USA TODAY BESTSELLING LOVE STORY “What do you do when you meet your soul mate? No wait…that’s too easy. What do you do when you meet your soul mate and have to spend a lifetime loving him in secret? I’ll tell you what you do.You lie.” REN Ren was eight when he learned that love doesn’t exist—that the one person who was supposed to adore him only cared how much he was worth.His mother sold him and … doesn’t exist—that the one person who was supposed to adore him only cared how much he was worth.
His mother sold him and for two years, he lived in terror.
But then…he ran.
He thought he’d run on his own. Turned out, he took something of theirs by accident and it became the one thing he never wanted and the only thing he ever needed.
DELLA
I was young when I fell in love with him, when he switched from my world to my everything.
My parents bought him for cheap labour, just like they had with many other kids, and he had the scars to prove it.
At the start, he hated me, and I could understand why.
For years he was my worst enemy, fiercest protector, and dearest friend.
But by the end…he loved me.
The only problem was, he loved me in an entirely different way to the way I loved him.
And slowly, my secret drove us apart.
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If I could give this book more stars, I certainly would. If you’ve read a book by Pepper Winters before you know going into it that it won’t always be the easiest read, but you also know it will be well worth it and this book is no exception. Ren & Della face a tough life from the start and then have to navigate growing up without much adult guidance. I loved this book and characters and hated them, I wanted to stop reading at some points, but knew I had to keep going and it was very much worth it. I can’t wait to see how this story concludes in book 2. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book provided by Net Galley.
I want to scream and rage and sob and allow all the indiscernible words and sounds that this book stirred in me loose. But there is no way. No possible way to describe all the feelings, emotions, desire and need this book gave me and then so sharply took away. I am broken. So incredibly, completely broken by the story of Ren and Della.
I went into this book with one expectation and as it slowly unfolds, was pretty sure I knew the path it would take. Before I realized it, these characters were going in a whole different direction and I rearranged my predictions and settled in for a different journey. Then wildly, I ended up somewhere I never even imagined I would be. Oh sure, some of it I knew would happen but never did I foresee it unfolding in the manner that it did. Never did I expect these characters to live, dream, struggle and make the decisions that they did.
This is one of the most poignant books I’ve read in…well, probably forever! The voice this author gave to both Ren and Della resonated within me and kept me captivated unable to set it aside for even a brief respite. I needed to know what happened next. How did Ren go from one place in his life to the next with such insurmountable odds against him? How does a young child grow up in these conditions? And how does a man make the choices he made and find peace for himself now that the end is here?
I could summarize Ren and Della’s story. I could add a tad more than the blurb gives you. And really, it could be done without really spoiling anything. But the truth of the matter is, this book isn’t just about these characters’ story, but about the emotion that comes from living a life outside the norm all while you hold fast to the one that gives you peace even while you struggle for survival. There is no summary that’s going to allow you to understand that this book is more than a story. It’s feeling and thinking and deciphering how each one of us would handle it should we have ever been in Ren and Della’s situation.
I didn’t want this story to end and I certainly didn’t want it to end when it did and in the manner that it did. Pepper Winters literally wrenched my heart out of my chest and flung it across the room and there is no possible way for it to be healed and replaced until I get the conclusion to Ren and Della’s story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Where do I start with The Boy & His Ribbon? This is unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s completely different to Pepper Winters other work and it completely consumed me.
This book has all the feels. Sadness, anger, gut wrenching heart ache, relief, hope and happiness, I felt it all. There’s a unique and heart melting bond that is unbreakable between Ren and Della that I couldn’t get enough of. Ren and Della are brought to life through the pages and I fell in love with both of them and their story.
Following the characters on their epic journey, been there every step as they grow older and mature, feeling their isolation, their bond, going though their highs and lows, the desperation and confusion they feel at times, it’s all written in a way only Pepper Winters can do. With its slow burning, and at times emotional, story and characters that quickly wormed their way into my heart, this book will forever be one of my all time favourite books, definitely one I’ll never forget and it’s left me desperate for more from Ren and Della.
WOW!! What a journey this book takes us on.
Ren and Della’s story is full of emotion, love, heartbreak, but most of all it’s a story two young kids surviving in today’s world.
Ren was sold at a young age by his own mother to a ‘new family’. A slave is what he became. Punishments flowed for even the smallest infraction. Knowing this was not the way he wanted to continue living, he planned.
When the young Ren gathers up enough courage to finally run for freedom, there was one thing in his bag that was unexpected. One thing that would slow him down, one thing that he hated, one thing he couldn’t be free with…
Della…now that he had her, he couldn’t let her go. He tried and couldn’t go through with it. She was innocent in it all. Yet he felt the need to protect, felt the need to make sure she succeeded where he didn’t. She would become his entire life.
As we follow Ren and Della throughout the years of surviving, the bond between these two is amazing. Two peas in a pod. But with time, the innocence is gone, the maturity is there and realization that these two are more… It’s something that one is not willing to accept.
I was hooked. Carrying my kindle as I did my daily routing. Unable to put this down. Continuously reading non-stop as my love for these two characters grew page by page. Can Not wait until June when we get the conclusion to this beautiful story!!!
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Pepper Winters has done it again! Absolutely amazing store different from anything else she’s written yet just as gripping as the rest. I so can’t wait for book number 2. Thank you so much Pepper Winters for this amazing adventure!
Holy Cow!! What an amazing book!! Heartbreakingly beautiful. Taboo….but not. Della and Ren will tear out your soul and leave you wanting more. I can not wait for the conclusion. June 5 is definitely circled on my calendar.