Jade Childs was seventeen years old when the unthinkable happened. Abducted from her safe neighborhood and held captive for ten long years, the life that Jade once knew that was bright with possibilities and love had been ripped from her. When she is finally rescued and brought back to safety with her loved ones, her life feels anything but safe and normal. Collared is the story about what comes after.
This book owned my emotions from beginning to end. I absolutely loved the way that Nicole Williams told Jade’s story. While the story focuses on Jade’s adaptation back into regular life, the author gives her readers a glimpse into Jade’s life right before she’s abducted. I was able to witness her vivacity, her strength, and feel the love that she had for Torrin Costigan. It also let me see just how much Jade had lost.
Being rescued should’ve been a godsend for Jade, but after ten years of being away from her old life, she was uncertain how to cope and exist in the real world anymore. She was being overloaded with stimuli and emotions that she wasn’t even sure how to handle or feel. Everything that we might consider normal and mundane was all new to Jade.
While time was nearly imperceptible for Jade during her captivity, time and life still moved on for those that had been left behind. Friends had graduated from high school and university, had gotten married and had families of their own. Life as she had known it was different, people changed, she had changed, but the one thing that remained a constant was her connection to Torrin.
Being with him, in whatever way I am, makes me a little better each time. It’s almost like every time I’m with him, another shattered piece comes back together.
Let me just take one moment to swoon over Torrin. Deep breath in, deep breath out…yeah, he’s that good! Even though they had been high school sweethearts, I never doubted their commitment or love for each other. When Jade was ripped from his life, he did everything in his power to try to find her. Even years later, he kept his hope and faith alive that she would be found. But life still went on, and even Torrin had to move on and find a way to cope with the loss of the love of his life.
“You were my first. And you were my last.” His words echo in the small space. “A man could have a thousand different partners and settle down with an amazing woman, and I’d still hold the bragging rights.”
Collared is an extremely emotional book that left me fighting through my tears just to read the words. My heart ached for Jade, her family, and Torrin. Their pain was palpable, and I felt it right down to my very core. But while it is a heartbreaking story, it is also a story that is filled with hope, strength, and an incredible amount of love.
While I would love nothing more than to get into every little detail of the story, I certainly don’t want to take away from anyone’s experience of reading it firsthand. This is one book, one journey that you definitely don’t want to miss reading this year.
Collared will definitely be gracing my list of favorite books of 2016!
*5 Stars
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