Review: A Beholden Heart by M.L. Steinbrunn
Note: This ARC was provided by Enticing Journey Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
There once was a girl named Gwen Parks and she changed the lives of those around her in less than a year's time. This is the premise of author M.L. Steibrunn's A Beholden Heart, which I initially went into thinking it was a standalone, but it appears to be the beginning of a series, and rightly so, what with a rich cast of characters that deserve to have their own stories told. Gwen's story is a touching tale of someone who wants to take control of her life and take chances. She doesn't want to be treated differently. All she wants is to be an ordinary girl living a normal life, but the thing with Gwen is that she is as far from ordinary as you can get and her story is an extraordinary one. This was my first read from M.L. Steinbrunn and I must say that I was wholly impressed by how she weaved such an inspiring tale together.
While I didn't shed any tears, A Beholden Heart was an emotional read and one that I didn't see coming. I had this pegged as a young adult story about a girl who was different and the guy who everyone wanted to be like and together they showed how being different was okay. Gwen Parks and Matt Rhodes, who is the reigning king of their school but can't wait to leave it all just to be free of his father, form what others consider an unlikely friendship, but I do think that they gravitated toward one another because they were exactly what the other one needed at that point in their lives. And this is where this story is different. I can't get into why, though, so you're going to have to trust me and read the book. Suffice it to say that this isn't your typical YA story, and that blurb had me thinking one thing and give a heck of a lot more to love.
The book isn't perfect. There were a few editing issues, though with me assuming the copy I received was for advanced reading purposes--meaning there are bound to be editing issues that have yet to be touched upon before the final publication--I didn't let those affect my overall impression of the book. Sticking to the storytelling, there were times that the transitions felt a bit abrupt and the resolutions of relationships that were strained had that overly idealistic feel of happening in the spur of the moment. But even with these criticisms of mine, the book never lost its heart. I'm looking forward to seeing where M.L. Steinbrunn is going to take this series, especially since something brewing between two particular characters was already hinted at here. I'm giving A Beholden Heart 4.5 stars and hope you'll TBR it today.
Release Date: 15 January 2016
Date Read: 15 January 2016
Learn more about M.L. Steinbrunn.
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