Eyes dark, he looks
right at me. It’s unnerving, but I refuse to look away. “Tori, I don’t want you
to see him again.” His voice is rigid and sends shards of anger through me.
I bite back hurtful
words. I like our newfound friendship, but he’s pushing it. “Brady, I’m going
to pretend I didn’t hear you say that.”
“He’s dangerous!”
“Funny.” I half laugh.
“That’s what he says about you.”
His chair squeaks when
he slides it out from under the table and stands up. He comes over to stand close
beside me. I can already sense the heightened charge in the air with his
nearness. “What did he tell you?” His tone is bitter.
“Nothing specific. You
want to tell me what’s going on between the two of you?”
He pushes off the
counter and pinches the bridge of his nose again. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” I ask, urging
him to explain.
“I just can’t,” he
answers, and his body is suddenly close to me, caging me in. His hands are on
each side of me, gripping the counter, and I have no choice but to look into
the depths of his green eyes. His hard warm body brushes against my breast and
I let out a small whimper. “He’s wrong for you, and I don’t want him touching
you,” he says brutally, his words hitting my gut like a brick.
So I've
literally just finished reading Irreparably Broken and wanted to get straight
to my review. I usually sit on a book
for a least a couple of hours before I try and write how I felt about it, but I
enjoyed Irreparably Broken so much that I don't feel the need to distill my
feelings, just to write about how much I loved it!
K.J. Bell has created a suite of amazing
characters in this book but what I loved, loved,
loved about Irreparably Broken was that it concludes in a way that was
satisfying - the book is a stand alone read and they seem to be relatively rare
occurrences these days. There is
definitely scope for books centered around other characters in this book, but
Tori and Brady's story had a start, middle and ending that I thoroughly enjoyed
reading.
On the
face of it, some could dismiss Irreparably Broken as having a 'predictable'
plot - but I encourage you not to make that assumption based on the
synopsis. Yes there is the whole
crushing on the best friends older 'bad boy' brother and heart broken by the ex
boyfriend (not to mention the confusion at how 'comfortable' Tori is with her
crushes younger brother) - but there are twists and turns and surprises in this
story that you're unlikely to predict.
Tori
has had her heart broken by Jake, her first love - it's not just the fact that
he cheated on her that hurts, it's the way Brady, her best friends older
brother, had a hand in making sure she knew about Jake's cheating that has
caused Tori to swear off guys and relationships generally. Her family has relocated due to her dad's
work and rather than go to “Minn-e-fuckin-sota" with them, she moves in
with her "BFFAA" (best friend forever and always) Liv and her
family. Having been friends forever,
Liv's family is like Tori's own. In
fact, she's always harboured some envy at just how perfect Liv's parents are
and at the family environment Liv has.
Tori has also harboured a crush on Brady, Liv's older brother, for many
years and unbeknownst to her, he will be home for the summer!
What Tori also doesn't know is that she is the reason for Brady’s decision to spend summer at home as he's decided to be up front about how he feels about her. Having reached that decision, his execution is not as perfect as you'd hope and there are times when you
could cut the emotional tension between the two with a knife. Sadly, nothing is straight forward for them –
Tori is struggling with wanting to guard her heart from another hurt; Brady has
history and doesn't think he is worthy of ... well, much actually:
Christ,
look, I'm toxic, like fucking poison, nothing instant though - I'm something
slow and painful, and you don't need that in your
life.
As
Brady battles with his past and the demons he carries around he inevitably
hurts Tori, which is the last thing he wants to do. Through all of this Tori has the unending
support of Tug, Brady and Liv's younger brother. Tug is just adorable - only 9 months younger
than Tori and Liv - he is always asking Tori out and she is always responding
with "I'd rather ..." comments - some of which are both revolting and
downright hilarious. Tug is a great
friend to Tori, but it's also clear that there is something unexplored about
the relationship between the two and how that evolves throughout the story is
just beautiful.
Liv is
the sort of best friend everyone should have.
In one scene she deals with Tori's ex so beautifully I laughed out loud
at her tenacity and ferocious protectiveness of her friend. She's gorgeous, outspoken, loyal and hell
bent on getting Tori laid!
There
are elements to this story that were completely unexpected. The tragedy that strikes has consequences for
everyone that will change the course of their lives forever. K.J. Bell has done a fabulous job, she's
created a couple of swoon worthy characters in Brady and Tug (and Harrison
probably warrants a mention too). In
amongst everything there are some steamy sex scenes, humour and an engrossing
story line. I read Irreparably Broken in
one sitting as I just couldn't wait to find out how it was going to end. I'd love to see a follow up book about Tug or
Liv as the next installment from K.J. Bell, but the great thing is I haven’t
been left hanging, wondering what the future holds for anyone in the story,
least of all Tori and Brady.
4 out of 5 stars
K J Bell grew up in California and has spent the last eight years living in Massachusetts with her husband and three children.
After years of working in the corporate world, she took on her most rewarding job as a full time mom.
People often ask, what made her decide to write? And the answer is…she didn’t. Writing found her. She was inspired to write when her daughter innocently waved at people in an empty cemetery, but didn’t know where to begin. After years of debating, she finally put fingers to keys bringing her first novel, a paranormal romance titled The Locket, to life.
Irreparably Broken is her first new adult novel.
Writing is a passion she simply can’t live without and looks forward to publishing many books in the near future; including the second book to The Locket Story, Shadowed, and another new adult novel, Cut too Deep.
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Danika hasn’t had an easy life. Being insanely attracted to bad boys has never helped make it easier.
R.K. Lilley lives in Colorado with her husband and their two beautiful sons. She's had a lot of interesting jobs, from being a first class flight attendant, to being a stablehand, but swears she never knew what hard work was until she had children. She's been addicted to both reading and writing fiction since she can remember. She loves to travel, read, hike, paint, game, watch anime, and make the most of every single day. She is the author of the erotic romance novels In Flight, Mile High, Grounded, and the novella, Lana.
