Unloved

This started out with a pretty dark tragedy, then moved into a series of stubborn and possibly unwise actions by heroine Brynn (which totally fit with where she was in her life and make sense as a natural response to the tragedy, but I was still sort of shaking my head at her), and then she met Cassidy and I just melted.

Romances with this type of hero completely untouched never-even-kissed-anyone virgins are pretty rare, and believable circumstances for it are even more so, but Katy nailed it. As a side note, I really liked Cassidy's different-colored eyes — so unique and memorable.

Once I got stuck into this book, I couldn't put it down. Even if grieving heroines and overly challenging wilderness hikes aren't usually your thing, this is absolutely worth reading.

The message? When the right time comes, you must set your grief and history behind you and open your heart to love.

Favourite quote? “Deep inside, something that had almost given up on life knows for sure that it's completely, vibrantly alive again, and my heart laughs because I barely remember happiness like this, but it's here, and it's now, and it's Cassidy holding me in his arms and kissing me for the first time.”

How I found this book? I heard about it on Facebook and Twitter and through the author's newsletter, and purchased it for myself.

4.5 stars (rounded up to 5) • rare • truly excellent, blew me away, unforgettable

This cover is OK. For ME personally I think it implies a darkness to the read (along with the blurb) that really isn't a good reflection of the story. That said, the composition and title work are both good. So it isn't a BAD cover just maybe not that great a representation of the story itself.

I enjoyed this one. It didn't exactly turn out to be what I thought it was going to be based on the blurb (a dark romance) but it was still an excellent read. The writing was fantastic. The pace was good. The plot was engaging and kept me turning the pages. It was a slow burn and only had one mild sex scene that takes place after 70%. This one is light on secondary characters but the ones we get add some good extra layers to the story. It made me tear up a few times, and I liked the twist. I can usually Sherlock a twist coming a mile away, but this one took me by surprise. Although if I am 100% honest I also found it a bit farfetched, but OK I went with it.



Both main characters were very likable. I ADORED Cassidy. He was just so sweet and endearing. I usually HATE virgin heroes in books because nine times out of ten they are entirely unbelievable. That said, this fell into one of the very few times a hero being a virgin made sense. I adored Brynn as well. The beginning of this book had me in tears. More so today when yet again lives have been lost in a senseless mass shooting. My heart broke for her, but I also loved how accepting she was to opening her heart once again. And I loved how she never gave up on Cassidy. Saving him as he had saved her. Lastly, this was wrapped up in a lovely epilogue.

So even though this may have turned out not to be a romance with any darkness to it I can still honestly say that it is a romance worth reading and gets two thumbs up from yours truly.