After reading Unlocked and {book: Proof by Seduction], I was really excited to start on another by Milan which had a promising blurb. Perhaps my expectations were a tad too high but for me, this book just didn't cut it. 
 The story was about 2 lonely people in the world, two people who understands what humiliation really is and how bad it can get sometimes. Both coincidentally support Workers' Rights under and welcome radical change in the Parliament. Minnie is being suspected of distributing illegal handbills and is privately investigated by a Captain who has nothing better to do. Nothing is further from the truth - Duke Robert is the culprit of the supposed "criminal sedition". But Minnie has her own reasons for staying under the radar, even if she is innocent - so she confronts Robert and threatens to expose Robert and - I am not sure what Robert threatens, actually. Robert just enjoys her company, even this confrontational. Come to think of it, I am not sure how or when Minnie finds out that he is the writer of the handbills in the first place. Well, there you have it. Despite the few logic leaps (or the lack of significant, step-by-step instructions for the dumber of Milan's readers), that's the gist of the story. 
 What I was hoping for was more battle-crying and love-you-hate-you, which sadly was not at all the case here. Hard to be grinning sadistically when one of the war parties kinda gives in from the beginning, making the other party look like a stubborn, devil-of-a-Hitler. Furthermore, I couldn't really like Minnie; I couldn't really connect with her. While I pity her silly for her shitty past, I really do - I sometimes wished I could throttle her, for the way she treats the people who love her most - and that's not just Robert. While I loved her aptitude for chess ("Some one sign me up for Chess 101!!!!") and her quite confidence, wallflower or no - I found her supposed "cunning" abilities, her abilities to strategise, etc., all of it was just bark and no bite. While the dialogue between her and Robert was pretty good, I found that there was too little action to complement the promises that both of them made, making the conversation ring hollow. Here I was expecting to be wowed by strategy and a little harmless back-stabbing and out-maneuvering -- and I found myself PMS-ing for not getting any of that. Lastly, I find both Robert and Minnie really weird for a couple that supposedly love each other madly. They sure have a way of expressing themselves, that is for sure. While I couldn't blame either of them for the excuse they gave themselves and each other for their betrayals ("Holy $)*@, so that is where all the backstabbing went!"), I really believed that both had a right to be mad at the other for the lack of communication, if not for anything else. The fact that they both weren't ... well in any case, I was bloody pissed for both of them, and since I usually read for entertainment, I was bloody heck not amused. 
 What I really liked about the book were the issues that surfaced in this novel - rights, and the discrimination that arises due to the peerage. I think Milan dealt with them really well, with her lovely writing style and her depth of thought. That was what really saved the book for me. 
 I have to say that in the beginning, I was very much ready to end it. I was glad I persisted, and the last few chapters saved the read for me a bit, though the damage was kinda already done. On the whole, it was a good read, but I am definitely sure that Milan could have done better.