Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Pretty Broken Girl - Jeana E. Mann

You know that saying never judge a book by a cover? I got interested in this book first because of the cover (recently changed to the rings you see below), then the blurb grabbed my attention. It didn't give much away, in fact there's two versions of it, the one below and the one on Goodreads, but both gave me just enough to make me want to read. Second chance romances, especially with a marriage involved, will always make me interested in reading and I am really glad I picked this one up. Jeana E. Mann was an unknown for me until this book and I can tell you this, I will be picking up book 2 in the series and checking out her others as well.

Rating: 4 Stars
Published: September 2015
eBook provided by Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon Goodreads
A smart, practical girl. A handsome, vengeful man. The passionate retelling of a marriage gone wrong. 
 Dakota Atwell did a terrible thing. She sold her soul to the devil, and the man she loved along with it. Now, by an unexpected twist of fate, he’s back in her life, he’s her boss, and he’s ready to make her pay. When Dakota walked out of his life, she took Samuel Seaforth’s heart with her. 
He’s hollow inside, and she made him that way. A decade later, he’s out to break her. What he doesn’t know is that she’s already broken. From the boardroom to the bedroom, they’re locked in a battle of wits and desire. One of them will break. One of them will pay. Both of them want to win. Neither of them expects to fall in love…again.

Pretty Broken Girl was a very nice surprise, especially since I went into it with no expectations. I found myself really enjoying the characters of Dakota and Samuel, two broken people with a broken marriage and 10 years of silence between them. Jeana E. Mann does a great job of giving you just enough to feel the live chemistry and broken relationship between Sam and Dakota, but not enough to let you really understand it. At first we just see glimpses of Dakota's life now, get a clear idea of Sam's womanizer ways, but overtime as they reconnect as boss and employee we grow to understand who they are apart and the damage Dakota's choice wreaked on both of them. I felt myself feeling for both of them, really sad at how their lives had turned bitter and lonely, even if neither would admit it. I really enjoyed the game they both seem to be playing, especially having Sam show this alpha side of himself, both with no idea of what the outcome would truly be. There's a lot more to the story than just the relationship of Dakota and Sam, though it all is connected. Family and friend relationships were interesting and provided more insight into the past of each character.

While the book was predictable at times, the writing style kept me engaged and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Written in past and present alternating POV's it can seem a bit confusing, especially when a character's POV repeats, but getting inside each head offered a unique look at their relationship. The changing POV brought to light many of the secrets about each character and made the chemistry real. I liked the end of Pretty Broken Girl as well, because it felt final and still left an open door for the sequel, Pretty Filthy Lies. No cliffhanger here! I definitely recommend this to readers looking for a shorter book filled with drama and romance.

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