4.5 stars. Oh, I loved this one! Courtney Milan is a hit/miss author for me, but I will always keep reading her books so I don't miss out on gems like this one. The Heiress Effect had two of the most enjoyable characters; both are legitimately born, but sired from fathers other than the ones who claimed them. They each have their own struggle with how they want the world to see them, and their inner conflicts and expectations of others proved to be most entertaining. Jane's character is a wealthy heiress who is trying to avoid marriage at all costs. She concocts a scheme that keeps potential suitors at bay, meanwhile counting the days down until her younger sister comes of age. Once that day happens, she can remove her sister from the horrible guardian/uncle who is experimenting on Emily with odd medical procedures in order to cure her seizures. However, Jane's charade is soon discovered by Oliver, and she is now at risk of being outed so Oliver can obtain an important business connection he needs. I wanted to high-five Jane so many times through this book! I loved, loved, loved her courage, wit, insight and cheeky humor. Not to mention her devotion to protecting her little sister, and at such a big cost to her own reputation. Oliver took a bit more to warm up, but that was because he was well developed as a character who valued his own needs above others for the first part of the book. Jane changed him, made him see things, and that was just part of why I enjoyed this story so much.Emily, the little sister, has a small romance as well. She meets a barrister of Indian decent, which gives us a succulent taste of what such a match might mean back in those days. My only niggle with the story is that I never got the answer to why the Uncle was so damn obsessive over Emily. Maybe I missed it? He acted like he couldn't wait to be rid of her, yet would never give Jane legal guardian ship. Since so much of the story revolves around freeing Emily, I would hope for a better understanding of why the Uncle did what he did.

okay rating modified to 5 stars because when you are reminded of a book/characters at odd/unrelated moments it deserves the highest rating in my books and of course...all the

I have nothing but praise for Courtney Milans books. Her stories are beautifully written, original and thought-provoking, her characters are compelling and her historical research is meticulous.Jane is such a wonderful heroine with her selfless love for her sister and her overwhelming desire to protect Emily even when it means exposing herself to ridicule. I love her self-awareness. She knows how awful she is but uses it to her advantage. Beneath those garish dresses is a smart, determined woman. Talking of dresses, Ms Milans descriptions conjured up the most vivid images. I could just picture Jane in that ghastly creation with the yards of multi-coloured lace. The scene where she politely insults everyone is so funny.She asked Whitting about his studies, and when he made a wry comment about preferring to concentrate his efforts on the study of liquids, she stared at him.How surprising. Her eyes were very round. I had not thought you to have the capacity of intellect to read physics!Sometimes the façade would slip to reveal a lonely woman with dreams and seeing this vulnerable side made me adore Jane even more.I love Ms Milans analogy between the broken little cactus and JaneCan you save it? Jane asked.Its a cactus, the other woman replied absently. They grow in deserts. Theyve evolved to withstand sun and slicing sandstorms. She sounded proud. You can kill a cactus, but it takes a sustained effortconsistent overwatering and the like. This piece of vandalism? She shrugged. This is just an act of propagation.While still remaining true to herself, I love how Jane reshapes her life, channeling all her money and energies in something very close to her heart.Oliver isnt the perfect hero; he has flaws and that, to my mind, makes him far more interesting and all too human. In his determined pursuit of his political ambitions, he has lost sight of who he really is. Once radical and outspoken, along the way he has come to the realisation that the only way forward was to keep quiet until he grew so tall they could no longer shove him down. Now, although he doesnt realise it, he has become a prisoner of his own silence and his journey to finding himself again isnt an easy one; he stumbles and falls along the way but finallywith a great effortwith the effort of a man uprooting everything he had made of himselfOliver put one foot outside into the warm May sunshine.I knew that Jane and Oliver would reach their HEA but it is the journey they have to take and the obstacles they have to overcome that made the romance so satisfying. Ms Milan has a way of drawing you into the hearts and minds of her characters so that you experience every twist and turn of their journey. Its one filled with tenderness, passion, heartbreak and humour and Im sharing some of my favourite moments. They also provide a showcase for Ms Milans brilliant writing.She felt a sense of pure awareness. A frisson. She felt a real live frisson just from looking into his eyes.~~~~I fear it may be contagious, he continued. It is setting all my preternatural urges on edge, whispering that the color must be catching. I feel an uncontrollable urge to run swiftly as far as I can in the other direction, lest my waistcoat fall prey next.~~~~He couldnt change her past. He refused to let go of his future. That left only the present: the warmth of her kiss, that sweet taste of something that might have beenand the bitterness of a love that would not be.~~~~~It was as if their bodies held a conversation that whispered along every nerve ending. All thought vanished. What remained was pure light, engulfing her.~~~~~I dont need that quiet wife. I need you. Someone bold. Someone who wont let me stand back from myself, and who will tell me in no uncertain terms when Ive erred.~~~~~You are probably asking yourself what on earth is a pink (or should I say fuchsine) waistcoat doing in the middle of my review. Well, all I will tell you is that it relates to my favourite moment in the whole book.There are other intriguing threads woven throughout the story. There is a sweet secondary romance between Janes sister, Emily and a young Indian barrister and we meet Free, Olivers youngest sister, a staunch advocate of womens suffrage (The Suffragette Scandal). If you have read The Governess Affair or The Duchess War, you will remember Olivers cousin Sebastian Malheur, a renowned scientist and his friend Violet Waterfield, the widowed Countess of Cambury. I must confess that Sebastians outburst towards the end of the book certainly makes me want to read The Countess Conspiracy.I had to leave Olivers elderly, acrophobic Aunt Freddy until last because her story is so moving. When the secret she has been keeping is revealed, it brought tears to my eyes.If you are a lover of Epilogues like me, Ms Milan delivers a thoroughly heart-warming one and I loved the reference to the little collection of cactus.My Verdict: I can only think of one word to describe this book SUPERB!REVIEW RATING: STELLAR 5 STARThe Brothers Sinister series to date (click on the link below for more details):https://www.goodreads.com/series/7472...