Alright, lots of thoughts, lots of feelings. Ultimately, I really liked Unclaimed! But I have some think-y thoughts and that's all they are, really.

I'll start with what I enjoyed: Mark is an advocate for men's chastity. He wrote a book about his beliefs that became wildly popular - to the point where The QUEEN herself ordered a special leather-bound copy made, and scores other men have formed an unsanctioned club in the book's honor (complete with armbands, secret hand signals and wonky writings by fervent fans). Other reviewers have pointed out how, essentially, Mark accidentally inspired a bunch of men to become proud incels (but more like voluntarily celibate, I suppose lol). To be clear, Mark does not support these men or how they have interpreted his writings. This storyline was so fascinating to me because it feels like SUCH A THING that is real.

I was constantly vacillating between feeling sorry for and rolling my eyes at Mark for not realizing how his book would inspire a bunch of misogynists (I roll my eyes in a good way lol his ignorance was so well-written). like OF COURSE these men were always going to find a way to exploit Mark's message. And although he became more and more unsettled by the behavior of these men, he did very little to curb these zealots. I don't know, MARK, maybe you should have attempted to stay ahead of things a bit? He even thinks to himself early on, "why was it that men had to take every good principle and turn it into some sort of a club?" Also the more Mark emphasized how it is women who suffer while unchaste men always seem to land on their feet; it starts to feel a little bit patronizing (again, the ignorance was so accurate).

Mark's whole chosen chastity situation reminded me of the Josh Hartnett film, 40 Days and 40 Nights in that the longer the MMC holds tightly to his chastity pledge, after meeting someone they fancy, the more ridiculous and harmful this pledge becomes (especially since these are not life-long pledges. In Hartnett's case it is only for 40 days and in Mark's case until marriage). like come on and just Live! Love! Fuck! But this knowledge - that you recognize you no longer have use for previous constraints you placed upon yourself, that having sex is not the issue - arrives after unnecessary hardship. I appreciate that Milan showed this change with Mark; it was slow but natural. It was an enjoyable frustration, reading Mark's ideas being misconstrued so terribly AND that his book and ideas deserved some strong pushback especially from himself. And I suppose he doesn't really push back on his published thoughts enough, but alas his growth worked for me.

What didn't work for me as much was Jessica's portrayal of a self-loathing courtesan. So much of her story is about how sad and depressed she is due to her work as a courtesan and her status as a fallen woman, that she cannot recall a time when she derived any pleasure from sex. . . these are just tired ideas about sex workers. In some bonus content at the back of the book, Milan wrote how she wanted to explore the virgin-man and courtesan-woman dynamic and I agree it is a compelling concept! I actually think a better version of this dynamic is Jenny Nordbak's Her Filthy Rockstar. But Nordbak is a former sex worker, so it is not a surprise she would write sex workers who enjoy sex, their careers and like themselves as they are. Jessica's self-loathing was often in contrast to Mark's love of himself: Mark often thinks and says aloud, "Hey, I like myself!" That repeated contrast became disheartening after a while.

I am often reminded how unkind the genre is to sex workers and how sex work is treated like a trope when sex work is a political term that was coined by Carol Leigh, the "Scarlet Harlot" a sex work activist (among so many other things, RIP). There is a deficit of empathy in regard to sex workers and not just in books published over 10 years ago, this is still an issue today (and my gaia, not just books - society as a whole has this issue so I do not lay blame on romance). I've been having some excellent conversations with sex workers who read romance, about Romance's Sex Work Problem, and I hope to share insights in the near future. I love this interview from the Holly Randall Unfiltered show with Kaytlin Bailey - who speaks about how sex workers think of themselves and their work and how that contrasts with civilians' ideas about how sex workers should think about themselves. It is especially poignant that Bailey points out that the fallen woman often found freedom in the fall: Kaytlin Bailey: The History and Future of Sex Workers ( )

This book was amazing and wonderful and romantic and suspenseful and just so many great things all wrapped together. It's such a poignant story with an amazing message that needs to be screamed louder for the people in the back. If you can't control yourself or behave properly, that is not the woman's fault. It is never the victim's fault. Even though this book is set in the 1840s, it's still so relevant to today.

One of my favorite tropes is the courtesan heroine, and Milan did not disappoint with Jessica. She knows what she wants, and she goes for it. She doesn't let scruples get in the way until she's made her transformation, and then her scruples work with her. A couple times, it felt like she was making a mountain out of a molehill, but she wasn't wrong. Milan made her concerns relateable and contemporary with any reader. She's such a strong character, and I loved reading about her.

I was a little concerned that with Mark being the virgin hero and only wanting sex until he was with the woman he would marry would make the novel boring, but Milan was able to keep the story sexy and romantic without being creepy or lewd. I couldn't put it down. I had to know how the two would get together!

Highly HIGHLY recommend this book. I think everyone who loves historical romance should read this. ( )

2nd read- This is a little bit of an unconventional love story, with a hero who's famed for promoting chastity and being a virgin, matched with a courtesan. They're both likable and well suited though, so it's fun to watch their feelings develop. There aren't any particularly bad parts, but I think it would have been a bit better with some of the extraneous parts trimmed down. It's kind of slow paced, and teeters on lagging in places. But, like I said, the parts as they are aren't bad in themselves, it would just tighten up the story some. ( )

I finished this today in the car ride to my sister's - I don't usually read in the car, but I couldn't put it down. I absolutely adore Milan's Turner series and this installment just builds upon its brilliantness (which seems to not be a word but it is now!). I love Mark and Jessica as well as how the rest of the Turner family got involved. Cannot wait to read the next one! Will it be Smite's turn to catch the eye of an awesome lady? ( )

I wasn't interested in Mark. At all.

Until the first pages of this book.

I didn't really like the first Turner, something was really off, so I will definitely admit revisiting this was a) hoping for CMM (CM magic, obvs) again, via smart discussions and flawed characters in tough situations. I was looking for the hero who simply loves the woman for all that she is, not for her being different, and those heroes seeing all she is besides. Ever noticed how her heroes listen? They think. So do her heroines, and there's one particular point in this book after a big conflict where Jessica shows up to Mark after he is devastated, and she made me cry.

So when I set out to read this book, I was simultaneously dreading it and pinning my hopes on it.

I haven't read much in the past week. I haven't wanted to. I stayed up with this book much past my bedtime and woke up reaching for it--and hopefully that says what this review doesn't. 4.25 ( )