Talk Sweetly to Me (Brothers Sinister, #4.5)

by Courtney Milan

[Heather]

This is a rare historical romance novella set in England that acknowledges that England at that time was not uniformly white. Rose is black. She is staying with her pregnant sister who is about to have her baby while her Naval Officer husband is at sea. They are dealing with the horrible racism of the doctor who is supposed to be helping. At the same time, a once in a lifetime astronomical event is about to take place. Because Rose is just a woman who does the calculation in the lab, she isn't going to be allowed into the prime viewing space to watch it.

When she finds out that she has a suitor who is white, she is unimpressed by his assertions that everything will work out just fine. She knows that he has no idea of the prejudice that they will face as an interracial couple.

This is part of the Brothers Sinister series but it can be read alone. There is great dialogue between the characters. I like these stories because they feature women who know their worth (and it is based on something other than their money or their looks) and men who are actually nice and worth caring about. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story