The second in the Loveless series by Jay Crownover is one of lose, love and vulnerability..

Kody Lawton has known pain and lose, she is old friends of both, but when her father turns up dead, the one person in the world she never wanted to see is the one she secretly needs the most. Kody is a spitfire through and through, she takes care of herself and doesn't trust many people. She learned the hard way what that trust can do when it's broken.

Hill Gamble left the town of Loveless in his near view mirror for a good reason, and his reason for being be is just as good.

Kody Lawton.

The one woman that wants nothing to do with him might need his help more than either of them know. Hill has lived his life on the straight and narrow, a Texas ranger to boot, he has returned to Loveless to help in the investigation of the Lawton patriarch. However, his ugly past and all too complicated present collided and long ago emotions that he thought he berried are making their way to the surface...

Jay Crownover writes an adventure that will twist the heart, engage the mind and warm the soul. A cowboy romance about forgiveness, love and hope all rolled into a plot with twists that no one could see coming. I very much enjoyed this story, just as I look forward to more that will hopefully come.

Another stellar book by Jay Crownover. I adore these characters. They are complex, raw and am smitten with them.

1 star
This book did not seem like the Jay Crownover to be. I was expecting something else. I do not think this series is for me.

I loved this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series. Jay Crownover certainly delivers again with this book in my opinion.

This is Kody's story....
Hill Gamble is Kody's brother-in-law. His brother, Aaron was a troubled individual that died young. Hill has loved Kody forever and stepped aside when she married his brother. Now Hill is a Texas Ranger intent on protecting Kody from her father's murderer. This couple has a rocky past and rough road ahead of them. Can their love survive? Read this book to find out!

I enjoyed Kody's story but this wasn't a riveting read for me.

There is nothing more delicious than the sweet, sweet angst of unrequited love. And when that love is for your brother’s widow? I am SO HERE FOR IT.

The second Hill made his first appearance at the end of Justified, sparks flew. I’ve been practically salivating in my wait for his and Kody’s book. So the second this landed on my kindle, I jumped on it faster than you can say GIMME!

She always wanted space, and I was always running after her. It was like an adult game of tag, only I never managed to catch her.

Hill has been in love with Kody since they were teenagers. He was always the quiet reliable one to Kody’s fiery storm. Kody is the wild Lawton. She’s got sass for days and a wild streak that always keeps her on the skirt of trouble. Her entanglement with the local biker club and their prez is just one example. But Kody is also a broken soul. She lost the man she loved and she’s still trying to recover from all of it.

Loving him forced my icy heart to thaw. Losing him froze it right back up and shattered the brittle block of ice into a million pieces. I was certain I was never going to be warm.

And now the man that she least expects or wants to see is back to investigate her father’s murder and she’s forced to deal with all the feelings she thought she buried long ago.

I loved Hill’s quiet intensity and how he was this wall of reliability to Kody’s fire. He’s been in love with her since they were teens. But when she started dating his brother, he forced himself to back off. Kody knows that the blame she’s placed on Hill all these years is wrong, but she’s struggling. She’s struggling with her father’s death, even if he was a terrible father and a corrupt man. She’s struggling with her feelings for Hill. And she’s struggling with the threat against her family with the murderer still out there.

I fell so hard for Hill in this book. As much as I love me an alphahole, I love a good man, too. And Hill was as good as it gets. His love and protectiveness to Kody is incredible. My heart ached for him.

There’s so much that happened in this book that made for one page turner. There’s the suspense element with a couple of new characters that are introduced that I was immediately intrigued by. I’m slowly dying for Shot’s book and after the set up at the end of this book, I’m pretty sure I’ll die of anticipation. Hill and Kody’s romance was so incredibly satisfying. The mystery of Kody’s father murder continues while we get some of the puzzle pieces revealed and holy moly were those juicy! I can’t wait for the next book already!!

Unforgiven by Jay Crownover

Jay writes cowboys in a way that I dream of moving to the middle of nowhere and falling head over heels in love with a man in boots and a cowboy hat who works hard with is hands. In the case of a second chance romance like this one, I'm even more in love with the angst between these two. Cheers to Jay and I'm ready for more Loveless!

Kody is a bad girl, until 1 Texas ranger walks back into her life. Hill is a Texas Ranger, he’s always loved Kody even when she was married to his little brother. When tragedy strikes Kodys life., Hill is assigned to help find out why it happened. Can Kody get past being abandoned by Hill long enough to see what’s always been there?

I read and reviewed this advanced complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley

Hill is a lawman back in his hometown to investigate a death. Kody is running a bar and bitter about all her losses of the people she loves in her life. Hill always had feelings for Kody but he stepped aside thinking she needed someone else. Now Hill is back to investigate Kody's father's death and he won't let the woman he loves go again. A good romantic suspense read.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and am leaving a review.

Unforgiven (Loveless, Texas #2). By Jay Crownover. 2020. Forever (ARC eBook).

In Loveless, Texas, cowboys and lawmen will do anything for the ones they love.

The investigation into the murder of Conrad Lawton sets Texas Ranger, Hill Gamble, on the path back home, to the woman he has always loved and who has always been off-limits.

Kody Lawton is determined to ignore Hill. He is so close to her past that his nearness always stirs up in her emotions she normally keeps buried. But when a mysterious woman shows up to Conrad’s funeral and the former sheriff’s shady dealings appear to be targeting the Lawton siblings, Hill puts his life, and heart, on the line to keep Kody safe.

Unforgiven has action, danger and an engaging connection between two opposites that will keep readers turning the pages. Kody is fiercely independent and brash, while Hill is deliciously cool and collected. There is definite sizzle as these two admit to past mistakes and come together to find happiness. Definitely a recommended read.

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!!

I'm such a bug fan of this author and I'm really diggin' her cowboys. I really fell hard and fast for Hill. He has this amazing broody quality and a fierce protective streak that left me swooning page after page. Kody? I love a badass h and she definitely fits the bill.
Book two in this series left me with anxious to see how things will end for this group.

Unforgiven was my third Jay Crownover book and I think it has been my favorite. I was happy to dive back into Loveless and dig deep into baby sis and her brother’s Texas Ranger friend. They intrigued me in the first book. I was anticipating absolute fire between the two and Crownover did not disappoint. The whole book was one big long string of heat turned to fire with tons of mystery between.

Crownover may be known for her superior alpha males, but I think Kody is the standout character in this book. Her tenacity to do what she loves and her “never quit” attitude is simultaneously her saving grace and downfall. It is no surprise she has so much spark being a Lawton, but the lengths she went a few times while emotional was a surprise. I loved that Kody owned her emotion fueled mistakes. If it is okay for her it should be okay for all of us to have those moments.

Hill makes me believe I just may need to have a thing for officers in my books. His calm demeanor hides the passion and fire underneath he needs to go toe-to-toe with Kody. He is definitely a “still waters run deep” sort of character and honestly I ate him up.

This book is hard to place under a trope. It is a little bit “brother’s best friend” but it is also “late husband’s brother” (IDK if that is a thing but it is now). I really think this book is for anyone who loves mystery, passion and heat between characters, and a little Texas.

I liked this book to a certain extent, but it wasn't the best thing I've read by Jay Crownover. I enjoyed the story and some of the topics, but I will not be carrying on with this series as I don't really care for cowboys. I do want to thank the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read this before it was published.

Just wow. This story is full of action, secret , lies and murder.
A thrilling storyline that make it impossible to put the book down.

kody and Hill’s story is just as enticing. They have so much darkness and regret in their past, but they also bring life and light to each other’s lives.

Kody never understood where he stood with him, she felt betrayed and abandoned by him in her time of need, but she didn’t have the whole story.

Hill has loved Kody almost all his life, staying away was the only thing he could do for her and his brother. But now the tables have turned and he is once again in need of protection and even though she won’t admit it, love.

Kody’s heart has been frozen solid all those years ago, and she didn’t think there was any way of reanimating it.

Lucky for us she was wrong. With Hill’s love she learns to be herself again and finally become the string person she is supposed to be

Amazing sex scenes and incredible sexual tension between the characters.

I can’t wait to read about how this mystery is solved.

And am I the only one who is excited about the possibility of Shot and Presley?!?

At the end of Justified, Jay Crownover gave a bit of insight into next’s book hero and heroine, but in doing so, she left her readers with more questions than answers in regards to why Kody Lawton greeted Hill Gamble with a slap to the face instead of as someone she has known for almost her entire life.

But as soon as Unforgiven started and readers became privy to just how much of an entangled past Kody and Hill share, the pieces started to fall into place, and even though I felt like Kody’s anger and resentment toward Hill was unwarranted, given the circumstances and the emotional state that she was in during these life-altering events, helped me to understand that, that was how she coped…that was how she shielded herself from being weighed down by any further guilt, any more pain than she’s already dealing with after the loss of her first love and, more recently, her father.

Kody is a heroine who readers will most definitely have a love/hate relationship with, but what helped me to keep things in perspective was being given her internal thoughts and the reasoning behind her words and actions. You had to look beneath her reckless behavior and her scathing and defensive words to understand just how wrecked and heartbroken she’s been for quite some time and how with Hill’s reappearance in Kody’s life, especially due to the situation that brings him back. And, as Kody and Hill’s story continues and her heart begins to thaw and she becomes as transparent as possible, healing can begin and her life can be lived instead of just going through the motions.

I don’t think I’ve been introduced to a more respectable or more good-intentioned hero than Hill Gamble for quite some time. And while he’s not without his faults, he most definitely lives to serve and protect as a Texas Ranger and he also lives to ease the pain of those he loves and Kody Lawton is right at the top of that list. Did Hill seem a little too good to be true? Maybe, but Crownover does a great job of illustrating the hows and whys that Hill became the man that he did and now that he’s back in Loveless what he’s willing to do to help Kody any way he can, even if it’s just to help her move on.

I loved being back in Loveless, Texas, and learning more about the Lawton siblings as well as Aaron and Hill Gamble and Shot Caldwell. And while there is an overarching suspenseful story line that brings Hill back to Loveless, he and Kody working through their issues and getting her to realize exactly how much Hill means to her is what I was most interested in witnessing play out. And, with how Crownover ends Unforgiven and sets up book three, I’ll be more than ready to head back at the end of October.

4 Poison Apples

I have had a bit of a girl crush on Kody for awhile now. She is so strong and self assured yet we can all see the spider web cracks running all over her surface. But she didn’t want to be coddled and treated like she was fragile and she fought tooth and nail to be treated like an equal. And she proved how strong she is over and over again.

Kody has had such a hard life and even though she was close with her brothers she still felt kind of like her own island. After losing her first love so devastatingly she picked herself up from the ashes and started again. But she was so closed off and trying so hard to prove she didn’t need anyone she came across as a bit of a bitch.

Hill saw not just her softness but also all the surface cracks and all he wanted was to love her and help her heal them all. I loved that although he saw all her broken parts he also saw all of her strength and he may have wanted to slay all her dragons and burn the world to the ground to protect her but he was also happy to stand at her back and cheer her on while she did it for herself. I adored him. There wasn’t a single part of Kody he didn’t love and even things he wanted her to change he never threw down the gauntlet. He told her what he wasn’t happy with and then said that regardless of what she did about it he was always going to be standing right there with her. And it just made him all the swoonier.

The story took an interesting twist and I honestly wouldn’t have ever predicted that was where it was going but I loved it. I especially love that the next book is Shot’s because I have loved him so much since I first met him. I really can’t wait to get my grabby hands on that book and I love from the authors acknowledgements at the back of the book that he took on a life of his own for her and we are reaping the rewards. Can’t wait!!!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
The prologue to Unforgiven gives us details of Kody and Hill’s shared past and connection to Hill’s little brother. I found the prologue to be pretty powerful and had me hooked right from the start. These two are opposites. Kody is impulsive and lives her life how she wants, acting first and dealing with the consequences later. Hill is a Texas Ranger, stoic and in control. It is easy to see why sparks fly when they are around each other. But this was one of those stories that had me wondering how they’d possibly end up together.

There is more to this story than the romance. Hill is back in town investigating a murder that leads to secrets from Kody’s family being revealed, which puts Kody in danger. I love the chase for a killer, and the romance and suspense in this story work well together.

I loved the love story, the drama, and the danger in Unforgiven. Kody and Hill are imperfect and strong, and I was left wanting to spend more time with them and desperate for more time with Shot, head of the local motorcycle club, who we learn will be the hero in the next book in this series. Unforgiven gets 4 stars from me.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I must say that I've been in a book drought for a while. When I flipped my Kindle on and started this book, I knew my drought would be over – at least for a little while.

The attraction between Hill and Kody has been simmering for years. He knew from a young age that Kody was the woman for him. He backed off and stayed away because he knew Aaron needed Kody in a way that Hill hoped would ease Aaron's pain. After Aaron's death, guilt and wanting to do what made Kody happy was all that mattered to him, even if it meant walking away from the woman that he loved.

Kody's anger issues are notorious. After Aaron's death, her moods became even darker – to the point that people stayed away from her when she was upset. The losses in her life have left her bitter and she takes that anger out on the people she loves the most. Kody knows it's wrong, but she can't tolerate being pampered or smothered. She takes any sign of compassion towards her as people believing that she is weak, when in truth, the hurt she hides is slowing killing her. When Hill walks back into her bar and he sees her tears, she knows that he's the one.

I adored this book, the characters, and the mystery that surrounds the murder of Kody's father. I can't wait for the next book. I have to admit, Shot is one of my new book boyfriends.

Hit every emotional high note…

“She was my dream girl. My first love. My only love. The one I couldn’t forget or move on from.”

I’ve loved this series from the beginning and each story ramped up the emotion and heat one delicious chapter at a time! I couldn’t wait to dive into Kody’s story and wow, was it a heart changer…

“Time does help, but I don’t think it’s enough to heal some wounds. Some we just have to accept as being part of us forever.”

The Lawton family was reeling from the latest in a lifetime of hits and Kody was having a hard time hiding how much she hurt. Even though Hill was back in a professional capacity her long suppressed feelings couldn’t be denied any longer. How their friendship, their connection ended, haunted them both. With maturity, high emotion and a whole lot of love and alcohol, their second chance (first chance really) was beautiful, heart-wrenching, steamy and riveting…

“It literally took nothing for Kody to bring me to my knees.”

I couldn’t read nearly slow enough. I wanted to savour every nuance, each high and low but I couldn’t do it. Hill, his devotion, his steadfastness. His hotness. Kody, tortured, guilt-ridden, filled with a love she never dared to admit. Neither could admit. How it all came together, in the midst of unexpected family drama twists and turns, was what reading is all about - characters that felt so deeply and made me do the same.

If you are afraid to get completely lost in another world, do not pick up this book. If you aren’t, buckle up and enjoy this – one of my top reads of the year.

“I’d convinced myself I wasn’t good enough, smart enough, strong enough…”

I have a soft spot in my heart for Jay Crownover's books. She always has the best romances and I was desperate to read about Kody's and Hill's romance after finishing the Justified.

I have to admit I struggled with this one a lot more than I generally do with her stories. I enjoyed the story a lot and it had a great and unique plot that I really enjoy in her stories, but I had some issues with Kody that made reading this one more of a struggle.

Kody is now facing down the loss of her father and having to cope with seeing Hill around more asking questions about the last time she'd seen him and so on. Everyone in town knows that her father was a bad man and now with his mysterious death that's been ruled a murder she doesn't know how to feel. I think I would have liked Kody more if she had been more like the character I felt like she was in previous books. Instead, she was more like an immature child acting like she's the only person who has every suffered ever. It was a bit of a pain, but eventually, she grew and realized her actions were hurting her more than helping.

Hill was very enjoyable to read about. He does his best to take care of Kody and figure out who's behind Kody's fathers' death. I enjoyed reading about him and his growth and how gentle and understanding and patient he was with Kody. He definitely balanced her out.

Unforgiven was an enjoyable story for the most part. I can't wait to see what happens next.