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The Countess Conspiracy (The Brothers Sinister Book 3) by [Courtney Milan]

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Courtney Milan

The Countess Conspiracy (The Brothers Sinister Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Courtney Milan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Sebastian Malheur is the most dangerous sort of rake: an educated one. When he's not scandalizing ladies in the bedchamber, he's outraging proper society with his scientific theories. He's desired, reviled, acclaimed, and despised--and he laughs through it all.

Violet Waterfield, the widowed Countess of Cambury, on the other hand, is entirely respectable, and she'd like to stay that way. But Violet has a secret that is beyond ruinous, one that ties her irrevocably to England's most infamous scoundrel: Sebastian's theories aren't his. They're hers.

So when Sebastian threatens to dissolve their years-long conspiracy, she'll do anything to save their partnership...even if it means opening her vulnerable heart to the rake who could destroy it for good.

The Countess Conspiracy is the third full-length historical romance in the Brothers Sinister series. The other books in the Brothers Sinister series are:
½. The Governess Affair (prequel novella)
1. The Duchess War
1½. A Kiss for Midwinter (a companion novella to The Duchess War)
2. The Heiress Effect
3. The Countess Conspiracy
4. The Suffragette Scandal
4½. Talk Sweetly to Me (a companion novella to The Suffragette Scandal)

Length: 250 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $2.99 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English

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About the Author

Courtney Milan's debut novel was published in 2010. Since then, her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist. She's been a New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller, a RITA(R) finalist and an RT Reviewer's Choice nominee for Best First Historical Romance. Her second book was chosen as a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2010. Courtney lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband, a marginally-trained dog, and an attack cat. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN : B00HCP4FNO
Publisher : Courtney Milan (17 December 2013)
Language: : English
File size : 1744 KB
Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 250 pages
Page numbers source ISBN : 1937248305

Best Sellers Rank: 98,654 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 1,858 in Victorian Historical Romance
- 28,218 in Whispersync for Voice
- 93,991 in Kindle eBooks

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rhondda

great

Reviewed in Australia on 19 March 2015

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Great stories loved them all

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Book Gannet

Of Love and Trust and the Power of Belief

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 April 2016

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This book, oh my goodness, this book. It perfectly encapsulated everything I wanted to read, without me ever knowing I needed it. On the surface it seems to tap into a few familiar tropes – opposites attracting between the cheerful Sebastian and the cold Violet, a friends to lovers tale, a rake and a bluestocking – yet there is so much more to it than any of those. Mostly because both Sebastian and Violet are so much more complicated than what they first appear, and their friendship is layered and intricate and beautiful.

When things start Sebastian is on the verge of a breakdown. His brother is terminally ill and he’s sick of being feted for a genius that isn’t his. He doesn’t want to lie to everyone any more, which means he will no longer stand up and present Violet’s scientific findings about inherited traits as his own. A decision that threatens the foundation of their friendship, since the pair of them have been working in secret for five years, growing ever closer without anyone knowing.

Because Sebastian is in love with Violet. Everyone thinks he’s a careless rake, always making people smile, while also a surprising genius, but he’s a different man with Violet. He is clever, much cleverer than he gives himself credit for, but he’s also loving and understanding and has so much faith in Violet when she has none in herself.

As she does in him. For me the romance in this book isn’t about love. These two clearly love each other, even when Violet doesn’t allow herself to show emotion. But it’s their belief in each other that is truly special.

Violet isn’t the sort of heroine that everyone will be able to like. She seems cold and often compares herself to stone. Her marriage was difficult, her husband told her she was worthless, and because she is reserved and socially awkward, she believed him. Yet Sebastian offers her a different way of life. He loves her, but he’s patient. He waits and gives her the confidence to reach out. She finds it so easy to believe in him, and in doing so can’t deny when he believes in her in return. It isn’t the most earth-shattering and showy of romances, but it definitely stirred my heart.

And because this is a Courtney Milan book, and her characters are never run of the mill, there’s also a recognition of the countless hours of work done by female scientists that still, even now, often goes unrecognised. The idea that the work at all was a scandal, and that if a woman had written it, then it was nonsense. It explains so much about Violet, and Sebastian too.

If I had to be picky about anything, I might raise the underlying issue of Violet’s marriage and the way she and Sebastian never really discuss it with regards to their own future. Then again, the emotions involved would never have been easy for Violet to talk about, so I can understand it, and the subplot with his nephew already laid a few foundations for their future life together. But I don’t want to pick at this book, because the feelings it gave me overwhelmed everything else.

I’m a huge Courtney Milan fan and have been ever since her first novella came out, this book not only cemented what I already knew, it shot straight onto my keeper shelf. It’s not light, it’s not fluffy, there’s nothing ordinary or straightforward about it. Instead it’s beautiful and wonderful and the characters are emotionally complicated in ways I found fascinating. I loved it from start to finish, and have no doubt I’ll be reading it again and again.

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Raptureinbooks

Not as good as previous books but still enjoyable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 July 2016

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What happened? Something went wrong with The Countess Conspiracy and I’m not 100% sure what it was that made it go wrong. I’m about 85% sure that it was Violet Waterfield, the remaining 15% though no idea.

The Countess Conspiracy follows the story of Sebastian Malheur and Violet Waterfield – the two remaining members (honorary included) of the Brother’s Sinister. In previous books Sebastian has become reviled by most people due to his “crazed” notions on reproduction of plants and comparing them to Darwinism and proving the theory correct.

He started off as a joker before becoming infinitely more serious as the books progressed and I missed the funny side to him. Unfortunately spends the better part of this book serious and seems to lose himself in his and Violets plot.

Now Violet is my main issue with this book. Throughout I wanted to pull the stick out of her behind and beat her over the head with it. She was stuck-up, prudish, overbearingly annoying, flat out rude and completely beyond any hope.

At about 50% I gave her the benefit of the doubt what with her history with her previous husband and the many many miscarriages but in the next chapter I wanted to beat her over the head to knock some sense into her again. She was awful and insufferable. In the latter pages of the book she redeemed herself most highly but by that time I’d already resigned myself to the fact that this book would get a 3 star review and not a 4.

I found that parts of the book were a little bit Americanised particularly towards the end and it felt a little too modernised at some stages which detracted from the regency part of the genre.

It wasn’t an overly bad instalment just one that I didn’t enjoy nearly as much as the previous ones. There were parts to the story that I didn’t like and the characters I had some issues with (Violet and her sister Lily) being the biggest ones but overall it was alright.

"The only thing worse than an unlovable woman was an unlovable woman who whined about not being loved."

The above is something to do with Violet and her mother’s rules, the only thing was though was that Violet whined – and she whined a lot.

“I know.” He didn’t look away from her. “Isn’t that what I said? Only one of us is in love, and it isn’t you.”

God that quote from Sebastian near broke my heart. I felt so sorry for him – the man’s been in love with her for 16 years and he’s had no chance in hell of getting her.

A final parting quote: "Knitting makes even the most conniving soul look innocent. Her mother had it right. For some reason, butlers rarely suspected that a woman who had started knitting would stop and sneak about a house. Idiocy on their part; they were knitting needles, not shackles."

That is the quote that made me smile. It’s such a misplaced quote for the story but it’s still really good.

Erica

Milan has saved the best for last

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 May 2014

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Well, hasn’t Milan just saved the best for last in the Brothers Sinister series? I adored the prequel novella and really enjoyed the first and second entries, but this… This was something else altogether.
I should say that right from the moment he was introduced in The Duchess War, I adored Sebastian Malheur. Presented as an educated rake who gives lectures on genetic theory, he is one of the most reviled men in the country. Bear in mind that this takes place in a time when Darwin was still alive, so public lectures which include the topic of reproduction are scandalous beyond measure.
Then in this book we find out that things are even worse, because the theories Sebastian defends with such fervour aren’t his at all – they’re all the work of Violet Waterfield, the widowed Countess of Cambury who has also been Sebastian’s closest friend for most of his life. As a woman she would never be taken seriously (even though she tried), so Sebastian has been presenting her work as his, and got famous for it. That he has also been in love with her for most of his life is by the by, especially since Violet is prickly and, by her own admission, difficult and eminently unlovable.
The biggest strength of this book is the depth of Sebastian and Violet’s relationship, which right from the start is shown as going beyond what most friends do for each other. They have their own secret code, they know exactly what the other does or thinks or needs, but for the longest time they never knew or understood that what they needed most was each other. Sebastian never pushed Violet because he knows that her marriage had secrets that she’s never shared with anyone, and they have left their marks on her. When you finally find out what happened it’s profoundly disturbing, and no, it’s not what you might think it is.
As always, Milan has come up with a hero and heroine who defy convention, who are anything but your run-of-the-mill romance couple, and Sebastian especially often surprises with his insight and unexpected reaction. As a man who thrives on making people laugh, it’s heartbreaking to see that no one takes him seriously because of that, even when it should be clear that there is so much more to him than his jokes.
Milan never disappoints, but this book was an absolute beauty and I loved it from start to finish.

kara-karina

Touching, gorgeous story!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 January 2014

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4.5/5 stars

I've been waiting for Violet and Sebastian's story for a long time, and at last Miss Milan delivered! I can honestly say that the dynamics in this book's relationship surprised me.

Usually the man is the aggressor, the pusher, the one who is more detached. In this case it's Violet who is an impregnable fortress and it's Sebastian, who is under his veneer of a scandalous scientist, still a gentle, kind and loving boy who fell in love with Violet at sixteen.

Sebastian is heartbreaking. He is such a wonderful character, - amiable, charming, the person who will make you laugh to put you at ease.

What Violet asks him to do slowly destroys him from the inside because he can't stand when people hate him. The last straw is when his older dying brother refuses to make him a guardian for his son thinking him frivolous and irresponsible. Sebastian decides to change and the biggest thing he can do is to admit that Violet is a genius behind his shocking discoveries on genetics.

This whole book is dedicated to women in science who often hid behind their husbands to force the scientific world accept their work in the past few centuries.

Violet has a brilliant mind, a multifaceted personality and many secrets. She has a formidable mother and selfish sister, so in many ways the only person who understands and supports her is Sebastian. So when he refuses to keep the charade any longer and starts trying to woe her heart, Violet is at loss. She is socially dysfunctional and mentally unprepared to accept that Sebastian's love for her is real even if she secretly desires him.

Oh, this review is such a mess because my feelings towards this book are a mess too! Courtney Milan doesn't write simple historical romances. Ever. There are always so many layers and impossible decisions to make that they leave your brain muddled, but at the same time she is so emotionally rewarding that I recommend her wholeheartedly. Please, read this book, peeps! It's marvelous.

One person found this helpful

Stephanie Burgis Samphire

Intense, emotional and amazing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 December 2013

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I really enjoyed the first two books in the Brothers Sinister series - but this one absolutely blew me away. It's genuinely one of the best romances I've ever read, and I loved every minute of it, even when it made me cry (at two different parts). It would stand alone just fine - you don't need to have read the earlier books to enjoy it - but if you have read the earlier books, it's fun to see the reactions of recurring characters as all of Violet's and Sebastian's secrets finally come out.

Mostly, I just love, love, love both prickly, wounded, wonderful Violet, and sweet, much-smarter-than-he-realizes Sebastian - and their romance together is just beautiful to watch.

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