Is anyone else a fan of Evie Dunmore? She writes historical romance centering around female suffragists, some of whom are also the first women to attend Oxford in the Victorian Era.

I just finished reading the third book in the series, Portrait of a Scotsman, and I thought it was the best one so far. It had a rough start because of the marrying because of scandal trope but, I really enjoyed reading how the characters worked it out! I think the book also touches on a lot of great themes such as suffragists vs. female worker's rights, political art, and how difficult it was to divorce/leave your husband.

Even if you don't like the genre because it's romance or the misogynistic tropes, I think Dunmore avoids the typical pitfalls of historical romance novels. She writes fully formed female characters with agency, ideas, and relatable inner dialogue. Also, there's no forced sex in this book, which I greatly appreciate. I read romance novels just for fun, not to get traumatized. I can't remember the sex scenes in the first 2 books, but I'm 90% sure they don't have forced sex in it either.

Overall, I thought it was a great read that was more serious than I expected. I would reread this book and the 2nd book, A Rogue of One's Own. I didn't enjoy the first book as much but I'm glad I read it so I could understand and enjoy the later books!