What a book! What a romance! Everything was perfect: the hero was sufficiently gentlemanly and dashing; the heroine was relatable and sweet and strong without having a bleeding heart; the pacing was great, and the stakes were real. Best of all, the plot wasn't driven by a lack of communication, meaning the hero and the heroine actually talked to one another. I wasn't screaming at my kindle and instead got to enjoy the ride and the creativity that sprung from a story helmed by two, sensible and mature leads. No tropes. No tripe. Just good story-telling.

Camilla is part of the notorious Worth family who has descended from lady to underpaid servant. She's married off in a plot to get her away from some powerful people to man who is also getting in the way: Adrian Hunter. The youngest son of five (now two since the other three died in the American Civil War), Adrian feels the pressure of healing what's left of his family. He wants to make up for the loss of his three brothers by convincing his powerful and white bishop of an uncle to accept the black side of the family. To do that, Uncle Bishop has Adrian doing a bunch of crazy errands to "earn" his love. Until those shenanigans end up with him being married at gunpoint to Camilla.

Starved for love, Camilla wants to believe that someone somewhere will care about her. On paper, she sounds like she'd be a pitiful character, but she isn't. She's someone who's faced a lot of trauma but who is very strong as she continues to be hopeful. She's resourceful, romantic, overly trusting, and an overall complex character who is fun to read about. Watching her blossom under Adrian's love and friendship is truly a sweet thing to behold.

And Adrian really does take care of her. If this were an old-fashioned historical romance, the two would've consummated the relationship on their first night as married couple followed by a lot of negging until the hero eventually learns to value his lady. However, Adrian treats Camilla with respect without overwhelming her. He helps her to buy new shoes and clothes without reserving a modiste for the day. He pays for her own room at inns and doesn't impose on her when she comes to stay at his place. Their first, illicit kiss is spicy but never once do you feel like he's taking advantage of her. Nor do you ever feel like she's manipulating him. Adrian is truly a kind man, and he's such a joy to read about on the page.

This is a story of two people learning to believe in their own self-worth, but what makes this a great romance is that they help each other to realize that. Adrian helps Camilla realize she's worthy of love and lemon tarts without sleeping with her (and when they do come together, it's precious). Camilla helps Adrian realize he's worthy of affection and sympathy and helps him through his survivor's guilt. It's a very touching story, but most importantly, it's a wonderful romance built for a modern audience. ( )

The heroine seemed almost comically pitiful in the beginning, but she really grew on me and I was happy and touched by the progress she made. The hero was pretty decent throughout, but did do some growing of his own as well. The story is a little madcap, but I was willing to go along with it. ( )

Courtney Milan never disappoints. In this story we have a woman who should, by society's rights, be celebrated but finds herself beaten down and a man who should, by society's rights, be beaten down but has found a place where he is celebrated. The thing I really loved about this book is the theme of hope that runs through it. The author says in her notes that she struggled with this book until she realized that's what the story was about and it shines in every page. Both characters hold onto it when everything around them tells them they shouldn't and the way they lift each other up when the other one looks like they are about to give up is beautiful.

I keep coming back to her books because the engine that moves the story forward isn't conflicts where one person is being a jerk, or someone is going to try to kill one or both of them near the end, but the inherent desire of the main characters to better their situation and obtain the happiness that they have been told they don't deserve, for whatever reason. This book continues that tradition. There's rarely glittering balls in her books but rather the day to day living in that society and that it feels so real and relatable is a testament to the skills of her craft.

I really identified with Adrian as I'm also a vision person who can't draw worth a damn so it's hard to explain what your area of excellence is. I also felt for Camilla, who is just trying to survive in a harsh world. Their romance is sweet and develops believably, which is really what I want most in a story.

We also get glimpses of the Worth family we met in the first book. I was happy to make their acquaintance again and look forward to seeing where their adventures take them. Hopefully the next book won't take so long! ( )

Two things to note:
1 - I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
2 - I've never read anything before by this author, not even the previous books in this series.

Okay, now on with the review.

After the Wedding is book 2 in The Worth Saga by Courtney Milan. It's about a young woman named Camilla and a young man named Adrian who were forced to marry each other and spend the rest of the book working towards getting an annulment, all the while trying to resist each other to even be eligible for an annulment.

Camilla and Adrian came from seemingly different backgrounds and seemingly different worlds. Adrian, the grandson of a Duke. Camilla, a Lady. But when they meet, neither can claim their place in society. For reasons that will be wonderfully revealed in the book, Adrian is a refreshingly different kind of hero. He has a job to do and a wife wasn't a part of that. Nevertheless, Camilla gets under his skin. Camilla, on the other hand, just wanted someone. Anyone. The idea of a husband, forced or not, wasn't the worst thing in the world to her. These two characters have to work together to achieve a certain goal and develop a special relationship.

Camilla at first was a little annoying. And then she was kind of sad and I ended up feeling a great deal for her. She went through a lot in her life, but despite it all, she had so much hope and could see the good in nearly every circumstance. Despite not having not read the previous book in the series, it was still easy enough to pick up what was happening between Camilla and her family, so I didn't feel lost in the overarching plot. I ended up liking Camilla, but wasn't totally convinced about the romance between Camilla and Adrian. Camilla was desperate for love and affection and seemed to latch on to Adrian's offering of friendship and consider it love. Adrian for awhile seemed to take the "there are worse women to be stuck with" mentality in regards to his "semi-marriage" to Camilla. But in the end, these two seemed to really come to care for each other.

Overall, it was a different kind of historical romance. The "first comes marriage, then comes love" trope is one of my favorites and it was done in a fun way in this book.



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Camilla Worth has spent half her life moving from one household to another hoping that just once she would find someone to love her and being disappointed every time. She can't even marry someone who loves her as she and her sudden husband, Adrian Hunter, are held at gunpoint and forced to wed. As a Black man, Adrian is used to being overlooked and underestimated and when he finds himself wed to Camilla he knows that the parties responsible have no clue what the repercussions will be. As Adrian and Camilla begin to investigate why they were forced to wed in an effort to gain an annulment, they'll uncover a larger plot that will tarnish the reputation of more than one person. However, they'll also discover that while their marriage was forced, the feelings developing them between are all of their own volition.

Definitely don't judge this book by its not so great cover. Milan delivers yet another solid historical romance filled with compelling characters. Both Camilla and Adrian have their own baggage due to their family backgrounds and it is a delight to watch them both grow as individuals while falling in love with each other. Recommended, particularly for readers looking for historical romances with diverse characters. ( )