A review by heydebigale
The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An epistolary romance told through telegraphs and code?! Amazing. Iconic. I loved it!!
Amelia is a Chinese woman who was taken in (as a 6 year old) by British missionaries during the Taiping Rebellion.
Grayson is a telegraph company owner who is attempting to connect the telegraph line from China to San Francisco.
Grayson hires Amelia to come up with a way to encode Chinese characters for the telegraph system. The two build a friendship and then fall in love through telegraphs and it is SO sweet. This book was incredibly unique because many romance novels have the two characters together for most of the book. This book spans a few years and the two MCs are only together for a fraction of that time.
It’s amazing how so many of the issues folks dealt with in the 19th century are still a problem today. Sustainable technology and adoption are both focused on in this book and both are so relevant today.
I love all of Courtney Milan’s books but this one is particularly special. Highly highly recommend.
Notes: primarily takes place in Fuzhou & Shanghai, China. Also on Grayson’s ship in the pacific. Amelia is Chinese raised by British missionaries and Grayson is a Black American.
Amelia is a Chinese woman who was taken in (as a 6 year old) by British missionaries during the Taiping Rebellion.
Grayson is a telegraph company owner who is attempting to connect the telegraph line from China to San Francisco.
Grayson hires Amelia to come up with a way to encode Chinese characters for the telegraph system. The two build a friendship and then fall in love through telegraphs and it is SO sweet. This book was incredibly unique because many romance novels have the two characters together for most of the book. This book spans a few years and the two MCs are only together for a fraction of that time.
It’s amazing how so many of the issues folks dealt with in the 19th century are still a problem today. Sustainable technology and adoption are both focused on in this book and both are so relevant today.
I love all of Courtney Milan’s books but this one is particularly special. Highly highly recommend.
Notes: primarily takes place in Fuzhou & Shanghai, China. Also on Grayson’s ship in the pacific. Amelia is Chinese raised by British missionaries and Grayson is a Black American.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Kidnapping, and Abandonment