Wild Hearts by Jessica Burkhart

Published by Bloomsbury on May 5th 2015
Genres: Equestrian, Girls & Women, Love & Romance, Sports & Recreation, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Source: Publisher
Goodreads


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Enjoy Wild Hearts and the other standalone titles in Bloomsbury's contemporary If Only romance line centered around an impossible problem: you always want what you can't have!Brie Carter's father's land development business has taken her family all over the world, but as soon as they arrive at their new home in Lost Spring, Wyoming, the town turns out to protest. They don't want a new hotel if the resident mustang population will be displaced or hurt as part of the deal. Then Brie meets Logan, a gorgeous local who has a special connection to the mustangs, and she is immediately drawn to him . . . and the horses. However, with Logan's father leading the protests and Brie's father refusing to budge, it's clear that their parents are heading towards an all-out war. Can Brie and Logan find a way to save the mustangs and be together? Or is their love doomed from the start? This new title in the If Only line is the perfect summer read and proves that love flourishes in the wildest places!

Brie Carter has always enjoyed her family’s nomadic lifestyle. Due to her father’s career she has lived in some of the world’s most exotic cities. And when each job finishes she and her family packs their bags and move to the next place. When Brie’s dad gets a job in Lost Springs, Wyoming, Brie expects it to be much like any of the other places they have lived in before. But the locals have a problem with her father’s business. And Brie finds herself drawn to a handsome local with a vested interest in driving her family out of town.

Wild Hearts is a lovely story about first love, family conflict and finding ones place in the world. Brie is teenage girl on the cusp of adulthood who has seen her fair share of the world. But it is in Lost Springs – a tiny town in the middle of Wyoming – where she finds out what she has been missing. I love stories about country town living and this book was wonderful in that respect. The storyline regarding the wild mustangs and Brie’s part in their lives was exciting and heartfelt. There is a great friendship which blossoms between Brie and Amy and I loved reading about the relationship between Brie and her older sister.

A large part of this novel involves Brie’s relationship with farm boy Logan as well as her father disapproving of the local lad. Whilst I liked Logan and Brie as a couple, I didn’t love this aspect of the book. One of the things I adore about the If Only line of books is how maturely they handle teen issues whilst remaining a clean read and appropriate for younger teens to read. I found Brie to be incredibly immature at times and a little over the top. She’s melodramatic and egocentric and I wonder if she is more in love with the idea of Logan than the boy himself. I also had slight issue with the pacing. The conflict in this book seemed to be resolved all too quickly after quite a long lead up.

Those things aside, Wild Hearts is an enjoyable read about a girl finding herself in the most unlikely of places. There’s a sweet romance and a great setting along with delightful drama. Best of all – cowboys and wild horses!

 

Thanks to Bloomsbury Australia for the review copy