Review: 2 stars - The characters didn't do it for me in this one.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 09 28, 2013
I loved book one, Unbroken.  Emerson and Juliet were so real for me.  And I was so looking forward to Unafraid, hoping it would be more of the same.  Sadly, my experience was not the same at all.Let me start with things I did enjoy.  The ending was my favorite part.  I really liked how a few elements of the book came together at that moment to create a sweet ending.  There was also a lot of very hot, steamy moments in this one.  Enjoyed these things tons.However, this type of story is very character driven for me.  I have to believe these people are real and that their actions match who they claim to be.  When there is a disconnect, I don't enjoy the story.  That was the case for Unafraid.I didn't understand their relationship.  They had met and had one night three years before.  Brit had ran off before Hunter woke up.  This short time together (that we only get a few glimpses of) is apparently where they both fell in love.  I needed more than that to accept their feeling for each other.  The story doesn't give us enough to see them fall in love.  I just needed more.Every couple has some reason they can't be together.  Some are more plausible than others.  I wasn't buying Hunter and Brit's reasons. I'm not sure I even understand it.  Brit feels like everyone she loves leaves her, so she not risking it with Hunter, even though the feeling are apparently already there.  Hunter fights her but he's not convinced he's worthy of her.  His crimes are painful and I, maybe, got his reasons more.  But the distance that it causes between them never felt real.  I never had that "OMG...are they not going to be together" moment.  It was always a fact how the story would end.Then there was this kinky side of Hunter that didn't really fit him.  He's a rebel only in the sense that he doesn't want anything to do with the high society life his parents lead.  Sweet, caring, thoughtful, understanding, helpful, sexy, gorgeous all describe him.  He's not a kinky guy.  When he's demanding...or commanding Brit come, I'm like...really?  There might have been some horse leads used for purposes other than there intended use as well.  That really seemed out of character for Hunter too.  I just don't like it when a character acts one way for some scenes and a very different way in other scenes.  It make me realize he's not real and it makes me sad.