Unforgiven by Rebecca Zanetti is a romantic suspense novel & book 5 in the Deep Ops series. I have to admit this is the first book I’ve read by this author but I was so intrigued by the blurb. There’s a man Jethro with dangerously secret past that meets a woman Gemma & her 3 year old daughter, Trudy on the run. What happens when two dangerous worlds collide & they have to rely on each other & their loyal friends to survive? Check out this Unforgiven to find out! This book is a wonderful combination of sweet & spicy romance, thrilling suspense, humor & the heart melting factor with the adorableness of a 3 year old & a mischievous & protective dog. At the beginning, Jethro passed some misogynistic judgement & was quite intrusive, but he eventually realizes the error of his ways & apologizes for said behavior which I appreciated. There were a few other little moments where Jethro was a little much for me, but overall, I think he had good intentions & acted protectively in a very dangerous situation. “Never undwrsomate the power of an animal” (At 47% of bookI.) I love this quote so much & completely agree. The dog in this book Roscoe is a star & made my heart warm whenever he was mentioned. Although I’ve never heard of a dog liking alcohol before. I loved Gemma’s 3 year old daughter, Trudy & all of her interactions with the team members. I especially loved the Trudy-Roscoe bond. It was just adorable & heart-warming. I also loved the dynamics of the team & how loyal they were to each other & their loved ones. My love of sports translates to my love for rooting for a team & this is a good one. I also discovered Book 1 of the Deep Op series is on Kindle Unlimited just in case anyone wanted to read it too! Unforgiven comes out June 7, 2022!
Massive thanks to NetGalley &. Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains abuse, stalking, murder, violence, mugging, kidnapping, serial killer, poisoning & child endangerment.
Gemma Falls is a single mother who’s been on the run from her child’s abusive father for years–ever since she found out she was pregnant and made her escape. She manages to orchestrate a temporary job for herself as a professor at a university outside of DC, but her new life is far from easy. She doesn’t have much money, and a fellow professor, a handsome Brit, is paying her far too much attention. It turns out that he has secrets of his own–ones that put the both of them in grave danger. This book was not at all what I was expecting! While Gemma’s backstory is one of the plots of the book, the main premise surrounds Professor Jethro Hanson, a former MI6 operative who now works as a professor. A serial killer who he hunted in his previous life has crossed the pond to target him–and whoever he cares about. Unfortunately for Gemma and her daughter, that now includes them. This book has a lot of twists and turns in the plot. A few of the twists literally had me gasping in surprise. Like I said, this book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, genre-wise. Unforgiven features quite a bit of the investigation background of trying to catch the serial killer. Jethro and his former colleagues are investigating the recent killings, looking into Gemma’s past, etc. and the genre turns into a bit of an investigative thriller. I was a little confused at times, since there are several different teams and investigative units involved in the plotline–some which work well together, and some which don’t. This is the fifth book in the series, and I suspect that I might have better understood the dynamics of the different teams and characters had I read the other books first. That said, in this book, we’re introduced to couples from the previous books, along with a hint of what their romantic thriller storylines were. It’s cleverly done–we’re given enough of a taste to be intrigued to check out those books, but not so much that their stories are spoiled. The romance between Gemma and Jethro takes a backseat to the action and adventure of the storyline. That said, their relationship is sweet, and I loved the misunderstandings–particularly when they first meet, and they both have assumptions about one another. Trudy, Gemma’s four-year-old daughter, is absolutely adorable, and the budding father-daughter relationship between Trudy and Jethro is cheek-pinchingly cute. Ultimately, Unforgiven is a fast-paced, thrilling romantic suspense novel with lots of intrigue, adventure, a hint of angst, and a sweet romance. *Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ebook to review* This review appeared first on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/ Book Blog | Instagram | TikTok | Website | Twitter My 2022 Reading Challenge
Emma Falls has a secret; one that has her on the run. She and her friend Serena have a plan. Emma will take over teaching Serena's statistic and game theory classes at DC University while living in her home. This will give Emma and her daughter Trudy a reprieve while earning some much needed cash to help her in the next leg of her journey.
Jethro Hanson has many secrets. He and Serena are both professors at DC University as well as members of the ragtag team of agents known as the HDD. When Serena suddenly leaves the group with no real explanation Jethro becomes curious about her replacement but he learns Emma is a tough nut to crack. As Jethro and Emma begin to warm towards each other and Emma learns that she can rely on Jethro a monster from Jethro's time with M16 emerges. Can Jethro and Emma work together to overcome both their demons?
In the other Deep Ops stories, Jethro has been a steady and reliable character. Obviously, with this fifth installment being his story we really get some great insight in to his character and where he comes from. Jethro has great snark and a huge heart. The relationship that develops between Jethro and Emma's daughter Trudy melted my heart. Emma is a woman with great strength. Her past could have damaged her but she has overcome many hurdles in the hopes of giving her daughter a life better than she has had.
Unforgiven is a fast paced read that I completed in one sitting. Zanetti is great with both character and world building. Having continuous stories in a series where the characters appear in each certainly eliminates the confusion one feels at the start of a new story. I felt like I was revisiting old friends.
The first book in this series is so good, but it feels like the deeper we get into these books, the worse it gets. If you squint, I think the pieces of the plot mostly come together, but it is... tenuous. It just doesn't make a ton of sense!
Gemma is on the run from her abusive ex-fiance with the daughter he doesn't know they have in tow. Somehow, she's able to step into a friend's job at a university teaching game theory, et cetera, when this friend (who's linked to the Deep Ops team) has to leave town for a bit. How? How does this work? How is she passing background and qualification checks with her string of fake names? Jethro is former MI6 and has a serial killer brother who is also former MI6 and also somehow they're both the children of a duke? This is mentioned once and never brought up again. Who's duke-ing if Jethro and his brother are both in the US? And the brother's reasons for targeting Jethro are just bonkers.
I don't know. I think I had too many questions about what was going on here to really enjoy the book. It's a shame that I've grown less and less interested in this series, because it started off so interestingly.
The last book in this series, Driven, was almost a year and a half ago. At that time, I said it could be the natural conclusion to the series but I had hoped for more. I’m so glad we got more!
Jethro has been helping the Deep Ops team for a bit, but remained “other” due to him being a college professor and not part of the US Government agency the rest of the crew work for. I’ve always loved Jethro and I was so happy that he was getting his story.
Gemma has been on the run from her ex-fiancé since she was pregnant with her now 3-year-old daughter. She ends up at Jethro’s university teaching in the same department and sparks fly right away. With Jethro’s MI6 training he is aware from the beginning that there is something Gemma is hiding. That doesn’t stop him from wanting to get to know her and her daughter better. Jethro is not quite sure what family means, though. His is quite screwed up and he has kept a sort of distance from everyone to keep them safe from his family.
Well, the Deep Ops team has a hard time with being told no. Especially when it’s one of their own. The more Jethro tries to push them away, they more the rally around him. When Gemma gets pulled into danger, partly because of Jethro, the team also rallies around her and her daughter Trudy. Jethro and Gemma both start to learn that family can be made and it can be wonderful.
Besides the great connection Gemma and Jethro have, I enjoyed getting to know some new characters from Jethro’s past. Plus, it’s always so much fun to visit with Wolfe. I always forget just how much he makes me laugh. And Wolfe has decided that he, and he alone, is Jethro’s best friend. It’s sweet and hilarious and intense.
This story seems like it’s a bridge from the original concept of this series to the new adventures that will face this crazy group of people. More questions were raised, more characters were added, and the addition of Trudy has really shown us how mushy some of these tough guys can be.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
I needed a good break between reading YA and RomCom's, so this Romantic Suspense came at the perfect time, and I devoured every page. I'm also a sucker for anything with toddlers that can't fully pronounce names, or anything with animals, so I was immediately enamored with the story.
Gemma is on the run from her abusive ex-fiancée, who doesn't know she was pregnant when she ran. Always trying to stay one step ahead and constantly looking over her shoulder, all while providing a stable life for her daughter. She is the epitome of a strong female lead, and I loved watching her strength throughout the story.
Jethro is the perfect alpha specimen! Dealing with a sociopathic brother who is out for revenge, taking lives left and right, but only leaving enough breadcrumbs behind to taunt him. I absolutely loved watching the gentle side come out of Jethro whenever he's around Trudy (the 3 year old), and admire his control, especially when all seems lost.
This was my first book by this author and I immediately grabbed the previous ones in the series to read after I finished, because the side characters are so entertaining and lovable. Unforgiven can be read as a stand alone, but you'll find yourself attached to the other team members, and want to have their stories as well.
Series: Deep Ops #5 Rating: 4 stars - It was really good
For three years, Gemma Falls has been on the run from her abusive ex. While teaching at D.C. University, she finds herself unexpectedly attracted to a fellow professor, Jethro Hanson. Jethro is more than he seems though and both of their past finally catch up to them.
I am so happy that Zanetti decided to write more Deep Ops books because I really love this group. Jethro was introduced in the previous books while helping Angus capture a serial killer. He is smart but also very deadly. We finally get to learn about his past as a M16 agent and his tragic family lie. I really liked Jethro. He was protective, smart, and extremely compassionate and kind. I adored how he instantly fell in love with Trudy, even when he didn’t know what to do with a child.
Gemma is a very strong woman. She went through a horrible situation with her ex and has spent the past three years on the run. She is battered and bruised emotionally but is always determined to keep her daughter safe. I loved how strong this woman was, especially in trusting Jethro and the Deep Ops game with her and her daughter's life.
This was a very good blend of suspense, romance, and action. I really loved seeing the Deeps Ops family take care of their own and embrace new members. Wolfe is still my favorite and I loved how he instantly adopts everyone he likes into his family. We also meet some of Jethro’s M16 friends, Owen and Ian, who were great side characters and great friends. I do hope we see more of them in the future because I want to know more about them now.
Overall, this was a wonderful addition to this series. I loved Jethro and Gemma’s story. They really found the perfect family in the Deep Ops group. Also I really hope we get at least one more book because I want to see Wolfe as a father!
Trigger warnings: Both had abusive mothers. Gemma’s mother is also an alcoholic. Domestic violence, death, violence, poisoning.
Jethro has left his career of high adrenaline and violence behind to play in the ivory tower of academia - unfortunately for him there is a mysterious new professor with a past of her own. Gemma is just trying to survive - and protect her daughter. A hot Brit is just a complication that she neither wants nor needs.
Despite this being super fast paced it was a bit slower for me to get in to. I liked Gemma and I understood her fears and her survival instincts. I didn’t understand Jethro as fast. I did love their mutual competence kink and the way that Jet never spoke for Gemma. He might have wanted to - but didn’t. I also loved seeing some of the former team members and their crazy found family. The villain(s) are pretty dark though so please watch the CWs, friends.
