perhaps less smolder than some of Milan’s other works, it also fits in with the backstory of Violet’s reservations about love in general and sex with Sebastian in specific.

The Countess Conspiracy is not my favorite Brothers Sinister book, (that falls as a tie between The Governess Affair and The Duchess War), but this is another fantastic work in which the author creates multidimensional characters with histories and problems and having them work them out in timelines and methods that are realistic to the time period of the work. Milan also uses her knowledge of the time period to provide continuing social commentary, as we saw in A Kiss for Midwinter and The Heiress Effect. If you aren’t reading this series and this offer I suggest you do so.

This book was read and reviewed (and recommended) as part of the charitable Cannonball Read.