Courtney Milan brings us back to the mythical historical town of Wedgeford in England, a multicultural pocket in Britain, which is actually modeled on a real-life town in America. There are many diverse people living in Wedgeford following the Asian diaspora, and Milan does a great job of making this feel like an expected norm rather than an aberration. THE MARQUIS WHO MUSTN'T is the second book in the Wedgeford Trials series. Although it can easily be written as a standalone, the first book, THE DUKE WHO DIDN'T, was so delightful that I highly recommend you read it too.
Naomi Kwan is half-Chinese and half-Japanese, and 100% adorable. She is determined to take an ambulance class in a nearby town, but her innkeeper parents have put her off for four years! She finally slips away from her family, determined to sign up for the first responders class this year no matter whether her parents approve or not. But the misogynist class organizer tells her that a female, much less an Asian female, needs to have the approval of her parents or a fiancé. Luckily, Naomi has in tow a man her parents sent her to collect from the docks, a man she thinks is a non-English-speaking Mr. Peng. Naomi throws "Mr. Peng" under the bus and claims that he's her fiancé in order to get into the ambulance class.
Little does she know that Mr. Peng is actually Liu Ji Kai, who truly was affianced to her as a child and is a native English speaker. Kai lived in Wedgeford as a child, when his ne'er-do-well father ran a long con on the town and absconded with a bunch of their money. Kai is a master potter and returns to Wedgeford to run his own form of "con." I adore Kai--he's such an upstanding and conscientious man. He tries hard to help Naomi achieve her dreams and see herself clearly, and I love him for it.
Both Naomi and Kai are struggling with their parents' expectations for them, and it's marvelous to see them help each other navigate these issues. While Kai tells Naomi that he is only in town for a short while and will only act as her fake fiancé for the short term, Naomi and Kai slowly and beautifully learn to love and trust each other. The romance is captivating, and the family dynamics provide additional tugs on the heartstrings. The fake engagement and the related mystery of why Kai is really back in town raise the drama.
The release of a new Courtney Milan book is always a cause for rejoicing. THE MARQUIS WHO MUSTN'T is a delight of historical detail, with a diverse cast and an enchanting romance.
Miss Naomi Kwan has long wanted to take ambulance classes so that she can save lives. But when she tries to register, she’s told she needs permission from the man in charge of her. It would be incredibly wrong to claim that the tall, taciturn Chinese nobleman she just met is her fiancé, but Naomi is desperate, and desperate times call for fake engagements. To her unending surprise, Liu Ji Kai goes along with her ruse.
It’s not that Kai is nice. He’s in Wedgeford to practice his family business, and there’s no room for “nice” when you’re out to steal a fortune. It’s not that the engagement is convenient; a fake fiancée winding herself into his life and his heart is suboptimal when he plans to commit fraud and flee the country.
His reason is simple: Kai and Naomi were betrothed as children. He may have disappeared for twenty years, but their engagement isn’t actually fake. It’s the only truth he’s telling.
© 2003-2025 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy