The Heiress Effect

Courtney Milan

The Heiress Effect
Courtney Milan
2013

The Summary
"Miss Jane Fairfield can't do anything right.  When she's in company, she always says the wrong thing--and rather too much of it.  No matter how costly they are, her gowns fall on the unfortunate side of fashion.  Even her immense dowry can't save her from being an object of derision.

"And that's precisely what she wants.  She'll do anything, even risk humiliation, if it means she can stay unmarried and keep her sister safe.

"Mr. Oliver Marshall has to do everything right.  He's the bastard son of a duke, raised in humble circumstances--and he intends to give voice and power to the common people.  If he makes one false step, he'll never get the chance to accomplish anything.  He doesn't need to come to the rescue of the wrong woman.  He certainly doesn't need to fall in love with her.  But there's something about the lovely, courageous Jane that he can't resist....even though it could mean the ruin of them both."

The Good
Like Courtney Milan's previous novel, The Heiress Effect is a delightful little romance novel filled with many of the same humorous characters I enjoyed the first time and packed with unconventional heroines.  And, speaking of unconventional heroines, I loved Jane Fairfield precisely for her ability to say and do the wrong things.

Although she's a walking fashion faux pas, Jane is a witty and intelligent young woman.  She's unexpectedly crafty, and she's calculating.  Jane doesn't simply step on everyone's toes because she doesn't know any better; rather, she does it with the knowledge that she will offend.  That's her goal:  to keep everyone at arm's length and protect her sister.

She's startlingly selfless and she's resilient, which makes her a force to be reckoned with.

I liked Oliver, too.

He's smart and, like Jane, he's calculating the repercussions of every step.  He's a quiet observer of human nature; however, rather than using it to offend, he pounces on every opportunity to gain traction for his ideals in Parliament.  More to the point, he's kind to Jane even when the rest of society is openly mocking her--even when she doesn't exactly attempt to be polite to him.

Plus, he makes the attempt to fix his mistakes.  For instance, when he breaks Jane's heart, he doesn't just tell her he loves her; rather, he makes a huge gesture to win her back.  He makes a point of showing her that he loves her more than his career, and he always will.  It's an incident that's guaranteed to give you all the warm and fuzzy feelings.

The Bad
Admittedly, I didn't like The Heiress Effect as much as I liked The Duchess War.  I think I might have been more attached to Robert and Minerva, simply because read their story first; however, I think it might be because this novel was also setting up for the next in the series.

You have a little bit of that in The Duchess War with the introduction of Lydia and Jonas (from A Kiss for Midwinter), but you have more of it in The Heiress Effect with Violet and Sebastian, Emily (Jane's sister), and more.  I found there was a little bit too much going on with this novel, which dimmed the central story a little.

It's still a great book, don't get me wrong, but it's not quite as good as The Duchess War.

The Ugly
The Marquess of Bradenton.