{"id":5677,"date":"2016-02-23T19:54:37","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T00:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=5677"},"modified":"2022-08-25T20:49:52","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T00:49:52","slug":"once-upon-a-marquess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5677","title":{"rendered":"Once Upon a Marquess"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once Upon a Marquess<\/a><\/em> (2015) Courtney Milan<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Once-Upon-a-Marquess\"<\/a>Set in London in 1866<\/p>\n

Judith Worth has been holding her siblings together as best she can, after there family was ruined by Christian Trent, the Marquess of Ashford. Except that Christian didn’t set out to ruin anyone, he just needed to do what was right.<\/p>\n

One thing I particularly like about Courtney Milan’s characters is that they are often atypical. Christian would today have a tidy mental diagnosis, but in the 19th century, such behaviors were usually hidden by families, seen as scandals.<\/p>\n

Demolition, then division: He\u2019d separated the bits first by size, and when that seemed unsatisfying on some gut level, by deviation from roundness. <\/p>\n

Then, he\u2019d very carefully started eating\u2014 from the most irregularly shaped crumb toward the most symmetrical. <\/p>\n

He was almost finished with the infuriatingly oblong bits when Judith came in.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The same goes for Judith’s sister Theresa (and we slowly learn the many sacrifices that Judith has because of and for Theresa).<\/p>\n

There is so very much I like about her writing, especially the life lessons that are seemingly dropped at random.<\/p>\n

People get upset for good reasons. Trying to cheer them up denies what is happening to them.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it doesn\u2019t.\u201d Christian set a hand on the seat between them. \u201cIt\u2019s a way of recognizing their very legitimate feelings of distress and wishing that person well. You cannot reasonably think that it\u2019s cruel to hope that an unhappy person will feel better.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And so many parts are just plain funny.<\/p>\n

You know how gossip is. Go to a few parties. Dance with a few young ladies.\u201d She shrugged. \u201cMarry one of them, and nobody will ever speak ill of you again.\u201d <\/p>\n

Christian couldn\u2019t help himself. He burst into laughter. Well, at least he\u2019d tried to be serious. \u201cGo to a few parties. Dance a few dances. Commit yourself in a public, binding ceremony to another person for the rest of your life. One of these things is rather different in scope than the others, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe represent the British Empire,\u201d Christian said, watching her. \u201cEmbroiling ourselves in conflicts where we do not belong is our imperial business.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interestingly, although this being a romance, I knew the main characters were going to work things out, but I had a very difficult time seeing how things were going to work out, so she did a good job keeping me guessing.<\/p>\n

Especially since nothing turned out as I was expecting.<\/p>\n

One thing, however, I did not like was that they story–the Epilogue, specifically “After the Epilogue” is a giant cliff hanger. I suppose that it was a cleaner ending than leaving that bit unresolved, but I didn’t like it. I prefer things to be vaguely unresolved with a hope of resolution in the future than a cliffhanger.<\/p>\n

But aside from that, it was an enjoyable story.
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Courtney Milan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once Upon a Marquess (2015) Courtney Milan Set in London in 1866 Judith Worth has been holding her siblings together as best she can, after there family was ruined by Christian Trent, the Marquess of Ashford. Except that Christian didn’t set out to ruin anyone, he just needed to do what was right. One thing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,30,33,26,56],"tags":[403,50,128,535,557],"class_list":["post-5677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-british","category-historical","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-addiction","tag-boinking","tag-courtney-milan","tag-neurodiversity","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-1tz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9229,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9229","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":0},"title":"Once Upon a Marquess","author":"Michelle","date":"August 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Once Upon a Marquess (2015) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1866. Judith Worth has been raising her brother and sister since her father and eldest brother were convicted of treason. Since that conviction cost them their fortune, it has been a struggle--especially since they didn't know how to do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Once-Upon-a-Marquess.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9231,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9231","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":1},"title":"Her Every Wish","author":"Michelle","date":"August 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Her Every Wish (2016) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1866 This is a novella in the Worth Saga, and follows after Once Upon a Marquess. Daisy Whitlaw is struggling to keep herself and her mother housed and fed. Everyone tells her to let her mother go, that she can't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Her-Every-Wish.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5726,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5726","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":2},"title":"Proof by Seduction","author":"Michelle","date":"March 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Proof by Seduction (2010) Courtney Milan Set in London in April 1838 Jenny Keeble has set herself up as a fortuneteller, and has done well for herself, until Gareth Carhart, Marquess of Blakely shows up with his cousin Ned. Blakely believes in nothing that he cannot see and touch. And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"Proof-by-Seduction","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Proof-by-Seduction.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24333,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24333","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":3},"title":"The Heiress Effect","author":"Michelle","date":"March 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Heiress Effect (2013) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #2) Set in Cambridgeshire, England, 1867 She asked Whitting about his studies, and when he made a wry comment about preferring to concentrate his efforts on the study of liquids, she stared at him. \u201cHow surprising.\u201d Her eyes were very round. \u201cI\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Heiress Effect","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/The-Heiress-Effect.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11139,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11139","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":4},"title":"Unmasked by the Marquess","author":"Michelle","date":"October 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Unmasked by the Marquess (2018) Cat Sebastian (Regency Imposters) Set in Regency England, mostly London. Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke has been struggling to rebuild his fortunes after his father left the estates in ruin, spending much of his money on his mistress and the children he had with said mistress.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Unmasked-by-the-Marquess.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25476,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25476","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":5},"title":"Nearly a Lady","author":"Michelle","date":"October 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Nearly a Lady (2011) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family #1) \"He needs something to do. Something to accomplish.\u201d Something, the marquess thought, that might lighten the shadows his brother attempted to hide behind a cheerful wit and careless smile. Being knocked unconscious by two small women was a degree better than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nearly a Lady","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/nearly-a-lady-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5677\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}