TEST
Stephen King once said that publishers disliked novellas because they “they were too long to be short and too short to be really long.” And it’s not just publishers, is it? Read through reviews of novella after novella here at AAR and you’ll read of similar dissatisfactions. I can think of no one who does them consistently brilliantly… no one but Courtney Milan.
Ms. Milan’s novellas are, as a rule, superb. This Wicked Gift, The Governess Affair, and A Kiss for Midwinter are all small(ish) prose wonders, each presenting a fully-fledged story in less than 125 pages.
But my favorite novella by Ms. Milan is the first I read, Unlocked. This story is, tangentially, a part of the Turner series which I also love. The heroine of this story, Lady Elaine Warren, is a friend to Margaret, the steel-spined heroine of the first book in the series, Unveiled. Elaine, when the reader meets her, is ruined. Not by a seducing rake or a plummeting fortune, but by that most constant of devastations: bullying.
Ten years ago, when Elaine first came out, she laughed and society–and in particular a darling gent of the ton, Evan Carlton, the Earl of Westfeld–shuddered. Elaine’s laugh was a bray, an embarrassment, and an easy target for those looking to make their mark. Evan, then young and callow, made her a joke–Lady Equine–and, really, that was it for Elaine.
Now, Evan has returned to London, a very different man than when he left, and he sees, with terrible clarity, the woman she’s become:
She made herself easy to overlook. Her arms were drawn tightly about her waist, as if she could squeeze herself into insignificance. Her gown, a pink so anemic it might have been white, left her muted in the crowd of bright colors. Even the pale color of her hair, twisted into an indifferent chignon, seemed to declare her inconsequential. It was only his own memory that made her stand out.
For Elaine, Evan’s return is terrifying.
She had fallen into a nightmare: the kind where she entered a ballroom wearing nothing but her drawers. She’d had that dream before. Soon, everyone would start laughing at her. And when they turned to her en masse, the people who pointed and mocked all wore the same face: a thousand incarnations of Evan Carlton—now the Earl of Westfeld.
In the years since Evan left to–literally–climb mountains, Elaine has, much to her satisfaction, survived. She and her equally maligned mother–Lady Stockhurst is an astronomer whose fearsome intelligence make her the target of ridicule–continue to go to balls and to teas at which Elaine thinks every moment, every day, “You cannot break me. You cannot hurt me. You cannot even make me notice you.”
Over the next 150 pages–the story is 181 pages long–Evan and Elaine remake their story both for themselves and for the ton. Ms. Milan takes no shortcuts here. Evan knows he wronged Elaine grievously and yet, we the readers, privy to his thoughts, long for Elaine to see him as the man he has now is. And yet there is no way for Elaine to do so without first processing the anger and the pain his cruelty caused her. Elaine, like the very best of heroines, has learned to value herself. Evan must earn her trust, her respect, and, if the reader is very very lucky, her love.
The story of Elaine and Evan is riveting enough on its own. Ms. Milan adds to it the redemption of Lady Stockhurst’s reputation as well. The way in which Elaine and her mother are made whole in the eyes of those who have demeaned them for over a decade is so glorious… really, it’s just sublime.
So, if you have an hour or two and want to immerse yourself in a fiction that inspires, moves, and persuasively entertains, pick up Unlocked. It’s a rarity: a wallop of a tale neither too long nor too short. It’s a gift.
Grade: A
Book Type: Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 17/12/16
Publication Date: 05/2011
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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UNLOCKED is not a great novella. It is a great piece of literature. I loved Milan’s theme that people choose to bully others, even if they don’t really understand the depth of pain they are inflicting at the time. They DO know they are inflicting pain and true bullies just continue. Later, they are sometimes ashamed, but often, with no way to make restitution. I loved the portrayal of the hero’s cousin, a woman who wants to continue her bullying because it gives her solidarity with her cousin, status in the group for her wit, and power because others fear her. Most of all, bullying is a habit, like most cruelty. This theme is also found in Carla Kelly’s masterpiece, “Beau Crusoe.”
I gave this book to my book club to read. I wish I could report that it opened their eyes to their prejudice against romances, but no, they just dismissed it, commenting on the sex (what sex? I don’t remember any, but it doesn’t usually make an impression on me). I had to console myself with the recognition that it was their loss. So, we resumed our usual dreary psychological novels of dysfunction. You will not be surprised that I decided to drop the book club. AND you will not be surprised to hear that I’m happier for it.
This is a great novella. Milan is one of the best at this short medium, IMO, even though I also like her full-length romances.
This was the first thing by Milan I read (on my laptop before I owned a kindle) and I remember loving it. Oddly enough, I didn’t love the other novellas as much as everyone else seems to. I’ve only read one of her full length titles (The Duchess War) and I was annoyed by the dialogue that was too modern (in its innuendo rather than the language) and a heroine who behaved as if she was in a historical romance novel instead of living her real life. Never felt inclined to try any others. But the historical subgenre tends to irritate me a lot now and I don’t read much of it anymore. I might have to reread this and see how it holds up.
I thought this one was nice, but the mountain-climbing metaphor was heavy-handed throughout. I don’t remember either character or their romance; I just remember the mountain climbing.
I think it actually is brilliant, the way Ms. Milan brings the mountain climbing/ropes/risk trope to every aspect of her story. The scene where Elaine uses Evan’s ropes is genius… to me!
I ADORE this story – it’s one of the first of Ms. Milan’s books I read. Hers are the yardsticks by which I judge all other novellas. The Governess Affair and A Kiss for Midwinter are firm favourites and I re-read/re-listen regularly.
Oh I love this one too. Ms. Milan is truly a master at the novella – a format I both love and hate. When done well, I never want the story to end. It satisfies but leaves me wanting more. The best kind of tease.
Talk Sweetly to Me is my favorite of hers but they’re all terrific.