Another excellent read! Often when I read a novella in a romance series I end up wishing it was a full length novel, but this was that perfect kind which had a story arc that didn't require any more time than it got.
Rose Sweetly is the younger daughter of a black shop owner in London, who moves in with her pregnant older sister Patricia to help while her husband is away. While in Greenwich, she has the opportunity to be a computer (i.e., mathematician) for an astronomer, work she deeply loves. But Stephen Shaughnessy, a known rake and writer, is also in Greenwich, and has developed quite an interest in Rose, even arranging for lessons with Rose to ostensibly learn about astronomy for a character he's writing, but really he just wants to spend time with her.
Part of what I liked so much about this book being a novella rather than a full length novel is that at its heart there's only one major conflict or question, once it's established that Stephen is actually serious in his intentions toward Rose (which he has to be in order to be a likable character). The story comes down to whether Stephen and Rose are willing to deal with the realities of being in a mixed race marriage, and more specifically whether Stephen is ready to be the husband of a black woman and all that will entail, even for an Irishman who is used to poor treatment from the English. It's not a conflict that can reasonably withstand too much equivocation, because either it will be deemed worth it or not, and nothing within the timeframe of the novel can change outside of their relationship to shift their decision. The way it's handled neither minimizes the realities to the point of handwaving, nor does it make you think it's a relationship that's doomed to failure. And the progression of their attraction and love is really lovely, with just the right small and big moments. Milan writes historical romances so well it feels effortless and it makes me wish every book read so well.
Grade: A
Rose Sweetly is the younger daughter of a black shop owner in London, who moves in with her pregnant older sister Patricia to help while her husband is away. While in Greenwich, she has the opportunity to be a computer (i.e., mathematician) for an astronomer, work she deeply loves. But Stephen Shaughnessy, a known rake and writer, is also in Greenwich, and has developed quite an interest in Rose, even arranging for lessons with Rose to ostensibly learn about astronomy for a character he's writing, but really he just wants to spend time with her.
Part of what I liked so much about this book being a novella rather than a full length novel is that at its heart there's only one major conflict or question, once it's established that Stephen is actually serious in his intentions toward Rose (which he has to be in order to be a likable character). The story comes down to whether Stephen and Rose are willing to deal with the realities of being in a mixed race marriage, and more specifically whether Stephen is ready to be the husband of a black woman and all that will entail, even for an Irishman who is used to poor treatment from the English. It's not a conflict that can reasonably withstand too much equivocation, because either it will be deemed worth it or not, and nothing within the timeframe of the novel can change outside of their relationship to shift their decision. The way it's handled neither minimizes the realities to the point of handwaving, nor does it make you think it's a relationship that's doomed to failure. And the progression of their attraction and love is really lovely, with just the right small and big moments. Milan writes historical romances so well it feels effortless and it makes me wish every book read so well.
Grade: A
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