Photo credits: David Mark Edited by Vaishali Title: The Broken One (Corisi Billionaires #1) Author: Ruth Cardello Genre/Themes: Contemporary Romance Publisher: Montlake Romance Year of Publication: 2019 Version: E-book kindle app ISBN 13: 9781542009706 ISBN 10: 1542009707 R E V I E W...Can you remember the days and ways of childhood exploit and exploration? I can’t say, generally and honestly that I can - remembering my childhood is almost akin to plucking wisps of long-lapsed air, my memories spotty patches of remembrance, but the two peaks that my world pivoted on were freedom and fear. Not many do when life rolls us into gradual adulthood, and we lose our understanding of what being a child was like, and contingent on that, we forget what infantile life is like. A child’s struggle is as fundamental as our own, perhaps moreso. It’s so full of mountainous joy and powerful loss and very palpable fear. It might seem, to us, so small and partial for them to feel heartache after pining for a well-worn toy, hurt by being made to leave the sun at its peak, to sleep alone In the dark when every shadow manifests a shape. They, like us, have to find ways of navigating the bumps and grooves of uncharted pastures, only for them it’s so novel, so new, so refreshing with the condensed sight that sits on the edges of a small and growing world. We should know better because we have experience, but for them, it’s curiosity that speedwalks them into new situations, and hence unraveling this big world of new labor can come with equal parts trepidation and fear, therefore a whole lot more courage. Because our young? How brave they are. “Only in school are we rewarded for being well behaved and quiet. Out in the world it’s the brave and daring who make a difference.” ‘One’s entire life could be changed forever with one misstep.’ This is what I loved about ‘The Broken One’ - it takes 4-year-old Ava’s misery and her mother’s desire to put a stop to that pain that escalates this story as one that individually brings back the sincere importance of youthful joy and grief. Accountant Heather Ellis is the sole carer and mother to her adopted daughter Ava. Heather, in a desperate attempt takes to social media to broadcast her daughter’s loss with a promise of a reward if Wolfie, Ava’s stuffed toy, is found. When a handsome but somber businessman reluctantly brings back a toy that fills Heather’s house with laughter and light again, her gratitude is immeasurable, but tapers once more when a less than welcoming Sebastian parts with his characteristic broody hostility. “Nothing lasts forever. Nothing. No one escapes that lesson.” ‘Life was hard enough without looking across the breakfast table every morning at a man who didn’t know how to smile.’ Sebastian Romano, mirthless, pitiless, seemingly apathetic…call him what you like, but his past of chafing loss has refined this demeanor of hard, callous steel. It’s his family that he lives for because 5 years ago stripped him of his soul. This savage successor has dedicated his life and work to the Romano name. To him, there is no reason to debate life’s unfairness, because it is. Sharp edged and emotionally severe he’s firm in his philosophy of hard work and harsh consequence. Love is the root that deserves to be buried, no place in business or his life, it’s a feeling uninvited. Love does not firm up the backbone of a surviving, thriving business. Coarse tenacity does. “When you love someone, their happiness is where you find your own. You have always been a good son. You were a good husband, but you are an awful widower.” Being a single mum is trying, but Heather wouldn’t trade Ava for the world, and so she shouldn’t because she is an adorable credit. This first meeting however sparks questions in both Sebastian’s and Heather’s lives: is the past eating away Sebastian’s humanity enough for him to hate who he’s becoming? And can Heather sacrifice this amazing life with her daughter for a bit of happiness for herself? Sebastian is certain that joy can never wrap enveloping arms around him again, and Heather’s responsibility to her daughter will always outshine the fickle weavings of the unknown. As always, the prospect of risk will accompany the opening of a new door… let’s see if they both have the strength to keep it open. ’She was gifted at proving that life was full of surprises no matter how well I planned.’ ‘Hoping for a happy ending only led to disappointment. But that wasn’t what I wanted Ava to believe. For her, I’d move heaven and earth to make the improbable happen.’ There are those stories that capture you in an unquestionable rapture, and what I mean by that is a reader wholeheartedly bypasses question because their heart, their mind, their senses and their personal reactions express complete likeability. Then there are those stories that carry a similar strength, but posses a cause for friction or dissonance because they seize both the alluring and problematic alike. And of course, there are those that our constitution will reject, because quite simply, you might not understand it, relate with it, align with it or your very distinct authority will clash with its symbolic representation. Now, The Broken One slides itself into the middle because I both found what was alluring and questionable. But still, it is awkward to pinpoint at times why a story doesn’t work, and I think it’s because you either might like the story and are frustrated by a disappointing result or, like me, you saw something of mighty potential but what still poses the question of ‘did I actually like this or not? “Things don’t always go the way we hope they will, but I have to believe they work out the way they’re supposed to.” I do appreciate the story that’s trying to be told but it was honeycombed with confusing plot lines and an even more confusing, dithering romance. I’m going to name a few points of concern for me: I’m sure that Sebastian and Heather had a real connection as the author makes their emotional afflictions well known, but I didn’t feel it, I didn’t feel the tangibility of their on-page bond, and in a contemporary romance the highlighter should be the romance. But with a developing romance that takes a slow-moving pace, which generally I wouldn’t mind if It had a reason to develop that way (and in this case, it did demand a slow pace), their interactions compound a mixture of making up and breaking up without the good appreciation to like the back and forth. Heather’s character didn’t have a well-defined shape, and because of that I was idly trying to pick through my thoughts. I liked the intention of the story, but is it enough to warrant a good rating? ‘It wasn’t that I didn’t trust anyone—just that I trusted myself and my instincts more. Having the rug pulled out from beneath my feet early in life had taught me the value of owning my own damn rug.’ Encouragement and boosting confidence is one thing, and Heather might have her shortcomings, but Erica, Heather’s friend, who serves the purpose of being the proactive, romantic decision maker in Heather’s life was too pushy, pushing Heather to make decisions in Sebastian’s favour even when I thought he didn’t deserve it at the time. This book series is also coined as Corisi Billionaires, and while the name Corisi has a place in the story, this book is about the Romano’s so I’m trying to discern why it’s titled that way. Judy Corisi’s parts of the story entwine with the main story, and it’s clear to see that her character might continue to play an important role in this series, but this separate arc still felt a bit misplaced. Aside from that the story as a whole introduces, what felt like, a scattered narrative that in effect didn’t feel broad-shouldered enough to present an immersive story. “Sebastian, when I was younger I thought there was a right way and a wrong way. It brought me a lot of grief. Eventually I realized that the only right way is the one I can live with. And the only wrong one is the one my heart cannot tolerate.” ‘I’d definitely made my share of mistakes raising Ava, but I needed to believe I had done as much right.’ Our two main leads know that life isn’t a sequence of happy montages, blissful smiles and sweet delight, but they’re split down the middle by paths chosen. Heather chooses life and and optimism, but Sebastian is overwhelmed in a sea of his own wretched acrimony. Heather draws happiness, Sebastian invites pain. Firmly rooted the shapes of loss, touching new territory invites fear, especially in the face of finding the right way to love through the asperity and malaise of finding purpose from pain. “My name is Ava.” “Hello, Ava. My name is Sebastian,” he said in a decadently deep voice. “Sebastian.” She said his name slowly. “My hero.” “That’s a man who knows how to love. Some don’t.” What the The Broken One by Ruth Cardello brings is an emotive, family oriented contemporary romance that describes the faltering life of a widowed man who believes he has nothing left to lose or to give, with a reason to redeem guiltless well-being when comes the opportunity to trade it with the habitual guilt that has thus had him flitting and filing through his mistakes with the vigour of a haunted man. This story also puts forward the philosophy of family loyalty and love - it’s not always blood that binds, but love that does. With a woman of substance who promises that though letting go of the dappled past isn’t always in the least bit a simple labor, the killing quality of old grief lessens when a choice is made in resistance. A story of familial values and familial love, grief and goodness, that describes the real struggle of the fetter’s of grief and the prospect of light flaming a promise through the end of every tunnel, when even light doesn’t feel like enough. ‘That doesn’t mean I don’t miss you. It will never mean I’ll forget you. What I’m leaving behind is the guilt.’ I gave this books 3 stars -C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Adult content, up to and including bedroom scenes. --------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read --------------------------------------- I love interacting with fellow readers, reviewers, bloggers and writers. Hearing about reader opinion is the fuel to my reader appetite, so get in touch and comment below! SHARE ON FACEBOOK L E A V E A C O M M E N T A N D L E T' S T A L K A B O U T |
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