Not by Half

The Books

The Viscount Who Loved Me

Author: Julia Quinn

Genre: Romance; Regency Romance

Romance Steam Rating: 3 out of 5 (Full Boil)

POV/Narrator: Limited 3^rd person (Katharine Sheffield and Anthony Bridgerton)

Publisher: Avon Books

Published: December 5, 2000

Number of Pages: 354

London 1814

Viscount Anthony Bridgerton is in search of a wife. His requirements include someone who is attractive, intelligent, and would make a good mother. Most importantly of all, she must be someone with whom he will never fall in love.

Kate Sheffield is not considered a great beauty by Ton society, but that doesn’t bother her. Kate is much more concerned about her sister Edwina’s marriage prospects. When Edwina catches the eye of Viscount Bridgerton, a notorious rake, Kate vows to do everything in her power to thwart the match. However, as the pair continue to spar and sparks begin to fly, Kate begins to wonder if it might be her own heart she’s trying to protect.

Of Manners and Murder

Author: Anastasia Hastings

Genre: Mystery; Historical Fiction; Cozy Mystery; Victorian Era

Romance Steam Rating: 1 out of 5 (Hot Cocoa)

POV/Narrator: 1^st person (Violet Manville, but with occasional chapters from Sephora Manville)

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Published: February 7, 2023

Number of Pages: 304

London 1885

Violet Manville isn’t your typical Victorian society miss. In fact, she’s spent most of her life away from England with her father while he worked for the Foreign Office. After the deaths of her parents and stepmother, Violet and her half-sister Sephora moved in with their eccentric aunt. At least, until Aunt Adelia decided to take an extended journey abroad with her current lover.

Just before leaving for Charing Cross station, Adelia entrusted Violet with a great secret and responsibility. Adelia writes the wildly popular Miss Hermione advice column, or at least she did. For the foreseeable future, Violet will take on the title herself. Adelia assures her niece that she will have no trouble doling out sound advice to anxious readers across England. Violet isn’t so sure. Especially when her very first letter leads to a suspicious death.

The Ties That Bind

Although one is a Regency Era romance and the other is a Victorian Era cozy mystery, both books feature a set of half-sisters in London society.

In The Viscount Who Loved Me, Kate’s father remarried when she was about 3 years old. Her stepmother Mary fully embraced Kate and loved her as if she were her own. As a result, Kate and her half-sister Edwina are very close. Edwina even lets it be known among members of the Ton that she will only marry a man of whom her sister approves. This is particularly unusual because although Edwina is considered a diamond of the first water in her debut season, Kate is seen as a disagreeable spinster.

In Of Manners and Murder, Violet’s mother, Clara, died when Violet was twelve. Her father soon after married a woman named Elizabeth. Elizabeth was much more traditional than Clara and considered Violet to be half-wild and unmanageable. She therefore focused most of her energy on her own daughter Sephora. As a result, Violet and Sephora have vastly different interests and values and are not close at all. However, now that their parents are all dead, the sisters are living together in London while their aunt is travelling abroad. As Sephora’s only nearby living relative, Violet is seen by society as the gatekeeper to Sephora’s time and affection (though Sephora herself does not agree with that sentiment).

In both books the younger half-sister is considered a great beauty with favorable marriage prospects while the older one is generally seen as a spinster. In both cases, the older sister acts as a gatekeeper to the younger one. However, the relationships between the sisters vary greatly. Kate and Edwina are friends and confidants while Violet and Sephora have as little to do with each other as possible.

Side Note: Regency era and Victorian era are two completely different time periods. I get irrationally angry when someone tells me about a “Victorian” book that turns out to be Regency or vice versa. Do you have any random bookish pet peeves like that?