Unraveled is the third novel in the Turner series by Courtney Milan.
Finished on: 1.11.2025
[Here are my reviews of the other books in the series.]

Content Note: child abuse, stalking (not the main couple)

Plot:
Miranda Darling is trying her best to keep her nose clean, but as a single, poor woman this is hard to achieve. She has a deal with the mysterious patron though, who makes sure that her part of town gets some kind of justice. This deal includes her giving testimony in court under assumed identities. Unfortunately, when she lands in the court of Smite Turner for the second time – or Lord Justice as he is mockingly called for his devotion to the law – he recognizes her. Miranda is sure that her life is over now, but Smite seems more interested in not throwing her in jail. Miranda gets through his considerable defenses, and they both have to figure out what to do with their attraction to each other.

Unraveled didn’t work for me quite as well as the other books in the series. It is well-written and thoughtful, as all of Milan’s stuff, but Smite just isn’t my type of guy.

When I finished the last book, I was already worried a little about Unraveled because Smite seemed to be all brooding, and that just doesn’t work for me usually. I do usually have a soft spot for dutiful guys who are a little too brittle, maybe, who need to learn a little softness – and that is definitely the case for Smite. But tragic backstories usually activate the therapist in me and not so much the romantic. And Smite’s backstory is really harsh. (I did love that Milan is so aware that all the Turner siblings have different experiences with their family and their mother. That part is often overlooked: not all children in abusive families get the same share of that abuse.) It is no wonder that he suffers from PTSD.

I did like the dynamic he has with Miranda (she is an adorable package of wonderfulness). Miranda who has learned to read people sees right through him – and vice versa. That doesn’t make their relationship easy sailing, there is still plenty to figure out. Like Smite needing to learn to let himself be happy, and Miranda that she doesn’t need to solve everything on her own. And the fact that there is certainly a difference in power between the two of them, though Milan handles that part rather delicately, I thought. But it never bloomed into a relationship that really spoke to me on a fundamental level.

The drama in the last part took maybe one loop too many, though I did love that Miranda comes clean to Smite when she is being blackmailed. Now that is how you get out of blackmail: stop having secrets, at least from the ones you love. I also liked how Richard Dalrymple got to redeem himself here.

So, I don’t have much to criticize about the book, it is just a matter of my personal taste that I just didn’t connect with it as much as I would have liked. The biggest emotional moment for me was the big reunion in the final scene which has little to do with Smite, and everything with Miranda and her backstory. While that moment is great, it is an indication of my otherwise lukewarm reaction that it wasn’t a couple moment that spoke to me that much.

Summarizing: a good book, but not for me.