Boundless

Title: Boundless

Series: Boundless #1

Author: Amy Caldwell

Source: own

My Review:

Boundless took me a little bit to get into. I couldn't relate to Oakleigh, her lifestyle, or take her seriously. She is a very spoiled brat.

Once she is banished from her castle, she has the potential to be so much more. Yet, it takes her a while to get there. She is still very self-centered and entitled. You can't completely blame her because it is how she was raised, and until we are forced to think outside of ourselves, we are also very selfish creatures.

I loved Maeve and her gentle approach to handling Oakleigh. Oakleigh learns a lot from Maeve, but her character growth is slow. I felt like her relationship with Crew was underdeveloped and was more an insta-attraction than having any real depth to it.

Boundless would have benefited from another round or two of edits, and it did detract from the story. This was the author's debut novel, and it was apparent.

Despite all of this, I appreciated the character growth that Oakleigh did have. The end of the story was beautiful and worth the effort to get there. The side characters are messy, flawed, and real. However, I don't have any desire to continue the series.

★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads):  

The only place that Oakleigh Davenport feels close to God is when she's out in the ocean riding the waves on her surfboard, which is ironic because feeling close to God is the family business. Being an influencer, socialite, and daughter of a prominent megachurch pastor is no easy image to uphold. After a reputation destroying mistake, Oakleigh's world comes crashing down as she is forced to forfeit her social status, clout, and trust fund, leaving her to solely rely on the charity of others. Trading her surfboard for a pair of cowboy boots, she is exiled to Callaway Ranch, a little corner of the world that belongs to her Aunt Maeve, the whispered about black sheep of the family.

Through it all, she realizes that things aren't always as they seem and that family secrets run deep. As she searches to find her identity apart from everything she's ever known, Oakleigh discovers that her journey at Callaway Ranch comes complete with boundless love and compassion, handsome bull riders, and a soul-filling cup of cowboy coffee.