The more time he spends with her, the more he attempts to make reparations, the deeper in love he falls even knowing that he does not deserve Lady Elaine’s affections and that he may never win her heart. Her laugh had always put him in mind of activities that were decidedly improper.Įvan’s feelings of longing toward Lady Elaine haven’t changed and he attempts to set right the wrongs he did to Lady Elaine. It had made him think that she held nothing back, that life was ahead of her and she planned to enjoy it. She’d been entirely unlike all the other debutantes: not just in body, but with that laugh, that long, loud, vital laugh. When she had come out at seventeen, she had attracted attention, her body mature beyond her age.
We’re not youths any longer.” Even from this distance, Evan could see the ripe swell of her bosom. Who would wed a girl who laughs like a horse?” “I suppose she isn’t Lady Elaine any longer. Instead, it is the same people, with the same prejudices, making the same jokes that he had started 10 years ago, including the one about Lady Elaine. Upon his re-entrance into society, Evan is a changed man but society has not changed with him. He had utterly hated himself.Įvan, recognizing his wrongdoing but afraid of his consequences and unsure of how to react, flees England and doesn’t return for 10 years until his father passes away and Evan is required to come home and take up the stewardship of the family affairs. He’d been the golden boy-handsome and popular and liked by everyone.Īlmost everyone. His jokes had been the funniest-or at least, they had made everyone laugh the loudest. When last he’d been here, he would have been the center of that crowd. But because he was callous and immature, the popular Evan Carlton began to poke at Elaine, making fun of her at nearly every party until she became the butt of every joke in the season, until the vitality of Lady Elaine’s spirit was damped out. Evan Carlton, the young Earl of Westfield, was drawn to this vitality. Lady Elaine Warren entered her first season, flush with excitement and brimming with vitality. My throat was tight and tears pricked the back of my eyes for most of the story. But Unlocked packs an emotional punch from the very opening of the story. I particularly struggled to connect with Ned Carhart in Trial by Desire. I’ve felt, in the past, that your works were smart and thoughtful but sometimes lacking in emotional engagement. I’ve been chomping at the bit to talk about this book with other readers. Jane A Reviews / Book Reviews Courtney Milan / enemies to lovers / Historical Romances / POC author / self-published 34 Comments
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