Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Unconditional

I always hear that Q.B. Tyler writes the best taboo romances, and PHEW was this one a ride. If you like the guardian / ward or the pseudo father / child tropes, then this one is for you. I loved that we got to see glimpses of Maddie and Cal's past as she grew up with him and the circumstances that brought them together in the first place. The writing was very meh to me, but the plot and characters kept me flipping pages, so much so that I read the book in two sittings; I just didn't want to put it down. I also wasn't a fan of the plot twist near the end - it kind of came out of nowhere in my opinion. But other than that, I had a lot of fun with this one and could have kept reading about Cal and Maddie.

I do also want to mention that Maddie is only 17 throughout most of this book . . . so please keep that in mind before going into this one. There is a bit of an age gap, and she isn't even an adult.

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lauraschuhmann's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

i was so antsy in the beginning and felt like it was a really slow book, however, now that i’m done with it i wish it would have been longer. these two are the cutest and i really loved this book.

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100_pages_hr's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

3.25

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nikitanavalkar's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The author writes all the forbidden and taboo goodness, but somehow makes it all feel very cozy and wholesome by the end, and that’s a remarkable skill. Tropes that might make you uncomfortable, situations you’d think would make you cringe, they’re all there but she weaves them all into sweet and sexy narrative that makes it feel romantic. All while keeping it perfectly filthy of course. It helps that her heroines are mature and actually aware of what they want, and don’t feel brainwashed into it. Also that her characters seem to actually discuss and understand the severity of the consequences of their forbidden romance for them and others.

Of course, I wasn’t a fan of Cal and Maddie gaslighting everyone around them at one point, but I get it, you gotta do what you gotta do to survive. Their codependency is extremely unhealthy and you sometimes feel it, but like I said before, the author somehow makes it work within the framework of her story. Maddie’s self assuredness and level headed nature definitely helps the reader trust in her decisions. The twist at the end was pretty random and clearly added for conflict, so it made sense but felt like came out of the blue late into the game. But it kind of makes sense looking back so I took it for what it was.

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