“A Book With A Love Triangle” 2015 Challenge; UNBELOVED by Madeline Sheehan

“It was how they survived, how they paid the bills and cared for their families.  It wasn’t about greed or excess, it was about living a certain way, being a certain kind of man who didn’t have to bow down to the laws and the government who enforced them.  It was brotherhood, a camaraderie.  It was about really, truly living your life the way you wanted to live it.

It was about…  Freedom.”

Ahh!! It’s Madeline Sheehan!!  Strong will, strong stomach, and open minds needed…  The moment I saw “love triangle”, I thought of the infamous trio introduced by Sheehan.  Oh course I had to prepare myself to read one of her books before I started it, and no matter how much I thought to read a different love triangle, it couldn’t be helped.  It was like a gravitational pull, leading me to this story. 

 

UNBELOVED by Madeline Sheehan

Book 5 in the Undeniable Series

 

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

 

Dorothy Kelley is a born romantic, searching for her prince. Instead she finds herself pregnant at fifteen, and in a loveless marriage by the tender age of eighteen.

Then hope comes riding into her life on a motorcycle and within weeks, Jason “Jase” Brady, a member of the Hell’s Horsemen Motorcycle Club, sweeps Dorothy off her feet.

But nothing is ever simple for Dorothy. Jase is married with children. And as Dorothy patiently waits for Jase to give her the happily-ever-after she’s been dreaming about, James “Hawk” Young, a member of the Hell’s Horsemen with secrets of his own, sees an opening into Dorothy’s life and takes it.

Carrying on two secret affairs is no easy feat. As Dorothy tries to dig herself out of the mess she’s created, covering one mistake with another, tragedy strikes, nearly costing Dorothy her life and that of her unborn son.

What follows is a long and painful journey of self-discovery and forgiveness, as Dorothy comes to realize that home was exactly where she’d left it, and the love she’d forever craved had always been within her reach.

This is the story of Dorothy, Jase, and Hawk.

We are all born pure; it is our journey that burdens us and leads us astray. Our mistakes that beat us down and cover us in guilt and shame, burying us a little more with each passing hardship. It is up to us to dig ourselves out, to come to terms with our faults, to embrace not only our imperfections but those of the ones we love, and to once again find the path we strayed from.


Warning: This is not a conventional or predictable love story. It involves one woman and two men bound by a love so destructive it spans two decades, pitting brother against brother, and shattering the lives of those touched by it.

 

 

 

MY REVIEW

3 out of 5 *Stars*

 

I have to say… this was a lot different than expected.  Is Sheehan going soft?  Oh God, I hope not.  When it comes to MC romances, there are certain series that I compare others to.  The softer but just as good MC books get classified with Motorcycle Man and the other books to follow in the Chaos Series by Kristen Ashley.  The really good MC books with hot sex, great conflict, and intriguing storylines, get put with the Reaper novels by Joanna Wylde.  Then there are the MC romances that push the level of your comfort, creates conflict that keeps you at the edge of your seat and at the time still creates timeless romances that you can’t help but grow attached to.  Those are my Sheehan books in the Undeniable series. Undeniable was the second MC book that I read (after Motorcycle Man) and I was hooked!!

However… Yes, there’s a “however.”  Her last two books have slowly been dwindling in what gets her in my comparison books.  Where’s the villain???  Sheehan made some kick-ass villains, and her last two had none.  Conflict, yes… but no villains.  No epic character that could sway the balance and create havoc for the two love birds.  This book, Unbeloved, hardly even had a conflict.  Jail time?  Yeah, it sucks, but is easily overcome. 

Then comes the love triangle…  This triangle was legendary in her series.  Everyone wanted to know who would be picked and what the big showdown to win her heart would be like.  Nope.  No show down, no fight for her, just a heartfelt decision made by Dorothy towards the beginning of the book.  Yes, we got to see how the other guy progressed, which was okay, but I still found myself reading through those parts quickly so I could get back to the main story. 

The sole reason this book got three stars from me was character development.  I didn’t think I would like Dorothy.  She never did anything for me in the previous books, and I didn’t think I would want to read her story.  Same with Hawk.  He was always so quiet and I felt didn’t have too much of a personality.  The only character I thought I would like was Jase, therefore I didn’t feel that there was any rush to read this book. 

I was completely wrong on that aspect.  The way she built the characters and there backgrounds made the missing pieces in their personalities slip together to make people that will stay in my mind always.  I especially love the past that Hawk was given.  He was so much more interesting after that.  Then there was the love story, which was a tear jerker.  Granted, the sex scenes were way more tame than her other books, but the passion was definitely felt. 

Overall, it’s an okay book.  Yes, read it because it’s in a series that I recommend, but there’s no big rush to do it.  Hopefully, her next books that come out will go back to her original style of writing.  The type of story that would come with a warning label.  Maybe ZZ’s story… One can only hope! 

Till next time…

 

 

23 books down, 29 to go!!

Happy Reading, Everyone!