A very solid 4 stars. Not perfect, but Milan does not perfect really well.Milan definitely is tackling different tropes in this series. In this one, the lead characters, especially the male character, is not readily likable. Far from it. Jonas makes you want to throw things at him. Lydia, which we have met in the first book, as well as Jonas btw, is a well, rounded heroine that is despite her journey and the obstacles she had to face and go over. Both characters are brutally honest and kinda refreshing in the settings of a regency romance. Both have something very rare, in this genre, good fathers, good parents. Really. I haven't found a set of fathers that come close to these. They are not especially there a lot but they are not tools for the story, they are a rare breed, secondary characters that are there just a small amount of time but who makes a very important contribution. Your miles may vary on this novella some will find Jonas totally not fit to be there. I on the other hand like the journey that Lydia and Jonas took and enjoyed it. This was a short novella about Lydia, Minnie's best friend, and her relationship with Dr. Jonas Grantham. When Lydia was fifteen, an older man took advantage of her youth and ignorance, and lied and manipulated her into a relationship which ended when she became pregnant. Her parents, despite receiving advice to the contrary, supported her, and when she has an unfortunate miscarriage, they agree to keep the whole thing a secret, so that Lydia may have the same sort of life and marriage she would have expected before.Years later, Lydia is a grown woman, determined to be optimistic and see the bright side of any situation. She also mistrusts her own emotions, especially love, and associates passion with bad decisions. Jonas, one of the doctors who treated her while pregnant, has fallen in love with her after meeting her again years later. Jonas's father is a hoarder in ill-health (Jonas has a strong reaction to this which I'm not quite sure is supposed to be read as mild OCD or not), and Jonas himself is a cynic with a sarcastic, black sense of humor. I really enjoyed this book's emphasis on optimism as an act that takes strength and which is no less mature than pessimism. I also really liked the emphasis on condoms (and other preventive measures) and women having knowledge about sex and their own bodies.
Do You like book A Kiss For Midwinter (2012)?
I'm in love with Courtney Milan's plots and characters!Another one that does not disappoints.
—jimbob
(I may have gone on a small Courtney Milan reading binge right before Christmas.)
—suzonj89
Courtney Milan's work is just always delightful. Always.
—Ember
I loved it. It's so beautiful...just read it.
—Win
