After two novels between inter-racial detectives where the heroine is brilliant and the hero is Scottish, Cole takes a different approach for the final book in her Loyal League series. An Unconditional Freedom follows Daniel, a black man born free who was then tricked into slavery and Janeta, a Cuban girl of mixed heritage who is a wannabe mole in the Loyal League. Compared to the previous novels, the leads here were on a more equal footing as they navigated the harsh realities of slavery and the American Civil War. Both of them were compelling characters, and I liked them as a couple. The plot didn't make sense at times, but if you like Cole's unfiltered look at history, then you'll still enjoy this book.

Daniel is one of the most complex heroes we've seen in this series yet. There's a lot of trauma and general emotions he needs to work through before he's ready for love. His journey to self-acceptance is a moving one. I will say the romance between him and Janeta seems to come out of nowhere. Cole gives readers glimpses of his attraction to her, but he's too busy with his own issues to really pay much attention to her until the end.

Janeta is another fascinating character. She's very similar to Marlie from the previous novel: the daughter of a white slave owner and one of his slaves. The difference is Janeta is both more worldly than Marlie but also more naive. Janeta's mother taught her how precarious her position was and how to read people in order to maintain her privileges. However, Janeta also starts out believing slavery is a good thing. Her journey to self-actualization is very abrupt compared to Daniel's. It doesn't take much for her to drop her scheme to helping her lover sabotage the Loyal League from within. Despite her newness to the agency, she quickly proves herself to be capable and quick-thinking. I liked her character a lot, and I wish there were more pages dedicated to her growing into herself.

With such compelling characters, I was disappointed the plot seemed so thin. The device meant to throw them together is pretty much unimportant. Janeta's deception is also a non-issue for some reason, and I don't think Cole does a great job of setting it up, personally. Overall, it never felt like these characters had a reason to be thrown together beyond "because the author said so".

If you like mild romances without much spice, emotional journeys, and a heavy dose of history, then this is the story for you. It's a meaningful story but just not quite my cup of tea. ( )

Really bummed to have not liked this more as I'm a big fan other of the other Loyal League books but despite the compelling story and characters this ended up being too boring. Unlike some other reviewers I thought there was plenty of chemistry between our leads and I loved how their story came together. However, their personal emotional arcs were endlessly repetitive. So many of the exact same internal conversations occurred throughout the book. I eventually started skimming them when it became clear they were all the same. I'm not one to usually care if most of the struggle is emotional (rather than action) but I definitely wish this one had had more action scenes. It won't put me off future Loyal League books though. I will definitely be sticking with the series. ( )

This is an interesting read about a couple in the American Civil War who learn a lot about themselves and about the cause they're fighting for. Daniel Cumberland was born free but was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Freed he fights for freedom and to avenge what was done to him with the Loyal League. His original life plans are gone and he's not sure if he has a future. Into his life comes Janeta Sanchez the daughter of a slave and her owner (who married her eventually) from Cuba who is tasked by the man who says he will marry her to save her father and infiltrate the Loyal League. As she works with Daniel she finds some uncomfortable truths and they both find a path to freedom.
In some places somewhat obvious but in other's the story kept me reading and wanting to know what would happen next. They're helped by some unlikely allies but overall the story was interesting and said a lot about the reasons some fled and the reasons some stayed enslaved and the brutality it caused in both slaver and slave. ( )

This book came out more than 4 months ago, but I just now managed to read it. Having read the first two in the series, An Extraordinary Union and A Hope Divided, I knew a little of Daniel's story and I wasn't eager to read it. Not because I thought it would be anything less than excellent, but because I knew that Alyssa Cole called this the book that almost broke her.

It. Is. A lot.

Daniel was raised a free man in Massachusetts but was sold into slavery by people pretending to be abolitionists. At the end of the first book, Elle and Malcolm free him when he's about to be sold again. Daniel is left a broken shell of himself, convinced he's a coward and not worthy of love. He's suffering from PTSD and is justifiably unwilling to trust anyone. He's also very, very angry. His journey is one of anger and healing, and it's uncomfortable.

Janeta is a Cuban living in luxury with her white plantation-owning family until her father is sent to prison and her home is overrun by Union soldiers. Her enslaved mother, whom her father married, died years ago and she's been both pampered and othered by everyone in her circle. She's coped by becoming what everyone else needs her to be. She's the compliant mistress for a social-climbing a$$hat, not realizing that she's his mistress/not even that until after she joins the Loyal League to spy for him. She internalizes the comments she hears about how enslaved people are happy with their bondage, how they are infantile and can only be taught with abuse, etc. And she listens to her mother, who teaches her that shes "not like those other people" and that the only tool she has in her belt is her feminine wiles. Her journey is one of unlearning, and it's uncomfortable.

The whole book is uncomfortable to read. I will not tell anyone descended from enslaved people that they must read it, but I think that others, particularly white people, should. The ways in which Cole explores unlearning and relearning are especially relevant and thought-provoking. Janeta's characterization as a woman between two sides of the war and two sides of racial stratification is complex and a real authorial feat. There's a lot in here that will make you sit with your feelings.

Both characters also struggle with their gender roles. Tied up in Daniel's self-hatred is his feeling that he is less of a man because he wasn't able to protect the people in his life, especially children, and not even himself. He grew up thinking that he knew how everything could be made better, only to find that he can't. At least, not by himself, and isn't a man supposed to be able to do things on his own? When nightmares cause him to wail and cry in the night, he's so ashamed that he refuses to sleep. (It's also because he doesn't want to draw enemies to them.)

Janeta struggles with her mother's journey from enslaved woman to wife of the plantation owner, and how to reconcile her own seduction strategies with that history. She's been taught that being a social chameleon is her only worth and the only way to stay wanted and loved. She can't be too sexy or too standoffish, too opinionated or too sullen. Not only does she go through a change in worldview, she also learns to think of herself in a new light.

Finally, Cole shows us a side of the war not often seen - the role of foreign powers in the behind-the-scenes machinations of both sides. In the first book, the side plot was mostly about the Clearances in Scotland and the blockade (also the role of white women in upholding slavery), the second book was about the Home Guard and the southerners who didn't want to participate, and this one is about European politics. As always, Cole includes additional reading suggestions and context. You can see the amount of research she's done for each of these books, but it never feels like reading a history text.

In conclusion, this is an intense book that delivers three strong arcs - one for Daniel, one for Janeta, and one for their relationship. I appreciated how slowly their physical relationship progresses, it fits the characters perfectly and their romantic relationship arc follows their building trust in each other. It's absolutely worth the read and I hope people will pick it up.



Content Warnings: master-enslaved relationship? (consent issues, but it's not on-page, character is thinking about her mother). slavery, war, racism, threat of sexual assault, children in peril, suicide, suicidal ideation



Suzanne received a digital ARC of this book, but ended up reading a finished copy she purchased. ( )

I have finally finished this series! I really enjoyed this book and the rest of the series, even though it took me more than a month to finish this one. I think this series does lean towards historical fiction with a side of romance but Cole fits those pieces together so well and it makes it a really enjoyable read.

This book deal with Daniel, who we've met previously and Janeta, who is new to the series and who is Cuban and the daughter of a free man and a previously enslaved woman. This is an interesting set up because it's very new for this series and I liked that because of the fact Janeta was sent in as a Confederate spy, we get to see a lot more of the workings of the Loyal League. Since most of this book is the spy stuff, it had to be very well written in order to keep me engaged and I thought Cole did a really good job. I was able to predict where the plot would end up fairly easily but the definitely didn't effect my enjoyment.

The romance was good but definitely mostly showed up at the end. The building of the romance, however, did definitely make the relationship seem stronger to me. I think Janeta and Daniel played off of each other best out of the three couples we've seen. Cole makes it very clear just how much they help the other grow and improve without being too pushy. It made me even more satisfied when they finally gave into their feelings for each other. I do think this one was the most historical fictiony of the three rather than a romance but I honestly didn't really mind that.

I am happy I completed this whole series (a rarity for me) because these books are all very well done and clearly well researched. I would definitely recommend this series while saying it is heavier on the historical fiction side. I definitely want to read other series from Cole. I'd be interested to see her take on contemporary romance and I hope I enjoy those just as much as this one. ( )