Title: Unlocked Series: Turner #1.5
Author: Courtney Milan
Published: May 31, 2011
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 111
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:A perpetual wallflower destined for spinsterhood, Lady Elaine Warren is resigned to her position in society. So when Evan Carlton, the powerful, popular Earl of Westfeld, singles her out upon his return to England, she knows what it means. Her former tormenter is up to his old tricks, and she’s his intended victim. This time, though, the earl is going to discover that wallflowers can fight back.
Evan has come to regret his cruel, callow past. At first, he only wants to make up for past wrongs. But when Elaine throws his initial apology in his face, he finds himself wanting more. And this time, what torments him might be love…
Even in an abbreviated form, Courtney Milan knows what’s up. Unlocked is a truly delightful story about second chances, forgiveness, and absolving for past mistakes. Even a tricky romance like this, between a woman and the man who bullied her mercilessly, comes out all right when written by this author.
Lady Elaine was first introduced in Unveiled as a sort of unlikeable friend to the protagonist, but now in Unlocked, Milan is able to really explore Elaine’s character and bring out her past. Always a bit different, Elaine was proud of herself until Evan Carlton, the Earl of Westfield, began to bully her. The rest of society joined in, until it was the height of fashion to make fun of Elaine, and she began to hate herself so much that suicide seemed like a viable option. Then, after a year, Evan left England, but now a decade later, he comes back and apologizes for how he behaved. Like any smart woman, Elaine doesn’t buy it. Why should she?
Because Unlocked is narrated in dual-perspective from both Elaine and Evan’s points of view, the reader is able to understand Evan’s motivations in this situation as well. In short, he was in love with Elaine and wanted to get her attention but also wanted to keep his love a secret, so he…made fun of her. And then once he realized what he’d done, he ran away rather than facing up to reality and apologizing to Elaine. Basically, everything the reader seems to know about Evan hints that he’s a terrible person.
Except he’s genuinely remorseful and works for a period of several months to prove this to Elaine.
I’ve read another historical romance novel where the protagonist absolutely ruined another person’s life, then disappeared for several years before coming back. The difference in that situation was that the protagonist in the other book never apologized for their actions. Not once. But in Unlocked, Evan apologizes profusely and often, and he also understands that Elaine isn’t obligated to accept his apology or spend any more time with him than she wants. Just because he’s remorseful doesn’t make everything better right away. That’s what I liked about Unlocked. This is a book where a previously awful main character doesn’t just show up and expect his love interest to fly back into his arms, nor does he expect that an apology will solve all of the issues at hand. Evan works to demonstrate his feelings and maturation, and also doesn’t feel entitled to Elaine’s love at the end of it all. He understands the weight of his actions.
I mean, I feel like bully-turned-lover romance isn’t my favorite trope ever because of how inherently problematic it is, but wow, does Courtney Milan know how to do it right. Unlocked may be short, but it carries just as much emotion and impact as any full-length romance novel.
