Confession: it’s been a hot minute since I read a Jay Crownover book. I know, I know! I’m ashamed of myself and I don’t even know why it’s been so long. And it has been. TOO LONG. And this was the perfect novella to throw me right back into my Jay lovefest. Consider me hooked. Line and sinker. I’m frothing at the mouth for more of her Loveless series. FROTHING AT THE MOUTH I TELLS YA.
This was a short yet satisfying story to introduce readers to the Lawton siblings. Starting with the bad boy rodeo star, Crew. Crew has been drowning in his own mistakes for a long while under the water starts rising over his head and he realizes just how much trouble he’s in. When a deal that he would never jump on under any normal circumstances lands in his lap, he knows it’s his only way out.
Della Deveaux is Crew’s exact opposite. The good girl to the bad boy. The woman that’s never so much as stepped out of line and has worked her butt off to prove herself to her father and show him that she has the chops to run their company. The attraction between Della and Crew is inconvenient but undeniable and it’s not long before the sparks ignite into flames.
Now look, I hate to be one of those readers that knowingly picks up a novella and then complains that it was too short to be satisfying. But…I am. Because here’s the thing. I couldn’t help but feel that this story should have been a full length novel. There was so much that happens off page (Crew’s fall from grace specifically) as well as some other things that I would have loved to sink my teeth into. There are some stories out there that you know are better suited as a short novella. Yet this didn’t feel like one of them. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, and it was most definitely satisfying. But I also would have loved more. So much more!
I will definitely tell you that it did a heck of a job introducing and launching this new series. Because this reader is instantly hooked! If you’re looking for a quickie novella that has a little of everything, opposites attract, and some sexy cowboys, definitely give this one a go!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is thoughtful and steamy. I really wish it could have been a full length story and that the storyline could have been a little more flushed out, but otherwise, this was a great start to a series that I can't wait to read more from.

This is a prequel novella to Jay Crownover's newest series, Loveless Texas. I'm a huge fan of Jay and have been reading her books for years, so I was very excited to set foot in a new series.

This book follows Crew Lawton, the black sheep of his family in Texas. He's part of a family full of stubborn and brash siblings. His brother is the sheriff of Loveless and is doing whatever he can do right the wrongs their father did as sheriff. His sister is a fearless and tough bar owner. Crew himself is a famous rodeo star, and even though he started doing it for the adrenaline, fame and money, all of that is gone now. He gets his kicks from gambling, and now is in too deep and his sister's bar is at risk.

The other main character in Unbroken is Della Deveaux, who's trying to earn the respect of her father and no matter what she does, it never works. She's releasing a new skin care line for men and her father hires Crew as her model. What ensues is a tension filled, action packed and a quick read. It was a fun way to get some background information and set up this new Western series, and I really enjoyed it! These characters were so much fun to read about.

Let’s all move to Loveless, Texas, where the cowboys are hot and love is in the air! We are introduced, pretty violently, to Crew, the golden boy of the rodeo, when his loan shark decides that he needs to be taught a lesson and then is given a deal he has no way to refuse. Bless him. Then we meet Della who is definitely out of her element at the rodeo. She is not happy to have to deal with what is to become the “face” of her new skin care product that she had planned on marketing to sophisticated gentlemen. Oh well, that isn’t Crew! But wait! There is chemistry, there is angst, there is so much between them. Will they work it out? If you want to know the answer to that question, read the first installment of Loveless, Texas and find out! Looking forward to the next installment of this new series. If you like cowboys, be sure to read Unbroken by Jay Crownover
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to give an honest opinion.

5 Stars!

Brilliant novella from the amazingly talented Jay Crownover! I was hooked from the very first page and couldn't put it down until looooong after they stopped turning! Cannot wait for more!

I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed for Renee Entress's Blog

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
Crew and Della come from completely different worlds. Crew is a bull rider on the rodeo circuit and Della helps run her family’s business empire in New York. There is a great scene early on of Della showing up at the rodeo to meet Crew and talking with one of his fans. She sticks out like a sore thumb but it doesn’t deter her from her mission – meeting Crew, who her father hired to be the face of her new line of beauty products.

What I loved most about this story is that Crew is a screwup and he knows it. His honesty with himself, along with his general cowboy hotness, made him irresistible to me. I loved Della’s intelligence and strength and she has a good heart, she’s just in need of love. Theirs is a case of opposites attract. We get sexy romance, drama, and danger all rolled into one fabulous, fast-paced story.

Unbroken is a novella that introduces us to Jay Crownover’s new Loveless, Texas series but very little of this book is set in Loveless. I am excited to read the first novel in this series, Justified, which I’ll be starting this week.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were fresh and inviting and the sparks between them flashed hot and often.

Crew's life hasn't exactly turned out how he planned and since he owes lots of money to some not so nice guys, he's stuck playing male model for some city girl. Della is trying hard to live up to her father's expectations and working with Crew isn't what she wants, but she's beginning to think being around Crew isn't such a bad thing.

This was a great afternoon read.


Dawn – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

Crew likes to take risks and it has clearly turned into an addiction for him, one where he now owes a lot of money to some powerful people. His solution comes in the form of becoming the face of a high-end line of male skincare.

Della is the woman who will keep Crew in line, she keeps on him to make sure that he doesn't ruin everything that she has worked so hard for.

It's clear to see in the beginning they don't like each other; however, they soon realise that opposites attract and then the sparks start to fly.

I liked the book, it was a good starting point for the new book series.

This was a VERY quick read and an all-new start to a series that the author is starting about cowboys and it's going to be sexy, sweet and suspenseful. It was great to read something a little different from this author.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

When I first began the book I wasn’t a fan of either Crew or Della. Crew because he was just a bit too arrogant and I hated to see someone waste talent due to stupiditiy. He had to hit rock bottom and destroy all he held dear to realize ad start to change. Della was too snobby and uppity. She acted like she was better than everyone. Girl you ain’t all that and a bag of chips.

They needed one another. For Della to make her campaign successful and to gain a different perspective on life and love. For Crew to see that there is something to fight for and to learn to grow up and become more responsible for his actions. He didn’t want to disappoint Della and genuinely cared. The two had attraction galore. The pages sizzle from the chemistry and when they finally stop resisting whoa nilly is it scorching.

through each other, they gain new perspectives and grow. For Crew, he grows up and takes responsibility for his actions. He finds a purpose and wants to change and do better. For Della, she gains a better relationship with her dad but also with people in general. Crew helps her see that there are people beyond her circle-good people who deserve to be seen and heard. He teaches her to look beyond the outside and to the person themselves. Together they help each other find their way and fall in love.

The story is fun and sassy. Both give as good as they get from one another. I grow to love Crew as the book went along. His magnetic personality and his growth had me fall for him. Especially when he took responsibility and found his way. Oh and his fight back to being who he was on the circuit was great. Della grew on me but not as much as Crew. She loosened up and let her hair down but I connected more with Crew in the end.

A sassy sexy tale that has you rooting for Crew to succeed and for him and Della to find their way.

Extra-steamy novella between a daughter trying to prove herself to her father by excelling at business and a gorgeous cowboy with a gambling problem. I came across a grammar error at 35% that threw me off my reading process. After that, I found myself skimming the book. Good introduction to the start of a new series. Hopefully the editing improves. (and fyi -- the error was not fixed in the production version -- I checked)

Feels 3
Steam 3
Storyline 4
Overall Rating 4

Woooweeeee! I’m going to love this new series by Jay! Lots of angst. Sassy women and even more ornery cowboys. What’s not to love right?! This was a little angsty and a lot of sexual tension. I loved it. Easily sucked into the story and was sad when it was over. Looking forward to what comes next because this is one heck of a way to kick off a new series. Loved it!

This is my first book about cowboys. I was a little apprehensive to read this but when Jay Crownover writes a book I read it. I am so glad I did and I can’t wait for more from this series.

This was a short story to introduce us to the Lawton siblings. Crew is a rodeo star and use to taking risks every day. He never expected Della to come into his life. She threw him a curveball. They are both fighting their own demons and trying to get through them.

I loved this short quick read to start this new series. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

My panties were is a twist with Crew and Ms. Priss! A terrific beginning to a new series that’s a quick short read with dynamite characters. The first Lawton out of the chute is a hot hunk of a cowboy that melted my heart. He’s got the premier athlete swagger as a bronc rider on top, until his vices get the best of him and his family is threatened. Crew is a fantastic hero! The prologue let us know exactly how tough, flawed and awesome this cowboy is. In a novella sometimes is difficult to really know the characters and develop a strong storyline that builds a connection that makes sense but this author does a fabulous job with Crew and Della. Crew’s the hunky cowboy and Della is so far from being a buckle bunny as a NYC cosmetics executive on a mission. Della needs Crew to make her dreams come true and he has no choice but to go along. I love this storyline of the tough cowboy turned model. Loved the nod to David Gandy (if you don’t know who he is google him. It will be worth it, especially his JLo video or the naked pics ;). The only dip was Della father’s involvement toward the end. Didn’t ring true with me. Crew and his Ms. Priss may be opposites but the attraction is undeniable and their chemistry is hot. I wanted more of them and hope they show up in the next stories. This one has it all. Fantastic writing, swoon-worthy characters, dangerous criminals, and the tease of wonderful stories to come with the interesting Lawton family from Loveless Texas. Can’t wait for Kody’s story. What a treat she is! But Case is up first and I’m ready for the standup sheriff! 4.5 stars

When I first heard about this series I couldn’t imagine to read a book from Jay Crownover that involved cowboys. I’ve always thought of her writing a bit edgier than that. But I was extremely curious so I decided to give this a shot. UNBROKEN is the start of the Loveless Texas series and it’s definitely more of a small town contemporary romance than a cowboy romance. Which, surprisingly, worked really well for me!

This is about one of the bad boy Lawton sibling. He’s a big rodeo star with a gambling problem, and the gambling debts he’s secretly gotten himself into have now jeopardized his career and his family’s safety. In order to finish paying off the debt he has to agree to take on a modeling job that he would’ve never otherwise found himself involved with. A new skin care line for men. And that skin care line if the baby product of our heroine, who wants to prove to her father that her ideas will make their company money.

I guess you could say this is a forced proximity story because they have to reluctantly work together and spend time together as a result. I would’ve loved to see more of the rodeo in this one, but at the same time it was nice to not have that big element changing the feel of the story. It’s just a quick and fun story and I think it sets up the series nicely.

I may not have fallen in love with Crew and Della, but from the little bit we know of the Lawton older brother Case I’m so ready for his book. I think Ms. Crownover has definitely put her stamp on this series and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

Quick read. Good start to this new series by Jay. I’m a sucker for cowboys so this was a fun read. I look forward to seeing what this new series holds for us

This is a short novella in the Loveless, Texas series.

Crew Lawton has a problem. He has an addiction to gambling and now finds himself in a position to losing not only all his possessions, but his rodeo career as well. He may even lose his life if he can't pay back what he owes and he is now getting a taste of what is to come with the set of knuckle busters coming towards his face.

Della Deveaux has always tried to prove to her Father how good she is, especially at her job. She only wants him to recognise her worth and love her as she loves him.

Della now finds herself watching Crew Lawton losing on the bronc and wondering why her Father chose him to be the face of the beauty campaign for Sophistique' products. Sure he may look the part but with his reputation now in tatters, would he be the best person to use to finally get the recognition she is seeking?

The biggest problem though is how she can keep her feelings of attraction from interfering with the job at hand.

Great introduction to this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read and review this book.

New series from Jay Crownover who is a new author to me. Loveless , Texas is introduced with with Della and Crew's tale. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

Ebook from Netgalley and publisher with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

I really liked Crew and Della! If you love opposites attract then Unbroken is definitely for you. I can’t wait to read more about this Texas town.

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!

Unbroken was a great introduction to the Loveless, Texas, series. A suspenseful, sweet and sexy novella, about this man that reached almost rock bottom and trying to make amends. Crew Lawton was a star on the rodeo circuit and found himself wrapped up in a dangerous situation, consequences of his bad habits.

For a man who was living his life one day at a time, meeting Delia was the turning point to change things, a last chance to protect his family and maybe his future.

These two might seemed to be so different but they were more alike. Crew was damaged and broken and just tried to survive. Delia was a woman seeking for her father’s approval by being a hard worker. In the middle, their found their balance.

I adored their chemistry, smoking hot but so sweet at once.

Throughout their story, I appreciated discovering their world, introducing this family and place.

I can’t wait to read more about this family!

Yeehaw, Crownover has done it! She has done a fantabulous job of creating a "western" romance with this novella, the start of her Loveless Texas novels. I loved every single second of this read and I can't give it less than 4 stars. I absolutely can not wait to dive into Justified! Thank you, Jay Crownover, for another amazing read! You never disappoint!