Redemption in Romance: When It Works and When It Doesn't

Two books about redemption by the same author, Eliot Grayson, point to the problem of redemption and romance. 

In The Alpha's Gamble, Blake is a self-entitled playboy who once harmed Declan, hotel owner. Now, Declan is forcing Blake to a reckoning. And they fall in love--after a number of misunderstandings. 

In Lost and Bound, animal-shifter Jared once tried to take control of his pack by betraying and using various people. Trapped by someone who was using him, he ends up meeting Calder. They become lovers. Jared comes to a personal reckoning and eventually reunites with the people he betrayed, who forgive him. 

The difference has to do with experience. In The Alpha's Gamble, at one point, Blake tries to tell Declan that he is being watched, possibly stalked. Declan doesn't entirely believe him and later states, "It's like the boy who cries wolf..."

And here's the thing: Declan isn't wrong. He is wrong in this instance, but he isn't wrong to use past experience as a guide. 

Calder, however, doesn't have that baggage. Jared doesn't lie to Calder about what he did to other people, and Calder objectively assesses Jared's level of culpability. He doesn't have any personal reason to distrust Jared. 

Experience matters. Trusting one's past judgment matters. Being able to trust those instincts matters. 

Consequently, I don't entirely believe in the Blake-Declan relationship. I'm not saying forgiveness isn't possible. But, again, forgiveness doesn't automatically annihilate experience. Cesar Millan's willingness to go back into the "ring" with red-zone dogs isn't the product of naivety but a willingness to try again without holding the dog's state against the dog. 

Asking humans to do the same is an ideal--I'm not sure, however, that it makes for a comfortable relationship for either party.

That is, Blake can, in fact, redeem himself. Declan can, in fact, forgive him.  

That doesn't mean the relationship will work. It doesn't mean that Declan won't forever associate a particular set of memories and feelings--(Give me a break; you just make stuff up, you weasel)--with the person before him. Whether or not he should is a separate question from reality: we know what we know because of things that happen. Age and experience do matter. The "what" of our personalities--what we do, what we see, what we choose--does matter.