Posts By: Rashika

I received this book for free from [author] in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Adrian Hunter has concealed his identity and posed as a servant to assist his powerful uncle. He’s on the verge of obtaining the information he needs when circumstances spiral out of his control. He’s caught alone with a woman he scarcely knows. When they’re discovered in this compromising circumstance, he’s forced to marry her at gunpoint. Luckily, his uncle should be able to obtain an annulment. All Adrian has to do is complete his mission…and not consummate the marriage, no matter how enticing the bride may be.

Lady Camilla Worth has never expected much out of life—not since her father was convicted of treason and she was passed from family to family. A marriage, no matter how unfortunate the circumstances under which it was contracted, should mean stability. It’s unfortunate that her groom doesn’t agree. But Camilla has made the best of worse circumstances. She is determined to make her marriage work. All she has to do is seduce her reluctant husband.

It is no secret that I have been in a pretty big reading slump this month. I’ve mentioned it in a post or two and if you’re a frequent visitor, you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t posted a review in a while. It isn’t that a bad book or a really good one put me in a slump, it is that I haven’t really wanted to pick up a book and just keep on reading it until I finish. When After the Wedding landed in my inbox, I messaged my pal Lisa asking if she wanted to buddy-read since we had both been waiting for this book for what felt like a millenium. We got off to a rough start but soon, I literally couldn’t stop reading and maybe jumped a little past our scheduled reading.

Anyway. So. Yeah. We’ve been waiting for After the Wedding for 2.5 years and honestly, Courtney Milan fucking delivered. This is only the second book in the series, but the more I read (and re-read) the more I can see how meticulously Milan has laid out this saga and how she builds the overarching story. These books start slow, and you best believe they do, but the build up is absolutely worth it. We get introduced to different sets of characters who we slowly fall in love.

Camilla and Adrian are forced to marry at gunpoint. The situation is less than ideal and to get their annulment they need to discredit the Rector and expose the Bishop for all his wrong doings. Over the course of weeks, as they conduct a secret investigation into the wrongdoings of the Bishop, Camilla and Adrian slowly start to fall in love. Obviously. Because they are both amazing human beings.

Yet like all of Courtney’s books there is much larger things at play. Both Adrian and Camilla have strained (or non-existent in the case of Camilla) relationships with their siblings and that’s a bridge they need to mend. There is also a larger conspiracy surrounding the Worth family that doesn’t get as much attention this time around but it is very much still present within the story. Adrian and his extended fam get some page time as well and Adrian gets to come to terms with how toxic his uncle is.

The romance in this novel, like most of Milan’s, is sweet and the angst hits all the right notes. I was eating up every little scene with even the smallest amount of softness and I just really really really enjoyed watching these children’s fall in love.

The plot was just as compelling and honestly, I’ve spent a lot of time since finishing the book extensively scouring Milan’s website and the Q&A at the end of Once Upon a Marquess to figure out when I would get other stories and what would happen. Basically, reading After the Wedding not only reminded me how much of a genius Milan is but also how much fun it can be to read a truly good book that compels you. Of course, the issue also is that I am now going to have to wait till 2030 for book 7 and of course, by then, I will have passed away. But the good thing is that at least waiting for Milan’s books will keep me a reason to STAY AROUND.

So moral of the story is that if you haven’t read a single Courtney Milan, you better fix that and starting with this incredibly compelling series wouldn’t be the worst idea. Of course, you’ll also spend a couple days/weeks moping about the brilliance of Milan’s mind and your need for more so there is that…

4 Hot Espressos