For Thanksgiving last year, my family and I were able to visit my sister in the Washington, D.C. area. While enjoying our time together, she had mentioned she had some books that I might be interested in. I took a look at them, and noticing they were romances, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to read them. They are both paperbacks, which I have to get used to again, but she was willing to give them to me for free so that works!
The first book that I chose to read of the two was a book by Chelsea Fine, called Best Kind of Broken. It’s a new adult romance, a genre I don’t have a lot of experience with. I do know that this genre tends to be filled with a little more passion/sex so I hoped the book wouldn’t be bombarded with it. Thankfully, it wasn’t!
Anyway, before I share with you all my thoughts/review, here are the basics of this book:
Best Kind of Broken
By: Chelsea Fine
SOMETIMES MOVING ON MEANS MOVING IN
Pixie Marshall wishes every day she could turn back time and fix the past. But she can’t. And the damage is done. She’s hoping that a summer of free room and board working with her aunt at the Willow Inn will help her forget. Except there’s a problem: the resident handyman is none other than Levi Andrews. The handsome quarterback was once her friend-and maybe more–until everything changed in a life-shattering instant. She was hoping to avoid him, possibly forever. Now he’s right down the hall and stirring up feelings Pixie thought she’d long buried . . .
Levi can’t believe he’s living with the one person who holds all his painful memories. More than anything he wants to make things right, but a simple “sorry” won’t suffice–not when the tragedy that scarred them was his fault. Levi knows Pixie’s better off without him, but every part of him screams to touch her, protect her, wrap her in his arms, and kiss away the pain. Yet even though she’s so close, Pixie’s heart seems more unreachable than ever. Seeing those stunning green eyes again has made one thing perfectly clear–he can’t live without her.
What did I think?
This is a tale of two broken souls finding home in one another. After a tragic accident, two people are left scarred, guilty, and feeling like they’re left to blame. When they open up, both find acceptance, forgiveness, and the love they had before their worlds were turned upside down.
What I think worked well was the author did a fantastic job alternating between the male and female point of view, each chapter switching from one to the next. Writing in first person really helped me engage with the characters, feeling what they would/did feel. The storyline was well-written. I really felt like I was a part of the story. And reading the novel this way, it’s making me love first person point of view more and more. I might even try to write a novel this way!
The thing I didn’t like, which is why I only rated it four stars instead of five, was some of the language and scenes of sexual nature. Although, I don’t feel any of it was overdone, it was still enough for me to knock it down from perfect. New adult novels are known for this, as mentioned above, so if you’re interested in reading this, please do keep that in mind. And again, it wasn’t as bad as other new adult stories that are out there (from what I’ve heard).
Overall, yes, I rated it just four stars. It really was a great novel by a talented author. For those who like to read new adult romance, this would be perfect!
If you are interested in reading this book, you can find a copy of it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EHMG34E/