All Beatriz “Bia” Fernandes wants is
to prove herself—to her family and friends—though it’s hard to prove
anything with an overbearing father and three famous polo-playing
older brothers. After her acceptance into college results in a heated
family argument, the Brazilian girl leaves everything behind to find
her own American dream.
College life away from home is perfect until the people she believes to be her friends turn on her. With lies and rumors threatening to suffocate her, Bia turns to her only freedom. Riding.
But one thing gets in the way of her escape. Garrett Blackwell and his bad cowboy attitude. Working at the ranch is his obligation, bugging Bia is his newfound hobby. His thick skin and easy grin don’t hide what Bia already knows—this misunderstood and lonely cowboy fights his own demons. Brushing horses’ coats and mucking out stalls shouldn’t be this sexy, and it isn’t long before he becomes a part of her distraction.
However, escaping won’t solve her problems, and it’s up to Bia to break down the fences around her and prove her strength—not to her family and friends, but to herself … and for Garrett. Because standing on her own doesn’t have to mean standing alone.
** Companion novel of Breaking the Reins. Can be read out of order.**
The
author picked the perfect title for this book. Bia had lived her life in
her home country of Brazil and moved to America with her family to advance her
brothers polo careers. Deciding that it was time for her to follow her
dreams of becoming a vet she leaves her family begin college in Colorado.
She knew she was going to have to start over since her classes wouldn’t
transfer, putting her in a group of much younger and more immature people, but
this was worth it to her. Unfortunately she didn’t have her father’s
acceptance, or his financial support, so she already started this journey
feeling alone. It only gets worse once she hits the campus and
experiences life with self-absorbed young adults.
Life
on campus didn’t turn out so well, her roommate turns on her not long after
their meeting. She becomes the target for a group of girls who are jealous of
her beauty and the attention she is getting from the abusive Jonah. It wasn’t
all bad, because Garrett finds something in her that sparks his honest attention
and she has her friend Phoebe. Bia gains most of her peace and serenity
at a horse ranch and finds love from a horse named Midnight. The horse
wasn’t accepting and trusting of humans but he attached himself to Bia and gave
her what she was missing from home.
While
I am not a horse person and there were many terms used in the book that were
not English, I did find I really enjoyed watching the strong and confident Bia
step out of the shadows of her brothers to find her own way. When each
step she tried to take was met with insults and rumors about being easy, her
heritage was being torn to shreds, her confidence was crumbling we began seeing
her question herself. The author did a great job at showing the battle
Bia was waging inside herself with becoming more shy and withdrawn.
Feeling defeated and lost she finally had to draw on the strength from Garrett,
who won my heart in this story, her best friend Phoebe and Midnight to declare
her right for a life of her own and to have a place in this world that was her
own.
If
not for the strong human angst and spirit that we were allowed to see in this
story, I would have not enjoyed this book as much. If you are a horse
person I think you have a hit on your hands here. If you are a fan of
watching the human spirit combat the human evilness that occurs, then I say you
will enjoy watching Bia’s journey. It broke my heart many times and
enraged me at the treatment she endured at the hands of so called educated
people, but her spirit while crushed at times, never died. I felt the
ending left us hanging a bit, I would love to have had her go back home in this
book, but I am hoping there will be another book coming soon to complete this
story for me. I need to see how she is going to merge the life she has
created for herself at college with her family that will have a hard time
seeing her as anything other than the little sister who lives in the shadows of
her brothers.
While Juliana Haygert dreams of
being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for
the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and
author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now
resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass
heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.
Thanks for participating of my blog tour :)
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