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A review by bhnmt61
Unveiled by Courtney Milan
4.0
I spent most of my adult life looking down my nose at romance novels. I have Taste, I thought. I don't have time for that drivel.
Until about five years ago when I actually started to read them, and discovered that there are some terrific writers out there writing romance novels. Not all romance novels are good, of course, but that's true of any type of book.
So I read through all of Loretta Chase, Elizabeth Hoyt, Joanna Bourne, and Jennifer Crusie. Tried a bunch of others, found some good, some mediocre, some awful. Then my favorites started to fail me, either by not writing or churning out serialized books that didn't live up to their previous standards. I'd just about given up on ever reading a well-written, intelligent romance novel again.
Enter Courtney Milan. Her books remind me why I love the romance genre. I could quibble about some details, but really every one of hers I've read has been worth reading. Unveiled, the first in her Turner Brother series, is one of the best. It was so good I was even willing to forgive Milan for using one of my pet peeves--the heroine has a secret, and she just can't bring herself to tell the hero because then he'll leave her. (Blecch. Grow a spine and say what you need to say already.)
Ash Turner discovers that the current Duke of Parford's wife is really his second wife, and the first marriage was never ended--making him a bigamist, and his children illegitimate. Parford treated Ash (a distant cousin) horribly when he was a child, so Ash relishes the opportunity to destroy the duke's reputation and depose his children. As the only legitimate next of kin, Ash is in the process of applying to Parliament to become the heir to the dukedom, and he sends the current sons packing while their father is in the ducal bedchamber dying.
Parford's daughter, Anna Margaret, stays behind, pretending to be the duke's nurse, but really to spy on Ash and figure out how to defeat his claim to the title. But of course she discovers that Ash is really not a bad guy, and they fall in love.
*minor spoilers ahead* (I'm giving some things away, but this is really only a sideline of the plot, not the main point--the bit about who Anna Margaret really is has been known to the reader since the first chapter.)
It's not exactly an earth-shakingly original plot, but it's good enough that I was thoroughly absorbed. But finally it becomes clear that she won't be able to keep the secret of her true identity any longer. The reason why I'm giving Unveiled four stars instead of five is because even at the last minute Margaret is such a lily-livered coward that she can't bring herself to 'fess up. She marches in to tell him, but oh no, he's seducing me! I can't think straight! The next morning, she's about to tell him, but oh no! she hears her brother coming up the drive! Oh no he's coming up the stairs! and still she can't bring herself to say the words. *rolls eyes*
Which is just dumb. It buys Milan the moment of shock--Ash finding out who Margaret is from Margaret's brother-- but it's at the expense of any respect we might have had for Margaret. So it says a great deal about how much I like Milan's writing that I still say I loved this book. Margaret's personal issues are movingly addressed and the way Ash finally resolves the question of who will inherit the title is perfect. So ignore the lame resolution to the secret, and enjoy the rest of the book. Highly recommended.
Until about five years ago when I actually started to read them, and discovered that there are some terrific writers out there writing romance novels. Not all romance novels are good, of course, but that's true of any type of book.
So I read through all of Loretta Chase, Elizabeth Hoyt, Joanna Bourne, and Jennifer Crusie. Tried a bunch of others, found some good, some mediocre, some awful. Then my favorites started to fail me, either by not writing or churning out serialized books that didn't live up to their previous standards. I'd just about given up on ever reading a well-written, intelligent romance novel again.
Enter Courtney Milan. Her books remind me why I love the romance genre. I could quibble about some details, but really every one of hers I've read has been worth reading. Unveiled, the first in her Turner Brother series, is one of the best. It was so good I was even willing to forgive Milan for using one of my pet peeves--the heroine has a secret, and she just can't bring herself to tell the hero because then he'll leave her. (Blecch. Grow a spine and say what you need to say already.)
Ash Turner discovers that the current Duke of Parford's wife is really his second wife, and the first marriage was never ended--making him a bigamist, and his children illegitimate. Parford treated Ash (a distant cousin) horribly when he was a child, so Ash relishes the opportunity to destroy the duke's reputation and depose his children. As the only legitimate next of kin, Ash is in the process of applying to Parliament to become the heir to the dukedom, and he sends the current sons packing while their father is in the ducal bedchamber dying.
Parford's daughter, Anna Margaret, stays behind, pretending to be the duke's nurse, but really to spy on Ash and figure out how to defeat his claim to the title. But of course she discovers that Ash is really not a bad guy, and they fall in love.
*minor spoilers ahead* (I'm giving some things away, but this is really only a sideline of the plot, not the main point--the bit about who Anna Margaret really is has been known to the reader since the first chapter.)
It's not exactly an earth-shakingly original plot, but it's good enough that I was thoroughly absorbed. But finally it becomes clear that she won't be able to keep the secret of her true identity any longer. The reason why I'm giving Unveiled four stars instead of five is because even at the last minute Margaret is such a lily-livered coward that she can't bring herself to 'fess up. She marches in to tell him, but oh no, he's seducing me! I can't think straight! The next morning, she's about to tell him, but oh no! she hears her brother coming up the drive! Oh no he's coming up the stairs! and still she can't bring herself to say the words. *rolls eyes*
Which is just dumb. It buys Milan the moment of shock--Ash finding out who Margaret is from Margaret's brother-- but it's at the expense of any respect we might have had for Margaret. So it says a great deal about how much I like Milan's writing that I still say I loved this book. Margaret's personal issues are movingly addressed and the way Ash finally resolves the question of who will inherit the title is perfect. So ignore the lame resolution to the secret, and enjoy the rest of the book. Highly recommended.