I enjoyed this one a lot. It was a quick read for me. And kept me wanting to go from chapter to chapter

At this time, as I am guessing is obvious by the publication date that was literally years ago, I have decided not to review this title.

Technically, I made this decision a while ago, but was not as prompt with sending feedback as I should have been. My apologies for the delay, as well as clogging up your inbox with this very late review response.

As always, while incredibly late, I thank you for the opportunity to read and review one of your titles.

Laura

Jay Crownover does enemies and suspense so well! I love how she writes characters who are realistic, flawed and have tremendous growth throughout the story. Justified is the perfect mix of brooding cowboys, enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, and slow burning chemistry.

With strong female characters, protective alpha males, and loads of intrigue, this is an excellent start to the series and I can't wait to read more!

Justified features a great enemies to lovers romance with some nicely done suspense elements.

In a family of criminals, Case Lawton is determined to walk a different path. As the sheriff of Loveless, Texas he does everything by the book unlike his crooked father. When Aspen Barlow's office is broken into Case works the case to the best of his ability, but that doesn't mean he isn't enjoying the discomfort of the woman responsible for him losing custody of his son. But after Case learns the truth about what really happened in court all those years ago, he realizes Aspen isn't the monster he thought her to be. And when Aspen's life is threatened, Case and Aspen will need to learn to trust one another if they hope to make it out of the situation alive.

Case has always hated his relation to his father, the corrupt former sheriff of Loveless. Throughout his life, Case has worked hard to prove he's nothing like his father and anyone who knows Case knows how honorable he is. Due to the situation with his father, Case has a hard time seeing any wiggle room when it comes to right and wrong. This did prove a bit frustrating at times but it was a completely understandable trait due to who is father is. Aspen moved to Loveless during high school and was considered the weird girl from the big city. The bullying Aspen went through as a teen drastically affected her self esteem and that's something Aspen still struggles with as an adult, nearly twenty years later. After attending college, Aspen returned to town and began working as a lawyer who hoped to help those less fortunate. I admired Aspen's work and it was clear she's dedicated to what she does for a living.

Case and Aspen's relationship starts out very antagonistic, Aspen was the lawyer who represented Case's ex-wife in their divorce. Case has always blamed Aspen for his wife gaining custody of his son but what he didn't know was the reasoning behind Aspen taking the case. I won't reveal what that is but once revealed, Case finally stops blaming Aspen and sees her in a new light. The shift in their relationship was excellent and the chemistry between the pair was fantastic, even when they didn't like each other. As Aspen is still married when the book begins, albeit trying to obtain a divorce, their relationship does move a bit slowly. When the pair's relationship does finally turn physical, it is fantastically done with the steamy scenes being very well written. Overall I enjoyed their romance.

This book does have a suspense plotline regarding several attempts on Aspen's life. Within the first couple chapters, Aspen's office is broken into and someone sets fire to her home with her trapped inside. From there the situation only continues to escalate and I found the suspense aspects of the book to be very well done. Due to the nature of Aspen's work and the fact she is seeking a divorce, there are quite a few suspects. Ultimately I was surprised by the direction the storyline went, but it was well done.

Overall I really enjoyed Justified and I will definitely be continuing on with the series and picking up Unforgiven soon.

Loved this book! Was a great book and couldn't put it down. My cup of tea. I give this book 5 stars. Great story!

I’m a sucker for a good ole enemies turned lovers’ story, and this one had the best twists in it.

Aspen Barlow moves to a town called Loveless while she is in high school and meets a boy named Case. Now Case and Aspen aren’t what you would call friends, but he does make Aspen feel more welcome, and because of this she comes to care for him greatly.
Fast forward years later, and Aspen is in court, but her client is non other than Case’s hateful ex-wife. Aspen does all she can to help Case while keeping her client happy, but the outcome has Case hating the very air she breathes. The one person she has always looked up to and admired has come to hate her, now what is she to do?

Time goes on and while overcoming a divorce, Aspen is thrust into a dangerous situation and must call on the new sheriff. That’s right, Sheriff Case Lawless.

Case is now the sheriff, it is his job to keep the citizens of Loveless safe, and unfortunately for him that also includes Aspen Barlow. The woman that ruined his life, that took his son from him.
When Aspen is targeted Case must put his feelings for her aside and find out who is causing her trouble.

While things unfold Case starts learning things about Aspen that skews his hateful few of her.
Could she not be the person he thinks she is?

What happens when all is revealed?

This was such a great start to a new series, and I can not wait for the next to come out. This book has all the dram and suspense, but the has injections of the best steamy moments you could ask for. I have read Ms. Jay before and knew the kind of work she does, this is no exception.

Well, hello there, Jay Crownover! Another amazing start to a new series! And also WHY I’m not a fan of novellas because Unbroken SHOULD be a full novel!

Jay Crownover really knows how to write bad boy heroes because Crew is an amazing bad boy hero whose redemption really paid off! As someone who grew up around someone who had an addiction, I wasn’t a fan of Crew. However, he officially stole my heart when he met and Della!

Della was the perfect heroine for the disturbed Crew! I love the sparks between the two and of course, their conflict and hatred between Crew and Della when they first meet. It was quite obvious why Della didn’t care for Crew at the start because of his playboy reputation.

Ultimately, I loved the romance between Della and Crew, but I seriously wished it was a full book instead of a novella. Unbroken is an awesome start to this new series and I can’t wait to read Justified!

Justified

**received an ARC in exchange for an honest review**

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jay Crownover once again brings a series that will capture you from the first word till the last. Justified takes you on a wild ride that keeps on surprising you and will keep you in suspense till the end. Case and Aspen compliment one another and have chemistry coming off the pages. I love their banter and how they fight for what they believe in, they know that it might cost them something along the way but if it saves someone or is for the better they will do what they need to and make sure that everyone else is taken care of. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series.

Jay Crownover is always a win. I have to say I put off reading this series for some time despite signing up for reviewer copies because I'm not super into cowboys. I should have known Jay Crownover wouldn't disappoint.

Aspen spent all of high school with a huge crush on Case Lawton. He was super nice to her and always had kind words for her growing up. When Aspen left to learn the law and then came back married to the town sweetheart she thought she'd finally gotten the acceptance she always wanted. Then she runs into Case as he's being handed divorce papers. When she tries to give him advice he scorns her and then later they meet on opposite ends of the courtroom with Aspen representing his ex-wife.

Now present day, Case has gone out of his way to make Aspen feel unwelcome and she's done everything to protect him. When she walks into her office to find it vandalized she calls Case. At first, it seems like nothing, but the more things escalate around her, Aspen and Case both realize she's in more danger than she thought. Now Case is having to re-evaluate everything about what he used to think about Aspen.

I loved this story. Beginning to end it was pure perfection as only Jay Crownover's stories can be. I loved Aspen so very much. Despite everything going on around her she's more focused on taking care of her clients and protecting the people around her despite the fact that they haven't been nice to her in return. She grows into such a strong character throughout this book and it just made everything all the better.

Case was great as well. I liked how he had so much growth to do, but once he set his mind to it he stepped up and helped take care of Aspen. I enjoyed being inside his head and watching him struggle to stick to his old prejudices. He was a great character and despite when he was being a jerk, he was still a good guy.

Justified is an absolute must-read. Pacing, characters, plot were all amazing and enjoyable.

I really loved and enjoyed this book, great start to a new series that I look forward to reading. Great characters and an even better story line.

Whoa!!! Hot cowboy alert!!! Case is a small-town sheriff. Aspen is a lawyer who in need of a little help cracking a case. Case was assigned to help Aspen but turned out they have had a bad history. To Case, Aspen is nothing but a heartless lawyer who cost him custody of his son. Adore Case, swoon, hot, broody, rough around the edges man in uniform . Aspen is a spitfire, fierce, strong but she does need a strong cowboy to protect her When threats continue to escalate, Case was forced to put a side old grudge and come to Aspen rescue. This one is beautifully written. Justified was everything I needed – steamy and passionate romance, suspense, slow burn, angsty, enemies-to-lovers. Fast paced, I was glued from beginning until the end.

Oh, yes. I’m one of those Jay Crownover lovers. Everything she write is addictive. This book
Was just as great as the rest and I love how
Jay does cowboys.

Broken hero. Sassy heroine. Small town. A little suspense. Family union. Jay Crownover. With all of that, it's impossible to not love this book. I devoured it in two days and can't wait to read the next one in the series.

{#partner @readforeverpub} Fall is for the cowboys. It’s the perfect time to dive into my growing stack of cowboy romances. And first up was Justified by @jay.crownover. Earlier this summer I read the prequel to the Loveless, TX series, Crownover’s newest series. So I definitely enjoyed going back to this community and characters. This seems like a standalone, though with any series I still think it’s nice to read them in order. .
.
Aspen and Case Lawton have been enemies since a court case with Aspen at the helm cost him to lose custody of his son. But since high school Aspen has harbored a secret crush. Now it’s years later since the case and Aspen’s life is threatened. Who is coming after her and can Case protect her... while not losing his heart in the process. Once I got past Aspen being called tiny all the time, I really loved this book. I loved the mix of romance and suspense, with a killer on the loose! Aspen and Case had great chemistry. (Peep that front seat of the car scene!! 🔥🔥🔥) And I love reading about the Lawton family. I can’t wait for the next book this series. There were some big surprises that left me excited for more Lawtons!! .

3 drama stars
There was a lot of drama in this one, maybe that is because it is a romantic suspense. Not really my cup of tea.

Loved this book. Case at first came off arrogant but he was a teddy bear. He always took care of everyone else but himself. What he went through with his ex was horrible and she was a terrible person. I know she went through something at the end and it seems she had changed but I am not optimistic. I can understand why he had anger towards Aspen but was not happy with how long he held onto it especially with all he saw she did for the community.

I was glad he did what he did for her and was so protective of her. Their attraction was trough the roof and I loved how Case was conflicted by it. He learned from his son and that was great to see.

Aspen was smart, sweet and held her own. Her husband was a douchecanoe and got what he deserved. Her mom was horrible as well and I rooted when she got her just desserts as well. I loved how Aspen understand Cases’s feelings and gave him the time he needed but also didn’t take crap from him either. Even as she was in danger she stayed true to herself and found her way. She stood her ground when needing to and accepted help when necessary.

The story was great. We had a mystery that you couldn’t quite figure out and watching Case work it while falling for Aspen was fun. Watching Case’s interactions with his son was precious and with Aspen they were entertaining. You are kept on your toes with the mystery, the chase to find the answer and the romance was amazeballs such heat and passion between the two. And that teaser for the next book wow...

This was such an amazing book., I read it while my husband was in the hospital with a massive heart attack. It helped keep the blues away that is for sure. Jay can write a book that just takes you away from it all, her characters all have depth, the story is solid, and this was for sure a highlight of my summer.

Let's start off by saying this is a first time author for us and we really enjoyed our first read by them.

The story started off with a bang and continued to be full of suspense to the very end.We love these small town romances where everybody knows everybody.The story was full with a ton of surprises and were surprised at every new reveal some we suspected others we didn't see coming.

This was one of those complicated friends to lovers stories or enemies to lovers I guess you could say both but, no matter Case and Aspen have some major chemistry going on.

Case and Aspen have a history some good and some bad but ,now she is a lawyer and he is the town sheriff but, both have common goals even though they should be enemies do to their chosen professions.

The story was a complicate one with a lot of moving parts and with a lot of history between this couple making things already complicated but, with Aspen in trouble they have to find a way to get along.

Overall we loved it! We loved the characters and the plot that was full of twists and turns.We loved the sweet love story between both Aspen and Case as it was heartfelt and or so endearing.The story was also about change and growth and letting go of the past and living with past regrets but, moving forward and finding the perfect someone to complete you.I have to say one character stood out the most and that was Kody and we are so looking forward to seeing more of her in future stories to come as well as her own because that girl is one heck of a firecracker that made us laugh out loud time and time again and she is also a little bad*** and we totally loved her.

An amazing start to a brand new series that we plan on continuing with as we are hooked !

5☆
I am quickly falling in love with Loveless! Case and Aspen's story was so freakin good. I love both of their characters and I fell in love with them falling in love. They are both really good strong people and is was so easy to root for them. The suspense of the storyline snuck up on me and was a fantastic driving force. I am so looking forward to book 2 and so sad I have to wait until next year!!!

Justified contained two romance genres I’ve been in the mood for lately, romantic suspense and cowboys. This was the first romance I’ve read that combined both, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it! And it was my first romance from Jay Crownover!

Set in the small town of Loveless, Texas, Justified is a hate-to-love romance with interesting side characters and a lot of suspense. Aspen Barlow and Case Lawton have history dating back to high school. He remembers her as the weird new girl, and she remembers him as the only person that was nice to him. That is until Aspen ends up representing Case’s ex-wife during a contentious custody battle years later. Now Case is the sheriff of Loveless, having taken over the job from his criminal father, and investigating a break-in at Aspen’s law office. As threats against Aspen quickly escalate, Case realizes he has more feelings than just hate for the woman he once thought of as a heartless lawyer.

This was such an enjoyable read. Hate-to-love is one of my all time favorite tropes, and Aspen and Case REALLY hate each other at first. Case has a lot of resentment towards her for representing his ex-wife, and Aspen has a lot of anger for how he treated her as “the weird girl” for years. It takes a bit of time in the story for Case and Aspen to have feelings for each other. And at times it seems like Aspen feels more into Case, but I think that made it feel more realistic. Case had years where he essentially blamed Aspen for how the custody battle ended, it would obviously take him a bit more time to fall in love with her after so much resentment.

I have to say, I thought I knew who was behind the threats while reading, and I was totally wrong. I thought the twist was really interesting! Justified was a four star read for me.

The ending and slight cliffhanger into where the next book in the series will go really makes me want it right now! I recommend trying Justified if you need a romance with some suspense set in a small town!