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I’m not sure why I decided to re-read Unforgiven. I’d read it years ago and thought it was good but not great. This go-round, it impressed the hell out of me. It resonated in a way contemporary romance rarely does with me.
Adam Collins and Marissa Brooks grew up in the small town of Walker’s Ford, South Dakota. It’s a place where people drive pickup trucks, live in the same houses they grew up in, and where it feels almost impossible to become anyone other than who you once were. Calhoun’s rural America is more than credible–people worry about paying the bills, drink crappy coffee in worn booths, and rely on the library to show them worlds other than their own.
When Adam and Marissa were seventeen they were in crazy, wildly in love. Though they never had actual sex, they spent every moment they could in each others’ arms. When they thought about the future, Adam dreamed about exploring the world on his beloved motorcycle and Marissa longed to buy and restore her family’s ancestral home, Brookhaven.
Adam destroyed one of those dreams one horrible night and the next day, he left town and joined the Marines. Twelve years later, he returns to Walker’s Ford, having left the Corps. On the night he returns, he walks into Brookhaven, now almost fully restored and owned by Marissa, to attend the engagement party of Adam’s best friend, Keith who is marrying Delaney, a woman Adam was engaged to for years and whom he broke up with eight months ago for reasons that no one really knows.
Adam’s attention, however, isn’t on the celebrating couple, it’s on Marissa and, within an hour, the two are having the sex Adam denied them in high school. Within days, they are lovers.
Marissa lets Adam into her body but she’s determined not to let him back into her heart. Though Adam says he’s back in South Dakota to stay–he plans to study architecture at a nearby university–she doesn’t believe he won’t again leave her and Walker’s Ford. And, she might be right. Adam keeps his emotions on lock-down and, despite the the heat that burns between them–and whoa does it burn–, he’s still so damaged by what happened seventeen years ago.
Adam and Marissa are tethered to the past in heartrending ways and their story is absorbing. Change is difficult for both of them and it’s hard to watch them so limit their lives. Neither believes they deserve joy or love let alone a coupled happy ending. The small steps they take occur organically–there are no big misunderstandings here–and work beautifully to oh so slowly allow them to shed the pains of their past.
Calhoun is one of the very best writers of love scenes and this book is on fire in that regard. If you’re looking for a story where consent, sex, and emotion are fused fabulously, look no further. The erotic prose in Unforgiven, like that in Uncommon Passion, my favorite of her books, is arousing and emotional.
I loved Unforgiven this read. It’s moving and beautifully written. Its people and places feel real. Adam’s and Marissa’s story has heft in all the best ways. It’s a DIK for me on the second time around.
Buy it at Amazon/iBooks/Barnes and Noble/Kobo
Grade: A-
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 01/05/18
Publication Date: 06/2013
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Impenitent social media enthusiast. Relational trend spotter. Enjoys both carpe diem and the fish of the day.
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Just finished this book and couldn’t agree more with this review! I’d give it the exact same grade — it’s wonderful. I also think Unforgiven would work for Kennedy Ryan fans; there’s a similar modern sexiness, emotional angst, and expert exploration of larger themes.
It’s on my top ten list for sure and floats in and out of my top five.
I love Anne Calhoun—almost everything she’s written is DIK for me. I really like the theme of rehabilitation that runs through the book: Marissa is refurbishing her grandfather’s house; Adam & Marissa are trying to rehabilitate their relationship; Adam is trying to make amends in some way for the pain he’s caused another family; Adam’s ex-fiancée tries to rehab her image in his eyes. In every part of the book, people are trying to repair themselves or repair things that have a deeper meaning. And I love how competent Marissa is at her job—the scene where she and Adam replace siding on a house is excellent for what it conveys about the sheer physical labor of doing that work.
I tried Anne Calhoun in the past and whatever titles I tried clearly did not impress at the time. But this sounds very different from whatever those titles were. This review and your observations make me think I should take another look. Thanks!
This book is a lot about work in ways that are unusual in romance. I think that’s one of the things that spoke to me the most on this re-read.