An imprisoned cowboy. An empowered woman. When true love is forbidden, opening their hearts could destroy them both…
Chained and enslaved, Jake Nichols is convinced he’ll die alone. In this new order where men are stripped of all power, he endures brutal torture at the hands of his female captor. But when he’s hired out to build a ranch home for an outspoken beauty, his dreams of escape transform into visions of passion.
Monica Avery struggles to fill her heart in a loveless society. With marriage outlawed and romantic partners reduced to pawns, she’s given up hope of finding her soul mate. But the rugged rancher building her shelter awakens her deeply buried desires.
As the project comes together, Monica discovers a kindred spirit in the tenderhearted Jake. But despite their growing attraction, he still belongs to a cruel woman who’d rather see him dead than free.
Can Monica save Jake, or will their love lead to a tragic tomorrow?
She tasted like honey, sweet and natural. She smelled like sunshine and roses. She felt like pure heaven in his arms.
MY REVIEW
Jamie Schulz is a new to me author and this book isn’t my normal genre, BUT I was intrigued about the story after reading the blurb and the story itself did not disappoint. This is a post-apocalyptic, western, romance mix and it works well.
Schulz created a world in which woman rule, they are powerful, and they are slave owners. There was a war and this is a story about those who survived physically, but mentally may still be damaged.
Jake Nichols was captured. He is a slave. His mistress is cruel, she enjoys torturing her slaves. Jake is stuck, he can’t escape this life. However, he gets a break from the torture when another ranch needs his help for 6 months. The owner of this ranch is the complete opposite from his mistress. She doesn’t torture her slaves, she treats them like any other human. He knows his time away is temporary but it gives him a glimpse of what life could be like if he was away from captivity.
Monica Avery is the ranch owner who Jake is working for. She has given up on any sort of relationship, she isn’t the typical slave owner. She truly cares about those who work for her and wants to help them, not hurt them. When Jake starts working for her, she is intrigued by the man. There is something about him that draws her to him, but she knows that she needs to lightly when it comes to getting close to him.
This story was a SLOW, SLOW burn. Jake and Monica definitely have chemistry, but they are both afraid to take the next step with each other BUT when they finally do, sparks fly. Jake is a broken man, he truly doesn’t trust women (which given his past who can blame him). Monica is there for him, she is patient and she will do anything she can to keep him away from going back to his previous mistress.
The main characters were well written, but so were the secondary characters and they really contributed to the overall plot of the story. This also sets up for the second book in the serious, because I am very intrigued with Angel and want to learn more about her.
This story was well written, built an amazing world with intriguing characters and I can’t wait to see how Jake and Monica’s relationship continues to grow and to see how the story continues with Angel and Bret.
