Courtney Milan’s third entry in her Brothers Sinister is The Countess Conspiracy. In this one, Sebastian Malheur, notorious rake and longtime friend of the heroes of the previous two entries in the series, has grown tired of covering for his best friend Violet, Countess of somethingorother. All of the incredible scientific advances he’s made and lectured on, regarding sexuality and inheritance are actually Violet’s. Sebastian isn’t necessarily tired of it because of the threats on his life, but it’s more of an insult to his pride. He can’t stand any longer to be admired for his genius when it isn’t his own. That and he’s been in love with Violet for years.
Violet is naturally devastated when Sebastian decides to discontinue the charade, but encourages her to continue as herself, or find another suitable actor to put in front of the audiences. She can’t believe her days working with Sebastian are going to end and is terrified of what her loved ones will think when they discover she’s been doing such unsuitably un-ladylike things. She also can’t stop squashing her growing feelings for Sebastian; falling in love is not a possibility for Violet. She’s too damaged, too normal looking, and NOT a good candidate for matrimony.
I liked this entry, especially because the heroine isn’t a wallflower. Sebastian is just rakish enough (not quite as delightful as Kleypas’ Sebastian, obvs) to be appealing but devoted enough to not be gross. This is a fun read and MUCH better than Oliver’s story (the 2nd entry).
Being a Sebastian is such a big deal. It’s a lot of pressure and I think Milan did very well by the name. I really liked this book and spent endless hours writing my review, but it is a little lacking on the romance front.