Award-winning author Alyssa Cole returns with her highly-acclaimed Loyal League series exploring the untold role of people of color in the fight to end slavery. This time, an assassination plot could end the Civil War, and a hidden enemy could destroy a secret league of unsung heroes . . . Daniel Cumberland, born free in Massachusetts, studied law with dreams of helping his people—dreams that … his people—dreams that died the night he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Daniel is rescued, but he’s a changed man. When he’s offered entry into the Loyal League, the covert organization of Black spies who helped free him, he seizes the opportunity for vengeance against the Confederacy and those who support it.
When the Union Army occupies the Florida home of Cuban Janeta Sanchez, daughter of an enslaved woman and the plantation owner who married her, her family’s wealth does not protect her father from being imprisoned. Under duress and blaming herself for the arrest, Janeta agrees to infiltrate a group called the Loyal League as a double agent—and finds a cause truly worth the sacrifice.
Daniel is aggravated by the headstrong and much too observant new detective he’s paired with, and Janeta is intrigued by the broken but honorable man she is tasked with betraying. As they embark on a mission to intercept Jefferson Davis and thwart European meddling, their dual hidden agendas are threatened by the ghosts of their pasts and a growing affection that could strengthen both the Union and their souls—or lead to their downfall.
Praise for An Unconditional Freedom
“Forbidden attraction and the threat of betrayal are the initial hooks for what turns out to be a sumptuously written and meticulously researched tale of a country at war with itself and two damaged people who find themselves in each other’s arms.”
—Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW
“This third and hopefully not last installment in Cole’s Loyal League series is historical romance at its finest.”
—Booklist STARRED REVIEW
“[A] triumphant conclusion to an outstanding series that has redefined the possibilities of historical romance.”
—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
“A heroine torn by conflicting loyalties and a vengeance-driven hero haunted by the past struggle to come to terms with reality and their feelings in this emotionally compelling, information-rich story.”
—Library Journal
“Her most powerful novel yet.”
—Entertainment Weekly
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As usual, Alyssa Cole’s breathtaking writing shines in this most recent Loyal League story, AN UNCONDITIONAL FREEDOM. You can’t help but hurt for Daniel. A free black man who was captured and forced into slavery, he has overcome so much to get to where he is. As with the other books in this series, it will make you face hard truths about this country’s past while keeping you thoroughly entertained with an amazing love story. I can’t recommend this book enough. Add it to your TBR pile if you haven’t already.
Another winner from Alyssa Cole. This series is on my preorder and then crack the Kindle open at midnight list. Again, unique perspectives, and wonderfully complex characters who are very humanly flawed. Loved it.
The ravages of slavery are ingeniously brought to life in the story of Daniel, a free man who was kidnapped into slavery and is still deeply traumatized by it even as he works with the Loyal League to defeat the Confederacy. Then there’s Janeta, the daughter of a slave who was married by her Cuban master and worked hard to make sure her daughter would consider herself in no way like those other slaves working for them, despite the color of her skin. Janeta has the biggest character arc as she realizes how she’s been played, and also how she’s been trained as a woman to please others at the expense of herself. (Though those skills do come in handy sometimes!) As always there’s an engaging plot and excellent characters who have LOTS of rethinking to do. Another excellent one for discussion.
An Unconditional Freedom is beautifully written, with a heroine who’s stronger than she knows and is questioning everything she’s been brought up to believe, and a hero who’s been through unimaginable trauma and has to relearn that he’s worthy of love. All this while they spy during the Civil War, risking their lives as people of color helping the Union cause in the South. Daniel and Janeta’s story is an absolute stunner. I think this is the best of Alyssa Cole’s Loyal League series thus far–and considering how wonderful the first two books are, that’s really saying something.
A searing and satisfying conclusion to the Loyal League historical romances. Searing because the anger and frustration of racism in America comes through loud and clear in the author’s details of life during the Civil War, from the perspective of both enslaved and free people of color in the South. The trauma and precariousness of daily existence is told through the lens of a romance between two troubled people–Daniel, who survived his own enslavement after being born free, and Janeta, who’s always had to struggle to please people lest she lose her place as a free woman in a slave-owning Cuban family.
Cole’s trilogy is a refreshing alternative to the historical romances that glorify or downplay life in the Antebellum South and is recommended reading.
Alyssa Cole writes swoon-worthy romances with a solid underpinning of historical detail, and the third novel in her Loyal League series, set during the Civil War, is no exception. Protagonist Janeta Sanchez is the Cuban daughter of an enslaved woman and the plantation owner who married her; the character was loosely inspired by a real-life Cuban spy for the Confederacy. Romance and danger make excellent partners in Cole’s capable hands.
I’ve read all three books in this series now and I have to say these are some of the best characters you are ever going to read in a romance series, hands down. And the series itself is remarkable. It’s not one you will soon forget. In each book Ms. Cole gives us exceptionally strong heroines and distinct heroes, and weaves their romance into the raw and ugly realities of the American Civil War.
In this, book 3 in the series, our heroine is Janita Sanchez. She’s multilingual, multiracial, and possesses the charm taught to women of wealth and privilege. She infiltrates the pro-Union spy ring called the Loyal League to funnel information to the Confederacy at the urging of her lover. Janita is partnered with Daniel, a former slave suffering from PTSD. These two complex characters travel south together on a mission during which time Janita is exposed to points of view on slavery very different from what she was taught back on the family plantation. The beauty of this story is the character evolution for both Janita and Daniel, and the relief the reader feels when they find solace and resolution in each other. It’s an impactful and powerful finale to the series.
Ms. Cole brings a nuanced Black perspective to all three of these well researched novels. These concepts merit more attention and honesty in the retelling of American history. It was sheer genius on Ms. Cole’s part to capture the interest of her demographic using her signature genre, all the while shining a light on the social psychology of slave culture. Each book in this series is adventurous and suspenseful with amazing climaxes and enduring food for thought. They can be read as standalones but I’m really glad I read them together.
What an emotional, powerful story! I have loved all the books in the Loyal League series and this one was no exception. Alyssa Cole is a masterful story teller, both when it comes to the relationships in her stories and the individual characters’ arcs. The personal journeys of Daniel and Janeta were compelling and perfectly developed alongside their growth as a couple. I absolutely recommend this whole series!
Finding your true self.
Rescued after being kidnapped into slavery, Daniel Cumberland pledges into the Loyal League. However, he adds revenge to the four principles of loyalty, legacy, life, and Lincoln. Paired with a new detective, Janeta Sanchez, he sets out on a mission to Mississippi.
Janeta grew up as a pampered mulatto transplanted from Cuba to Florida. With much to learn about the wider world, she also discovers her own values.
Ms. Cole takes characters dealing with long, complicated backstories and puts them into an adventure where they discover they are more — especially together.
I found Daniel’s anger to be strangely cathartic. He’s seen the deep hypocrisy and cruelty of America, and yet he fights anyway. For revenge, for his people, for something he can’t define. Janetta, raised in privilege, has her worldview pulled apart brick by brick. The two of them are from very different worlds, yet they come to see the goodness in each other and help each other examine their purpose in life.
Cole’s writing is fantastic as always, drawing the reader into this meticulously researched historical. Exciting, moving, and heartfelt, I highly recommend this book.
Another beautifully written, emotional book from Alyssa Cole. This series is one that will stay with me for a long time.
Rich, emotional, full of history, poignant. This book is a wonderful conclusion to this series.
Daniel’s journey through life is heartbreaking, and yet also reflective of the struggles still faced today in America. Janeta is delightful as she figures out everything.
I loved this book, and will be re-reading it. There are so many details and threads running through this narrative that it will take a couple of reads to really absorb it all.
The underlying realism can make this series emotionally hard to read. But, oh, the glorious payoff. Those perfect, flawed characters. That gorgeous, understated writing. Read the series from the top, then read it again. You can thank me later.
Alyssa Cole takes a difficult subject — the pain and trauma of slavery — and tells a story that is impossible to put down. Mixing love, espionage and the human condition, “An Unconditional Freedom,” brings home once more the evils of slavery. As another reviewer pointed out, she does so without “slavery porn” but in a manner that in no way reduces the weight of evil. That a freed man could be plucked from his life and made a slave; that a slave owning family with black blood could produce a girl who, for a time, actually spies for the South show the complexities of our shared past. The bravery of the members of the Loyal League are a reminder that without men and women willing to risk everything, slavery might have lingered many more years. This is a brilliant book, not surprising from a writer of Cole’s stature. A great, great read. (I received a NetGalley advance copy but opinions are mine.)
Rated 4.5 Stars
An Unconditional Freedom is in no way, shape or form an easy book to read. The opening scene of had me pissed to hell off, it only took a few minutes for me to go from zero to angry. It had nothing to do with the writing which was great as always but everything to do with the subject matter. All the books in this series are difficult to read for that very reason. Although they’re set in the past they’re in a lot of ways mirror images of present day America and other parts of the world which makes for some very uncomfortable reading but in no way takes away from the fascinating stories this weaves.
These characters didn’t have the easiest go of it as every part of their journey was wrought with danger, lies and deceit among so many other things. I loved that despite all of this love was able to sprout under the most inhospitable and unlikely conditions. As difficult as it was to read I loved it and highly recommend it.
ARC provided by publisher through Net Galley
What an eye-opening read, from beginning to end, we are in the middle of the American Civil War.
The author has given us a man who was born free and had ambition to become a lawyer, and then evil fate intervened, and using his smarts only made things worse. We also have a young woman who was born of mixed race, only she was treated as a princess, and didn’t notice the plight of her people, only taking life for granted.
What a journey you are about to begin, and action takes place right up to the end of this amazing read. We watch the characters change and grow through the words the author gives us, and it will really make you think.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review.