Saturday, August 22, 2015

{ arc } review || ANYTHING BUT BROKEN by Joelle Knox


26040551
Self-Published | August 25, 2015 | New Adult Romance
Hurricane Creek, book 1
★★★★★

SOURCE: AUTHOR

After five years, tragedy brings Hannah Casey back to Hurricane Creek to bury what’s left of her family. She’s flunking out of college, haunted by scandal, and the only person who cares is Sean Whitlow, an irresistible bad boy with a soft spot for her. The problem? He’s her dead sister’s ex.

Sean doesn’t bleed red, he bleeds motor oil. During the week, he struggles to turn his auto repair shop into a profitable business. But when Saturday night rolls around, he’s the reigning stock-car king of the local race track. He doesn’t know how to lose–or how to walk away and leave Hannah alone with her grief.

Between her grades and her wealthy family’s dark secrets, Hannah’s barely holding her life together. And the last thing Sean needs is to get tangled up with another Casey girl. As the attraction between them spins out of control, they’ll either find a love with no limits–or go up in flames.
amazon | bn | itunes

{ review } .

Having grown up in a house of deception, it's no wonder Hannah has the issues that she does. This story dealt with Hannah overcoming her past -- her father's drinking, her mother's image, her sister's mentality, her own fears of never being enough -- and finding a way to move on in the present. The last person she ever expects to help her move on in life is Sean, her now late-sister's ex-boyfriend and her own long-ago crush. But Hannah has information that may send Sean running -- and she has to, once again, decide if she wants to hide behind lies or put the truth out there.

Watching Hannah overcome her struggles was such a heartbreaking thing. She learned at a young age to cover everything up with a smile, and took away things of her father's hidden drinking and found ways to deal with her own anxiety and struggles with those same things.

I loved Sean. Hands-down, loved him. He was a strong male lead and while he knew he made mistakes in his past, he knew better than to excuse himself for them. When he needed time, he took it -- but he didn't truly push Hannah away either. When she needed him, he'd promise they would talk. When her life was crumbling down around her, he gave her something to hold on to.

A truly enjoyable read by Joelle Knox, and quite the difference from the Kit Rocha scene! I very much enjoyed the contemporary feel, the realness of this story and look forward to Gibbs' story -- I loved watching his layers unfold in regards to Hannah, but also his deep friendship with Sean. Nice beginning to the New Adult world, ladies!

No comments:

Post a Comment