This book is actually the final book in The Brothers Sinister series, which The Governess Affair and The Duchess War start. While I am definitely planning on going back and reading the books that go between The Duchess War and this one once I've finished this project, I didn't have any trouble following the plot or the emotional arc. I also think that there are a number of parallels between the two books that were probably more heightened by reading them back to back, which I enjoyed.
The character with the secret past in this book is Edward Clark, who was once Edward Delacey, the next Viscount Claridge. He was disavowed by his family during the Seige of Strasbourg and presumed dead, and now his younger brother James is set to inherit the title. Edward has no interest in claiming the title, but he comes back to England to prevent his brother from causing problems for Edward's childhood friend. Those efforts throw him into the path of Federica Marshall, the titular suffragette.
Federica, or Free as she's known, is an absolute delight of a character. She runs a newspaper that's for women and by women, and she is completely unintimidated by a scoundrel like Edward. That doesn't means she's not attracted to him, and her willingness to acknowledge such attraction completely disarms Edward. She is so fantastic, a character who is grounded in the realities of 19th century England while demonstrating exactly what women were doing to agitate and win the vote and the painstaking effort involved in achieving incremental victories. It isn't a fantasy, but it is inspirational, and doggedly optimistic, and I just loved her and their relationship so much. She made me want to go out there and do something and make some noise. A wonderful read, start to finish.
Grade: A
The character with the secret past in this book is Edward Clark, who was once Edward Delacey, the next Viscount Claridge. He was disavowed by his family during the Seige of Strasbourg and presumed dead, and now his younger brother James is set to inherit the title. Edward has no interest in claiming the title, but he comes back to England to prevent his brother from causing problems for Edward's childhood friend. Those efforts throw him into the path of Federica Marshall, the titular suffragette.
Federica, or Free as she's known, is an absolute delight of a character. She runs a newspaper that's for women and by women, and she is completely unintimidated by a scoundrel like Edward. That doesn't means she's not attracted to him, and her willingness to acknowledge such attraction completely disarms Edward. She is so fantastic, a character who is grounded in the realities of 19th century England while demonstrating exactly what women were doing to agitate and win the vote and the painstaking effort involved in achieving incremental victories. It isn't a fantasy, but it is inspirational, and doggedly optimistic, and I just loved her and their relationship so much. She made me want to go out there and do something and make some noise. A wonderful read, start to finish.
Grade: A
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