From the New York Times bestselling author of the Marked Men series comes an irresistible and suspenseful romance between a tough Texas Ranger and his first love–a woman in danger who insists she doesn’t need his protection. Hill Gamble is a model lawman: cool and collected, with a confident swagger to boot. Too bad all that Texas charm hasn’t gotten him anywhere in his personal life, … hasn’t gotten him anywhere in his personal life, especially since the only girl he ever loved has always been off-limits. But then Hill is assigned to investigate her father’s mysterious death, and he’s forced back to the town–and the woman–he left behind.
When Hill left Loveless, he broke Kody Lawton’s already battered heart. And now that he’s working on her father’s case, avoiding him is impossible. She can handle Hill and her unwanted feelings–until he puts his life on the line to protect her. Suddenly, Kody realizes that Hill could be taken away from her…for good.
“Crownover delivers the goods.”-Lori Wilde, New York Times bestselling author
“Crownover writes cowboys that make you want to pack your bags in search of a small-town ranch!” -Melissa Foster, New York Times bestselling author
Includes the bonus novella Cowboy to the Rescue by A.J. Pine!
ARC for honest review with no compensation 4.5 stars received from NetGalley and Forever
Unforgiven is book 2 in the Loveless, Texas series by Jay Crownover, a new to me author and will definitely be reading more of her books and this series!
Hill Gamble, Texas Ranger has come back to Lovelace, Texas to investigate the death of the town’s corrupt sheriff and father of the woman he fell in love with years ago except she fell in love with his younger brother Aaron who had lots of issues and has passed away.
Kody Lawton fell in love with Hill and his younger brother Aaron but when push came to shove she chose the younger brother. Hill backed off and left town but now he’s back to investigate her dad‘s death and all the old feelings arise again but can she open her heart, leave the past behind and let her love shine through…
Suspense, tragedy, anger, longing, mystery and a love everlasting are just some of the things you will find in this book.
Jay Crownover returns to Loveless Texas in this second book in the series. Texas Ranger Hill Gamble has history with the Lawton family and he’s called in to help with the investigation of the murder of the Lawton family patriarch. He’s Sheriff Case Lawton’s friend and the brother to Kody Lawton’s former fiance, Aaron Gamble. Lot of history there.
Hill has been in love with Kody Lawton for the majority of his adult life, but he hasn’t been able to act on his feelings at all, even with Aaron out of the picture. There’s a whole lot of guilt and unspoken feelings between Hill and Kody and it isn’t until they are forced together by circumstances that they will admit these feelings to each other.
I loved this slow burn romance, especially how everyone saw how Hill felt about Kody. Kody is a bit of a wild-child, attracting trouble (and the Sons of Sorrow MC) and couldn’t be more different than the upstanding Texas Ranger. But he loves her and he’s put everyone’s feelings first but his own. Unforgiven changes all of that!
There’s plenty of hot, steamy coupling going on once these two get their feelings sorted, and there’s a nice little mystery to keep the story moving forward. Unforgiven has everything I want in a romance — two characters that I want to get together along with an action-packed story line. Jay Crownover is absolutely one of my favorite romantic suspense authors.
This is a fabulous series and Unforgiven left me wanting more, so I can’t wait for Shot’s story because I may just have a little crush on him too! If you like your romance with a good dose of action and suspense, you might like this series.
This is my honest review.
When I signed up for an ARC of Unforgiven, I didn’t know that it was the 2nd book in a series. It didn’t matter, though, ‘coz I got hooked pretty quick. It’s been a while since I’ve read a Crownover book, but “Unforgiven” thoroughly reminded me of why she’s one of my favorite romance novelists. Crownover’s intense love stories are gritty, dirty, sexy, and delves into the dark side……… Okay, I just re-read that sentence and it sounds kinky AF. LOL! It’s not, really (side note: I just finished Penelope Douglas’ Credence, and THAT book warranted a call to my therapist; “Unforgiven,” when compared to that shithole, was a breath of fresh air).
Book heroine, Kody, has been through the wringer. Her first love was book hero, Hill Gamble’s, younger brother, who ended his life tragically quite early in the story. “Unforgiven” unforgivingly raises a mirror up to our society’s aversion to talking about mental health issues. I was sniffling already by the time I reached the 5% mark. Like I said, Crownover can be intense and can give a hard smack right across the face when you think you’re “just” reading a romance novel. Kody’s mental shields and subsequent self-destructive behavior, as a result of her experience with her young husband, were very understandable and relatable. Her unhappiness is compounded even further when she finds out that her former brother-in-law was in town to find out who had killed her corrupt father, who also happened to be their home town’s former sheriff. Eventually, Hill and Kody find their way back to themselves and to each other. Kody also discovers a secret that her devil of a father kept for many years. Add to that, we also get a whodunit case, but damn, I must be getting rusty, ‘coz I didn’t correctly guess who the baddie was early in the game. The one thing I didn’t like about “Unforgiven?” While we know who the bad guy was, s/he was still loose/uncaught by the end of “Unforgiven,” so you definitely know that there’s a 3rd book coming after it.
Having said that, I’m rooting hard for the MC leader, TBH, and the sister. Book 3 can’t come soon enough!
Unforgiven is Book 2 in the Loveless, Texas series. It’s a small town romance and a standalone.
Kody Lawton hasn’t had an easy life. Several years prior, her fiancé died and now, her jack ass of a father has been murdered. The Texas Ranger investigating the case is the brother of her fiancé, Hill Gamble. He’s the one man Kody has never been able to forgive or forget and the one man capable of taming her heart.
I’m a woman who adores character driven stories and Jay Crownover has delivered a doozy!
[WARNING: HOT COWBOY AHEAD!]
Hill Gamble is the strong, silent type…he keeps a tight reign on his emotions. Except where Kody is concerned. She’s always had a place in his heart and let me tell ya…this guy had me swooning all over the delightfully suspenseful pages! WOW! He put up with a lot of Kody’s ire and I wanted to reach into the book to give him a hug. Kody was a little spitfire, wild and full of anger and resentment. They were in a situation that seemed impossible. My heart screamed for them to find forgiveness and come together. They’re easily one of my favorite couples of the year!
This book was the perfect culmination of suspense, romance, desire, infatuation, absolution and characters development. It tugged and pulled on my emotional heartstrings. One of Ms. Crownover’s best! Hill and Kody gave me all the feels and I cannot wait to return to Loveless for more. Told from dual POVs with a sweet ending for the MCs and an exciting setup for the next installment. I voluntarily read and reviewed this Book.
3.25 – 3.5 stars. This was a pretty good book. Unforgiven is Kody and Hill’s story. Kody is the third and final Lawton sibling to have a book in this series. She is the wild child baby sister who runs her own bar and has been through her share of heartache. Hill is a Texas Ranger, who gets called back to his hometown of Loveless to help investigate Kody’s father’s murder. Growing up, he was best friend’s with Kody’s brother and also her friend. When she was younger, she was secretly in love with Hill, but he was older and her own hangups told her that he was too good for her. So, instead, she dated and was engaged to Hill’s younger brother, before his mental health problems led him to take his own life years ago. During the time when Hill’s brother was fighting his demons, Kody leaned on Hill for support. They got close, but when Hill realized he was developing feelings for her, he cut off their relationship. Kody was left devastated with everything that happened. Now, years later, she is tougher and has hardened her heart, although she is still hurt to lose her father. He was abusive and not a good man, but the Lawton siblings’ feelings about his death are complicated. As Hill helps with the investigation and supports the family, old feelings emerge between he and Kody. They have a lot to work through between them but they manage to come through it together, stronger and in love in the end.
This series has a darkish feel and can be a little depressing. But I still think it’s worth reading. I enjoyed this story. I liked both Kody and Hill and felt the connection between them. They had a lot of messy history to work out and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. I did think the book was a little slow in parts. I also felt like the end was abrupt, with no real closure to the mystery (which I guess will be continued in the next book?). I found that a little frustrating. I also wanted more relationship closure. I had to drop my rating a bit because of that lack of closure. Still, I did enjoy the book. I was happy that Kody and Hill managed to come together and find some happiness with each other.
Overall, this was an entertaining book. I am enjoying this series and look forward to more from Ms. Crownover in the future!
WOW!!! I loved my introduction to Loveless but this book took that love to a whole new level!!
The angst level is super high with this book and at times I cried so much, I had no choice but to walk away for a minute.
I am so excited for the next book in this series!! I need some Shot in my life ASAP!!
Book 2 in the Loveless Texas series. I have been waiting for Hill and Kody’s (love the name – it’s how my son’s name is spelled, lol) story since Justified. Loved Hill and Kody so much. They were so good together once they got out of their heads and opened their eyes to what was in front of them the whole time. You will be sucked into this story from page one and you won’t put it down until you reach the end. I need more of this series. I can’t wait to see what she has coming next.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Unforgiven is another great read set in the town of Loveless, Texas. This book is full of intrigue, action, suspense and danger. The suspenseful storyline and the wonderful characters pull you in and keep your attention until the end. Kody and Hill were both wonderful, flawed characters. They were two halfs of a wonderful whole couple. I can’t wait to read the next book.
I loved this book!! It was a great contribution to the series and I can’t wait to see what Jay Crownover has for us next!! Kody & Hill are the couple I’ve been waiting for and she did not disappoint!! This is one of my favorite by one of my favorite authors!! Hill deserves his place in my harem!
I enjoyed the latest book in the Loveless, Texas series by Jay Crownover. Unfortunately not as much as I enjoyed the previous book or novella. Something about the relationship in this one felt a bit underwhelming and little forced at first. After about 45-50% mark I found it much more enjoyable and plausible. There were a few things that really threw me off but I loved the history of the couple and the obvious, smoking hot chemistry they exuded.
As with the previous books in the series, Crownover’s plot was as dangerous as it was fun. The world tips a little askew in Loveless, Texas thanks to the Lawton crew and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The danger is what keeps you on your toes as the romance unravels the characters. The family aspect of the characters allows you a more intimate look into their lives and who they are as characters as well. Where with the previous books I felt like I couldn’t put them down, this one drug a little for me.
Unforgiven is entertaining and romantic. A second chance, a sort of frenemies-to-lovers with a complicated past. Crownover knows how to make an impact with her stories and leave you wanting more.
4.5 s
Unforgiven, the latest installment of Jay Crownover’s Loveless, Texas Series is exactly why I love to read!! Talk about a page-turner – Unforgiven will be one of the first book titles to roll off my tongue if someone asks me what to read next. This series of books is quickly becoming an addiction for me.
The high drama that surrounds the Lawton siblings is not to be missed. With each book we get to know Crew, Case, and Kody a little bit better. To know them is to absolutely fall in love with them and the individuals they claim as family. Kody’s story, Unforgiven, is a veritable snowball of suspense that left me chomping at the bit for what is to come in the next story.
I loved the revelation of Kody Lawton and Hill Granger’s relationship. It is deeply rooted in self-sacrifice, pain and grief. However, from this darkly fertile place grows the most beautiful garden. This garden becomes a haven of peace and happiness for two of the most generous souls I have ever met in my reading journeys.
I adored the suspense and the outright sexy vibe this book laid down. I also enjoyed the unexpected and unresolved issues which have me thinking about what will happen in Jay Crownover’s next Loveless, Texas novel.
4 1/2 stars. I really enjoyed this story and after having met these characters in the previous book I was so happy to finally get all the details on Kody and Hill and their unrequited love history. Luckily it does not stay unrequited, not really a spoiler alert or there would be no story. I guess this could be considered a second chance in a way at least for Kody, but for Hill, she is all he has ever wanted. I really like these characters and the journey to get to where they are at the end of the book. The story itself is amazingly written by the fabulous Jay Crownover. That ending though. Looking forward to Shot’s book up next!!
Unforgiven had me on the edge of my seat with all the drama, tension, and emotion! Hill and Kody coming together was fantastic. It was an exciting story to read!
Kody, Hill and Aaron grew up together. Kody had her brothers, Hill and Aaron had each other. The older they got feelings grew and changed. When Hill started to pull away it caused hurt feelings to grow. I truly felt for the characters in the book. Your heart will hurt in places. You’ll smile, laugh and hold your breath in others.
Feelings, emotions were all over throughout the book. There’s love, tragedy, hearts breaking, hearts mending, murder. I can’t wait for the next book!
Kody Lawton is the fiery younger sister of the Lawton brothers we’ve already fallen in love with. She is impulsive and a little reckless, running her bar with a little help from some not so law abiding friends.
Hill Gamble has stayed away from Loveless, but a murder investigation in town brings him back as part of the Texas Ranger team looking into the death. It doesn’t hurt that he has history with the murdered man’s daughter, Kody.
This was a slow burn. Hill and Kody have history, but their history is also tangled up with Hill’s brother, Aaron, and Aaron’s story ended in a tragedy that neither has really moved past. My heart hurt learning what had scarred both of them so severely, and it made sense why both were hesitant to let the other back in until they address it.
I would also say the plot focused more on the investigation around them and Kody’s bar drama rather than the actual relationship between them. It was clear pretty quickly that there was chemistry between them, but it often took a backseat to other aspects of the story.
This was a great moving on of the series arc, and I am left with questions that have me anticipating the next book in the series. Questions that can only really be answered once a particular (rather surprising) character resurfaces.
It was great being back in Loveless and with the Lawton family. This time we have action focused on the sister and her high school crush who is a Texas Ranger now and oh yeah, the other of her dead fiancée.
This story, and series, drew me in from the start and kept me entertained and captivated by the storyline and characters. The world building is vivid and the emotions are tangible. I would love to see a bar in a barn with the colorful crowds and decor. Or see the differences in a Texas Ranger and the MC President.
Along with a great storyline full of emotion, memories and action we got a new character who definitely made an impression on more than a few people in town. I hope we get a book about her and I hope it I with Shot (fingers crossed). This story does pick up after book one and it refers back to swim of those events so I would recommend reading this in order, but I think you would also enjoy this book as a first foray into Loveless.
Thank you for the chance to read this book and to share my opinions.
Kody and Hill’s story is a very interesting and mysterious one, The characters are amazing, the fist book grabbed me and hoping the next one will resolve all the questions revolving the story, I enjoy Jay Crownover books, she is a great author and the cowboys she creates are my favorite ones.
I’ve been a Jay Crownover fan since I stumbled upon her book, Rule, several years ago. (And honestly…I can’t recommend that book or that series enough, so run grab it now!) In my humble opinion, no one writes a better anti-hero than Jay. But she also writes a fabulous good guy just to mix it up a bit, and I’ve been intrigued with Hill Gamble since I read Justified, book one in this series. Unforgiven is book two in the Loveless, Texas series. Both are stand-alone books, but I’m a series fan, so I always recommend reading a series in order if I love the books. It just adds to the experience. And trust me, Case Lawton is not a man you want to miss, either (Justified’s hero)!
In a bit of a twist on the anti-hero Jay does so well, in Unforgiven she gives us anti-heroine Kody Lawton, Case’s sister, and the one girl Hill can’t forget. Kody is a bit wild, straddles the line between legal and illegal (most days with one foot firmly planted on each side of that line), and has a huge chip on her shoulder where Hill is concerned. He’s hurt her badly in the past, but he’s back and no longer fighting his feelings for her. The chemistry between these two almost literally jumps off the pages at you.
NICUnurse’s Rating: In true Jay Crownover fashion, the emotions are quite complicated and the line between right and wrong is a bit blurry in this book. And just when you think there won’t be more twists and turns and surprises, she throws in a huge one that knocks the Lawton siblings on their collective rears. While I have a feeling that her Marked Men series will always be my favorite, I’m totally invested in the characters in this series and knew better than to start this book at a time that I couldn’t simply sit and devour it without interruption. And I was NOT wrong!
I give Unforgiven by Jay Crownover 4.5 out of 5 stars!
WOW!! I am a huge Jay Crownover fan and Loveless, Texas is my newest favorite series!! Hill and Kody’s story was amazing! I was so hungover after reading this book, but it was worth it! From the very beginning, I was hooked. I finished this book in one sitting! AMAZING!! FIVE HUGE TEXAS STARS!!!
After reading Justified and that ending, I needed to know what would happen next. Unforgiven picks up where the last book left off. There is a mystery that needs to be solved and woven into that is a romance. For me, it did feel like the mystery overtook the romance at times. I wanted more of Kody and Hill. Certain aspects of their romance was interesting and I wanted more of the development. But I did like what we got with them. Hill was just a sweet guy and I really liked how he cared for Kody all this time. Their romance was pleasant. I also enjoyed seeing Kody’s brothers-Case and Crew and their loves Aspen and Della respectively. The bond between the Lawton siblings is strong and seeing that bond displayed was great. Unforgiven was a nice read. It had romance, suspense, mystery, family atmosphere, and more. I’m intrigued to see how the next book Blacklisted will go. It is sure to be an interesting one for sure.