Unlocked

By: Casey L. Bond

Narrated by: Amy Melissa Bentley, Rudy Sanda

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Princess Raya of Paruth lived alone on a deserted island in a towering lighthouse, forgotten by time. With only a loyal albatross as a friend, she had little hope or joy in her life until he washed up on her shore in the middle of a raging winter storm.

Prince Trevor of Galder left his father and kingdom behind to travel north in search of a wife. It was time to settle down and forget Ella Carina, the woman who chose to love a peasant and follow her heart instead of choosing Trevor and fulfilling her duty to her people. He didn't heed the warnings about the North Sea in winter, and his ship, crew, and captain paid the price.

Raya and Trevor must work together to find a way off the island, or risk being trapped there for the rest of their lives. But sometimes the simplest lessons are the hardest, and each will have to learn that the only thing that can truly set you free is love.

Perfect for fans of Holly Black and C.J. Redwine, Unlocked is a unique and imaginative retelling of Rapunzel, set in the world of The Seven Kingdoms as seen in Riches to Rags (Cinderella) and Savage Beauty (Sleeping Beauty) also by Casey L. Bond.

©2018 Casey L. Bond (P)2018 Tantor

Well-written characters, too little communication

So I really liked both Trevor and Rays, especially their time bonding while they were both on the island together, but there was too much "will they or won't they" nonsense. 80% of the conflict in the latter two thirds of the story would have been resolved if either one of them would've just told the other how they felt. The whole "both characters are in love with each other, but neither realizes the other feels the same and so doesn't say anything for fear of ruining the friendship" has been done too many times before; it's always obvious that that eventually they'll end up together. It wouldn't have been so bad if it didn't drag on so long, but it did.
Don't get me wrong -- this was by no means a bad book. It was well-written and I did enjoy it, hence the 4 start rating. There was enough interaction with secondary characters to keep things interesting in spite of the main plot point being cliché and drawn out and the first 3rd of the book was really good.
It was also nice to see Ella and Asher again and get to know Prince Cardan a bit too.
The ending also did manage to surprise me a little, though I won't spoil it.

Abuse isn’t cute

This started off well, but perhaps 1/3 of the way through the story the male love interest started acting in ways that made me think “oh, okay…he’s going to end up the villain.” As the story progressed and the red flags continued to multiply but he still seemed to be the love interest I grew increasingly confused and unsettled, wondering if there was going to be some event that made him realize how abusive he had been and Character Development would occur, but honestly it never really manifested. Some of the problematic behaviors include:

1. He has made it clear that he can’t have a romantic relationship with her but every time he sees her speaking to someone he considers a rival for her affections he behaves coldly toward her and makes her feel as if she has done something wrong that she needs to apologize for.

2. That’s apparently okay, because when she contemplates how unhappy she is in this strange place where she doesn’t understand the culture, she’s being bullied by staff and nobility alike, she’s trying to transition from ten years spent alone to navigating court politics and the one person who swore to help her is lashing out every time she so much as speaks to another man, she remembers that she is entirely dependent on him financially and he has spent money lavishly on her which I guess shows that he cares about her?

3. She comes to a point where she’s able to make a decision on whether to stay or whether to go, and needs some time alone to think. The boundary is further established by the king, who sets a guard on her door with orders to let no one in her room without her permission (it’s telling that anyone would think this might be necessary) and her love interest DOES NOT RESPECT THAT BOUNDARY. That guard is the only reason he stays out, though he shouts to her through the door, begging her to let him in. Apparently this is meant to further demonstrate how much he loves her??

By the last chapter she has said goodbye to her own friends and her One True Love is still behaving jealously and possessively and I’m a little worried for the author and any impressionable young readers who think this is a romance.

What’s strange is that side characters in the story seem to have healthy relationships, seem to be aware that the main characters’ relationship is problematic, and seem to try to guide them toward healthier attitudes, to no avail. I can’t figure out if the author was trying to effect character development that they just couldn’t bring to fruition, or if the author has had such advice offered to them which they interpreted as “they just don’t understand that our love is too strong for boundaries.”

Speaking as someone who has been happily married for over twenty years but was able to overlook the problems in some of my favorite stories like Beauty and the Beast and The Phantom of the Opera, this book nevertheless reads like a textbook on What Not To Do for a happy and sustainable relationship.

*edited to add* I almost forgot to address the narration. The female narrator did well, but it was really hard to get through the male narrated sections. All of his voices were kind of overdone and cartoonish…probably entertaining in a story for children younger than eight or nine, but pretty annoying for older listeners. Props to him for really giving it his all to give each character their own voice, but he needed to have dialed it back a bit.