Review: Gritty and Emotional
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 31, 2014
UNFORGIVEN may be one story where the crime was so realistic I just couldn’t forgive it myself.Bailey and Darren were childhood friends and always seemed destined for so much more.  They gravitated towards each other and no matter what relationship they were in, they never seemed quite as taken with their significant other as they were with each other.  But something happened, something so significant that Darren now hates Bailey and hopes to never see her again.  When Bailey moves back to her hometown after six years, she knows it will be difficult.  But she doesn’t expect Darren to have also moved back home.  When a mishap lands her in the hospital, she is horrified and dumbstruck when Darren is her physician.As much as Darren hates Bailey, as angry as he is, he can’t seem to stay away from her.  Instead, he puts himself in her way, but then can’t stop himself from being mean and sometimes cruel to her.  Despite the pain, Bailey is willing to endure Darren’s mood swings in the hopes of finding out if there’s a chance he can forgive her one day.  She even stays when her only reason for moving home (her mom) moves away.  But while Bailey is patient, she’s not willing to destroy herself for something that isn’t ever going to happen, and Darren can’t promise he’ll ever get over Bailey’s transgressions.UNFORGIVEN is a hard story.  It’s realistic, painful and raw.  I struggled along with Darren because I really didn’t know if I’d be able to move past what Bailey did.  I still don’t know that I could.  There are some really hot, sexy scenes between Bailey and Darren and there are also moments I couldn’t help but cry from all that they had to face in order to be together.  This wasn’t a story I was flying through, and I can’t say for certain whether it was because of the difficult storyline itself or the setting (for some reason I don’t tend to be a big fan of rural, small town settings).  I liked the way Ms. Finn took her time revealing what Bailey had done and the way she switched between current time and the past as the story progressed.I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth Finn since reading THE DEVIL’S PAWN.  UNFORGIVEN is a gritty and emotional story that explores a relationship between two people who have always wanted each other but have to decide if they can overcome the ultimate betrayal.  While I struggled with the story, I think in this case that was exactly the point and Elizabeth Finn accomplished her goal.  I give UNFORGIVEN 3.5 stars but rounded up for reviewing purposes because of the fluidity of the writing and the range of emotions Elizabeth Finn was able to make me feel over the course of the story.**Complimentary copy provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.