mignon mykel { reviews }: BROKEN -- a summary and opinion

Thursday, August 14, 2014

BROKEN -- a summary and opinion

BROKEN released today! Well, yesterday, but I'm a night shifter and I'm still stuck on 9/2 in my mind, nevermind the fact that it's 0130 in the morning on 9/3.

I just loved BROKEN -- I wasn't sure I would. I should have believed in my love of Lauren's writing... I will know better the next time I see a character I'm not particularly interested in -- granted, the next books on her cue are Emma in the Stiletto series, and Sophie's BFF Will/sister Brynn's story in the Best Mistake series, and I've been waiting for both of these books.

So, why wasn't I sure I'd like this book?

....Olivia.

She's pampered and a rich-bitch and has a 'tude that I didn't care for in ISN'T SHE LOVELY. As a general rule of thumb, I don't like pretty, skinny girls. It's an issue I've had for a few years ;) And Olivia just fits the bill in her designer clothes and stuck up attitude.

But unfortunately for me, Olivia was looking to get away from home and needed a change, so she took on the caregiver role for some 70-year old man's son. What Olivia didn't expect was for his son to be her age.

Paul is a war vet who made friends with a bullet and other torturing when in Afghanistan. He lost his best friend and walks around with visible scars and a bum leg as a constant reminder. He hides behind his scars and lets anger rule his life.

He has gone through numerous care givers and his father is giving him one last chance -- see one through for 6 months, or you're cut off; finished, nada mas. His father has a trick up his sleeve though, in hiring young, pretty Olivia. And as much as he wants to throw two middle fingers up in the air, the money his father is giving him is actually going to his best friend's widow and daughter.

This story is very much a Beauty and the Beast story, but it's done in a way that you forget the Disney movie/Grimm fairy tale and focus very much on Paul and Olivia. It's a story of overcoming personal battles and fighting the fights that actually mean something.

I find myself wanting to see Olivia and Paul two, five, ten years down the road. I very much loved these two and their connection. Life is about finding someone who's demons play well with yours, and these two most certainly fit ;) Ha; or finding someone who's battles you are willing to fight, and vice versa.

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a quick note from { mignon } ...

I AM NO LONGER ACTIVE IN REVIEWING

The last two years has been incredibly rewarding, giving me the opportunity to pick up new-to-me authors, as well as new-to-the-world authors. I have enjoyed supporting publishing houses as well as the indie author, and in doing so, I learned a lot about the marketing aspect of writing a book and selling it as a self-published author.

I have re-focused my journey to more writing-minded. I still read and review! But not nearly at the rate I was; three books a day has turned to three books a month.

I will no longer be accepting individual review requests (unless it's specifically author-to-author, then it will be highly considered).

I will definitely be posting reviews for commitments I have already made, though.

Thank you for understanding, & thank you to all those I have worked with over the last year plus!

~ Mignon

http://mignonmykel.com

GOODREADS updates

Dirty Saint: A Secret Baby Sports Romance by Vesper Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book almost failed to get my attention. Why?

The hero.

He is the exact public person I despise. You know the type -- all biblical with publicized praying and verses all over his public persona. Great. Good for you. Bet you're not like that behind closed doors...

Which is exactly what Esther thinks of him.

Saint and Esther attend the same super religious college. Esther is on the fast track to becoming a nun, and no I do not kid, and Saint, given name Francis, can do just about whatever he wants, because he is the star athlete and the school knows he has connections. What in the world can these two have in common? The actions of their parents.

But where Saint does what his father says, usually, because his father is pushing him toward a pro-football careers, Esther follows her parents (father) because if she didn't... Her life would literally be a living hell.

I really enjoyed these two, once we started to get to know Saint a little bit better. My only drawback with the book would be the last half goes by in super-fast time. While it helped to keep the story moving, I would have liked to see more of that time drawn out so the feelings and emotions of our two characters felt more genuine and real -- rather than simply a two month courting that their lives demanded.

I'm giving the book the full 5 stars because it came out of left-field for me. It was a book that I didn't expect to like, but the author wove it in a way that I fell hard for our characters both as individuals and as a couple. I liked watching Esther grow and find her voice in life, just as I liked watching playboy, always for the chase Saint, settle down and find a person to be terribly protective over. I loved him most in the last two chapters.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

Everything by Erin Noelle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's something you may know about me if you've followed my reviews -- I'm an epilogue reader. I will almost always read the epilogue first. Call me a spoilsport or no fun, or whatever but that's how I've been reading books for years. It's no wonder that when I write books, I tend to have the epilogue all figured out before I even start with "Once upon a time...".

That said... I read this epilogue and while I liked it, I just couldn't get past the ages of our characters. Couldn't do it. So I read the beginning. Still... If anything, the age of our characters was even more pronounced. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to read this. You see, I have an issue with "Happily ever after" and the hardly-twenty crowd, let alone an eighteen year old.

But that's my hang-up.

Another thing you may know about me? I will sometimes read a book in what I call a inside-out fashion. I jump all over the place until I find a snippet of story that absolutely grips me. And people -- there are a few of those parts in Everything. So because I found those gripping parts, I put my faith in Erin Noelle, and I started from page one -- and I gave Everett and Belle a chance.

And I'm so glad I did.

Everett and his twin sister have been making music forever -- literally. They're the children of a rockstar; music has always been their life. When their father's group decides to get back together (dad always said he'd go back when the twins were done with school), Mason tells the label -- if you take me, you're taking my kids: thus, giving Everett and Ashlynn the opportunity to take their music to a larger level than they have before.

Along the way, with a local gig, Everett meets Belle -- and so begins their story.

This is a story about growing up. This is a story about following your heart -- be it for a person or a career, or even both. It is about learning to trust the person you are giving your heart to, and about taking the ever-looming jump into unknown feelings. When you put your life, your wants, your desires in someone else's hands, the world opens up -- and it certainly does for Everett and Belle.

The part I most appreciated was that the author made Everett true to his age and situation. Belle was too, yes, but it was Everett and his new lifestyle that had me wanting to see true characterization for. He's a guy; he's a musician; he's new to love. He makes mistakes. And for those mistakes, I truly got on board with this story.

Everett and his Tinker Bell were incredibly cute. I liked that there's a decent time jump at the end, further allowing -- you guessed it -- growth of our characters. I'm excited to watch more of them when (if?) Ashlynn's story comes out.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

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Thursday, August 14, 2014

BROKEN -- a summary and opinion

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