the story lets readers in and provides a fuller experience into the emotions
5
By glhince
I don’t know if I thought the suspense and tension in this story would completely pull from cattle rustling (bringing up visions of old black and white spaghetti westerns) but Jennifer Ryan completely threw me for a loop. Raw and often brutal emotions and actions warred with the truly honorable characters of Sadie and Rory tossed into this mix. There were few moments to rest as their past and current challenges were revealed and they are tossed together with incendiary results.
Sadie and Rory are more similar than different: both lost parents at a young age, leaving them in charge of the care and wrangling of a younger sibling. While Sadie’s father is still alive, she’s always been the one to care for her brother, protect him and fight to set him on the right path. She’s stuck by her very troubled brother for years, and it doesn’t seem, from the introductory scenes, that her brother is anything BUT selfish. But, fear not: muscle through that very brutal introduction that will instantly bond you like crazy glue to Sadie, and you are in for a wonderful story.
Rory is the eldest and head of the Kendrick family, a task he took on with his parents’ death. He’s a big, rather reserved and observant man: intimidating because of his size and lack of demonstrable emotion in public. But, Rory feels, Keenly. Part of his reserve, I think, comes from the responsibility on his shoulders at a young age, and the belief that he had to appear to always be strong and in control. He’s noticed Sadie, usually from a distance, but never made a move.
Oh the drama and action – and so little because of Rory and Sadie themselves! There’s cattle theft and the hunt for who, but really this story cane down to Rory and Sadie for me. Sadie’s got a heart as big as the horizon, and it seems that everyone who should be on her side ultimately disappoints her. So she’s wary of trusting in Rory, who has nothing but good intentions: he says what he means, and means what he says. And he is protective of those he cares for. He’s never experienced a family dynamic like Sophie and her brother share, and it is an endless well of confusion and anger for him – she doesn’t deserve the dirty end of the stick that her brother so often leaves her holding. Told in dual POV, the story lets readers in and provides a fuller experience into the emotions: good and trying, and provides many moments that you can grab onto as you nod your head in agreement, completely understanding the moment.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
