Review: A Kiss for Midwinter (The Brothers Sinister #1.5) by Courtney Milan

Miss Lydia Charingford is always cheerful, and never more so than at Christmas time. But no matter how hard she smiles, she can't forget the youthful mistake that could have ruined her reputation. Even though the worst of her indiscretion was kept secret, one other person knows the truth of those dark days: the sarcastic Doctor Jonas Grantham. She wants nothing to do with him...or the butterflies that take flight in her stomach every time he looks her way. Jonas Grantham has a secret, too: He's been in love with Lydia for more than a year. This winter, he's determined to conquer her dislike and win her for his own. It all starts with a wager and a kiss...

Lydia met Jonas during the most painful time in her life. She was a teen and pregnant during a time was basically being told by a doctor that her life was over. Jonas was studying to be a doctor and was sitting in on the appointment. The doctor who saw Lydia was horrible, and prescribed a medicine for her to take that was really a poison. Jonas was told to sit, watch and not speak, so he didn’t and it’s haunted him ever since. Lydia went on to miscarry and the whole experience is something that she’s never fully dealt with because other than her parents and Jonas, no one knew and no one can find out. Lydia wasn’t ruined, but she’s convinced that Jonas judges her because of what happened. When their paths cross again years later, Jonas is taken by her and over the next year and half, loves her from afar.

Jonas is very book smart, but is often a bit awkward in social situations. He tries to makes jokes that fall flat, he tries to express his feelings and opinions, but they come out harsh and not at all as he intended. He puts his foot in his mouth around Lydia more than he’d care to and she doesn’t take his declaration of love seriously. He makes a wager with her that involves her going with him on three house calls. He’s convinced that if he can just spend one on one time with her he’ll get a chance to truly express how he feels and he hopes to do it soon.

I loved Jonas – I thought he was charming even when I was cringing at some of the things that came out of his mouth. He’s crazy about Lydia but just isn’t making a good impression. He’s blunt and doesn’t hesitate to talk plainly with her about all things – this led to some of my favorite parts of the story, their discussions hit a wide range of topics that made me laugh. Lydia isn’t able to really see Jonas, the man he is today, but rather she’s focused on him as the student who sat there during the worst time of her life. She’s finally able to grieve for what happened to her because in Jonas, she found someone who already knew her history and she could yell and cry at him until she got it all out. I liked that Jonas was her rock in that sense. Lydia is a tough heroine for Jonas, but he sticks by her and loves her through it all until she’s able to see the real him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella and fell in love with a smarty pants doctor who’s crazy about one woman and does whatever he can to catch her.

Rating: B+

Release Date: December 16, 2012
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*eARC provided by author for review*