Review: Collared by Nicole Williams
Note: This ARC was provided by Ardent PRose in exchange for an honest review.
Collared is the new standalone contemporary romance novel from bestselling author Nicole Williams and happens to be my introduction to her writing, never having had the pleasure of reading her past work. I wondered about the title of the story and had two very different schools of thought, though I was leaning more toward the unexpected one and when I finally read the book, I was right. And that's the thing about this book: it was unexpected. From the story line itself to the characters, this was a novel that was so much more than I'm used to and moving past your comfort zone can be a good thing if you allow yourself to fully enjoy and leave behind whatever preconceptions you may have. There's a kidnapping that occurs, but the book isn't about the kidnapping; it's about the victims--both the one taken and all of the ones left behind.
Just by reading the synopsis, you know you're going into the book with the knowledge that a crime has been committed and that it takes a decade before Jade Childs, the kidnapping victim, is rescued. The one person in all that time that continues to search for her and to hold out hope that she will be found is Torrin Costigan, who had been her boyfriend of two years when she was kidnapped at the age of seventeen. When she's found, Jade is no longer the girl she once was, which is not surprising. What was surprising was the lack of what happened in the ten years of her disappearance. While I had questions as to the kidnapping and whatever had occurred to her then, I can fully appreciate the author's desire to not stay focused on the crime but the aftermath and how Jade and Torrin navigated their new circumstances.
This book has received a slew of positive reviews and I totally get why. Jade's journey is often heartrending, but she's the epitome of survival. Other people have been dealt not as devastating blows and have never gotten back up again. My heart broke for her, but it also broke for Torrin. Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, crimes like this have more than one victim because the families, friends, and loved ones--those who have been left behind--go through their own suffering. And yet both Jade and Torrin persevered and endured. There's a twist in the story and the ending is not exactly what I expected, but it does leave a feeling of hope and I think that it didn't surprise as much since this book was nothing like I had thought it would be. I'm very highly recommending you pre-order Collared right now. Five-plus stars. ♥
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Date Read: March 18, 2016
Learn more about Nicole Williams.
Pre-order Collared on Amazon | B&N | Kobo.
“I’ve been sure about you since I was fifteen years old. And I’ll be sure about you for the rest of my life.”
Collared is the new standalone contemporary romance novel from bestselling author Nicole Williams and happens to be my introduction to her writing, never having had the pleasure of reading her past work. I wondered about the title of the story and had two very different schools of thought, though I was leaning more toward the unexpected one and when I finally read the book, I was right. And that's the thing about this book: it was unexpected. From the story line itself to the characters, this was a novel that was so much more than I'm used to and moving past your comfort zone can be a good thing if you allow yourself to fully enjoy and leave behind whatever preconceptions you may have. There's a kidnapping that occurs, but the book isn't about the kidnapping; it's about the victims--both the one taken and all of the ones left behind.
Just by reading the synopsis, you know you're going into the book with the knowledge that a crime has been committed and that it takes a decade before Jade Childs, the kidnapping victim, is rescued. The one person in all that time that continues to search for her and to hold out hope that she will be found is Torrin Costigan, who had been her boyfriend of two years when she was kidnapped at the age of seventeen. When she's found, Jade is no longer the girl she once was, which is not surprising. What was surprising was the lack of what happened in the ten years of her disappearance. While I had questions as to the kidnapping and whatever had occurred to her then, I can fully appreciate the author's desire to not stay focused on the crime but the aftermath and how Jade and Torrin navigated their new circumstances.
This book has received a slew of positive reviews and I totally get why. Jade's journey is often heartrending, but she's the epitome of survival. Other people have been dealt not as devastating blows and have never gotten back up again. My heart broke for her, but it also broke for Torrin. Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, crimes like this have more than one victim because the families, friends, and loved ones--those who have been left behind--go through their own suffering. And yet both Jade and Torrin persevered and endured. There's a twist in the story and the ending is not exactly what I expected, but it does leave a feeling of hope and I think that it didn't surprise as much since this book was nothing like I had thought it would be. I'm very highly recommending you pre-order Collared right now. Five-plus stars. ♥
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Date Read: March 18, 2016
Learn more about Nicole Williams.
Pre-order Collared on Amazon | B&N | Kobo.
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