It’s not often in a romance where I’m more interested in the non-relationship plot, but Ms. Milan continues to prove herself a rockstar of the genre by doing just that. Usually all I want to read is two people coming together and finding their version of happiness (hence why romance novellas are the best), but The Countess Conspiracy proves how a great author can take both a love story and a the main non-romance plot to make something special.
The Countess Conspiracy is the beloved friends to lovers trope this time with Violet, Countess of Cambury, and Sebastian Malheur, “world renowned” geneticist (before such a thing existed). The story sets up with the discovery that the geneticist is actually Violet, and Sebastian has just been covering for her in order for her work to be published and seen. Sebastian tells Violet that he can no longer be her front man as it’s making him very uncomfortable and disliked (this is Victorian England so anything like biological science would be hated on a special level a la Darwin). This sets into motion both Violet coming to terms with who she is, and giving Sebastian the freedom to admit that he has been in love with Violet pretty close to his whole life.
And it gave me too many feelings. As a woman in science reading, even fiction, about women beaten down by the men in the profession for not being good enough hits way too close to home. Hard science is still not a remotely women friendly place, and so many of Violet’s feelings (a combination of knowing she knows more, while at the same time feeling inferior because she is aware that they will not listen) was a constant refrain in my life throughout grad school among myself and my female colleagues. I honestly didn’t particularly care about the love story, because getting to watch Violet get her happy ending (not so much Sebastian, but more scientific acceptance) felt like a triumph. Yes, a fictional triumph, but still. We’ll take any we can get.
This is one I highly recommend. Especially for those who have felt like an outcast in their professions, it’s nice to spend a couple of hours cheering for someone, and they get a complete happily ever after.
This book made me cry, more than once, for several different reasons. Violet – a heroine who I know many found difficult to like, absolutely breaks my heart, with the things she suffers both personally and professionally. Even more heart-breaking was the thought of all those women overlooked, passed over and ignored, who made such a hugely important scientific contribution in days past. In this, and in The Suffragette Scandal the romance feels almost secondary to Milan’s highlighting of the crucial steps taken by women in history to be seen and acknowledged as equals to men, facing all manner of… Read more »
I agree with everything Malin said. Violet just broke my heart. This was the first romance that has ever made me cry.
I think I need to re-read this.
I couldn’t for the review even get into Violet’s personal life. Due to current conditions, let’s just say I went a little sob-crazy reading it. Although I did enjoy that in the epilogue she wasn’t pregnant, that Sebastian did not have a magic dick to fix everything (like other stories I’ve read). Otherwise, as for the science parts, unlike lots of times in real life, I loved that she got a professional happy ending. That’s still pretty rare these days.
I am sure I have said this before, but [whispers] I possibly prefer this one to The Suffragette Scandal, because of everything you said. This one hit close to home and was such a visceral reading experience for me.
This one is definitely my favorite of the series! SS is good, but I love this one more.
(I might love this one more as book and SS more as a romance novel. I don’t know, I’m still working it out.)