Unlocked (A Turner Series)

Evan Carlton, Earl of Westfeld, deeply regrets his bullying past and the emotional wounds he inflicted on Lady Elaine Warren. At nineteen, he had been drawn to her vibrant laughter and effervescent personality, but was awkward with his affection, and to get her attention, he needled her, picked on her, pointed out her flaws. His contemporaries, members of a waspish high society, thought him hilarious and fell on her like a pack of wolves, pushing her, embarrassing her, attacking relentlessly.When he realized how far the abuse he started went, he tried to stop it, but he watched in horror as Lady Elaine became more and more reticent, more withdrawn, until she no longer laughed, or smiled, and a chilling disconnected politeness had replaced her effervescence. He left England as a result, and after a decade has finally returned to the soil of his birth, still riddled with guilt for damage he caused a woman he admired...a woman he still loves.For ten years Lady Elaine has kept her spine straight and her back pressed tight against the wall, mingling in society as her family position dictated, but trying to avoid the vicious harpies of the ton as much as possible. Then the source of all her pain steps back into her life after ten years and starts spouting lies shaped like apologies and regret. Believing him would be the height of folly. Trusting him is beyond her capabilities. He can't undo the damage he's done. Ever.Milan's  Unlocked  is the most thorough, comprehensive novella I've read to date. I was amazed by the depth and breadth of the story, and impressed by the intensity of emotion it encompasses. It's not even a terribly long novella, yet the character development was complete, the plot robust, and the romance a sweeping and heart-gripping journey that defies the limiting parameters of its length.Evan's backstory was intense, his emotions genuine, his actions in the past reprehensible but the ammends he tries to make are touching and inspire respect. The wounds Elaine carries are realistic, her actions believable, her frustrations, the scars on her heart and soul ultimately sympathetic. There was so much emotion imbued into these characters and a stunning amount of development given to the journey from pain into forgiveness and love.This very well crafted novella is one of the best I've ever read, and it provides incontrovertible proof that a story doesn't have to be long to be well rounded and completely entertaining. Fans of romance would do well to give this one a try, and as I'm not a particularly large fan of historical romance, I can state with authority that it satisfies even beyond genre preferences. Very well done and a must read.~*~*~*~Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

I have to say I really liked this short story and if you're looking for a very quick read, around 100 pages, it's a nice little pick me up with just enough spice. The premise is fantastic and something most people's insecurities can really relate to. The pacing of the story is perfect and the use of a 9 months later chapter really worked for me from a relationship building standpoint. The only real drawback here is that it took ten years for our hero to grow up and become a man, which, foundationally is a little hard to swallow, but if you can get beyond that, the story is one of the best short historicals I've read.Evan Carlton is back after ten years of self imposed isolation. After a year of mourning, he's forced to enter society as the new Earl of Westfield after the passing of his father. With the support of his cousin and once best pal, Diane, he makes an appearance at a country estate party where he meets up again with Lady Elaine Warren. At 19, he was absolutely smitten with her, but in a childish attempt of getting the 17 year old beauty's attention without embarassing himself amongst his friends, he ended up teasing her instead. The teasing ended up spiraling out of control amongst the ton and instead of being a sought after debutante, Elaine became a laughing stock. When Evan realizes that Elaine is now a 27 year old spinster, he tries to apologize and make amends but Elaine would just as soon trust the devil before him. He's impressed with her fortitude, but more importantly he finds that he's just as attracted to her now as he was ten years ago and this time he's not going to mess things up.The Evan we see in the story is wonderful even though we do get snapshots of his cruelty in the past. Embarassed by his actions that long ago, he ended up leaving in hopes of becoming a better person. The only problem is that it took 10 years to figure out and that is a bit extreme for finding oneself. Since Elaine and her dear mother are constantly ridiculed, I found it hard to believe that a 27 year old spinster would actually attend such festivities any longer, but she does so for the sake of her mother who acted more like an idiot savant than a woman of the times. I also found it hard to believe that she would still be single based on her heart and spirit. She didn't seem the type that would hang on for an aristocratic match and her mother certainly wouldn't be clamoring for it. Still, the story is engaging and the chemistry is excellent. It has all the elements for a great historical romance and is better than a lot of full length historicals I've read.

loved reading it. Good story.

Für eine Novella war die Geschichte wirklich sehr gut, auch wenn ich glaube, dass ein Full-Length-Roman der Geschichte sehr gut getan hätte, da durch die Kürze etwas die Charakterisierung und Glaubwürdigkeit gelitten hat. Mich hat das aber weniger gestört, da ich Kurzgeschichten allgemein mag und es mir dort wichtig ist, dass man schnell mit den Protagonisten mitfiebert und sie einem schnell ans Herz wachsen und das ist hier der Fall. Die Vorgeschichte von Evan und Elaine ist einfach rührend und auch wenn sich Evan kindisch und dumm verhalten hat, so konnte ich ihn doch auch verstehen.10 Jahre vor der Geschichte hatte er sich in Elaine verliebt und wollte ihre Aufmerksamkeit bekommen, ohne das andere merken, dass er sie heimlich liebt und das ganze ist dann ziemlich schief gegangen. Und so stehen die Chancen mehr als schlecht, dass Elaine Evan nun 10 Jahre nachdem er aus England gelohen ist, um seinem Gewissen zu entfliehen, vielleicht doch noch vergeben kann. Einfach toll, genau die Grundstory, die ich bei Historicals liebe und als richtiger Roman wäre die Story bestimmt sehr gut rübergekommen, aber so wirkten manche Handlungen, z.B. was das Vertrauen am Ende angeht, etwas überhastet, um nachvollziehbar realistisch zu sein, aber es ist eine Novella, da ist das in Ordnung, da glaube ich das einfach ohne groß nachzudenken.Einzig Evans Erzählung über seine Bergtour war mir etwas zu langatmig, das hat mich ehrlichgesagt nicht wirklich interessiert.Also für eine Kurzgeschichte super, im Vergleich zu einem richtigen Roman natürlich alles etwas kurz und knapp.Unlocked spielt nach Unveiled und vor Unclaimed und ist den Preis, den man bei Amazon und co. bezahlt auf jedenfall wert. Wer Unveiled gelesen hat und mochte, sollte sich Unlocked nicht entgehen lassen, außer man mag Novellen allgemein nicht

Questo libro nel complesso si legge bene per il fatto che la protagonista riesce grazie all'amore ad uscire dal ruolo poco simpatico di signorina nobile non ancora accasata che vede scorrersi davanti senza grandi prospettive le stagioni mondane londinesi... il difetto è che il protagonista maschile è cambiato troppo poco in dieci anni e cresce troppo in fretta in pochi mesi riuscendo a conquistare una donna chge ormai ha poca fiducia in se stessa... d'accordo che l'amore fa miracoli, ma qui forse il cambio è davvero troppo repentino...

Lady Elaine Warren est une jeune femme tombée en disgrâce en raison d'un homme : Evan Carlton. Lorsqu'elle débuta sa saison à Londres, celui-ci la prit pour cible de ses moqueries et mesquineries et, immédiatement imité par ses pairs, fit d'elle une paria de la Société au point qu'elle ne put jamais se marier.Dix ans plus tard, Evan est de retour à Londres après une longue série de voyages à l'étranger et l'homme a changé : il s'est acquis une conscience et souhaiterait s'excuser auprès d'Elaine pour ses actions du passé. Mais la jeune femme, qui a elle aussi changé, ne l'entend pas de cette façon. Après une décennie de souffrances subies en silence, elle ne compte certainement pas excuser son ancien tortionnaire aussi facilement...Le novella de Courtney Milan est une romance proche de la perfection. Les héros sont attachants et leur histoire est crédible. Il n'y pas d'actions spectaculaires, pas de "méchants" qui planifie d'enlever l'héroïne pour se venger du héros, pas de sentiments qui changent en quelques heures... Leur romance ne se fait pas en quelques jours, le pardon se s'accorde pas sur une seule bonne action. Il faut du temps aux choses et l'auteur a bien compris ce concept.Le style est clair et agréable. Bien qu'au départ réticente à l'idée de lire un novella, je me suis vite rendue compte des points positifs d'une romance plus courte en termes de pages : pas d'action inutile, de descriptifs barbants, de personnages secondaires destinés à étoffer d'intrigue... Et là, je me demande finalement si la plupart des romances que j'ai lues récemment que j'ai trouvé trop classiques, trop prévisibles, trop ennuyeux, voire soporifiques, n'auraient pas gagné en qualité s'ils avaient tenu en une centaine de pages au lieux de trois cents... Car la grande qualité de Unlocked vient de son court format que je redoutais tant au départ. J'imaginais un sentiment d'inachevé à la dernière page, or la centaine de pages suffit largement à développer l'histoire. Je redoutais un style précipité, voire bâclé, or chaque phrase semble réfléchie, voulu, choisie pour au final donner un ensemble logique et fluide. Je pensais que les personnages ne seraient jamais suffisamment développés, or l'auteur nous détaille suffisamment leur pensées, leurs sentiments ou ressentiments, et leur évolution durant la décennie pour que le lecteur les comprenne et les trouve attachants. Au final, Unlocked est une victoire de la qualité sur la quantité.Donc excellent novella de Courtney Milan qui est une découverte pour moi. Je m'attaque dès à présent à un de ces romans, en espérant y retrouver les mêmes qualités.

Ten years ago, nineteen-year-old Evan, Earl of Westfield fell in love with Lady Elaine but didn't know how to make her notice him and didn't want anyone else to know how he felt, so he started to tease her and laugh at her. Unfortunately his jokes caught on with the rest of the ton and soon everyone was making snide remarks and poor Lady Elaine was a laughing stock and had gone from being a fun-loving girl to a self-effacing and very miserable one. Lord Westfield knew he was the cause, but didn't know how to stop what he'd started, so he ran away - he left the country. Now he's back in England still feeling guilty about what happened, especially so when he sees that Lady Elaine is still enduring the same jokes and unkindness that he'd begun all those years ago. He wants to make it up to her and, more, he wants her, but can she ever forgive him and trust him? He has to work very hard at foiling his cousin's attempts to continue to torture Elaine and to persuade her, first to become his friend and, perhaps eventually to feel something more for him.This is a short book - only 100 or so pages - but the characters are well-developed and the hero and heroine's relationship is not in any way forced but seems to progress very naturally. I was a little worried on first reading the blurb that I would find Lady Elaine a bit pathetic but at the same time that it wouldn't be possible to forgive Lord Westfield for his treatment of her in such a short book. However, it is well-written and I was completely absorbed from beginning to end and both the main characters are extremely likable - you are shown that Elaine is much more than just a weak victim and Lord Westfield has matured so much since he originally met her that I found myself on tender-hooks waiting for Elaine to finally be able to forgive and forget. Definitely a book that I'll be keeping and re-reading.