Unveiled

Turner #1

by Courtney Milan

Of all Ash Turner's accomplishments, stealing a dukedom from his old enemy is by far the most brazen. Now that he's been recognized as the heir, nothing remains but to head to Parford Manor and survey the estate that will be his. He expects opposition.

He gets Lady Margaret.

Margaret lost everything when Ash claimed the dukedom: her dowry, her legitimacy, and her place in society. Now Ash wants to take her family home, too. She disguises herself as a nurse, determined to learn his weaknesses. But the closer she comes to Ash, the greater the pull of his reckless charm. If she wants to reclaim what she has lost, her only choice is to betray the man she is beginning to love...

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Unveiled is the first book in the Turner series. The full series is:


Unveiled
Unlocked, a companion novellaUnclaimed
Unraveled
 

 

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adult, Regency

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2011

About the author

Courtney Milan writes books about carriages, corsets, and smartwatches. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. She is a New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller.

Courtney pens a weekly newsletter about tea, books, and basically anything and everything else. Sign up for it here: https://bit.ly/CourtneysTea

Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.

Courtney is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I can't read books," he whispered, "but I have other skills. An instinct, if you will--this ability to know things, people, in the blink of an eye. It's how I made my fortune. It's how I knew, when I first saw you…" He trailed off, and reached out and deliberately ran a finger down her arm. "I knew I could trust you," he explained. "Instantly. Irrevocably."

It's beautiful. It's witty. It's charming. But above and beyond…it's incredibly intimate and I adored the subtleties.

"I want you to paint your own canvas. I want you to unveil yourself."

Ah, yessss, this is HR (emphasis on romance) at its best! Ms. Milan swept me off my feet again, and I think this is the moment to roll out the red carpet. You sure know how to plot an eclectic, adorable and charming HR! Kudos, Ms. Milan. Unveiled is my favorite book in the Un series.

Somerset, August 1837
Unveiled starts off with Ash Turner, the future Duke of Parford, exploring the estate that he will inherit quite soon. He's come to take over Parford Manor. When Ash meets the servants, one particular woman strikes his eye. Anna Margaret Dalrymple (Margaret Lowell). Richard, the Duke of Parford, is dying and Margaret pretends to be the old duke's nurse. Ash doesn't know that Margaret is in fact Lady Anna and Richard's daughter. She keeps her real identity a secret since her brothers have left her on Parford lands to spy upon Ash. She has to report Ash's comings and goings to her brothers.

Margaret. Over the past months, she'd had everything stripped from her: her name, when it was discovered that Lady Anna Margaret Dalrymple was a bastard. Her dowry, when Chancery decided that as illegitimate offspring, she wasn't entitled to the funds settled upon her mother. Margaret is very sad and still grieving over the loss of her mother. She looks upon Ash with disdain and cold disgust. Margaret is such an intelligent, protective, fierce and loyal woman. She cares for those she loves. But at the same time Margaret was a mystery, and Ash intended to unravel every delicious clue, until he'd stripped her naked. In every sense of the word.

Ash. Margaret had never met a man like Ash. He stood so far outside her experience. Ash seduced Margaret with the promise of her own self; that she would be important again. At the same time it's not only about seduction--it's much more. Ash wants Margaret to choose him because he decided upon her a while ago. I loved Ash. He is handsome and sinfully hot, yet at the same time he is such a caring and kind-hearted man. On top of that, I adored his vulnerability. Ultimately, he will do anything for his Margaret. He cares for those he loves and he protects them with a fierceness that speaks for itself. Yes, Ash, you are truly magnificent!

Ash is a very successful businessman. He is dyslexic. Ash said:

"I just can't understand words when they're written down. They feel slippery in my mind. Now, if someone were to have a conversation with me about any subject, I could follow along, and gladly. And, for some reason, numbers have never posed a problem. I can figure. But I can never understand the back-and-forth of negotiations if I cannot look a man in the eyes. That's what I need."

Their dialogue is exceptionally good (BTW, this is my very favorite part of the book):

"I've lost count of the number of times your brother has made me laugh. Chastity is far more amusing than I had anticipated."
"Chastity," Ash said dryly, "is far more arousing than I had anticipated."
(…)"I do believe we are straying into the improper," she said.
"Oh, no," he contradicted. "We aren't straying. I had hoped we had embarked on a deliberate journey."
(…)"A voyage?" she asked, her voice shaky. "But…but we can have no mutual destination."
Clearly she'd not realized they'd left the docks behind days before. "It's not about where we go, but how we arrive." Slowly. At great length, savoring every last inch of her skin.

As always I absolutely adored the profound, rich and witty dialogue! I have not enough words to explain it properly. I was so enthralled by their interaction and I loved to witness their glorious, wicked, unchaste tumble headlong into sin. Further, the characters are so prime, very likable and believable. Oh, Ash, you are very memorable indeed. The build-up was incredibly well done and I said it before: I adored all those subtleties. There's this all-encompassing intimacy throughout the whole story--it almost undid me. Admittedly, the heat level in Ms. Milan's books is not high but her love scenes are really lovely nonetheless. She doesn't write these scenes for the sake of sex. The love scenes are there because the timing is perfect and the level of tension has been exhausted. Unveiled is another wonderfully penned historical romance by the very talented Ms. Milan.

"You matter," she whispered to him. "You are important. And you are the single most magnificent man I have ever had the honor of meeting."

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet. - Malachi 4:3.

As much as he hates the name he was given by his religiously overzealous mother, Mr. Ash Turner has every intention of living up to it. He has spent the better part of his life watching, waiting for his chance to mete out revenge on his bitter enemy, the Duke of Palford. Now that the means have been laid at his feet, he’ll stop at nothing to see justice served. But will revenge be as sweet as he had always imagined it would be? The answer might just surprise him.

Lady Anna Margaret Dalrymple has found herself in a most unfortunate situation. Until recently, she was the daughter of a duke – the Duke of Palford – and enjoyed a life of comfort meant only for upper society. But now, evidence has come out proving that her father is a bigamist and that she and her brothers are bastards. And if that weren’t bad enough, with her father dying and no legitimate heirs to inherit the title, a distant cousin has decided to lay claim to the dukedom and that distant cousin is Ash Turner. Now it’s up to Lady Anna to help her brothers fight Mr. Turner’s claim by digging up anything she can on him that will prove him unfit to hold the title.

Ash Turner is the kind of hero I can honestly say I’d be attracted to outside the pages of a romance novel, which took me by surprise. Truly, how could I possibly come to care about someone who was willing to ruin the lives of innocents just to better the lives of himself and his brothers? Well, Ms. Milan pulled it off with skill and in doing so has given me another perfectly matched pair to add to my list of Top Ten Couples. Ash might be ruthless, but much to Lady Anna’s chagrin, he’s also honorable, kind, generous and fiercely loyal to those he loves. And he has a secret shame that no one, not even his brothers, know about, and one that had me in tears because for all his ruthlessness, he was so very vulnerable.

Lady Anna is such a wonderful character! She has a strength about her that we don’t often find in historical romance heroines. She’s willing to do whatever she has to do to protect her family, but when she gets to know Ash better, to see him for the man he truly is and not just the man he allows others to see, will she be able to follow through with her plan and betray him, using the knowledge he’s entrusted to her against him?

Throughout the story I was kept guessing as to how their differences could possibly be resolved allowing for both of their happiness, and in the end, I was very pleased with how things worked out, especially since it wasn’t something I had seen coming!

With Unveiled, Courtney Milan has given us a moving, romantic, passionate and sexy story. It’s a tale of deception, bitterness and loneliness, but it’s also a beautiful story about compassion, forgiveness and, under the most difficult of circumstances, finding that one person who loves you for everything you are and everything you are not. The person who is destined to give you the kind of happily ever after you didn’t believe existed.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bless you, Courtney Milan, master of historical romance, for giving me this gift of a book. Holy crap, you are one talented lady.

I'm obsessed with everything Courtney Milan, and I'm beyond excited to have a new-to-me series from her to explore. I've loved every book by this author that I've ever read, and this book was no different. It was clever, sexy, smart, and impeccably written. Courtney Milan needs to teach a class so she can SCHOOL all the historical romance authors who try, and fail, to measure up.

The story isn't complicated, but the characters are. Ash Turner is a man who is determined. Determined to do right by his brothers, determined to win a dukedom, and determined to get revenge on those who have wronged him. Ash Turner is also a man who knows what he wants, and from the minute he laid eyes on Margaret, he knew he had to have her.

Margaret is trying to survive. Everything has been stripped from her but she remains loyal, strong, and unflinching. She hates Ash Turner on sight for what he has taken from her, but slowly, as they get to know one another, their relationship evolves and Margaret can't ignore him any longer.

I was absolutely obsessed with this romance. Just obsessed. This is a slow-burn romance, despite the insta-attraction, and I could not get enough of Ash and Margaret together. Their relationship was the stuff that makes me inspired to read romance. They had an epic, hard-fought romance that worked despite everything that had transpired between them.

I loved Ash in particular. He was a man who stood by his word and the ones that he loved, and I just adored everything about him. He wasn't without flaws, but he was crafted so well as a character that I loved every last imperfection about him. I think Margaret was a great character too, but I grew a tiny bit frustrated with her in the last portion of the book, which actually just narrowly bumped this book from making my all-time favorites list... but it was close. This book is honestly perfection.

The sex scenes... gah! Courtney Milan always gives her stories the exactly correct level of heat. This book was a celebration of all the sex could be. Perfection.

I'll mention a little about the narration, which was very good. Rebecca De Leeuw did a great job narrating this story, especially with her range of vocal differentiation and her nicely done male voices. Very, very easy to listen to, and Rebecca De Leeuw made me just want to listen more and more. Lovely.

Courtney Milan, I don't know how you do it, but you are just in the zone for me. I loved the length of this story, the content, and the plot line. I literally cannot wait to start the next in the series. In fact, I'm off to buy it now.

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

FAN-TAS-TIC!!! This was my first read by Ms. Milan and, wow, I was very impressed. I loved her writing, the story, the characters - everything.

Ash Turner, a wealthy man who's built his fortune in trade after enduring years of near poverty as a child, is finally close to avenging his sister's death and his brothers' suffering at the hands of the Dalrymples. After discovering that the head of the Dalrymple family, the Duke of Parford, married his mistress (in haste and in secret) when he was too young to know better and has never had that marriage annulled, Ash takes the case to the ecclesiastical courts, and thus has the duke's second marriage declared void for bigamy and the children resulting from that union declared illegitimate and unable to inherit. That leaves Ash, the duke’s long-hated fifth cousin, twice removed, as the presumptive heir. And with the duke's current medical condition, it's only a matter of time before Ash becomes the new Duke of Parford.

The Dalrymple "children" (Richard, Edmund and Margaret) have lost almost everything - their titles, their honor, their "friends" and their mother - in less than a year, all thanks to Ash's uncovering of their father's bigamy. They haven't accepted defeat, though. So when they learn that Ash is moving to Parford Manor to oversee the estate he's about to inherit, Richard and Edmund move to London in preparation for the upcoming battle that will take place in Parliament when the lords debate the bill granting the Darlrymple family the remedy of legitimacy. Margaret stays with her father at Parford Manor, pretending to be a nurse so she can spy on Ash and document his failings, demonstrating that he's unfit to manage the estate and thus tilting the odds of her brothers' winning the debate in Parliament in their favor.

Margaret is predisposed to hate Ash on sight, but she soon finds out that it's impossible to not like him. There's just something about him. It isn't his looks, his money or, as she calls it, his cheerful ruthlessness. It's the way he makes people feel they matter regardless of who they are. And Ash makes Margaret feel she matters from the start, when he thinks she's a mere servant. As they spend more time together and she learns his secrets, understanding that there's more than simple revenge behind his actions, a bond of trust and intimacy (of souls, not bodies) is formed between them. Torn between that newfound bond and her loyalty to her brothers, Margaret tries to protect both, but she knows she'll have to sacrifice one to save the other in the end. The question is, which one will it be?

This book had me engaged from beginning to end. I loved both Ash and Margaret: I wanted to be her and marry him. The conflict in their relationship came from the situation they found themselves in, not from any dysfunctional trait they might have as characters - like fear of abandonment or commitment, for example. Family, honor, loyalty, betrayal and forgiveness were at the core of this story and Ms. Milan has done an excellent job weaving those elements into Ash and Margaret's relationship. I especially liked the way Ms. Milan hasn't fallen into clichés, avoiding some of the well-travelled paths in Romancelandia. Without giving away any spoilers, there was a much-anticipated scene where Ash's reaction caught me completely by surprise. A very pleasant surprise, I'm happy to say. I've read that scene - or the basics of it - in many books before and I was braced for what I "knew" it would happen. Well, I was kindly reminded that I "know" nothing. :)

I have to finish this review admitting that this book made me cry. I didn't want to, but I couldn't hold back the tears near the end of it. What can I say? That only happens when I'm really invested in a story, and Ms. Milan's beautiful writing had me enthralled from the first chapter to the epilogue.

Final verdict: It's a keeper!

Note: I received this eARC from Harlequin via NetGalley. That had no influence on my review/rating.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Since I didn't have much fun with this book and every review I've read takes it VERY SERIOUSLY, I may as well have fun with my comments. Random things that I did not buy or caused my brow to scrunch up, in no particular order.

* Ash is the poster boy for the Fated Mate/Bonded Male/Destined Lover who won't take no for an answer made famous by Stephanie Laurens and Christine Feehan. The opressive, stalkery FM/BM/DL is unfortunately as common as mud in paranormals and only a few authors are getting it right. This is the reason I stopped reading Laurens.
* Margaret is the poster girl for the self-sacrificing, doormat sister who doesn't question that the responsibility to save her abusive father and selfish brothers is all hers. (Yes, they dump on her in the end - again - after all that futile selfless sacrificing.)
* So far these are characters straight out of the romance novel central casting office.
* Ash stalks Margaret, believing she is a servant. Margaret fends off Ash's advances in the snotty way of 19th century noble ladies because she is, duh, a noble lady masquerading as a servant. Ash, whom we are told ad nauseum has instincts, never questions a servant's giving him lip. She keeps forgetting to stay in character.
* Ash's younger Oxford educated brother says, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." In 1836.
* When I felt that it was time to wrap this thing up Kindle told me I was 75% finished. At this point, the lovers separate, all hope is lost and we are thrown into page after page after page to wrap up that pesky inheritance/bastardization situation during which time the lovers are APART. Skim, skim, skim.
* The prose is fine, some of it lovely even. I felt as if the well-crafted sentence took precedence over the emotion the author was describing. This was my takeaway. Lyrically described passion and I didn't feel a damn thing. When I'm pulled out of the story to admire a nice simile or poetic metaphor, well, I'm pulled out of the story.

This book has gotten such positive buzz. Odd woman out here. I tried to enjoy it as if it were the Great American Romance Novel. For all the "original" and "different" promised, I found a cache of cliches.

[Kinga · Rating 2 out of 5]

This must be the only historical romance whose hero’s great weakness is his extreme dyslexia.

It was fairly well-paced and hot but we ultimately didn’t get along because of three themes existing in this novel, that I am not a fan of.

- ‘From the first moment he knew she was the one’: this meant to be and love from the first sight crap is just not for me. If you tell me on page one that he knew she was the one, then you don’t have to really build your characters and their relationship with each other because their fate is sealed. God, I know it is a romance novel and they will overcome all and be together in the end, I get that but convince me why they should!

- Hero who loves his heroine unfailingly from the first to the last page, not once doubting himself or her. It’s just boring. Give me hate, give me angst, give me indifference at least. I prefer when it’s the heroine who needs to do the work to win the hero’s heart because I have enough of men who are blindly in love with me in the real life, thank you very much.

- Heroine who needs her hero to validate her as a person. Now, I don’t mind my heroine a little damaged, even completely broken in the area of romantic relationships but I want her to be strong and secure in all the other spheres of her life. I want her to need the guy just for love and not to basically make her into a person. This whole thing in ‘Unveiled’ where the hero tells the heroine that ‘she matters, she is important’ and it causes her some epiphany that yes, in fact she is a human being and not a doormat, rubbed me the wrong way. Also, I found her behaviour to be inconsistent with her supposed personality. (Given her doormat-like qualities she should make a great servant that she is pretending to be, yet even though everything depends on her playing that role this is the only time she decides to shows some signs of having some cojones which would totally blow her cover if the hero wasn’t so daft /so much for his famed ‘instincts’/)

All of this probably tells you more about me than about the book. I guess, I do like to have the same story told to me over and over again. I just couldn’t fall in love with the hero. I found his seduction technique crass, he was just a creepy stalker really (but what to expect from a guy who from the first moment ‘knew’) and, I suppose, I prefer my men literate. However, I did enjoy the theme of loyalty conflict in ‘Unveiled’.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to give this book a try, my first ever Courtney Milan, having seen the praise lavished on both author and book gathering the momentum of an avalanche. Obviously, previous crushing disappointment has not yet taught me to mistrust this kind of 'enthusiasm' and see through all this thoroughly undeserved praise.

Everything in this book is so smugly mature, so insufferably idealised, so wishfully civilised, that you could both smell and feel the starch. The reader is assaulted by a narrative that reads like an endless relationship-guideline (wholly contemporary of course - why bother set your book in the 19th c.? Since the past plays no part in anything, why don't you bloody set it in the present and be done with it?)and the story itself is never allowed to breathe the fresh air of unruly desire, capture some of the pathos of the baseness of human need, or explore the interior of long nurtured dreams of revenge and the depth of injury that fed them. The manufactured maturity of this book drowned everything that could have been interesting in this story, and it was so oppressive that finishing it felt like fleeing a small musty smelling basement.

The very concept of maturity (of the book's characters and their love) ends up as a clunky caricature of the real thing, sabotaged by the writer's ever so precious, ever so prissy treatment of passion and of gender, social and sexual relations. This reader felt constantly hammered by etiquette.

One of the failures of this book is that it harks back to the bad old days, when passion was conveniently and prudishly divided into two steps: first, one achieves the kind of intimacy the committee of co-conspirators (publishers and comfort-zone readers) has approved, and second, hero and heroine have sex. This kind of false dichotomy passes for 'development' in the couple's relationship. In Milan's book the sex is even more of a task to read than all the other elements in her not-remotely-historical romance (the past, in which it is supposedly set, counts for shit). For sex here is oddly de-sexualised and reads more like a pedantic discourse on what should happen between bodies in the dark.

That said, it would not be fair to say that Milan's writing is bad (although it can be that too, for example, a good writer would have never allowed the scenes between the Turner brothers to run and run into four and five pages. Nothing of what was said or accomplished by such prolixity could not have been done in three paragraphs), but it definitely is, and in a way that makes it worse than bad, insufferable, as it is lead by a desire for hagiographic, wholly affirmative romance, where even the having of a cup of tea is analysed to death -for the purpose of constantly asserting that the female character is 'in control' (and the writer not only never misses a chance to assert the heroine's being 'in control' but artificially creates reams and reams of opportunities to make such an assertion. In Milan's writing the 19th c. was, obviously, the best time for women!); and where even the minutest ripple of a motive is so loquaciously explained away that it loses both its significance and its purpose. Milan's characters are not characters at all, they are mouthpieces for the writer's indifferent, random and forced rationalisations.

This kind of writing tends to turn its back to what is (should be?) the raison d'etre of romance writing: the representation of the unruly elements of desire as the medium through which liberating claims travel, express themselves and become effective (i.e., formative of life), claims that lead to a redemptive exit from some awful and entangled web of social, familial and other relationships, in which characters are caught. In historical romance there's the additional demand for an ear sensitive to the requirements of one's historical setting, and I don't mean merely frocks, carriages and 'prithees', but mores, social structures and norms, gender and sexual relations, which the romance should recall to some powerful effect. If you want to write historical romance then you should take the effort to show how society would bite back and would not allow you to fulfil those desires that exceed what society symbolically shapes. In short, there is no way that the authorities would have passed over all those males and given the prize to the heroine (but Milan is so idiotically obsessed with forcing totally foreign to the 19th c. ideas of 'woman in control' that she thinks we won't notice that the heroine is really your average market research manager living across the road from Milan's house).

In the end, the whole reads and feels like an arid exercise in sanitised contemporary relationships (and this is something the more recent spade of romance writers suffer from, instead of interesting -and perverse- idealisations and fantasies of romantic love we get the sanitisation of such fantasies, with all their teeth removed). Milan wrote not a romance (even less a historical romance) but a homily on the proper etiquette for 'dating' (not love) in frocks. There's no exploration of eros (energetic, naughty, dramatic, purple or any other kind), no exploration of conflict between the sexes (and a 19th c. one for that matter) or the way they could find common ground, no exploration of the claims of desire.

Worse still, all the so-called negative elements in 'Unveiled' that were supposed to drive the drama and create some conflict are so woefully trivial and so clumsily contrived that this oppressed by the writer's manipulations reader called upon the gods to deliver her. All the hurdles (which are utterly unconvincingly presented here as insuperable conflicts) rang hollow and were nothing more than clumsy plot fiddlings to further the cause of the characters' promotion to sanitary heights. All the 'titanic' obstacles the writer tells us are insuperable (and she at once constantly states them and refuses to reveal their nature thus achieving the triple feat of being simultaneously turgid, annoying and vague) are quickly overcome and forgotten with a little bit of good will, friendly banter and, the oh so boring, age old cliche of fisticuffs-achieved male camaraderie.

If you like your lovers written by a neat and ponderously moralising hand (where the heroine's 'being in control' has to be asserted, celebrated, shouted from the rooftops and advertised on giant billboards -making a mockery of and contradicting her circumstances); if you want everything to sound like a relationships advice column in Cosmo; if you like your romance books pompously trying to disguise their inability to come up with a love story of note (especially a 19th c. one), or you are not too fussy about the plausibility of conflicts a book comes up with, moreover, if you like the representation of passion (for revenge, for a woman, for a man, for social recognition) to be as safe as possible, and the characters involved reeking of contemporaneity then this is the book for you, and Courtney Milan your HR high priestess du jour. Me, I found the pompous triviality of her prose and her shrill contemporary voice so unbearable that I've resolved never to go anywhere near a book that bears her name again.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Milan has lived up to the promise I saw in her writing in the short story I read in The Heart of Christmas: A Handful of Gold\ The Season for Suitors\ This Wicked Gift. I loved the way she wrote her hero and heroine, and knew she was a writer I wanted to follow. I'm glad that she had written another story that I felt that way about. Her characters are very well-crafted, deep, complex, and textured. I found myself continually evaluating things from each one's perspective, and it was difficult to 'choose sides', which is a good thing. In real life, no person is all good and bad (at least for the most part). We are a complex mix of both, and we often make decisions out of our human drives, sometimes good and sometimes bad. In the case of Ash and Margaret, I could see what drove them, and I felt for them both. Family is very important to me as well, and even though I don't always like everything my family does, I love them, and I'd do anything for them. That's why I couldn't get mad either at Ash or Margaret at the choices they made. Even though their brothers didn't always understand the sacrifices they made for them, it was both characters' choices to give up so much for the love of their siblings. In the end, I was glad that they found each other, and realized that someone saw them truly and loved them honestly. I was glad they found their other halves, because I think that this kind of love is so valuable to humans, and they both needed it. It takes a writer of considerable skill to create such real, lovable characters, and Ms. Milan shows it.

I loved the intensity of her writing, and the strength of the story here, a romance, and a good one, but something more. I liked how she integrated the sensual moments into this love story, making them intrinsic to the development of the relationship between Ash and Margaret. I liked that Ash saw Margaret and knew she was what he wanted and needed. I liked that even though it was a seemingly bad idea to fall for Ash, Margaret did anyway. I know that she had some tough choices to make, and I was glad that she was able to make a choice that was right for her, down deep, and that that choice included Ash. I was glad their feelings for each other, that trust and understanding of each other stayed true, even in the face of what seemed insurmountable. I also loved the authenticity of the Victorian setting, drawn in subtle strokes, but very evident. I could tell that the author knows her subject, and she managed to convey that without overwhelming the narrative with facts about Victorian England and inheritance law.

Giving this book five stars is a foregone conclusion, based on its many strengths, and how much I enjoyed reading it. It was deep, rich, fascinating, sensual, intense, and rewarding. All the things I love about historical romance. Highly recommended.

[Sam I AMNreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ash is a great hero, fantastic. But he's also a bit of a snore. Frankly, he's kinda ruthless in a very understandable, appealing way, resulting in a very dull edge. He's a butter knife. I think we'd be able to call him Perfect. My problem with this book lies with Margaret, who is very nice. Kind of dull. She loved her family. She's kind of Perfect. And I'm here for the heroines. She was at her best acting as Lady Anna Margaret, but she kinda of feels ambiguous to me, which honestly shocked the pants off me because this is Milan. Her heroines are singular.

Ash's angst was good. Margaret's was too. But there were times in this book the writing was so clunky, I felt it'd been written by another author. The development of the relationship doesn't leave me tense or breathless, the social commentary was great, but awkwardly wedged, and some paragraphs felt lifted from "How to write a Romance." So just like me irl, they felt tired.

I particularly hate when loyalty is misplaced and self-sacrificing, and therein lies my ultimate issue with Margaret and, ultimately, the book. I prefer "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,” approach to loyalty (and not the modern meaning), and her decision at the end was stupid. I love that bonds to family was common ground on which Ash and Margaret could understand each other, but Ash's ferocity over his family was much better drawn. I understood Margaret's bond to her mother, but she seemed to have a senseless blind spot where her nearly villianous douches of brothers declared residence.

Is this better than a lot of books, by gosh yes. A+ for consent stuff for one. It could twist my cold little heart to read Ash's intensity for those he loved (indeed, the scene with him and Mark at the end did make my eyes sting). But it took me a lot of time to read. Which is odd and got me to thinking quite a bit. And here we are: dissecting all the issues that made this book not land for me. It might've been a 2 were it not for Margaret's final scene with her family.


Maybe on a second read? Maybe not after April 2019? I don't know? Maybe Milan can fail expectations too?

[KatLynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second book by Courtney Milan and I really enjoyed this story. This author has a definite talent and I love how she incorporates the unusual in her stories and makes it work so well.

I loved the hero, Ash Turner. He is one of those men just oozing with that sizzling sex appeal that draws you in making you love him. But my love for him was not just his charismatic appeal. I liked his character ...he is strong, intelligent, honorable, resilient and protective of those he loves. And while hiding a long held secret we see a vulnerable side that appealed to me. Still suffering from painful events from his childhood, he is haunted by memories and relentlessly seeks revenge from the one man who hurt his family.

Lady Anna Margaret Dalrymple is the kind of heroine I like…intelligent, strong and fierce in her loyalty to those she loves. You can count on her to do what’s right, even if it causes her much pain and heartache. Caught in the web of her father’s lies and Ash’s revenge, I admired her strength amidst so much personal pain and despair.

But I do not wish to convey that this story is all about hatred, revenge and despair. This is an amazing story full of passion, tenderness, strong sensual desire, longing, and hope. And as this story unveiled their deepest desires and fears, I found myself saying, “well done” Courtney Milan for another wonderful romance.

*****************Spoiler Alert*************************************

One of my favorite quotes


“Do you know why my peers want their brides to have pale skin? They want a woman who is a canvas, white and empty. Standing still, existing for no other purpose than to serve as a mute object onto which they can paint their own hopes and desires. They want their brides veiled. They want a demure, blank space they can fill with whatever they desire.”

“Miss Lowell, you magnificent creature, I want you to paint your own canvas. I want you to unveil yourself.”

It wasn’t fair that this man, this one man who had utterly destroyed her, would be the one to pick her deepest desire out of the maelstrom of her wants.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here are some of my thoughts:
• First impression of Ash: Cliché, arrogant, and shallow AF
• First impression of Margaret: Boring and also shallow
• By around 50%-70%, I can appreciate the character developments I see in these characters. They actually both turn out quite likable? Ash is so dedicated to his brothers and vulnerable in garnering their approval. I can even appreciate the confidence that we have seen since the beginning because he has shown why he is so determined in his life. In addition, Margaret has gotten more thoughtful and lively later on. I appreciate that she has shown how the struggles she has gone through in the past year has changed her, and how much her perspective has changed.
• I especially like that scene where she realizes that she no longer wants the approval of her fake friends. And same for that scene when she realizes that she deserves to give her loyalty to people who appreciates her and treats her well. I was dang proud when she finally got to that realization, but it took her like the whole book.
• The romance is whatever in the beginning, but as I start liking the characters better, especially seeing how they both have developed individually (but with each other’s help), I start liking their dynamic a bit more. I like the way he challenges her and the way he always respects her. He is infinitely patient with her throughout the book. Especially towards the latter part of the book, he is honestly so sweet and respectful towards her. In addition, I like that she speaks up to him and truly listens and recognizes his good qualities. When she champions him to her brothers and actually scolds them, I’m so impressed by her care for him. The same goes for him because he also champions her to her brothers. It is nice to see that they are grateful for each other and accept each other, while their own family can fail to show that same level of family loyalty they are able to give.
• Speaking of family, I love the strong family theme. Ash’s brothers in particular are amusing, and I can’t wait to learn more about them in their own books.
• The last 20% gets a bit annoying and repetitive, but overall, I like the twist at the end and the conclusion.

Overall, 3 stars. I like it. The developments in the characters are particularly shocking and great to me. However, I am not exactly enchanted at this point. This is my 1st Milan book, and I definitely see myself trying more of her books/series.

Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending? Yes. Good epilogue too.
Love triangle? Cheating? Angst level? Other things to note?No, no, low.

All safe here.
Tears-worthy? No.
Humor? Some humorous bits, but not laugh-out-loud funny.
Favorite scenes? When Margaret was giving the mean girl at the ball at the set down and realized that used to be shallow like her, but not anymore, and she didn’t want to be friends with this type of people anymore. When Margaret yelled at Smite and Mark for making Ash sad and lonely. When the secret it out, and Ash is so supportive and sweet to Margaret still. The very ending+epilogue, when Margaret realizes what Ash has done for her and that she has been loyal to her disloyal father and brother, and she decides she’ll be the one who’ll choose who gets to be duke. When Ash tells Mark about his “illiterate” secret. When Margaret and Ash reunite at the end.
What age level would be appropriate? Mature audience. Explicit details on sex.

[*The Angry Reader* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read Milan’s Brothers Sinister series and thoroughly enjoyed them. I loved the characters and mostly I loved the stories. She creates a world that is rich and interesting - and fascinatingly forward thinking. While I really liked that series it was mostly academic. Like appreciating opera even though it doesn’t make me want to dance.

This however. This was different. By page 10 I was engaged - body, mind and soul. My heart beat for this book.

At first I thought Ash was going to be a jerk. And he was. Sort of. But not really. And then I realized that Margaret was lying! Which is a cardinal sin for me. A hard no. I have a rule about lying books - to quote my prissy self “characters can’t truly fall in love when one of them is hiding something from the other.” I delight in how wrong Milan proved me.

Thinking back on my overarching vibe while reading what captured me in this book was the sheer romance. The things Ash said and did. It wasn’t the sham-love of romance books. Not the grand gestures and throbbing members. There was a purity to the way Ash saw Margaret that made my heart grow 3 sizes in my chest.

My contemporary-historical-romance-author shortlist of super stars is essentially made up of Sherry Thomas and Meredith Duran. Flawless writing combined with stellar, well-rounded, understated characters and stories that literally make me thankful I’m a reader. And tonight Milan joined that little list.

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Kindle sale today 5th Aug 2020 for USD 0.99.

[Elizabeth (Liz) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do believe I'm missing the I-love-Courtney-Milan gene that everyone seems to have. I skimmed big portions of this story. It was deadly dull. Proficiently written, but *deadly* dull.

[Harrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

redeeming that horrible person just because he was related to the MC was certainly a choice.

[Jultri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Protracted story with many scenes and lines that lead nowhere and added nothing to the plot. And yet despite these superfluous and redundant mini sideplots, there were many questions left unanswered, past events left unexplained. Characters were indecisive and inconstant, except our hero, Ash, who felt an unwavering attraction towards the heroine at first sight. The prose was lovely at times but rather common in some places - again another inconsistency of this book.

[Mimi Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

“They want a woman who is a canvas, white and empty. Standing still, existing for no other purpose than to serve as a mute object onto which they can paint their own hopes and desires. They want their brides veiled. They want a demure, blank space they can fill with whatever they desire.”

“Miss Lowell, you magnificent creature, I want you to paint your own canvas. I want you to unveil yourself.”

Wow! This book was much more captivating than I'd thought it would be. I loved it! So many thanks to my sister, Ana, for recommending Courtney Milan(many, MANY times) and to Anna and Erika, with whom I'm doing this buddy read. So, people, prepare yourself. Quotes overload!

Ash Turner has had a difficult life-made all the harder by the Dalrymples-the duke and his sons. But he's made it, he's now a successful businessman and a rich man, if not an educated one. And now he has the chance to take his revenge on them-as well as help his beloved brothers Mark and Smite in one move. Taking their dukedom away from them by proving their illegitimacy. Maybe it is cruel, but there are few things Ash wouldn't do for his brothers...

"Yes,” he said, catching her look. “More of my cheerful ruthlessness, I’m afraid. And now you know my greatest weakness: my brothers. I want to give them everything. I want everyone in the world to realize how perfect they are. They are smarter than me, better than me. And I’ll do anything—cross anyone, steal anything, destroy whatever I must—to give them what they deserve.”

"Ash might as well have offered to send him to Jupiter for a brief visit. But then, if Mark had wanted to flap his wings and embark on a voyage to distant planets on holiday…
Well. Ash would have found a way."

Even though there's a certain distance between them and Ash feels left out...

"I’m sorry I ever left. I’m sorry for whatever happened to you out there. I’m sorry there’s nothing between us to stitch together into even a pretense of friendship. I’m sorry, Smite."

So he arrives to Parford Manor, and there he sees her who he knows only as Margaret Lowell

"He’d never seen the woman before in his life. He couldn’t have; he would have remembered the feel of her, the sheer rightness of it.<…> Whatever it was, something about her resonated deep within him.
It reminded him of the cacophony of an orchestra as it tuned its instruments: dissonance, suddenly resolving into harmony. It was the rumble, not of thunder, but its low, rolling precursor, trembling on the horizon. It was all of that. It was none of that. It was sheer animal instinct, and it reached up and grabbed him by the throat. Her. Her."

And if there's something no one can deny about Ash, it's that he always follows his instincts:

"A better phrase might have been that he possessed a sheer animal instinct. As if the reactive beast buried deep inside him could recognize truths that human intelligence, dulled by years of education, could not."

And they are leading him to Margaret. And he is determined to win her over. It shouldn't be too difficult. After all, he is endlessly charming. Everyone loved him, right?

Margaret Lowell is actually Lady Anna Margaret, the daughter of the Duke of Parford She remained in the manor to see what kind of man Ash was and to report it to her brothers, to help them in the fight for the title. But, slowly, Ash starts to win her over, despite her original protest. And he won her over by showing her all she is and could be. But first came flirting and teasing

“I brown terribly in the sunlight. I’ll develop freckles.”
“Oh, no. That sounds awful.” He spoke with exaggerated solicitude, but he leaned down from his horse until his nose was a bare foot from hers. “Freckles. And what do those dastardly spots portend? Are freckled people thrown in prison? Pilloried? Covered in tar and sprinkled with tiny little down feathers?”

Then the encouragement:

“So call me Ash,” he said with a smile. “Call me Ash, not for me, but as a small defiance. Call me Ash because you deserve it. Because your station is just so many words in a parish register, not a sentence of death.”

And, finally, the love:

“And then you looked at me and you told me I mattered. You didn’t need theories or arguments to make me believe it. You just…looked. And you believed.”

“I love that you make me feel as if I’m the only woman in the world. I love that you’ll always be there for me.” She sat up on the bed, and her petticoats fell, so that only her toes peeked out at him from underneath those layers of fabric. “I want to paint my own canvas, Ash. And I want you on it with me."

There were problems, of course. The biggest being Margaret's real identity and the necessity to choose between her brothers and him.

"He stared up at her, and then slowly, slowly, he gave her a brilliant grin—one that lit the darkest corners of her wary soul. He was all light, no darkness. It was Margaret herself who cast shadows."

But when Ash wants something and feels something is right. He gets it. Always.

So, what else to say about this book. I obviously loved it. I liked its originality, the characters, both Ash and Margaret were great and so right for each other. I loved the brothers, too. Especially Mark. A Practical Guide To Chastity, indeed *snort*. I loved the humor and the romance. the whole damn thing. So, to everyone reading this review... No I did not post the entire novel here, and there's so much more. And you should consider-I'm not usually a fan of historical romance, so me saying that means a lot.

Oh, and the only thing I remained curious about-what's Ash's full name?

ETA Never mind the last bit, Erika told me "And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet" No, I'm not kidding.

[Carol Cork *Young at Heart Oldie* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is only the second book I’ve read by Courtney Milan but she has already become an auto-buy author.

I was totally captivated by Unveiled. It is original, beautifully written, with finely crafted characters and a tender love story.



How I imagined Parford House, Somerset

He wasn’t supposed to be handsome. He wasn’t supposed to be human. He wasn’t supposed to have any good qualities at all.

Ash totally captured my heart with his charm, kindness and sincerity. I love his innate ability to understand people and make them feel special. This scene with Mrs Benedict, the housekeeper, is one of my favourites.

”Go on with you!” Mrs Benedict wagged a finger at him, as if he were a wayward child. “I’m fifty-five, if I’m a day, and I’ve watched every last hair on my head turn gray.”
Ash frowned at her and peered at the unruly curls peeking out of from under her cap. “Silver,” he said. “Like moonlight, I think.”
She burst into laughter then, and Ash knew he’d won. It wasn’t flirtation – no sense of awareness had passed between him and the housekeeper. It was something sweeter and friendlier. He’d seen her as a person, rather than a servant, and she knew it.

A self-made man, Ash has worked hard for his wealth and there’s no mistaking his aura of strength and confidence. But no-one knows his deepest secret, not even his brothers. Seeing this vulnerable side to him made me adore him even more.

I can even forgive him for inadvertently hurting Margaret in his desire for revenge simply because…

He thought she was magnificent and he meant it - really meant it – beyond all possibility of fabrication

He’d robbed her of her name, her dowry, her everything.

I adore Margaret. Despite having her life turned upside down, being declared a bastard, and being shunned by her friends, she still retains her dignity and inner strength. I admire her fierce loyalty to her family, although they certainly don’t deserve it.

How do you choose between your family and the man you love? I really felt for Margaret having such a terrible dilemma.

She walked through the gallery, the sunset painting the walls variegated shades- not dark, not light – but a dizzying blend of the two, echoing the muddle in her mind.

I love how ultimately she is able to take charge of her life on her own terms.

Ms Milan develops the romance between Ash and Margaret in a believable and completely satisfying way. Even though I knew they would have a happy ending, there are still bitter-sweet moments when the obstacles in their path seem so insurmountable. I love how unpredictable Ash is. When I thought I knew how he would react to a certain situation, he would totally surprised me. Never more so than when he discovers Margaret’s true identity. The love scenes fit the mood of the story perfectly. They aren't particularly explicit, but written with such skill that they're still sensual. I loved the ending which seemed the perfect conclusion to such a wonderful story.

I am really intrigued by Ash’s brothers, Mark and Smite, and I’m hoping their own books will throw light on what happened whilst they were living on the streets of Bristol.

VERDICT: SUPERB, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

RATING: ★★★★★


The Turner Series:

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5.0

Courtney Milan is quickly becoming an all-time favorite HR author for me and "Unveiled" is the perfect example as to why. The characters of Ash Turner and Lady Margaret are two of the most endearing, yet believable, honorable yet torn characters on page today. The story is engaging with twists and turns one never expects - especially the big one at the end! The only glitch for me was the "from the moment he saw her he knew he would seduce her" aspect.. it just didn't fit with his otherwise sigh-worthy, clutch the book and fan the face characterization. The type of man Ash was would not be so blase' about ruining a young woman whether nurse or aristocrat. With that exception, this story is the stuff romance is made of and the reason people gobble it up!

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2

Margaret wanted to despise Ash Turner. He had exposed her father’s bigamy, ruined her mother’s reputation, made her and her brother’s bastards and through legal machinations was attempting to inherit everything that belonged to her family. But Ash Turner wasn’t at all who she expected when he shows up to inspect the holdings. He’s handsome and amiable and quickly charms the staff. He seems to truly care about the people and the holdings and may possibly make a better duke than her own father, much to Margaret’s dismay.

“One thing was for certain. Ash Turner was going to be a damn nuisance.”

Margaret is torn. She stayed behind, posing as a nursemaid to the ailing duke in order to keep him safe and also to spy on Ash and report all of his failings back to her brothers who are attempting to get reinstated as legitimate heirs with a case in parliament. But Ash isn’t nearly as awful as she suspected. He’s kind, level headed, very business savvy and he ignites a longing in her she desperately attempts to keep at bay. She’s lying to him after all and considering deceiving him in the worst way when he spills a very private secret about himself. The more time they spend together the more difficult it is for her to tell him the truth.

This was a fabulous love story, developed well with strong characterization and beautifully done sexual tension. At first I was all set to dislike Ash. After all, this is a guy who swoops in and basically takes over an estate booting out another family without a second thought to any innocent lives involved, all so he can seek revenge and lavish his brothers with luxury (brothers who don’t even want it). And right off the bat, he spies a beautiful maid and declares her his before they’ve even had a conversation. What a jerk, right? But he’s not a jerk as I quickly discovered. He has layers and reasons for behaving the way he does and I warmed up to him fast. Who wouldn’t love a guy with a great sense of humor and a sense of dogged devotion to those he loves?

Margaret, perhaps?

“I have no wish to be your sordid love slave!”

She is an equally likable and well developed character, with some past hurts that help to round out her character and her own fierce sense of devotion to those she loves. She eventually gets to the point where she doesn’t know who to trust anymore. I really did feel for her and admired her loyalty to her family even when I wanted to scream “Tell him the freaking truth, already!” But she couldn’t and it was as frustrating for me as it was for her.

I have a few minor complaints. There were loose ends left dangling regarding Ash’s relationship with his brothers so I didn’t feel a complete sense of closure there. That bugged me. I also wanted to know more about Mark’s childhood but maybe that was done purposefully so the author could keep us panting for their books? I don’t know but she’s suckered me into wanting to read them. Also, because I am no expert on heirs, holdings, dukedom’s and all that jazz I was a little lost as to how the conclusion worked itself out. It seemed to come to quick and tidy after the big build-up but what do I know? Other than those minor nits I found this a thoroughly engaging and charming romance.

[willaful · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got off on the wrong foot with this: Ash, the newly established heir to a dukedom, is immediately smitten with the old Duke’s “nurse” and in his interactions with her, he seemed like the kind of 1960’s guy who would convince women they had to have sex with him if they really believed in Free Love. I don’t trust men who are proud of themselves for not being rapists.

Luckily, Ash heroed up very fast and turned out to be an awesome guy. I particularly appreciated how indifferent he was to the news that “Nurse” Margaret had been deceiving him -- he loved her and trusted her completely. As befits such a confident man, who bases his life on his instincts about people, his devotion is sincere and unflagging.

My main complaint overall is the same I noticed with Unclaimed: early "telling" instead of showing that simply doesn't need to be there. Everything we need to know comes out, more subtly nuanced, in the story.

I'm sorry I read this series out of order, because there’s a weight of backstory in this first book that really adds meaning. I’m just fascinated by the Turner family now and wish I had the time to reread Unclaimed. (I did pick up Unlocked to skim and wound up rereading the whole thing.)

[Katrina Passick Lumsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Courtney Milan can do no wrong in my book. This one wasn't one of my favorites, but it was still an engaging, enjoyable, well-written romance. Milan's sex scenes are always hot without tumbling into squick or, even worse, spouting cliches. Terms like "searing kiss" and "rocked her to her core" are really starting to piss me off, and thank heavens, Milan does not stoop to that level.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Courtney Milan is SO good at writing historical romances and putting a slightly different twist on old and overused tropes. The stories never go quite like you expected and it's genuinely refreshing to see. A lovely relationship, a lovely story, a wonderful writer. Obsessed with her, honestly, no one else quite compares.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unveiled is a blended story that roots for love, whether it’s filial or romantic, meshed with an intriguing buildup.

The story follows Ash Turner, a self-made man who rose to power by outwitting his enemies. He is determined, and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty if the situation requires it. His desire to take revenge on the man who had forsaken his family had landed him as the possible heir of a dukedom.  Then, he meets Lady Margaret. To his knowledge, she was the nurse to the duke of the manor, but little does he know, she’s one of his children.

I started reading a handful of regency books last year. There are so many that stood out for me, they all have an uplifting ending, swoony romance, and feminist values. What makes Milan’s books shine brighter for me is how she makes everything more unique. (Note: this is not a jab to other regency authors) She has a distinctive voice that I didn’t know I yearn for until I started reading her works.

The plot for Unveiled seems simple as if you’ve read it before. As expected, there is a robust presence of philosophy, politics, but the strongest focal point lies within the craft of the characters.  We have a selfish, callous hero; who doesn’t conform with the parameters of the societal expectation. He’s the kind of Alpha male that respects and love women. I love his unfailing loyalty to her brothers.

The heroine Margaret has been through several hurdles, but still she tries. I love how she constantly struggled with her familial duties and her honor. Her growth from page one to the end has been notable.

The Romance

The romance is spectacular, it made my eyes misty at some point.  Ash seduces–offers everyone he knows regardless of their station a promise of their self-worth. And to Margaret, who has barely hanging on with her insanity, he is dangerous. The validation is too tempting.

Similar to each other, they are both caught in between their loyalty to their family. There’s boundaries. I love how Milan avoided the usual plot device such as miscommunication for drama. This is the romance we all need.

“And then you looked at me and you told me I mattered. You didn’t need theories or arguments to make me believe it. You just… looked. And you believed.”

They’d touched before— in affection, in lust, even in comfort. But her hand, stroking his, returning the strong grip he gave her— this was something different.

“There is… there is something I came here to tell you, Ash. There’s a great deal you don’t know about me. But right now, I want you to know one thing.” Her hand whispered up behind him, finding the nape of his neck. She drew his head down to rest against hers.

“You matter,” she whispered to him. “You are important. And you are the single most magnificent man I have ever had the honor of meeting.”

Unveiled is a remarkable introduction to a series. It’s a good primer for new readers dipping their toes into regency romance. The short e-novella, Unlocked, set in this world is also a great read. It is not to be missed. 

Review also posted at Hollywood News Source.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

When it comes to historical romances, something different can be so refreshing. Unveiled had the potential to stand out, to be different. It doesn't have a common theme like romance between the rake and the innocent. What it has is a romance between an honorable man and an honorable but not-so-innocent lady.

Ash Turner was a figure of a gentleman, through and through. He had all the kindness and patience. He survived from poverty, he makes his own fortune. He knows how to treat a woman with all the respect she deserves. He had all the qualities we want from a man. There's nothing he wouldn't do for his brothers and the woman he loves. He was as perfect as a brother could be, as perfect as a lover could be. And that, unfortunately, was a big problem for me. When I wanted him to be angry, he remained calm. When I wanted him to be harsh, he turned soft. When I wanted him to hold his forgiveness, he gave it instantly. When I wanted him to put the blame on someone else, he blamed himself. I couldn't find a flaw in Ash Turner. I needed something like cruelty, impatiences, wickedness, greed, any imperfections other than dyslexia because I didn't consider that disability as a flaw. It might have ruined the figure of perfection, but his character was emotionally flawless.

Lady Anna Margaret was smart, brave, and just as kind as Ash. She, like Ash, would do anything for her brothers. I didn't mind with the self sacrificing for the sake of her brothers, albeit Margaret's brothers are nothing like the Turners. I could understand her unconditional love for her family. My problem with Margaret was her deception. It had lasted for way too long. While Ash trusted his deepest secret to her, whom he believed as the Duke's nurse, she couldn't trust him enough to reveal the truth about her sooner.

Reading the first half had been a struggle for me. It was slow, I wasn't allowed to go anywhere else except the manor, nothing important happened, and there are quite a lot of internal conversations where Ash and Margaret were discovering how they truly feel toward each other. It had gotten me bored. Thankfully, I enjoyed the second half of the book where things are starting to happen.

Courtney Milan's has a beautiful way to express love in words, delivers it to her readers, and fills our heart with it. Although sometimes, just sometimes, I felt it was too flowery. I was touched by how Ash and Margaret love each of their family, with all the good and the bad the families have.

All in all, Unveiled was enjoyable. I liked it. But because of my issues with the characters, it wasn't memorable to me. I will continue the series, I'm curious with Mark and -especially- Smite.

Note: Buddy read with Anna and Mimi. There are plenty of nice quotes, but I couldn't use one because Mimi took it all.

[Jess the Romanceaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't come up with a synopsis that didn't contain spoilers, and since this book isn't out yet, I'll begin with the official blurb:
Ash Turner has waited a lifetime to seek revenge on the man who ruined his family—and now the time for justice has arrived. At Parford Manor, he intends to take his place as the rightful heir to the dukedom and settle an old score with the current duke once and for all. But instead he finds himself drawn to a tempting beauty who has the power to undo all his dreams of vengeance…

Lady Margaret knows she should despise the man who's stolen her fortune and her father's legacy—the man she's been ordered to spy on in the guise of a nurse. Yet the more she learns about the new duke, the less she can resist his smoldering appeal. Soon Margaret and Ash find themselves torn between old loyalties—and the tantalizing promise of passion….

What worked for me:
* Ash is now positively one of my favorite historical heroes. He's alpha without being brutish, he's talented without being perfect, and he's arrogant without being cruel. Above all, however, he felt real. He loves his brothers dearly and wants nothing in the world more than their happiness. While it's true he has an unfortunate tendency to trample over those who come between him and that goal, it's done more out of a sort of tunnel-vision rather than deliberate disregard for others.

* I love stories where the hero is the one pursuing the heroine, rather than the other way around.

* I really love the revenge plot, and how what originally seems to be the perfect revenge in the beginning turns sour as Ash slowly begins to comprehend what his actions have truly done to others.

* I also loved how Margaret was forced to examine her previous actions and beliefs in regards to society in general. Her being shown how fickle society really could be, as well as how servants are human and are just as important as their "betters" was well done I think.

* The last conversation that Margaret has with her father in this book literally had me cheering.

What didn't work for me:
* We never really got any history as to what happened to Smite and Mark while Ash was in India, and there was no real resolution between the brothers. I am desperately hoping that this is the start of a new series, however, because I'm greatly intrigued by both of Ash's brothers.

When rating a book, I think about many things. The writing style, the storyline, the depth of the characters, and of course, the overall enjoyability of the read. I'm very happy to say that the first three factors were very well done, and as for enjoyability? Well, I simply couldn't put it down and I closed the book with a smile on my face. A very solid 5/5 Stars.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this romance novel.

Ash Turner is a self-made man, driven by a desire to give his brothers more than he had. He has made his fortune by the beginning of the book but feels remorse for having functionally abandoned his brothers for years while doing so. At least he was able to extract revenge on the man who might have saved his sister when she needed medical aid Ash hadn't the funds to provide. Ash has found proof that Lord Dalrymple had married a mistress in his youth and had put her aside quietly rather than go through the humiliating mess of securing an actual divorce. Since Dalrymple's sons (by the society lady he later married, making him a bigamist and his two sons and daughter officially illegitimate) have tormented Ash's brothers, Ash has no qualms bringing the past to light and, as Dalrymple's distant relation, becoming heir now that Dalrymple's sons are proven bastards (in the literal, as well as figurative, sense).

Margaret Dalrymple has just lost everything. She has been proven a bastard along with her brothers and her fall from society's grace has been painful. She agrees to stay with her father as a nurse while Ash visits the estate. She keeps her identity "secret" (from Ash, it's not like the servants don't know) and agrees to spy for her brothers who are embroiled in legal action trying to get themselves reinstated as legitimate by act of parliament. They need any information they can use to sway the House of Lords who, after all, aren't likely to want a man of trade to join their ranks.

However unlikely the premise, the characters in this book really sparkled, but in a literary, effervescent way. Not literally. Their skins weren't like diamonds or anything. THEY JUST SPARKLED, DAMMIT! I liked Ash and his struggle to build a relationship with his estranged brothers was endearing. There's a lot standing in the way of Ash and Margaret getting together. The magic of the book is not just that they manage to overcome these obstacles (duh, it's a romance novel) but in how they end up doing so in such a way as to show how truly made for each other they are.

A final note: this book is on the high end of my steamy scale with one or two pretty graphic sex scenes and a couple sensual interludes. That's likely on the lower end of most people's scale. If the story wasn't so outstanding I doubt I'd pursue the rest of the series (it looks like a book per brother). As it stands, I'll just have to grin and bear it. Uh, maybe grin was the wrong word, there...

[Diana~ (Kiss Me Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say, Courney Milan did an excellent job making the perfect hero in her newest installment, Unveiled! Everything I thought Ash would become as a character, was entirely different as to how he truly became later in the book. He was sweet, loveable, protective, and very endearing-- even if some of the things that he did made me want to smack him for hurting Margaret. And Margaret, oh she was a strong heroine all right. From the very beginning, she was smart, full of wit and a backbone; which I absolutely adore about her! The story began with the two as enemies but slowly and surely, they both begin to fall in love with one another.

As for the secret, I felt as if the "lie" would eventually lead to many heartbreaks along the way. But... Ash proved me wrong, again. He actually embraced it and didn't blame her?! Which I thought was very sweet and touching. See how different he is from other males during that era? Instead, he blamed Margaret's brothers because they were the ones who left her alone and unprotected! And, I couldn't possibly agree with more. As for others characters in the book, I also really liked Ash's younger brother Mark. He was so awkwardly innocent and very wicked at the same time. Just read the book and find out why. ;)

Now, let's talk about the romance! It was rather very cute and very sexy at the same time. I can honestly say that Ash is an Alpha/Beta male who could be very sweet to his lady love one moment, and yet very possesive the next. I loved the forbbiden romance feeling that these two characters have for one another because of that fact that they can never be together... or can they? Even though Ash didn't realize she was supposedly a daughter of his enemy until halfway through the book, my heart broke for Margaret because she was stuck in a situation that she didn't want to be in. She never meant to fall in love with him, but it was just too great to stop. In the end, there would be only two choices that she could make: Her family or her love for Ash?

Overall, I loved the ending for this book because it was very heart-warming... and sweet! The characters were great, the romance was lovely, and I even forgave Margaret's brother (well one of them anyway) in the end. This was truly another great book by Courney Milan ever since Proof By Seduction. I will definitely be buying my own copy once this is published!

[Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

How could I have rated this book only 3 stars previously?? How could I???

Well, I love Ash and Margaret this time around! I love the writing, the subtle humor, the vulnerability, the passion.

I love that he literally fell in love with her at first sight!! And I didn't have to read a single word about womanizing or mistresses or other women (SOOOOO rare in my books these days!). It was all about Margaret for Ash. And he's SUCH a good man.

Sigh....

I was pretty mad at her for choosing her stupid brothers over him at one point, but she came around. And he - he ALWAYS put her first. That's a Hero to die for!

[Juliana Philippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars upon reread

"What do you want?" Her hands were shaking. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Miss Lowell, you magnificent creature, I want you to paint your own canvas. I want you to unveil yourself."

Such a good book! Ash and Margaret are both complex and lovable characters and I love how their romance evolved. Ash is definitely one of my favorite heroes; he's so bold and strong and yet vulnerable and sweet too, and oh so romantic and reliable and dependable with Margaret, who has no one else to rely on but herself, practically. The servants keep her secret of who she is and support her, but her family is dead or has basically abandoned her. I loved Margaret's evolution, because from what we learn she wasn't that great or strong a character before all of this happened to her, which reminded me a bit of one of Mary Balogh's book, Someone to Hold , where the heroine really turns out better for having been bastardized.

Ash's brothers drive me nuts, as much as I loved them individually in their respective books, because Ash tries so hard to make up for his absence in their youth and for what they went through in their childhood, and wants to give them everything. But for many reasons, he feels so apart from them and feels set apart from them, by them. And he hasn't trusted either with his secret, that he's basically illiterate, and is alone in this vulnerability. I was surprised when he confessed it to Margaret, because it seemed pretty early on for him to tell her, but as we know, Ash follows his instincts, and he has certain instincts when it comes to Margaret.

_________________________

4.75 stars A ridiculous star-rating, I know! But I can't decide between 4.5 and 5. My face is splitting in half right now from the grin I'm wearing, having just finished reading it, so what is holding me back? Well I know what's holding me back—his immediate attraction to her at the beginning. Such a small thing; need to get over myself. This book was AMAZING!! Can't believe I've waited till now to finally read this series.

Full review to come.

Don't feel like writing a full review, so am just going to write down some of my thoughts:
— Unbelievable hero, who very quickly made it onto my favorites list; Ash is so swoon-worthy in every way: he's so sweet, tender, charming, deliciously upfront and aggressive, but also vulnerable, lonely, in need of love. He's fantastic and totally makes the book.
— Margaret is a great heroine as well and the way the plot goes, there is definitely a lot of angst surrounding her actions and the reason she's in the household (and undercover), but Maxton pulled it all off brilliantly.
—Love Ash's brothers and can't wait to read their stories!!!
—Margaret's brothers and her father were such insufferable cads. OMG I couldn't take it; drove me bonkers, especially that she continues to feel she has an obligation and loyalty to them. I get the principle of why she feels that way, especially given that her father's lack of those things is what put them in this difficult spot, but still ... They were horrid.

So quote-worthy, so sigh-worthy, angst-ridden, great supporting characters, you really don't know how things are going to possibly work out. So fantastic!

And again: love, love, LOVE Ash!!!!!

(The only thing I will say was a little off was Ash's reaction when he finds out.)