The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

There was a time when I read historical romances as quickly as I could get my hands on them. I loved things that took place in England. There was something about the balls, the magic that seemed to surround the Ton, that really pulled me in. Sadly, in recent years, I found myself reading less and less of those kind books. Now that I’ve read Courtney Milan’s The Heiress Effect, I know I won’t let so much time go by before immersing myself in that world again. In fact, I’ll be keeping an eye out for books that are similar.

When people look at Jane Fairfield, they see an obnoxious, outspoken woman with really bad taste in clothing and jewelry. Society has christened her the “feather heiress”, saying that spending time with her is like being beaten to death by a feather. What they don’t know is that Jane has a reason for her bad behavior and gaudy dress. She doesn’t want to get married, and, as a young woman with a dowry of one-hundred-thousand pounds, she would be an excellent catch. Many men would marry Jane for her money, so she’s determined to make herself as off-putting as she possibly can. You’re probably wondering why, but that’s a secret I cannot reveal. Trust me when I say that Jane has very good, believable reasons for her actions.

Oliver Marshall, the bastard son of a duke, isn’t looking for a wife. Instead, he’s looking to advance his career in Parliament. All his life, Oliver has had to deal with the snobbery of the Ton, and he’s tired of it. He is a man of the working-class. He’s done bowing to the whims of those who consider themselves to be his betters.

Oliver and Jane meet at a social event. Immediately, he senses that Jane is hiding something. He cannot imagine why someone would be as awful as she manages to be on purpose, but he’s pretty sure that’s exactly what she’s doing. He wonders why, and decides to befriend her. At first, he feels sorry for her. He dislikes the snide remarks and mocking laughter directed at her. It reminds him of his time at school, something he rarely thinks of, if he can help it. As you might imagine, Oliver’s feelings change from pity to attraction pretty quickly, even though he tries to staunch them.

Jane isn’t sure why Oliver is paying her so much attention. All she knows is that she wishes he would stop. He could ruin her plans so easily. But, even as she is trying to pull away from him, she finds herself inexorably drawn to his company. He’s genuinely kind to her, and she doesn’t feel the need to pretend to be something she isn’t when she’s with him.

I can’t think of a better narrator for this book than Rosalyn Landor. This was my first Landor narration and it definitely won’t be the last. The fact that she’s British does wonders for the authenticity of The Heiress Effect. Hearing her read made me feel like I was in Cambridge, surrounded by English society.

I found it incredibly easy to tell the various characters apart. Landor is very skilled at varying the pitch and cadence of her voice in order to give each character a unique voice. I especially liked the way she represented Jane and Oliver. When I think of Jane Fairfield, I think of a very intelligent woman, a woman who feels things deeply, and longs for life to be something other than what it is. Landor’s portrayal is exactly that. There’s a certain wistfulness to Jane’s speech, especially when she’s with Oliver that makes her seem more like a real person than a character in a book.

Landor has similar success with her depiction of Oliver. He’s serious and driven. He wants to make things better for his fellow countrymen. When Landor voices him, she speaks in a lower pitch with a certain tone that implies a no-nonsense personality.

When Jane and Oliver are together, Landor allows the listener to see their feelings for one another blossom. I applaud her pacing. She takes her time reading their interactions. It’s as if she wants the listener to hear just how freeing these interactions are to each character.

I was pleased by Landor’s ability to speak in a variety of accents. Not only can she speak in the accent of the upper crust of British society, but her working-class accent is flawless. I also admired her ability to give a spot-on depiction of a young, Indian man who we meet later on in the book.

The Heiress Effect is the second full-length novel in Milan’s Brothers Sinister series with The Duchess War as Book One. I haven’t read it yet, but I didn’t have any trouble following the plot of this particular book. I would say The Heiress Effect does quite well as a stand-alone novel. Of course, if you’ve read The Duchess War, you might have some insights into Oliver and his friends that I didn’t have, and that is definitely not a bad thing.

There were several laugh-out-loud scenes. Landor read them perfectly. She gave just the right amount of inflection to her voice. It was obvious the humor wasn’t lost on her, and, because of her stellar narration, I was able to appreciate the humor too.

This definitely won’t be the last Milan book I read. In fact, the combination of Milan’s writing and Landor’s reading is one I’ll seek out as often as I can.

Shannon

Narration:  A

Book Content:  A

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  Minimal

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher:  Courtney Milan

The Heiress Effect was provided to AudioGals for review by Courtney Milan.