Unbroken is the start of a new series by Jay Crownover. I was hooked from page one and can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of this series. Both small town and cowboy it hit all my buttons. Crownover nails Della and Crew and their story is perfect. My only complaint was that it was a novella, that’s why I want the next book now.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novella.

I've never been a huge fan of cowboy books, but when it comes to Jay's writing, I can't NOT read it. So far, I've not been disappointed in any of her books. This was a quick, sexy, action-packed read. I liked Della's strength, determination, and her compassion. I also liked Crew, faults and all. He was protective, kind, and charming. It was a good beginning to a new series and I can't wait to see what the next story has in store for me! Thank you NetGalley for this copy. This is my honest review.

Romance novella's are tough to rate since their short length tends to mean characters aren't developed as well and there is usually a rushed romance bordering on instalove. I would say this one was no different.

I had a hard time caring for the main characters. Crew came off kind of spoiled and irresponsible. The whole owing-money-to-the-mob storyline detracted from Crew. When I read a story about a cowboy I want him to have integrity and be honest. And Della came off a bit snobby. I understand its an opposites attract trope but I need them to be more relatable and likable.

I also had a hard time with Crew's inter monologue. It was a bit too poetic and flowery to be realistic. It didn't come across as male enough. Especially since we are talking about a rugged cowboy.

Honestly, I ended up skimming the entire second half because I just didn't care about the characters. I'm not sure this series is going to be for me.

***Advanced copy obtained from Forever Publishing via Netgalley***

I really enjoyed this taste of what Jay Crownover has in store for us! I never thought much about the rodeo until a few years ago when I went to one while visiting my family in Texas (super fun btw), but being able to do what they do definitely adds flare to a man.

Crew and Della are an opposites attract match and I happily could have read a whole book about them. They were an intense pair, and Crew especially had his issues, but they worked through some things and came out the other side as a complimentary couple.

I can't wait for the rest of this series!

4 stars
This is a novella getting us more ready for the Lawtons in Loveless, Texas. This one is about Crew Lawton, middle brother, rodeo star, and total screw up. He's impulsive, a risk taker, adrenaline junkie, womanizer, and has some bad vices...some so bad that he now owes a lot of money to a dangerous man. His life is spiraling fast and just as he hits rock bottom, there is a little unexpected glimmer of hope.

Della Deveaux is his opposite. She is controlled, cautious, driven, and hard working. She has spent her life trying to impress and get affection from her father. As she keeps trying to prove herself in business, she needs a face for her new mens' line. And for some reason her father wants it to be Crew.

Opposites attract and all that, but despite their conflicting personality traits, these two are also truly from different worlds and circumstances.

At first there is some antagonism as she wants to tame him and mold him. But then that charisma of his just keeps shining through. Somehow they balance each other with her soothing his raw edges and restlessness, and him adding a bit more spontaneity and passion to her life. It's the rule breaker versus the rule follower. The King of Chaos and the Queen of control.

But Crew's life is a big mess that is dragging him down and could affect those he cares about. And she has a new line to focus on in a world consumed by image and status. So what happens when it all comes to a boil? Is feeling good and being a little bad worth the risk?

This is a fast-paced, suspenseful, sexy, opposites-attract series starter. It is a novella so things do occur pretty quickly or some occurred off scene, but there was enough conflict and suspense to make it interesting. I enjoyed getting the dual points of view and thought Crew and Della had great chemistry. The characters both had some growing to do and needed to push the boundaries of their expectations. The changing scenes from the rodeo, to New York, to Loveless added more interest. I cannot wait to return to Loveless for more with his stoic big brother, Case, and spitfire sister, Kody. These Lawtons have plenty of personality and issues.

I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Will post on blog and social media upon release and links will be updated at that time.

A great start to a new series! A quick read that grabs you from the start until the end. I can’t wait to read book 2!

this was a super quick easy read. i've only read a few books by jay crownover, but i have enjoyed them. this definitely feels like a series starter, introducing the other characters and whatnot. it made me curious for the next book. i quite liked crew and della, they were cute together and i liked that it wasn't insta love. i wish this book was a bit longer but that's the problem with novellas isn't it. this one packs quite a punch but i liked it.

Jay Crownover has done it again. This is a great story about two opposites who can't help the attraction between them. In this story Crew is a down on his luck rodeo star and due to a few bad bets is forced into a campaign for a men's grooming line. Della doesn't want to see all the hard work she has put into this new line of men's products ruined by the image of Crew (who is not the kind of man she wants representing her products). However, they have more in common than meets the eye and sparks fly.

Unbroken is a prequel novella to Jay Crownover's Loveless, Texas series. We are given two characters who are opposite's in a very obvious way. Crew is a troubled rodeo star who owes more money than he's worth. Della is a high society entrepreneur who is a force to be reckoned with in the beauty industry. The chemistry between them is instant and once they get past their first impression they are great together.

I feel like this story had so much potential and could have been fantastic. There are some really memorable quotes [for example: We fit together perfectly , two broken pieces bonded together perfectly to become whole and completely unbroken. ] that just fell flat for me because they belong to a couple that had to fight for their love and in this case I'm not sure the couple actually did that. Since it's a novella the plot line is set on fast-forward and is over as soon as it begins. Even the prologue is hurt by the fact that in the middle of an intimate scene Crew gives us an inner monologue of what happened between them in the past 8 months.

Overall, Unbroken just fell flat for me but I have hopes that the first full length novel in the series will be a good one. (le

An enjoyable start to a new series, this book was a quick read but it has me so very excited for what is coming next in the Loveless, Texas series! I cannot wait for the next book!

J Crownover books are always a treat. Her books are very character driven, and that's why I adore her books.

Crew is a rodeo star. Down on his luck, caught up in the gambling life. Della is part owner of a cosmetic company that has hired Crew as their new face of a campaign launch. Nothing about this novella screams I must read this series but the first book does follow Crew's brother who is a sheriff so maybe I'll check it out.

If ever a title matched the story, this was it!

I just finished this novella and I want to read and savour it all over again. This story had me at cowboy and Crew lived up to my high expectations! He was used to being the black sheep in the family, even if he didn’t like it. Caught in a trap of his own making, he was his own worst critic but knew he had to sort out the mess himself. Even if Della was a curveball he never saw coming… Della was fighting her own demons and was determined, like Crew, to soldier through them. And win… Even if Crew was a curveball she never saw coming…

OMG, did I love this sexy, emotion-filled read! I’m usually not a big fan of the city girl/country boy trope but this was different somehow. Yes, they were definitely haute couture/ cowboy hat different but those differences were nothing and everything as they worked together to solve their very different problems. Della was beautiful inside and out. Warm, prickly but loyal to the core. When Crew knocked her over with his sex appeal and down home cranky charm, she was all in. And so was he…

I wanted this story to be much, much longer but am thrilled that there are more Lawton’s to come. I can’t wait for more of these bold, irresistible characters!

3.5 Stars

Unbroken was a great start to the Loveless, Texas series with a wonderful opposites attract romance.

Rodeo star Crew Lawton is used to taking risks due to his job and those risks have become an addiction. When Crew can’t pay his debts, he’s forced to take a new job to get a quick payout which means this rough and tumble cowboy is now the face of a new expensive male skincare line. Keeping Crew in line is Della Deveaux, the woman behind the skincare line. Della isn’t going to let a cowboy ruin everything she’s worked for, so she’s determined to whip Crew into shape. But as Crew and Della work together, they realize opposites really do attract and find themselves falling for someone they never imagined.

Della has spent her entire life trying to make her father proud of her. She’s incredibly dedicated to her work and is fantastic at what she does but she still believes something is lacking in her due to her father’s distance. Crew has always been the screw up of his siblings, the one more likely to cause problems than solve them. Crew has enjoyed the lifestyle being a rodeo star afforded him, but he never figured out how to stop himself from giving in to all of the temptations surrounding him.

Della and Crew don’t immediately get along, he believes she’s uptight and she believes he’s going to ruin all of her hard work. I liked that once the two had the opportunity to talk to one another, they came to realize their initial assumptions were wrong. The pair end up working really well together and I liked the banter between them while they worked. Their attraction for each other was there from the start, even when they initially disliked each other. When their relationship does progress, it’s incredibly sexy with some fantastic scenes.

The one thing I wasn’t a big fan of in the book was the storyline centered around Crew’s gambling. We’re told over and over again that Crew is incredibly impulsive, unreliable, and gives in to temptation easily. But personally I thought the Crew we got to know wasn’t like that at all. I think I just had a hard time buying into that narrative because Crew’s problems started off page and we didn’t actually see any of it. Plus it seemed like everything was amped up near the end just to create a big conflict to bring the characters together, but there was no need for it.

Overall I enjoyed Unbroken and I will definitely be continuing on with the series. I’m looking forward to reading the first full-length book in the series, Justified, soon.

Opposites attract in this new series by Jay Crownover set in Loveless, Texas. The characters have instant chemistry and the path to a HEA is believable. However, I hope Crew and Della get a second book since this was a novella and the build up to their story was quick paced. A great start to the series. Waiting for Case’s story.

Understanding that this title is a novella, I still however had a hard time with the authenticity of their pairing. The level of insta-lust-love was so cut and dry I could probably name the page it happens vs seeing it develop over a few chapters. The exposition was standard for a title from this author but with the minimal page count I feel that there could have been more dialogue and the plot a little fuller.

Unbroken
Loveless, Texas , Book .5

I Picked Up This Book Because: I like this author

The Characters:

Crew Lawton:
Della Deveaux

The Story:

This is a solid start to a new series set in small town Texas. Crew is awesome and drool worthy but not without his issues. Della maybe an ice princess to the rest of the world but she melts big time for Crew. The story did drag a bit in the middle but was overall good. I can’t wait to see where this series goes.

The Random Thoughts:



The Score Card:

description

3.5 Stars

Unbroken is the start of Jay Crownover's newest series, Loveless Texas. Jay Crownover can write books about tattoo artists, she can write romantic suspense, and she can also write about cowboys. It's not very often I read cowboy romances, but I thought I'd give this one a try. It hooked me and I can't wait to get more from this family.

Crew Lawton is in a bit of a pickle. He's a rodeo star, but he's got himself into debt from his gambling and has to find a way to pay it back. This means helping Della Deveaux with her upscale men skincare line as the face of the company. Crew has never been this type of a model before, but he has the good looks and hopes he can pull it off. He's got a lot riding on this. Della does, too. Della helps her father run her family's company but never quite feels like she measures up. This campaign is just what she needs to prove herself.

Della and Crew butt heads at first. They couldn't be more different if they tried. Crew is a wild cowboy and Della is a classy New-Yorker. This unlikely pair has so much chemistry, they can't seem to stay away from one another. And when they are together, it's explosive.

This book was short, steamy, and suspensful. It kept my attention from start to finish and I read it in one sitting (it took me just over an hour). After reading Unbroken, I'm definitely excited to read more about the Lawton siblings. Crew's brother, Case (the town sheriff) book is next!!

This was my first book by this author, and I was intrigued, because of the cowboy on the front.

This was a quick read, good introduction into the coming up series.

Some parts felt a bit rushed, as it is probably to be expected with a novella.

Overall a lovely read. 3.5 stars

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Unbroken kicks off Jay Crownover’s Loveless, Texas series and goes straight to the heart of matters from the very first page. There is no easing into the seedy underbelly of organised crime or the dire situation in which Crew Lawton finds himself; readers are thrown in head first! So I found myself wondering why I thought I was reading a Cowboy book. But the truth was quickly divulged, and the story progressed through a multitude of emotions, expectations and unfortunate circumstances. For my first read by this author, I was totally hooked and can’t wait for the next in the series.