Broken

I love the world of River Black and the Cavanaugh brothers! I am totally invested in resolving the mystery around Cass and I can't decide which Cavanaugh brother I want for my "book boyfriend" (Although Blue has some ground to make up since he has made himself scarce since Branded) Laura has created a world of real characters that are overcoming (or not) the past that forged them and set them on their current path. Sheridan is strong woman, that is in all honesty, too self sufficient. She goes through an amazing cycle of self evaluation, realization and growth in this story. Rarely does an author capture this in a story, but Laura not only captured it, she owned it and made one my favorite heroines of all time. Not because Sheridan slayed monsters or saved the world, but because she could take a step back to slay her personal dragon and totally redefine her world. To me James was the more intriguing of the Cavanaugh bothers and I couldn't wait to meet and learn more about him. Don't get me wrong, he might be my favorite, but I am sad to say, I was really disappointed in his side of the story. In fact, this is first time I think that Laura Wright dropped the ball and left me wanted more and not in a good way. It felt like James' character was never fully developed. Laura opened the door to some really significant issues with Tori, but then didn't really address them, like she was afraid of it. More than that, it was the fact Laura never told us how James ended up as a horse whisperer. She make us understand loud and clear James had a gift, but that isn't something he just woke up with one day, especially since we are told several different times, this was not something from his childhood. In chapter four, James says "Horses saved me from a very dark time in my life. I will always return that kindness." THIS is the story I want to know. What happened? How did a horse save him? How did he learn to commune with horses? At one point in the story, Sheridan notes he communes with horses like it was spiritual, that's the story I want to read! Please Laura, can we have this story? This is still a good story, but it was so close to amazing, I am actually sad to give it only 3 stars. Maybe we can get a short story about James and his horses in the future.