Unclaimed (Turner, #2) in Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn

Oct 18, 2011 Zumbagirl rated it it was amazing

Shelves: childhood-tragedy, 2012, hidden-identity, impossible-problem, amazing-dialogue, virgin-hero, courtesan-heroine, brothers, fallen-angel-victimized, duel-scene

Unclaimed was Unbelievable! This is one of my least favorite tropes - courtesan heroine and virgin hero. But it was so much more than that! Love these Turner brothers - Ash, Mark and Smite. This is Mark's story, who has recently become an unparalleled success for his book, A Gentleman's Practical Guide to Chastity (and chastity is hard!). Mark seemed like a good guy - maybe too good? - and is very likeable. Jessica wants to change her life around and an opportunity presents itself for her - but ...more

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Oct 26, 2011 PoligirlReads rated it did not like it

I am usually a pretty big fan of Milan. She's one of those writers whose work sneaks up on you. By this I mean, I find myself reading along, not feeling particularly invested, just trying to slog through, when BOOM! I suddenly find myself laughing (and/or crying) and saying, "Where did that magic come from?!" Now when her books are good (Proof of Seduction, This Wicked Gift, Unveiled), this feels like the ultimate payoff for the reader. You hung in there, and you got your reward. But when it's n ...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Diane Peterson rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle-books, historical-romance

A very good book. I really admire the way that Courtney Milan tackles unusual issues. I also liked the fact that the hero is blonde (why do they ALL have dark hair? Ok, I married a blonde.). The ending was a little short and pat, but it was a very compelling book overall.

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Oct 25, 2011 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

I really, really enjoyed this second book in the Turner series written by Courtney Milan. After reading several romances in a row I tend to find that the stories are pretty much interchangeable. I still enjoy the stories, but they don't move me much at all because I've heard it all before. Change the names of the characters, you basically have the same story. But in Unclaimed Milan is able to craft a romantic tale that has the added bonus of giving me pause to think about some of the deeper them I really, really enjoyed this second book in the Turner series written by Courtney Milan. After reading several romances in a row I tend to find that the stories are pretty much interchangeable. I still enjoy the stories, but they don't move me much at all because I've heard it all before. Change the names of the characters, you basically have the same story. But in Unclaimed Milan is able to craft a romantic tale that has the added bonus of giving me pause to think about some of the deeper themes of the story. That is not often something that I see in conventional period romance novels, and I appreciated it in this one.

Unclaimed tells the story of Sir Mark Turner, younger brother of Ash Turner who was the lead hero in the first book in this series. Mark is a philosopher, and he has published the book he was working on in the previous novel of this series. This is a treatise on the advantages of chastity for men, and it becomes a roaring success. Mark is knighted by the queen and becomes an overnight sensation. As the novel begins he is fighting journalists and overeager mothers who flock to his side whenever he leaves the house. He has been turned into a saint, and he hates it. He longs for privacy and the opportunity to spend time with someone who truly knows who he is, not just the myth of him that has been created in the public discourse.

In the midst of all of this Jessica is a courtesan who is in despair because of financial difficulties that will require her to find a "protector", essentially a man who will keep her as a mistress at his whim. No solution to her problems seems to be a good one, so she takes the easiest solution she sees which will help her to get out of the horrible cycle she finds herself in which forces her to give herself to men. One of her "protectors" (I absolutely HATE this term for these slimy men) despises Sir Mark and wants to find a way to shame him publicly. He promises to pay Jessica a large sum of money if she will seduce Mark and bring the proof so that Mark can be proven to be a hypocrite. And so the story begins . . .

Mark leaves London, hoping to find some privacy in the small village where he grew up, and Jessica follows him there. Mark finds that he is unable to find any privacy in this village either, and Jessica introduces herself in a way that could have really irked him considering his dislike of the pandering the women of London treat him to in order to hopefully gain him as a husband. However, Mark is able to see something underneath the wanton behavior of Jessica, and a friendship begins.

This is not a friendship that is an easy one. After all Jessica is trying to ruin Mark. However, the more they interact, the more they begin to trust one another. Both of them bring out the best in the other in many ways. I won't get into many more details, except to say that overcoming a past involving prostitution is no easy road. Jessica has years of hurt and pain to overcome, and the reality is that she really does not love herself at all, so it is difficult for her to believe that Mark could ever love her. She believes that happiness is fleeting, and it is better to guard her heart than to open it to something that is fleeting. Mark has his own issues to overcome as well, but his never seem as daunting as Jessica's in the book.

I really loved the discussion in the novel about the role of society's views of chastity in the day. In many ways you can see the same thing in today's world as well, although not nearly to the extent that it shows itself in 19th century England. However, it was interesting to ponder how chastity was a valued virtue for the women of the day, but the men were not expected to hold the same standards. No one really thought a lot about the fact that if men were being unchaste, then they were the ones who were "despoiling" the women. They were as much to blame, and maybe even more to blame, than the women, and yet society encouraged the men's behaviors while vilifying any women who were revealed to be unchaste for whatever reason. No one in the little town knew of Jessica's past as a courtesan, but they did know that she was not pure, so they shunned her. The men marked her as a temptress and stayed away from her, except to leer at her lustfully while they were condemning her with their words. The double standard in the society was irritating, but Mark worked to try and push against that, gradually getting the people to include Jessica in activities. The entire dialogue about chastity really illustrated the danger faced by women of that age if they did find themselves making a poor decision and then facing social ostracism for it.

That brings up the second theme that I pondered as I read. Jessica made a very naive and silly mistake when she was 14 years old. For that mistake she was thrown out of her family home and eventually declared dead. She was forced into the horrible life as a courtesan in order to survive, and in the process lost a bit of her humanity as she shut down to avoid the emotional repercussions of her actions. Having made these choices Jessica felt as if she was lost for good. She didn't think there was any shot at redemption for her, either in this life or the next. I thought that this story line really rang true to me. How many people make choices that take them on a life of unhappiness, but are unable to take themselves out of that life because of their belief that they have already fallen? There is no hope for them, so they stop trying to live better. Even with Mark's constant words to the contrary, Jessica truly could never forgive herself for her previous actions, so she was unable to move on in her life.

There were parts of this book that were frustratingly agonizing to read. So many times I wanted to just shake Jessica for throwing away the wonderful gift of redemption and forgiveness that Mark was giving her. I was particularly unhappy with her words to him toward the end of the book when she was afraid that Mark would be harmed if he married her. I could understand why Mark took the words so hard and wondered if he could handle a relationship with her if she would constantly be withdrawing because of her fears. I think that this resolved itself a bit too easily, but I did like his way of making things work in the end.

This was a great romance to read. I don't often feel this way about romance books, but I think that this is one that I could re-read again someday. I did really like the hero, Mark. I can't wait until the third and final book in the series when we get to see what happens with Brother #3, Smite. That looks to be really interesting with all of his issues to overcome. ...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Michelle rated it liked it

Shelves: romance-historical

Unclaimed is Mark's story, the youngest of the Turner brothers. It was really good, despite it being more traditional a romance than Unveiled. It didn't click as much for me as Ash's story, but I think it was because Jessica would swaying towards him, then decide she couldn't/wouldn't have him. I liked her forward-thinking feminism (and Mark's too.) But (view spoiler) ...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Mimmy rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-romance, 2013

I didn't start to like this book until I passed the first 100 pages. I liked the idea of Mark as the "rock star" of his time, as his author fame continued to grow. I wanted more interaction with the Turner siblings, which happened towards the end. ...more

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