December 13, 2010
Historical goofs mar this otherwise compelling Victorian romance. Ash Turner becomes heir to the dukedom of Parford after uncovering evidence that the current duke's children, Ash's distant cousins, are illegitimate. Among the suddenly disinherited is the beautiful Lady Margaret Dalrymple, now shunned by society. Ash has no idea that the dying duke's beautiful nurse is actually Margaret, set to spy on Ash and collect material to support her brothers' countersuit for a decree of legitimacy. Instantly attracted to almost impossibly kind and charismatic Ash, Margaret is torn between newfound love and loyalty to her boorish brothers. While the love story is genuinely satisfying and Margaret's dilemma movingly portrayed, Milan (Proof by Seduction) leaves Ash's complex relationship with his brothers unresolved--perhaps to be explored further in sequels--and makes the conflict dependent on the unlikely scenario of Parliament legitimizing a bigamist's bastards, fatally marring an otherwise promising novel.
February 15, 2011
Ash Turner has taken everything from Margaret Dalrymple: her name, her dowry, and her fianc'e. But Margaret isnt about to give up without a good fight. After discovering that Margarets father, the Duke of Parford, married her mother without bothering to divorce his first wife, Ash petitions Parliament to declare Margaret and her two brothers bastards, thus awarding the titleand everything that goes with itto Ash. And when Ash arrives at her familys ancestral estate to take up his duties as the new duke, Margaret is ready for him. While acting as nurse to her ailing father, who, until his death, is still the rightful duke, she intends to find out information about Ash that she can use to discredit his claims to the title. The flaw in her plan is the fact that Ash is so irresistibly nice. In her latest expertly executed historical, Milan delivers splendidly nuanced characters and a quietly compelling and emotionally complex plot. An addictively readable tale of revenge and redemption, love and family, Unveiled is brilliant.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)