Wow...what a WILD ride! Get it? lol I was hooked from the beginning. The story starts out slow...building little by little. I became so immersed into their lives. It felt voyeuristic at times..like i was secretly reading Della's Diary. I love how we get both POVs...both sides kept me on the edge of my seat! I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give things away, but I will say this....READ IT! This is a great story that will stay with me. I'm on pins and needles for their continuation in book 2 which comes out in June. Can i wait that long?? Early release?? Please?? 4.5 Stars

4.5 Stars 


<b>This was my one chance. 

It was life or death. 

And I chose life.</b>


So I wanted to stop reading from the first chapter because I really don’t like reading about love stories where the guy/women is a good few years older. 
But, as this was a Pepper Winters book -and I love her writing, (and her books are seriously addicting) I carried on. 

This wasn’t a love story and then again it was.
You need to read it yourself to feel all the emotions, I doubt a review would give it justice.

This story wasn’t like anything I’ve ever read before. That’s a good thing.
If you want different this story is it. 
It’s definitely unique. 
I don’t know if it’s fully believable though. 
I mean it could be. And a lot of parts are totally believable but some things were a little far-fetched (why I didn’t rate it 5 Stars).


Nonetheless, this book was beautiful.. in the worst way.

It was heartbreaking to put it lightly. 

It dealt with so many subjects growing up and I think a lot of people would understand many of them. 

My heart hurt for Ren from the start. 
He is so pure and special and I just wanted to hug him throughout reading his chapters.

<b>A message that all humans—tiny or ancient—needed nutrition in the form of love as well as everything else.</b>

I also really enjoyed Della’s chapters.
Getting a sense of her side of the story and reading her thoughts was interesting, she was very self-deprecating, so even when you were angry at her, you weren’t. 
Her chapters kept the story different because her chapters were in the present whereas Ren’s were mostly in the past. 
All the chapters came together really well.


Ren’s love for Della was just so pure and real.

<b>I’d do anything for her. 

Just like I’d stayed here past winter for her. 

Just like I’d sacrifice anything of mine so she could have everything.


<i>How could you not fall in love with a boy like Ren Wild?</i></b>

When or if Ren and Della fought it was heartbreaking.
Their love for each other was so deep.
Even though they both loved each other so differently and yet the same.

“You ruined everything, Little Ribbon.” My voice broke. “Everything.”

This book has angst and feeling.

I held in tears reading a lot of the time, I guess I was in the mood. 

I even liked the portrayal of the secondary characters. 
Such as Cassie who I grew to really like her and kind of pitied. I liked her family too. 

I read this book slowly to process everything but also because I was scared to finish it -I knew the wait until the finale one would seem too long. 

I think I need to go and read something sweet and light just so I can pause from thinking bout Ren and Della.

I feel like this is a story I’ll never forget. 

I’ll always remember Ren and Della.

This is by far my favorite book that Pepper Winters has written and I can't wait for the conclusion!

I adored both Ren & Della and their connection. I loved the forbidden aspect. I loved how it was written from both points of view and in past and present. Give me more!

"He was mine. I didn't have much, but I had him, and I had no intention of ever losing him."

Della Ribbon only had one person in her life - Ren Wild. And she wasn't letting him go, no matter how they had to live. It's not like she knew any different anyway.

"Della was home to me, and there was something infinitely perfect just being the two of us again."

Ren Wild has lived a hard life - but nothing gets better than time with his Ribbon, no matter how it is spent.

I seriously could not put this book down. I'm not going to lie; I love Pepper Winter books, but I often have to take a break when reading just to let go of the darkness, but with this story, I simply couldn't get enough. I got mad when I had to put it down. This is my favorite of Pepper's books and added to my top ten books of all times. I cannot wait for The Girl & her Ren!! I need to know how their story concludes! (5++ stars)

5 Blue Ribbon stars for Della and Ren. I wish I could give more stars!

This book is absolutely AMAZING! So much love and angst and feelings. OMG! I absolutely cannot wait to read book two! I could not put this down. This is my first Pepper Winters read and it for sure will not be my last. I am literally chomping at the bit to read A Girl and Her Pen. I definitely recommend this book 100%!

I went into this book blind and I am glad that I did so I will try to keep this review vague and focus on my feelings. Ren is a child slave on a farm and decides to run away only to discover he has a stowaway. The first half of this book reminded me of the author’s “Unseen Messages.” The first half was largely a tale of survival. Ren was easy to love. Della was a charming child. The description of Della’s love for her blue ribbon was charming.

The book has dual POVs with Ren describing the details and some chapters where Della reflects on the past from the present day.

The second half of the book is full of angst. There is forbidden love with an age difference. My heart broke repeatedly for Ren and Della. I thought the author handled the conflicting feelings well. I am dying for the conclusion to the story.

I don think its possible to describe how incredible this story was, but, I will try my hardest by saying that this story was a completely captivating story that completely over took my mind and thoughts since I read it. Even after I have finished reading this story it has continued to be on my mind. This shows how powerful of a writer Pepper Winters is with her ability to captivate me with her stories. I cannot wait to see what happens next with these two characters.

The Boy and His Ribbon scared me. I've read this author before and while I whole heartedly acknowledge her talent, she's normally a bit too dark for my taste. I prefer the fluffy romance to the dark and twisted. But several of my friends assured me I'd like this so I dove right in not knowing exactly what to expect.

To say I'm now dying for book two is an understatement! Ren and Della's story is told in alternating POV's although Della's are all in letter form in present day while Ren's are from his POV but in the past. I do agree with my friends who told me the book isn't dark but it is HIGH in angst and has some difficult themes of child abuse.

I would have given this five stars had it been a little more believable. I won't ruin any part of the plot but essentially what Ren and Della go through is pure fiction and the things they get away with would never happen in the real world. At least not in the U.S. as I'm not sure where this story is set.

Anyway, Ren is great and a bit of a different hero. Is he a nice guy? That's debatable but he has a great heart. Della is a bit of a brat. But her story is engrossing and I think book two will bring her character a lot more depth.

Pepper's writing is fast paced and everything developed well from the characters to the plot. I'm so glad I took a chance on this and look forward to book two.

When Ren was a child, his mom sold him to a farmer. He was abused there, so when he was able to do it, he escaped. Unknowingly, he didn't escape alone. A little girl, the farmer's daughter, was hidden in his backpack.
The relationship between Ren and Della, the little girl, is different from the beginning. It is obvious for the reader. But poor Ren is so naive... He refuses to see it. And that's the key to this story.
They enter in a whirlwind of heartache which they both start. They are like the two sides of a coin. He doesn't want to admit what it's in front of him. Or he just can't.
And Della, who is younger and wilder, doesn't want to ignore her feelings. Or, again, she just can't.
I really liked the story. Although I wish I could have opened Ren's eyes.
The ending is just awesome. And now, we have to wait (sigh).

This was so completely different then anything I have ever read. I knew it would be dark, but the twists in this story even shocked my little black heart. I am a lover of a good true love story when all the world is against them....and that is exactly what this is

Ren was sold for cheap labor to the Mclarys, a family that branded kids the same way they did cows. He endured true hell for two years until he decided to run away on his own. Or so he thought because on his backpack was Mclarys’ baby with a blue ribbon.

She was the enemy but he couldn’t take her back and have her turning into someone like her parents who he despised so much.

So he would raise her on his own, like a sister!

“Because I had nowhere to go, no guarantee of survival, and a baby reliant on me for every tiny thing.”

If you’re a fan of Pepper Winters’, you already know that you can’t expect what she’s about to do. Forget it, you won’t be able to predict anything! She’s completely out of the box and unpredictable. And this book is just one more proof of that.

The only thing that I didn’t really enjoy was the prose. The descriptions were so long and so many. But, besides that, all gold stars!

The story goes back and forth in time from the time they ran away to the present day which are 18 years apart. So when they ran away, Ren was ten years old and Della was just a baby, but by the end of the book (which is the present time) he’s reaching his thirties and she her twenties. The book has both POV’s: the present time it’s only in Della’s POV but the past is in both.

There’s a lot to this story, the major thing being a brother and sister falling in love! Now, technically they’re not brother and sister since they’re not blood-related but I understand that their situation might be controversial for some people (not for me though).

I was mostly blown away by the child logic in this book and by how well created these characters were! Winters goes to such detail when he comes to their experiences as humans growing up. As I said before you will go through their teenage years, when they’re experiencing periods, first kisses and hormones and sex which are all things that people know about in school and at home, but for kids that grew up in the middle in the jungle, those were all unknown subjects. Like, the first time someone told them it was Christmas day, they didn’t know what that meant!

“My heart stopped with how perfect she was. How smart. How kind. How brave. I’d never look at the color blue again without thinking of her. I’d never hold another ribbon again without wanting to hold her.”

Besides the magnificent technical job that Winters did with the characters, there’s also another thing that’s equally magnificent: their love. Their simple, and humble and true love as a brother and sister! Their affection was the sweetest thing to witness. Della saw Ren as her idol. The man who did no wrong and that would do anything for her! In return, she was his heart and soul!

Okay I’m done! The book is overall freaking amazing and I can not wait for the next one! Yes because this book ends with a freaking cliffhanger!

Going into The Boy And His Ribbon I truly didn’t know what to expect. Ms. Winters’ blurbs are always enticing but I’ve only had time to read her Debt Inheritance series. That series is one of the darkest I’ve ever read. Early on ‘The Boy’ had the potential to go that route but I was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t. While it may not be dark per se, it is not your average tale. I’ve been trying to sum this story up and the one thing I keep coming back to is that it’s about Della coming of age. She struggles with the normal childhood growing pains while also dealing with her feelings for the boy that is raising her. Her feelings for Ren range from love, anger and jealousy. I am dying to get my hands on The Girl And Her Ren! I cannot wait for June and to find out what lays ahead for Della and Ren.

I don't know where I should start with The Boy and his Ribbon!! My heart broke for Ren and the situation he was sold into as a child. The love that he should have received was no where to be found and the happiness that he had in a dire moment was ruined.

Ren was young and his life was not what any child would want. He was hurt at a young age and forced to do things that ultimately made him a stronger person. He craved the feeling of being free and being able to make his own decisions but he also needed the things that he knew. He made the choice to make a change for him but things never turn out the way you want them!!

Della was a hiccup but one that Ren knew he had to protect above everything else including himself. Della was the daughter of his owners and as a baby, she was in for the thrill of her life...or so she thought. Growing up with the person who you assumed was family became real but also there were times of confusion of how her "brother" felt about her.

The fun times, bad times and scary times come to a halt when things take a turn while they are on this adventure. Ren has to make decisions that could destroy them in many ways or these decision could make both him and Della better.. It is time for both of them to grow up or get caught!!

I must say when I began reading the book I didn't know what to expect with Ren and Della but now I can't wait to find out what happens with both of them. I maybe the only one who doesn't want the HEA and that is weird for me to say. I think there are a lot of things that each of them need to experience and can't do that!!

Pepper Winters is known for writing big books, and the fact that I read this book in one day, is testament to just how truly brilliant The Boy And His Ribbon is. I was instantly sucked into Ren and Della's heartbreaking story of forbidden love, and the more I read, the tighter both my chest and throat felt from trying to hold in the emotion.

This is a two part series, so if you're completely against reading books with unresolved endings, then I advise you to wait until June when book 2 releases, but if you're happy either way then please read this book!! It is so powerful and moving and utterly heart-rendering.

This book spans 18 years, and in those years I read a story not like any I've read before. A story I didn't realise I wanted to know - no, scrap that - a story I didn't realise I needed to know until I turned that first page. A story that only Pepper Winters could tell. And tell it she did. A very worthy 5 star read. Bring on The Girl And Her Ren.

5+

I would like to thank Netgalley and Pepper Winters and Buoni Amici Press, LLC for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I knew when I requested this book that it would be one to tear my heart out and my goodness did it ever! From page one this book tore me apart. I usually run in the other direction from these types of books but something pulled me to want to read it. This book had me staying up way to late reading it and then wanting to stay home from work just to lie around and cry about it the next day.

I’m really not sure how to review this book without dropping spoilers left and right. But I’ll do my best. This is a dual POV that switches between Ren and Della and it also switches between the past and the present. A lot of it is told through Della’s eyes as she is writing about her life for a college assignment.

This is a very emotional book about a little boy who is sold into slavery and escapes, unknowingly taking the slave owners baby with him. For so many years it is just Ren and Della who form a bond where it is just them and no one is allowed in between. Growing up with 9 years between them their relationship goes from parent/child and brother/sister and then towards the end it turns taboo where Della forms romantic feelings for Ren and he is fighting his own feelings for her. As much as it is taboo I am actually rooting for them to be together. I feel like they deserve to be together.

Overall I would say READ THIS. It’s an emotional roller coaster and does end in a major cliffhanger but it was so worth the read!! Amazing book Pepper Winters! Congrats and I can’t wait for the next book!

I kinda don't even know where to begin with this review. I am a HUGE Pepper Winters fan I even read her first book the day it came out and have loved her work ever since. That being said A Boy & His Ribbon is nothing at all like her other books. This one is filled with so much pain and sorrow you cant help but cry and close you eyes to take a breather from the emotions coming off the pages.

The love the two main characters Della & Ren begins so innocent yet it grows into something so much more as time goes on. There are times when I wanted to look away but for the life of me I could not because I knew in away it was meant to be for Della & Ren.The ending left me be wildered and wanted to much moreI cant wait for the next one!

**4.5 Stars**

The Boy and His Ribbon was a boundary-pushing and complex story focused on the development of two characters from early childhood. This complicated tale felt as emotionally touching as it felt taboo. Winters’ storytelling hit a high note by being both beguiling and evocative in its portrayal–traits that made this tale even more unputdownable.

Told mostly in the past, this story focused on a young boy of ten escaping his owners only to realize he had a very young stowaway in his backpack. Most of the story centered itself in Ren’s point-of-view, and became the most engaging element of the story. Winters’ manuscript closely detailed the struggles of this young boy as he fought for not just his own survival but hers as well. The harsh realities of living off the land were prominent and deeply explored with heart and authenticity. I was mesmerized from the start on how atmospheric their little world was and the anxieties that were constant with two people living off of the grid but forced into being a part of civilization, and how that changed as they both became older. Winters played with the element of a love story and how unusual one can be before it crosses that unseen line, and was so honest about it that it furthered the reader in relating to both characters and their different sides. I won’t lie and say that I didn’t have moments of uncomfortableness with the experimentation of this representation of love, but I also cannot say that I didn’t also enjoy it. The nuances of their bond were so integral to who they were that when it became mired by adulthood it became even more palpable.

As the first in a duet building up to what’s to come, I cannot help but worry over what comes next for our main characters. The Boy and His Ribbon had so many elements of reality–the ideas of love, trust, family dynamics, and self-realization–and explored them in a different way than I’ve seen before. All pushed together they created a full-figured plot with striking writing, and a story many will be talking about.

Get your one-click finger ready! In The Boy and His Ribbon, Pepper Winters masterfully weaves an unforgettable story of friendship and love. In this unconventional tale of survival of the fittest, whose heart will survive? The love Della and Ren have for each other starts out of necessity and develops into heart melting loyalty and a bond that is not easily broken. This book is part of a duet that provides a past/present context and dual points of view. I eagerly read through each chapter with the need to better understand the trials and tribulations of Della "Ribbon" and Ren Wild. I highly recommend this book and I'm looking forward to reading the conclusion of their story, in The Girl and Her Ren.

*I was provided a Netgalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.

have read several books by Pepper Winters and none have ever disappointed me. I've learned two things about this amazing author. 1: she makes the unbelievable believable. 2: she leaves you wanting more every.single.time.

This book is heartbreaking in so many ways as it tells the story of two children who have amazing strength to overcome the odds. It starts with Ren being sold into modern day slavery as a very young child. Throughout the abuse (branding, amputation, beatings), he remains strong. He finally gets the courage to runaway at the ripe old age of 10. He survives getting chased and shot at when he runs, but finally manages to escape.

Then he opens the bag he stored some food in.

Somehow the owner's one year old daughter crawled into his bag before he left and he essentially kidnapped her.

So the tale begins of a very young boy who can barely care for himself who now has to care for a baby because returning her to her home means getting caught. He tries to do right by her, at one point even giving her to a nice family to raise her. But then she ends up on the news as social services announce that they're about to take her away.

Ren and Della become inseparable as they fight to survive together. Their bond becomes far strong than two siblings or even between a parent and child. As they both get older, the bond only gets stronger.

My heart broke for Della and what she was going through. It was so easy to see how she could fall in love with Ren even though she knew she shouldn't. All she had in her life was this amazing young man who dedicated his entire life to her and making sure she had everything that he didn't.

I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book in this series because I NEED to know what happens next. Ren and Della's story can't end here!

4.75 stars--THE BOY AND HIS RIBBON is the first instalment in Pepper Winters’ dark, contemporary, adult THE RIBBON Duet focusing on the tumultuous life of Della and Ren.

WARNING: Due to the story line content, there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person points of view (Ren and Della) using present day and memories from the past THE BOY AND HIS RIBBON covers close to eighteen years in the life of Ren, a young boy sold into slavery who makes his escape, at the age of ten, unknowingly carrying the most precious cargo anyone could have imagined. Throughout the story we are up close and personal as a young Ren must forage and battle the elements in order to survive; to protect the child that has become the sister of his heart; and to keep his distance as the two battle their attraction and love for one another as the teenage years and adulthood blossom on the horizon.

The reader becomes privy to the emotional and personal fall-out of Della as she struggles to journal her thoughts and memories into a story that reads more like fiction than the truth that is had become.

THE BOY AND HIS RIBBON is a heart breaking journey of mind, body and soul. The horrific beginnings for a boy whose childhood is destroyed by abuse and neglect, and for a young girl who has never known anything other than the life she has shared amongst the forest and the stars.

Pepper Winters writes a dark, emotional and impassioned tale of one boy, one girl, a blue ribbon, and two souls who struggle to survive against the odds. The premise is unique, controversial and consuming. THE BOY AND HIS RIBBON ends on a cliff hanger (of sorts)-you have been warned.

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Before I get into all the fantastic things about this book, I want to address the one negative piece. I'd like to get it out of the way with, because if I'm being perfectly honest, something that I thought could ruin the story for me actually ended up being nothing but a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. So confession time. I actually DNFd this book originally. Twice. Now, now, stow away those pitch forks and tomatoes and allow me to explain. See originally, I stopped reading at 20%. I felt compelled to push myself and ended up getting to 37%, only to stop again. As beautifully lyrical as the writing was and as unique as the story itself was, the amount of detail and the somewhat verbose nature of the first half of this book was difficult for this picky reader to get past. The story follows the main characters over the span of 18 years. And the reader is privy to every minute detail of their life. While it sets the stage and truly allows you to get to the heart of who these characters are, for this reader that has a penchant for instant gratification, it was a struggle. So what I'm telling you is, it's definitely a me thing. If this level of detail and description doesn't bother you, you won't bat an eyelash at this. But for me, I felt like a good 20% of the overall book could have been trimmed and not lost anything in the process. But again, that's a ME thing.

So getting to the good. For the first time in all of my reading history, I felt compelled to finish. There was just something so unique and gripping about this story, that I simply couldn't bear not knowing how it all comes together. And I have never been more grateful for pushing myself through. Because that final 60%? It turned everything around. It made me fall in love with this captivating, emotional, and unforgettable story. It made me connect with this wonderfully unique, multi-layered characters. It had me eager to reveal layer after layer of detail that the story offered. And it had me riveted to the pages from that point on.
I was never lacking for love. I never felt unwanted or hurt or scared. He was my entire universe, and he treated me like I was his in return.


The author warned that this is completely different from her usual dark romance. And it totally was. Though I will say, it did have that touch of the signature dark undercurrent that Winters carries in her writing style.

You get introduced to the main characters as just children. With the heroine being just a baby at one years old, and the hero being a mere boy of ten. It takes them on an unforgettable journey of struggle and nightmares, wrapped in a unique sort of bond that ultimately shifts into a love unlike any other. Over the course of the next eighteen years, you get a peek inside adult Della's head through a letter that she pens for her school. You get glimpses of how she saw their truth and the life they led. And you see a child's bond that slowly, naturally, and surely begins to morph into a woman's adoration and love.
I will always love you, Della Ribbon. Until the day I die and even past that.


This is not a romance, though it carries undercurrents of one. This is the set up of what's truly looking to be one epic romance in the second part of the duet. But what this book does is set that stage. It builds the blocks of the foundation that their feelings are based one. It takes you into the dark underbelly of the horrors that these characters survived and came out stronger from. It spares no detail. It leaves no stone unturned. And it's not afraid to give the gritty, emotional, and painful detail of the mistakes that both Della and Ren make along the way.

If you're looking for something different, unique and compelling, this book is certainly that. Will I be reading the next one? Absolutely! And if you're anything like me, don't judge it but the somewhat slower pace of the beginning. Because the hook of this unique story is so unsuspecting, you'll never see it coming. And before you know it, you're glued to your kindle, incapable of setting it down until the very last page.