Review – The Unrequited by Saffron A Kent

The Unrequited by Saffron A Kent

Incredible. Absolutely INCREDIBLE. I’m speechless.

That was the first line I wrote for this review and then sat for 2 hours thinking about what I could actually say. I’m still a little all over the place and lost for words. This book is ANGSTY PERFECTION. For me that was an absolute winner. But, that’s not all. This is a student/teacher romance *fist bump*. It’s taboo and raw and gritty. It’s uncomfortable in places then it’s simple and easy in other places. The flow and masterful mixing of all the subject matter is done with delicate precision. It’s so obvious to see that these characters meant so much to the author and she took her time making their story as true as it was. As brutal as it was. As breathtaking as it was.

“I’ll pour the gasoline, light the match, and watch you burn, Layla—and trust me, you’re going to love it. I’m going to ruin you for every other man out there and you’re going to love every second of it.”

I want to say that I shouldn’t have loved Thomas as much as I did. I shouldn’t have liked him at all. I won’t say why because I’ll give too much away but trust me I just shouldn’t have liked him. But, and here is where Saffron blew me away.. I slowly fell in love with a broken, beast of a man who shut himself off and pushed everyone away. I fell in love with his undying devotion to EVERY character in this book. It’s a contradiction I know, but, that push and pull from him alone was done so well, it’s where a lot of the angst came in and I loved it. I fell in love with HIM. And Saffron made that possible.

“Because I’m a girl who’s not supposed to be the love of someone’s life, not with my selfishness. I was meant to live in the shadows and secrets. I can be Thomas’ secret, for a little while, at least— until I absorb all of his pain and set him free.”

Saffron also made it possible for me to adore Layla. The crazy, messed up, beautifully broken Layla. This woman may not click with everyone, some may find her way too crazy. But the beauty of all this was in the way Saffron wrote Layla making her beliefs honest, so gut wrenchingly honest.

Anyone who has been in love knows that love can make you crazy. Anyone who’s been in love and not had it returned can make you crazy. It’s a fact that love does make us crazy and while The Unrequited focuses on that crazy side of love and the raw, brutal journey it can take you on, it also focuses on the beauty, the hope and the strength that can develop from love.

“The tiny words on the paper seem to have risen and attached themselves to my skin. I feel them everywhere, all the time, as if I know them.”

This quote contains SO MUCH TRUTH. This book is under my skin, coursing through my veins. The Unrequited is not your sweet and flowery romance. It’s not boy meets girl, fall in love all sweet and swoony. No, this book is raw, it’s brutal, it’s gritty and uncomfortable it’s dangerous but it’s filled with intensity, explosive passion, heat, honesty and all consuming love. And it will stay with me for a long time and quite easily become one of my TOP reads of 2017.

Layla Robinson is not crazy. She is suffering from unrequited love. But it’s time to move on. No more stalking, no more obsessive calling.

What she needs is a distraction. The blue-eyed guy she keeps seeing around campus could be a great one—only he is the new poetry professor—the married poetry professor.

Thomas Abrams is a stereotypical artist—rude, arrogant, and broody—but his glares and taunts don’t scare Layla. She might be bad at poetry, but she is good at reading between the lines. Beneath his prickly façade, Thomas is lonely, and Layla wants to know why. Obsessively.

Sometimes you do get what you want. Sometimes you end up in the storage room of a bar with your professor and you kiss him. Sometimes he kisses you back like the world is ending and he will never get to kiss you again. He kisses you until you forget the years of unrequited love; you forget all the rules, and you dare to reach for something that is not yours.

NOTE: Please be aware that this book deals with sensitive topics like cheating. 18+ Only.