On Justice: A Review of Unraveled by Courtney Milan

With Unraveled, we come to the end of Courtney Milan's very enjoyable Turner trilogy. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If your a historical romance fan, you need to try these books.

The hero of Unraveled is Smite, the middle Turner brother. Smite is a magistrate (more or less a judge) who believes in justice above all things. When Miranda walks into his courtroom with the obvious intention of lying to him, Smite is naturally infuriated. Then, as circumstances force him to get to know her better, Smite realizes that he desires Miranda--both her body and her companionship--as he has never experienced before. Since Miranda is in dire financial straights and some trouble besides, Smite proposes an efficient solution--that she serve as his mistress for one month.

Positive Comments:

Milan has a talent for writing characters that are brilliantly unique, but still feel like real people. Everything about Smite, from his rough childhood to his self-isolating existence, became real to me as I read this book. I liked Miranda as well. While not quite as vivid a character, she still seemed like a person that I would want to be friends with. All of the Turners give that impression--they're just a little odd, they barely fit into society, but they're basically decent people. In fact, they're probably better people than most of the "regular" people around them.

The relationship between Miranda and Smite is very romantic, while still being grounded in grim reality. Their love doesn't fix everything. It doesn't, for example, heal Smite of all the darkness in his soul left over from living with an insane mother and then being homeless. He still has nightmares and things that trigger bad memories and panic attacks. Miranda accepts all of this and just goes with the flow. To me, that's beautiful.

I liked the way this book presented and explored the concepts of crime and justice. Those aren't themes that I'm used to seeing in an historical romance, so it was nice to visit some new ideas. You get the intellectual side of things--where Smite argues with himself about his duty and what it means to serve justice. You also get the practical, action driven side, which is the source of the book's climax. It's a good balance, and it definitely kept my brain engaged in the story.

Critical Comments

Anything negative that I can come up with about this book is going to sound like nitpicking, so forgive me. I'll keep it brief.

I was just a touch taken aback by how readily Miranda agreed to the mistress deal. But, to be fair, she had plenty of motivation to agree. Not only did she need Smite's money and assistance, she was also attracted to him in any case, and she admitted that she likes living on the edge. So it's not out of character. I just didn't expect it.

With Mark's book, I complained that Mark was almost too understanding of Jessica's flaws and mistakes. Same goes here, with Smite. Given his values, he was almost too ready to shrug off the many things Miranda had done to get by throughout her life.

Finally, the justice/vigilante portion of the plot is, perhaps, a little distracting. Again, I liked it. But, if you like your romance novels to be all about the romance, you might find this boring or annoying.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. Read it by itself, read it as part of the trilogy, it really doesn't matter. This is top quality historical romance. 4.5 stars.

Miscellaneous Monday: What Makes a Hero?

Welcome to the first Misc. Monday of 2012! Last week I asked everyone what they thought the most important trait for a hero is. The most common response was, surprisingly, "Intelligence". We like our men smart!

So, lacking any TV or movies or other junk to talk about, I'm dedicating today's post to all of the great book heroes that I've discovered (so far). I read female centered books, so I think I tend to focus on the female characters in my reviews. This post is the guys' time to shine. So, without further ado, my Top Seven Heroes (in no particular order).

Ethan Quinn from Rising Tides by Nora Roberts. If I'm going to talk about awesome heroes, I obviously have to include the Quinn men (see my snippet reviews for more information). I chose Ethan in particular, though, because he's such a quiet, gentle soul. One would be tempted to call him a Beta male, but I don't think the term quite fits. He's dependable, loving, and great daddy material. He's got a dark, tear-jerker of a past. For those of you who love nice guys in contemporaries, Ethan is for you.

Curran from the Kate Daniel's books by Ilona Andrews. Curran makes it onto the list for being a genuinely scary dude who I would not want to piss off...who is still genuinely likeable. If you like alpha males, he's it. This is as alpha-like as they get. He's a tough, smart, loyal bad-ass who's carried Kate out of more than one burning building--and who wouldn't want a guy to do that for her? He's the leader of the Pack--basically all of the shape-shifters--which equals a ton of power. What really won me over to him, though, was when he tells Kate that he would ditch the Pack and let them all go hang if she asked him to. What a prince!

Vishous from the Black Dagger Brotherhood books by J.R. Ward. Smart guys really are super sexy. Combine that with his tragic past and present day issues and you get a hero who's a little messed up, a little scary, but still incredibly likeable. I liked seeing his emotional journey, in which he struggles to reconcile what he feels in his heart with what his brain tells him is "best".

Mark Turner from Courtney Milan's Turner series. He makes it onto the list for having an impeccable moral code and being such a decent man. That makes him sound terribly boring, but in fact he's one of the more well developed characters I've seen in historical romance. Once I learned that his stance on male chastity was brought on my finding a starving baby in an alley, I was won over to his side 100%.

Jamie Fraiser from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. He earns his spot on my list for being a survivor (of, like, every terrible thing that can happen to a person), in addition to more heroic traits than I can reasonably expect to name. He's a big, tough, handsome Scott with more layers than an onion. Clair carries this series for me, but it wouldn't be half as memorable without Jamie by her side.

Jericho Barrons from the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. The thing I like most about Barrons is that he's incredibly mysterious. He's something of an antihero. I was never sure, even right up to the end of the series, whether I could really classify him as a "good guy". Yet, I was always sure that he loved Mac, at least in some distant corner of his heart.

Bones from the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. While Mark made it onto the list for being moral and good, Bones earns his spot by being pretty naughty. He's a bounty hunter and former prostitute, who now uses his talents to help and...please his wife. All of that aside, he gets points for putting up with Cat who, let's be honest, puts him through the emotional wringer a time or two.

So, those are my most memorable heroes. Who makes your list? What makes him fantastic?

This week, as so many of us are starting our 2012 reading challenges, I'm asking how many books you usually read in a year. Don't forget to vote, on the right side of your screen. Happy reading!

On Male Virgins: A Review of Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan is the second book in the Turner trilogy. Let me say right up front that I highly recommend both books to anyone who likes historical romance, or even someone who thinks they might be curious enough to try one. You can find my review of book 1, Unveiled, HERE.

Mark is a highly intellectual man who has written a book on the importance of male chastity. To his great surprise, the book has risen to astonishing popularity, garnering him a knighthood and a swarm of fans. Unfortunately it has also attracted some enemies. One such enemy puts out a reward to any woman who can seduce the virtuous knight and ruin his reputation. Jessica has spent seven years as a courtesan and is determined to get out of the life. Knowing that the reward money would set her free, Jessica sets out to seduce Mark.

Positive Comments:

This is a highly character driven story, and fortunately the characters are quite likeable. Mark is genuinely noble and ethical, but desperately wants someone to see beyond all of that. Jessica is a strong, somewhat hardened character who's sole focus has been survival for a very long time. Yet Jessica does have a sense of morality, and right from the beginning she didn't really want to hurt Mark.

I guess have to take a moment to mention the virginity thing. Male virgin heroes are quite rare in romance novels, where as female virgins are a dime a dozen. I'm not sure whether this is supposed to reflect real life, or if it's because male virgins are thought to be unappealing. Personally, if it's the latter reason, I think that's codswallop.There is something oddly appealing about male virgins in a romantic book. I can remember two off-hand: Jamie from Outlander (a 5+ star book IMO) and Conrad from Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark books. In both cases the virgin factor was a huge positive for me. Anyway, in Unclaimed Mark is a virgin, and it does make for interesting plot and character developments. Not to mention the tension it creates.

The plot is mostly driven forward through internal conflict. Both Mark and Jessica have some scars from their past to be dealt with. The nature of these past hurts are revealed at a pace that built anticipation but did not, for the most part, feel drawn out. Between the well crafted plot and the Victorian country setting, I found it easy to immerse myself in the story.

Critical Comments:

Two very minor things. First, Mark was almost too perfect. Usually, even a brilliant and loveable hero will, being a man, screw up at some point in the story and make the reader just a little peeved at him. To me that moment is kind of crucial, because it puts the reader on the heroine's side and makes you root for her. It also helps the hero to seem more real. Without it, Mark comes across rather like a Prince Charming figure. But hey, who wouldn't marry Prince Charming, right? Second, Jessica's ongoing worry that she will hurt Mark or ruin him just by being with him wore a bit thin for me after awhile. Her worries were understandable, but somewhere around the second time she thought she might leave him for his own good I lost some patience. Thankfully the problem is resolved in a satisfactory manner, but it still bugged me just a bit.

Overall, it took me a total of a couple of hours over a two day span to read this book--very fast for me. That's a testament to how well written and enjoyable this novel is. Historical romance fans won't want to miss it! 4 stars.

*Speaking of Prince Charming, don't forget to vote for you favorite fairy tale. Poll ends Sunday! Happy Reading!*

On Dukes (And Non-Dukes)

I'm still in a historical romance frame of mind, so I thought I'd review another recent favorite--Unveiled by Courtney Milan. One of my frustrations with historical romance is that all of the heroes tend to blend together in my mind, rarely standing out as unique. They fall into two types--the stuffy, overly serious noble who rules his estates (and his woman) with an iron fist. And the young, rake of a noble who's spent years breaking hearts and is now at last ripe for reform. In Unveiled you get something entirely different in Ash Turner and his brothers. Here is my review:

 To me this book was exactly what I want in historical romance. Intelligent, sedate, but without being boring. Passionate, tender,and very emotional. In short, I'm hard pressed to come up with any negatives.

Ash is from an impoverished family, and he's worked his from the ground up in terms of wealth and society. This culminates in his revenge plot against the Duke of Parford, who once failed to help Ash and his family when they were in dire need. In short, he exposes the duke as a bigamist and thus has the duke's children by his second wife declared illegitimate and unable to inherit title or property. By distant relation, the dukedom would then pass to Ash. Margaret is posing as her father's nurse in order the spy on Ash. When he meets her, he has no idea that she is the dukes daughter and therefor one of the people his suit has hurt most. He pursues her romantically and she finds herself falling for him despite herself, and unwilling to betray him.

I really loved both Margaret and Ash. Ash is determined in everything he does. His initial motivation isn't based on greed, and not even entirely on revenge, but rather in giving his two younger brothers the best future possible. He's overcome all manner of adversity in order to take care of his family. He applies the same ruthless persistence to his relationship with Margaret. But rather then acting the caveman and forcibly seducing her, he brings her around by helping her to see herself in the best possible light. Since she was declared a bastard, Margaret has thought herself worthless. When Ash tells her that her birth does not matter, that she is important and wonderful, she can't help but begin to believe him. They both do a lot of emotional growing in this book.

Now, I know nothing about law or inheritance in England in the 1800s, so I am unable to intelligently debate possible historical inaccuracies. I didn't notice them. A more knowledgeable person might be bothered.

I'm giving this book 5 stars, because as I said I just don't have any complaints. It's well paced, evocative, and deeply romantic.