Title: Unbreak Me
Author: Lexi Ryan
Date of publication: 27 May 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
My rating: 3 stars
Goodreads Blurb
“If you’re broken, I’ll fix you…”
I’m only twenty-one and already damaged goods. A slut. A failure. A disappointment to my picture-perfect family as long as I can remember. I called off my wedding to William Bailey, the only man who thought I was worth fixing. A year later, he’s marrying my sister. Unless I ask him not to…
“If you shatter, I’ll find you…”
But now there’s Asher Logan, a broken man who sees the fractures in my façade and doesn’t want to fix me at all. Asher wants me to stop hiding, to stop pretending. Asher wants to break down my walls. But that means letting him see my ugly secrets and forgiving him for his.
With my past weighing down on me, do I want the man who holds me together or the man who gives me permission to break?
My Review
I received an ARC of this book by the author via AToMR Tours in exchange of an honest review.
I liked this book but it left me with mixed emotions thus making it very difficult for me to review it. There are some things in it that I really liked and others, that didn't work for me.
I liked the multiple points of view and I found the voices of Maggie, William and Asher really unique and convincing and one of the best features of the story. For me the beginning was very strong and promising. The main characters were introduced as entangled in a web of secrets and hidden/or not so well conflicts.
Initially, I was not sure what to make of Maggie or Will. I could not decide if I liked them or not. Asher was the one character which I liked from the very start. There is not ambiguity about him - he is the good bad guy.
I felt deeply for Maggie's suffering, yet she failed to impressed me. I understand her using sex as a means of escape, yet I did not really see any significant change or growth in her as a character. It was always Asher who pushed things forward for them. He was a strong character, well developed and convincing. He has his own issues and past but managed to overcome them by seeing the real Maggie and allowing her to be herself.
My main problem for me were the other characters and their attitude towards Maggie. At the beginning they were all against her, blaming her for everything. Then suddenly they are act very understanding and supporting. It turns out that they never blamed her or believed the rumours about her. It seems very unrealistic to me. Either she was blind to their true feelings for her, or they were very good at masking them with hate and mistrust.
I found the middle portion of the book the most frustrating. Most of the characters were acting illogical and Maggie kept pushing Asher away, never opening herself to him. I enjoyed the last third of the book, though. Maggie and Asher's relationship was beautifully represented. It started as instalust and gradually they both overcame their pasts and built mutual trust. Things felt natural between them.
Another issue I had with this book was Maggie's relationship with Will. I realise he loved her and was ready to do anything for her. I feel bad for him being left behind. I could not understand, though, if Maggie had feelings for him at some point, or she was just using him. She went back and forth with her attitude towards him and I couldn't figure out how she really felt.
Overall, I can honestly say that it was very difficult for me to evaluate this book. I loved some aspects of it, and I hated others. The story really moved me, it touches on so many important issues, yet I felt they were treated superficially and some of them were left unresolved.
