BOOK DESCRIPTION:
With a train ticket, a bad attitude, and an unfortunate scribbling of obscenities across her forehead, seventeen-year-old Avery Ross is tossed out of the frying pan and into the fire when she’s sent from New York to the vast oil field region of North Dakota. When a green-eyed boy with a sultry Texan accent comes to her defense, Avery has no clue that his actions will lead her into a passion-charged summer, full of temptation and loss.
Defiant and relegated to work at her aunt’s boarding house, Avery discovers a connection between her aunt and the striking boy. He and his brothers are seeking revenge for the wrongful death of their sibling, and Avery becomes entangled in their battle over oil rights, loyalty, and love. Avery falls for the brooding, younger brother, Gabriel Halden, against her aunt’s forewarnings and creates more tribulations than any of them could anticipate.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeanne Arnold is the author of STUBBORN and other young adult romances. At a young age she found her creative outlet in art, and for years her fictional characters came to life in drawings and paintings, until they demanded a voice. Now they grace the pages of her stories. Jeanne shares her time with her fictional teenage counterparts and her human family in Central New York.
Review
Avery has been sent to oil field rich North Dakota after getting in trouble at home. Summer with her Aunt Meggie isn't something she's expecting to be very interesting. After all, she's not there to have fun. Then she meets the Halden brothers and they totally turn her life upside down...especially the youngest one, Gabriel. But the boys are still recovering from the death of their older brother Eli, especially Gabriel who it hit the hardest. Gabe is also still trying to take down Hunt, the guy he holds responsible for the drunk driving accident that killed Eli - and the guy that stole his girlfriend Jordan, who was also in the car. Avery has her own issues and Gabe definitely isn't looking for a girlfriend, and flat out tells her so. But they keep being drawn together, inexplicably and sparks are flying. Now if only it didn't seem like his brothers (epsecially suggestive, flirtatious Caleb), her Aunt Meggie, and the whole universe were conspiring to keep them apart! Can Avery get through to Gabe before it's too late, or will he just let her slip through his fingers?
I kind of fell in love with this book. The summary doesn't really do it all that much justice! I loved Avery as a heroine so much! She's just a regular, smart-mouther, tough as nails girl - but she definitely has a vulnerable side that she tries to hide from everyone. I loved the reasons for the swear words on her forehead! She consistently made me laugh out loud and her banter with Gabe and his brothers, Caleb and Lane (Caleb especially), was hilarious. I loved the complexity to these characters, and how even when Gabe was pulling away he'd have moments that completely melted your heart. And Caleb was a lascivious asshole, who kept hitting on Avery but Jeanne still managed to make me like him! Probably my least favorite thing was how Jordan was portrayed as a complete and total moron, and like she could've left Hunt's abusive ass at any time. Anyone who's ever suffered abuse of any type knows that its never that easy. As one of my favorite T.V. characters ever once said, "We accept the love that we think we deserve." It is extremely true, not to mention she was motivated by a fear for her own life as well. Not that I liked the character (she was a sometimes underhanded, bitch in my opinion). But the abuse storyline could have been played out better.
Aunt Meggie was wonderful and I loved the subplot involving her own romantic life and I loved Avery's cousin Josh (maybe a book about him in the future?), who was typical teenage boy, but loyal to a fault. And you could tell he really loved his Mom and his cousin. The characters and situations were just SO REAL in this book! Getting caught making out in the car by a family member, climbing in bedroom windows, and no one was a "damaged drug-addict/rock star/billionaire that needed saving (I don't count Gabe, because its his Dad's money not his). This was a New Adult book that I could be proud to recommend to a friend and it definitely stands out from the crowd. Never once did I feel like I was reading a Mary Sue, written in by the author trying to live through her character. This book exemplifies what I love about romance and the reality that sometimes teenagers are stupid and do stupid things - that doesn't mean that they can't surprise us. I highly recommend this one!
VERDICT: 4.5/5 Stars
**I received an ARC from the author and tour host for the purpose of this blog tour. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published January 6th, 2014.**
**GIVEAWAY**
Thanks for participating.
ReplyDeleteThank you for participating and for your review of Stubborn! I appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteJeanne
Sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteWonderful review! I really enjoy reading protagonists that hide their vulnerable side to others, and the characters of this book sound really fun and enjoyable to read. Glad you loved the book :) This sounds like a great summer book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing,
Wajiha
Gonna check that out
ReplyDelete