Review: Such a beautiful story about love, acceptance, and moving forward!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 3, 2013
I adored this book. Hands down, ADORED it! I loved Untouched by Melody and while I have not had the chance to read Unbroken as of yet it is very high on my TBR! I love Melody's writing style and her ability to create such in depth characters. Both Hunter and Brit were fantastic MC's and I loved getting both of their POV's!Brit completely broke my heart. Seriously. My heart ached so badly for her and I just wanted to see her happy. Brit has not had an easy life, by any means. All her life all she has ever known are people who end up leaving her. Her mother is a junkie and her father abandoned them. The only person she really relies on is her brother Emerson, yet Emerson too is moving forward with his life with his fiancée, Juliet in the city, leaving Brit by herself in Beachwood Bay. Yet, Brit is a little spitfire. She won't let people treat her like trash, no matter that she may feel like it. We get a prime example of her saucy attitude at the book's start after finding out the guy she's been sleeping with is actually engaged to another girl. It isn't even that she's overly hurt over him- she doesn't love him, but she feels like she's only good enough to warm some guy's bed."I just can't help thinking, there's some reason. That if I try harder, or act better, then they'd stay." (181)Brit has a lot of insecurities and her self-worth is shot. She has been applying for multiple internships to get her foot in the door of the fashion industry and has been rejected time after time. There is a scene where Hunter pulls some strings to get her in an interview and to say it goes badly is putting it mildly. I hated that no one wanted to give her a chance, when she is clearly talented.She also doesn't feel worthy of Hunter, due to her reputation and her family's past. Yet, Hunter was resilient. He wasn't about to let her slip through his fingers again. He was determined to show her that people don't always leave and he was going to be the one to stay.I loved Hunter. He let Brit slip through his fingers once and hell if he's going to do it again. Yet, Hunter has his own set of problems and demons he's facing. Brit is the one sure thing in his life, his one constant, yet even he isn't able to predict the future. His parents are insistent he return home, that he's wasting his time in Beachwood Bay taking care of his grandfather's ranch. I was a bit upset with Hunter that he let his parents guilt and manipulate him in the way they did. I understand he felt trapped, but that didn't give him the right to act the way he did when it came to the girl he loved more than anything. His mom, Camille, was a real piece of work. She is that typical rich, stuck up, snob who looks down her nose at people like Brit and doesn't even give her the time of day. She makes it clear to Hunter that he doesn't belong with someone like her. Yet, blood is blood. Hunter's guilt over what happened with his brother ends up ruling him and while he knows he should leave his parents and go back to Beachwood Bay, he doesn't. He wants to make things right with his parents, but really I think he wants their understanding most of all.Untouched and Unbroken fans will be happy to see Emerson and Juliet make an appearance in this book. It's always nice to see how your first characters in a series are doing and catch a glimpse of their lives. I like the closeness between Emerson and Brit and that she has formed a relationship with Juliet too.One of my favorite characters would have to be Garrett, though. Garrett has taken over the bar for Emerson and serves as a big brother to Brit. He is protective of her and helps Hunter out in his pursuits of her, wanting nothing but her happiness. Garrett is known for being a player, so I wouldn't mind seeing him settle down and find love!The chemistry between Brit and Hunter is off the charts HOT! Hunter has a bit of an alpha personality and it was so sexy how he took control, forcing Brit to open her eyes and really see him and the man he is. She fights him as long as she can, before she realizes she's tired of fighting. She wants to be loved and cherished, to be taken care of and treated with the proper respect. Hunter has promised her he will be the one to prove her wrong and for once, maybe she's not so against that."He's choosing me. The girl who was laughed at, and scorned, the girl who never came first. The girl they thought was nothing. Hunter never listened, or cared what the rumors said. He saw me, the real me, right from the start, and tonight, he's laying claim to me, in front of everyone." (204)