Book Review:
Title: Unforgiven
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Penguin Random House
“His hands grasped her waist and lifted her until she could have sworn that his feet had come off the ground, too; that they were floating up above the creek, above the trees, above the burning hillside, into the dense tangle of stars, about to kiss the moon.”
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and MaximumPopBooks in exchange for an honest review.
Unforgiven is a spin off/continuation of the Fallen series, however instead of following Daniel and Luce, it follows Cam and his second chance at love with the only girl he has ever felt something for, Lilith.
I guess Unforgiven could be read without reading the Fallen series first, but I highly recommend you read it in release order so you can really get everything out of it and already have a feel of some of the characters.
Now onto the actual review...
I absolutely adored this book! It was great to get back into the world and see a lot of the old characters again (Cam, Roland, Arriane, Luc) as well as meet some new characters (Lilith, Chloe, Jean, Luis.) One thing I love about Lauren's books are that her concepts are always so unique and special and Unforgiven was no different. Many years ago Cam fell in love with a girl called Lilith but due to unfortunate circumstances it didn't last and he ended up breaking her heart. Now, in the present, Cam is made aware that Lilith is living in her own personal hell made by Lucifer himself. He is given 15 days to make her fall in love with him so that they can be both be free and happy once again, but if he fails, he has his life set to be Lucifer's slave for eternity.
There were many moments during this book where I worried that Cam wasn't going to accomplish his goal. Every time he and Lilith took a step forward, Luc popped out of nowhere and pushed them 3 steps back.
As much as I love Luc and his twisted ways, in this novel he got a bit aggravating and I really wanted to punch him and shout, 'LET CAM BE HAPPY, HE DESERVES IT.' Cam has spent thousands of years heartbroken and lonely without Lilith, so to see him moving further and further away from his goal of getting a second chance at happiness really upset me. It's time he got his happy ending.
The only negative that really comes to mind is that Cam was not really the Cam we came to know in the Fallen series. I knew Cam as someone quite dark and mysterious, yet in Unforgiven he was quite lighthearted and open. I guess you could say he is like that because he is infatuated and finally with the one he loves, but still it would of been a tad nicer to see a bit of the mysterious guy at the start of the book.
Other than that, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I thought the relationship moved a good pace, meaning it didn't feel like insta-love, which I am not a very big fan of. I loved how Lilith wasn't your typical damsel in distress and actually fought her own battles. And last but not least, I loved Bruce (Lilith's brother,) I thought he was a great addition to the story.
To sum this book up in 3 words; Quick, Cute & Tense (quite a odd combination)
4 Stars
Goodreads Link