Review: More Ransom, please!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 6, 2014
Complimentary copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.Freed, the second book in the Unlovable series, picks up immediately where the first book, Used, leaves off. Denver is left to explore her new relationship with Ransom while dealing with the fallout of the revelation by Greer and the activities of one drunken night between best friends. Denver must put herself back together and come to terms with her past before she can continue to pursue any relationship going forward.Ransom has his own demons to face, and when a surprise shows up on his doorstep he is forced to confront the relationships of his own family’s past. With Denver by his side, they learn that together they can move beyond their parents’ mistakes and limit the affect their past has on their futures.Once again, Ms. Halat has taken a collection of very broken characters from a background of dysfunction and woven them into a family of love and support that works together to defy the odds facing them. Based on their pasts, Denver and Ransom’s relationship should be doomed from the start, but with the help of Austin, Pete, and Maggie, there is hope that they’ll make it.Don’t get me wrong, the book isn’t just a heavy look at the complexities of their relationship, it is also hot as Denver and Ransom begin to explore his dominant tendencies, and her natural submissiveness. It’s a different look at BDSM culture, because it is seen through the eyes of college students, not through the eyes of those in their 30s or 40s looking to spice up stale relationships. It’s awkward, yet equally exciting. I definitely look forward to how this will continue to play out in the next book and hope that the level of heat will only continue to rise.An air of anticipation hangs heavy throughout the entire book. Used ended with a bombshell ending and Freed does as well, one that came so far out of leftfield it leaves you blindsided. Strangely, the book feels like it lacks “action”, for lack of a better term. For pretty much three quarters of the book there is no real angst or action, the chapters are spent building and solidifying the relationship between Denver and Ransom, and repairing the relationship between Denver and Greer.From the moment I finished Used I was eagerly anticipating the release of Freed and it did not disappoint in any way shape or form. If anything, it exceeded my anticipation not only in plot and character development, but in the intensity of the heat between Denver and Ransom. To say that Ms. Halat is a master of sexual tension would be an understatement. The attraction between Denver and Ransom is undeniable and what begins as a slow burn builds to an explosive end by the end of the book.Used had already found its way onto my “best of 2014” list of books and Freed has joined it as well. This was a five star read from cover to cover and has earned Ms. Halat a place on my “must buy” list.