diff --git a/Frends.HTTP.Request/CHANGELOG.md b/Frends.HTTP.Request/CHANGELOG.md
index 2848713..b8ca781 100644
--- a/Frends.HTTP.Request/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/Frends.HTTP.Request/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.9.0] - 2026-04-15
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Fixed an issue where selecting JToken as the return format would throw an exception if the server returned a non-JSON response; the response body is now returned as a raw string instead, preserving the status code for flow control.
+
 ## [1.8.0] - 2026-03-07
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request.Tests/UnitTests.cs b/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request.Tests/UnitTests.cs
index 1b2c78f..c3dcf06 100644
--- a/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request.Tests/UnitTests.cs
+++ b/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request.Tests/UnitTests.cs
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ public async Task RestRequestShouldNotThrowIfReturnIsEmpty()
     }
 
     [TestMethod]
-    public void RestRequestShouldThrowIfReturnIsNotValidJson()
+    public async Task RestRequest_NonJsonResponse_ShouldReturnRawStringInsteadOfThrowing()
     {
         var input = new Input
         {
@@ -285,12 +285,11 @@ public void RestRequestShouldThrowIfReturnIsNotValidJson()
             Token = "fooToken"
         };
 
-        // _mockHttpMessageHandler.When(input.Url)
-        //     .Respond("application/json", "<fail>failbar<fail>");
-        var ex = Assert.ThrowsAsync<JsonReaderException>(async () =>
-            await HTTP.Request(input, options, CancellationToken.None));
+        var result = await HTTP.Request(input, options, CancellationToken.None);
 
-        Assert.That(ex.Message.Contains("Unable to read response message as json"));
+        ClassicAssert.IsInstanceOf<string>(result.Body);
+        ClassicAssert.IsTrue(((string)result.Body).Contains("<!--"));
+        ClassicAssert.AreEqual(200, result.StatusCode);
     }
 
     [TestMethod]
@@ -411,4 +410,50 @@ public void CorrectStoreSearched(CertificateStoreLocation storeLocation, string
         Assert.That(ex.Message.Contains(
             $"Certificate with thumbprint: 'INVALIDTHUMBPRINT' not found in {storeLocationText} cert store."));
     }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public async Task RestRequest_HtmlContentType_ShouldReturnRawStringInsteadOfThrowing()
+    {
+        var input = new Input
+        {
+            Method = Method.Method.GET,
+            Url = $"{BasePath}/html",
+            Headers = new Header[0],
+            Message = "",
+            ResultMethod = ReturnFormat.JToken
+        };
+        var options = new Options
+        {
+            ConnectionTimeoutSeconds = 60,
+            ThrowExceptionOnErrorResponse = false
+        };
+
+        var result = await HTTP.Request(input, options, CancellationToken.None);
+
+        ClassicAssert.AreEqual(200, result.StatusCode);
+        ClassicAssert.IsInstanceOf<string>(result.Body);
+        ClassicAssert.IsTrue(((string)result.Body).Contains("<html"));
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public async Task RestRequest_JsonContentType_ShouldStillReturnJToken()
+    {
+        var input = new Input
+        {
+            Method = Method.Method.GET,
+            Url = $"{BasePath}/json",
+            Headers = new Header[0],
+            Message = "",
+            ResultMethod = ReturnFormat.JToken
+        };
+        var options = new Options
+        {
+            ConnectionTimeoutSeconds = 60
+        };
+
+        var result = await HTTP.Request(input, options, CancellationToken.None);
+
+        ClassicAssert.IsInstanceOf<JToken>(result.Body);
+        ClassicAssert.AreEqual(200, result.StatusCode);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request.csproj b/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request.csproj
index edda118..c31562d 100644
--- a/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request.csproj
+++ b/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request.csproj
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 	<PropertyGroup>
 		<TargetFramework>net6.0</TargetFramework>
-		<Version>1.8.0</Version>
+		<Version>1.9.0</Version>
 		<Authors>Frends</Authors>
 		<Copyright>Frends</Copyright>
 		<Company>Frends</Company>
diff --git a/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request/Request.cs b/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request/Request.cs
index 792f5f7..fc1655b 100644
--- a/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request/Request.cs
+++ b/Frends.HTTP.Request/Frends.HTTP.Request/Request.cs
@@ -98,9 +98,11 @@ CancellationToken cancellationToken
 
                     break;
                 case ReturnFormat.JToken:
-                    var rbody = TryParseRequestStringResultAsJToken(await responseMessage.Content
+                    var rawBody = await responseMessage.Content
                         .ReadAsStringAsync(cancellationToken)
-                        .ConfigureAwait(false));
+                        .ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+                    var rbody = TryParseBody(rawBody);
                     var rstatusCode = (int)responseMessage.StatusCode;
                     var rheaders =
                         GetResponseHeaderDictionary(responseMessage.Headers, responseMessage.Content.Headers);
@@ -205,15 +207,18 @@ private static HttpContent GetContent(Input input, IDictionary<string, string> h
         return new StringContent(input.Message ?? string.Empty);
     }
 
-    private static object TryParseRequestStringResultAsJToken(string response)
+    private static object TryParseBody(string responseBody)
     {
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(responseBody))
+            return new JValue("");
+
         try
         {
-            return string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(response) ? new JValue("") : JToken.Parse(response);
+            return JToken.Parse(responseBody);
         }
         catch (JsonReaderException)
         {
-            throw new JsonReaderException($"Unable to read response message as json: {response}");
+            return responseBody;
         }
     }