Review: Unconditional by Q. B. Tyler

Title: Unconditional

Author: Q. B. Tyler

Year of publication: 2019

The heroine: Student Maddie Shaw

The hero: Chief of Police Cal Grayson

The blurb: It only takes one moment to change the course of someone’s life. One moment to link two souls forever.

That moment came when I pulled her out of her darkest hour. The tragedy that threatened to swallow her whole and shatter her innocence.

Save her.
Protect her.
Love her.
I vowed.

Ten years later, my vows are the same.

But I’m different
She’s different
We’re different.

And the feelings threatening to break free have the power to destroy everything. I’ll stop at nothing to keep her safe, but what if the very thing she needs protection from
…is me? 

Standalone or series: Standalone.

The review: As with any romance book featuring a taboo relationship, this book may not work for everyone. I don’t read a taboo book solely for the shock value; I want the relationship to be believable, despite the connection of the hero and heroine, whatever it is. I want to be able to get lost in the story.

Unconditional is a fantastic book. Cal Grayson is a young police officer responding to a murder-suicide when he finds seven year old Madeline Shaw hiding in a closet. She has no relatives left now, so he ends up becoming her legal guardian.

Ten years later, Maddie is almost eighteen and in love with Cal. She doesn’t love him as she would a father and she’s never called him Dad. She wants to be with him, in the way a woman is with a man. But she knows Cal doesn’t feel that way about her, so she keeps her desires hidden. Except Maddie is wrong. Cal *does* feel that way about her, although he’s desperate not to. He doesn’t want to be in love with Maddie. He’s now the Chief of Police and he knows what everyone will say if he and Maddie ever crossed that line. So they don’t.

Until they do. And then they can’t deny how they feel, so they don’t stop. Inevitably, it all comes out… how will his family deal with the revelation? His co-workers, one of whom is his sister-in-law? The townsfolk? Will Cal and Maddie’s love be strong enough to withstand the backlash?

This book was so well done. There was plenty of angst and lots of really hot sex scenes, some of the hottest I’ve ever read. Don’t miss it.