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Format: Kindle
Publishers: Indie
Published: 7th May 2013
Pages: 353
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Main Characters: Rowen, Jesse,
Date Read: 2nd October - 9th October 2014
Rating Given:
Synopsis:
There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.
After numbing pain for the past five years with boys, alcohol, and all-around apathy, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus to nowhere Montana the summer after she graduates high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen’s dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch. Cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn for a couple dozen ranch hands and mucking out horse stalls are the last things in the world Rowen wants to spend her summer doing.
Until Jesse Walker saunters into her life wearing a pair of painted-on jeans, a cowboy hat, and a grin that makes something in her chest she’d thought was frozen go boom-boom. Jesse’s like no one else, and certainly nothing like her. He’s the bright and shiny to her dark and jaded.
Rowen knows there’s no happily-ever-after for the golden boy and the rebel girl—happily-right-now is a stretch—so she tries to forget and ignore the boy who makes her feel things she’s not sure she’s ready to feel. But the more she pushes him away, the closer he seems to get. The more she convinces herself she doesn't care, the harder she falls.
When her dark secrets refuse to stay locked behind the walls she’s kept up for years, Rowen realizes it’s not just everyone else she needs to be honest with. It’s herself.
“You think you deserve this. You think you deserve to be alone and suffer. You've convinced yourself you’re so worthless that you've gone to the extreme to punish yourself. You think you deserve a life of misery.”
I bought this book last year not long after it was released as it was 77p which I thought was a bargain (at the minute on Amazon UK its free!!). I don't know why it has taken me so long to start this book but I now wish I had started it sooner...
I love this cover and the main reason is the use of colours they are stunning especially used together, although now that I have read the book I'm a little surprised that the cover used these particular colours as throughout the book colours was mentioned but only dark colours well until closer to the end when she started using brighter colours.
With this book when I first started it I wasn't sure I was going to like it as Rowen seemed far too troubled and had done really bad things including drugs but I carried on reading it and I am so glad that I did as I found it one of the most enjoyable reads that I I have read this year. I have read a few new adult books now and they are pretty much the same kind of story (but I don't care as they are mostly all brilliant) but instead of having a bad boy it was a bad girl with the good boy which I kind of liked it this way which surprised me as I do usually like the main boy characters to be a bit bad but not this time. I loved the romance side of the story as it felt like I could feel their chemistry sizzling of the ages but as well as lust there was some sweet moments when both Rowen and Jesse opened up to one another. I did feel like there was a lot of emotions throughout as one minute I would be laughing out loud but there was also moments that had me in tears I was a bit up and down with my emotions. The ending was sweet with a lot of questions answered but obviously with there being another two books there was still questions that needed to be answered making me very excited to find out what is going to happen with Rowen and Jesse.
I loved nearly every character in this book as for the most part they where so nice but there was a few exceptions making it a more thrilling journey. Rowen seemed to be the most troubled character in this particular book and it showed in her attitude. Once she went to Willow Springs she starts to work through her issues and therefore opening up to the Walker family. Speaking of the Walker family they where so sweet and was always there for each other and even Rowen. Obviously my favourite Walker would have to be Jesse as he was so good but also a bit of an edge to him which I think we will get to know more about in the next book. There was also Garth who came off as the bad boy but I have a feeling that there is more to him than meets the eye and I can't wait until book 3 which he will have his own book.
Overall this was a great start to what I hoe will be an amazing series. This was my first book by Nicole Williams and seeing as I loved it so much I know it won't be my last.
“He bent his face into the curve of my neck. “We don’t deserve anything Rowen. We don’t deserve punishment, we don’t deserve happiness, life owes us nothing. Realize that.” His voice wasn't gentle anymore; it was as strong as I’d ever heard it. “So we have to take what we want because life sure as shit isn't going to freely hand it over.” He kissed the skin just above my collar bone. “And I want you.”
