After the Wedding

After the Wedding (2018) Courtney Milan

Set in England in 1867.

This is the second book in the Worth Saga, and is the story of the second Worth sister, Camilla.

Camilla went to live with her uncle because she feared poverty, and the rift this caused with her older sister meant that when her uncle tired of caring for her, she had no one else to which to turn. As such, she’s led a hard life, but never given up hope of finding someone to love her.

He’d told her that she hadn’t earned the right to such care, that the impulse that welled up inside her insisting that she might one day belong somewhere was the devil trying to seduce her.

Despite everything.

Adrian Hunter is the grandson of a duke who disowned his daughter, and an abolitionist. While his four older brothers went to the United State to fight the Great Rebellion, Adrian was deemed too young, and remained in England, working at his family’s business, and keeping lines open with his mother’s family by helping out his uncle.

In private, he’d talked lovingly of Adrian’s mother— his favorite sister, the sister whose loss he still mourned. In private, Adrian had asked why Denmore thought he had lost his sister when she was still alive and willing to speak to him, and had listened to the frank response.

I really didn’t like Adrian’s uncle.

The central story is of course Camilla and Adrian working out how to deal with their forced marriage, but we also get to see how Theresa is doing, and Theresa is wonderful.

Theresa marched up to the clerk at the marriage records desk as if she were not fifteen years of age. She hoped the hat she was wearing made her look older; it was ugly enough.

And even better, there are many delightful secondary characters.

“My husband is out at the pub,” Mrs. Beasley said as she settled near Camilla in a rocking chair. “And the children are grown, so it leaves me with little to do of an evening but knit and plot the demise of my neighbors.”

“My goodness.” Mrs. Martin shut her eyes. “That was an excellent effort. I feel myself wanting to give you money just for that. Dear God, that was good. Sir, you need to let this young lady conduct your fraud. She’s much better at it.”

“We’re not after your money,” Mr. Hunter said in aggrieved tones.

“Speak for yourself,” Camilla snapped. “I’ve been working for half-wages for eighteen months. I’ll take anything.”

“How does one become a person who fights privateers in the first place? I want to fight privateers! It sounds loads better than going into law.”

Captain Hunter turned to spear her brother with another gaze. When he spoke, his words seemed excessively dry. “You make laws that starve them of income, that’s how you fight privateers. If you have to do it with guns, you’ve done it wrong. Stick with law.”

Benedict subsided into confused rejection.

That whole passage is a complete joy.

I will note that the veil (is it a veil) on the cover really bothers me. It just looks weird. Otherwise the cover is fine, but the veil just… I don’t understand it.

So: Great secondary characters, continuing the story started in the first book, more discoveries for the ongoing story. I did actually like Camilla and Adrian, and did very much like how they worked things out, but I did like the other bits just a tiny bit more.

Publisher: Courtney Milan
Rating: 7/10

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