Unbridled
3.5 Unbridled Stars Writing: 3.5 Stars Enjoyment: 3.5 Stars Story: 3.5 Stars Story Flow: 3.5 Stars Character development: 4 Stars Hero: 4 Stars Heroine: 3.5 Stars Overall mood of the book: 3.5 Stars While I find myself struggling with YA/NA books, I tend to tread carefully around them. Therefore, “Unbridled” was a good read overall, but just not my cup of tea. I did enjoy Ms. Dyke’s story and writing, they had good potential and the whole experience was smooth and engaging. Hannah is finally getting a bit of freedom from her strict life and religious father, by attending college. The only thing is, she might have the freedom to continue her education, but her father is still controlling every aspect of her life. Her life is not her own to lead, she is expected to consume her days following her father’s wishes. Hannah knew what it was like to be strong, independent, and free, that was when she still had her best friend, Lucas. Everything was much easier back then before her father moved them to Texas. Which lead to her rebelling and making a few mistakes along the way that made her cut all ties with Lucas and slip into a life where temptation and sin were no longer available to her. While three years have been a big change for both Hannah and Luke, one thing remains—their friendship. A friendship that still means something to the both of them even though one is trying to stay away and the other is trying to get back what he lost. Lucas Monroe was wonderful. I loved him and his connection with his family. While struggling to fulfill a dream that isn’t his, he struggles to find a balance to make himself happy and trying not to disappoint the one person who wanted that dream for him. I believe that Luke was the strong, level-headed, smart young man he was due to the past mistakes of his brother and the strong support system that his family gave as well. But while he is trying to stay on track his past comes back in the form of his former best friend, Hannah. Luke never forgot about her, the two were inseparable until she moved away. Though they continued to keep their relationship flowing through letter and phone calls. All that changed when Hannah cut all ties three years earlier. Luke wants to know why and if he had anything to do with it, but when he approaches Hannah, he receives the cold shoulder and wonders what happened to the girl he once knew. Hannah and Luke are anything but easy when it comes to becoming friends once more. They both have secrets, expectations from their families, and dreams they feel they cannot conquer. Their friendship will have complications and the line between friends and lovers will be crossed, but can they make it work? Or will they both have changed from the last time they've seen each other? This was my first read by Nicole Dykes and I am glad I gave it a go. Though it was not a big win for me, I did enjoy it and liked how Ms. Dykes wrote about real life complications that the readers can relate to which for me is important to have that connection with readers.
