Book Review — Collared by Nicole Williams

“I’ll never finish falling in love with you.”

• Buy COLLARED (Kindle)
• Buy COLLARED (Paperback)

WOW!! What an incredibly unique and powerful romance!! When I first read the blurb, it gave me chills and I just knew that I had to read this book… and from the first chapter, I was unable to put it down. If you’re looking for a love story that is totally different than the norm, but absolutely additive and achingly beautiful, then you definitely have to read this!! I LOVED IT!!

When a seventeen-year-old girl vanishes, a community is shaken.
Parents turn desperate. Friends hold vigils.
And the boy who loves her searches.

When a year goes by, the community is recovering.
Parents feel hopeless. Friends feel helpless.
And the boy who loves her continues his search.

When ten years go by, the community has forgotten.
Parents cling to the past. Friends move toward the future.
And the boy who loves her… Brings her home.

When the twenty-seven-year-old woman is found,
A community wants to know the story,
Parents want to forget the story,
Friends want to be a part of the story,
And the man who still loves her faces the greatest challenge yet: letting her go.

Chills, right? THAT BLURB. Totally and completely hooked me on the book!

I actually feel very strongly that you should go into this book knowing as little as possible about it and as such, this will be a shorter review. I know some of you are happy to do that, and others would like some reassurances, so I’m going to hopefully give you just that without giving away any of the story.

First, obviously since the heroine was kidnapped, there are some darker elements but I want to really stress that this is not a dark read. The story is about what happens after she is rescued. There is no sexual abuse involved, and very little time is focused on when she was captive. This is a story of what happens after — after the years of searching, of never losing hope, of continuing to search when everyone else had given up… what happens when the girl he loves comes home.

“Find an emotional tether. Someone you trusted before and someone you can trust now. A person who can connect you to your past but can pilot you into your future. Someone who can pull you back from the ledge when you find it and from the dark when it finds you. Find that person, hold on tight, and don’t let go.”

Second, the title of the book is very, very clever. You think it’s one thing but it’s so much more.

We often think of disappearances in a larger context. Something big must have happened — some grand kidnapping scheme. But the most eye-opening thing to realize is that they can also happen in the blink of an eye and the most normal places. One minute you’re there, the next minute you’re gone. It’s chilling.

“It’s ten o’clock,” I say, blinking. “I live half a block away. We live in one of the safest cities in the country. What are you afraid’s going to happen?”

He scans the neighborhood around us like there are things I can’t see. “What I’ve been afraid of from the first day I knew I loved you.” His hand tightens around mine. “That I was going to lose you.”

Upon her return, I felt that Jade had such understandable and realistic concerns and fears. I loved her mix of vulnerability and strength. And Torrin… Oh my, Torrin was dreamy. His devotion and unending love for her made my heart ache. This man was quite literally willing to give up everything for her. I loved his practicality and down-to-earth, no-bullshit attitude and I loved the way he never stopped loving her.

His strong hand grips the side of my neck, and he aligns his eyes with mine. “I’ve been sure about you since I was fifteen years old. And I’ll be sure about you for the rest of my life.”

There is a TWIST to this story that I’m purposefully not mentioning that, as soon as you read it, you’ll understand the emotional impact it has on everything. It made their reunion that much more intense, but the way they found their way back to being them was so incredibly powerful. I actually cried near the end because it was that beautiful! You’ll know when you get to that scene. I have the whole page highlighted!

The emotions in this story tugged all my heart strings. While the whole world either wanted something from Jade, or didn’t know how to act around her anymore, Torrin remained her constant. He was her light, her savior, so much more than a friend or lover. He was there — always — and you could feel how unbreakable their bond was.

For those of you curious about the ending, I’ll explain a little here…

Equal parts heart-wrenching and hopeful, this is the kind of book I spend all my time searching for — a book that tells a unique, compelling story with beautiful writing and a powerful romance at its heart. This is a book about breaking free, being true to yourself, and choosing to follow your heart. It’s about choices, about never giving up hope, and more importantly, about never giving up on love.

I highly recommend this book for all fans of romance! It’s a new top favorite of mine!

Rating: 4.5 stars! Standalone romance.

• Buy COLLARED (Kindle)
• Buy COLLARED (Paperback)