Title: Beautiful Broken Author: Nazarea Andrews
Series: University of Branton #2
Publisher: A&A Literary
Release Date: September 24, 2013
Genre: New Adult
More Info: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon US
Purchase: Barnes & Noble
Purchase: Amazon UK
She's been broken by her past. He's been breaking for as long as he can remember.
Together, they can make each other whole--or destroy each other.
When his best friend asks for something, Dane rarely says no. But babysitting a newly sober Scout Grimes for three weeks isn't exactly a normal request. And with their history, it's a recipe for disaster. Not to mention, she's drop dead gorgeous and he can't touch her.
There are few people Scout trusts as much as Dane Guillot. He's always been her safe place, where nothing can hurt her. He's also been the only man she's never let herself want--screwing up their friendship isn't worth one amazing night together.
They have too much history, and too much personal baggage to ever work. But if they are willing to take a chance on love--it might be worth the risk.
I’m still, not even breathing, for what feels like a lifetime. When she nods, it’s like everything falls into place. All the pieces of the puzzle that makes up my life – all of them shift just enough that things fit, and the centerpiece is her.
Whew, and with that, we start off with a bang! Beautiful Broken is an apt title for this book, because they characters are oh so broken, but at the core have such beautiful souls. This story was stocked FULL of angst, heart, longing, forgiveness, acceptance, and honesty. It was simply delicious!
She’s asleep in minutes, and I’m left in the dark, holding her. Wondering how I became her safe place, and wondering how the hell I’m going to keep from screwing it up.
I have never read a couple that inspired such trust in each other, in all of us. Dean and Scout are just…… how to put into words? Look up knight in shining armor, and you will find a picture of Dean Guillot. Here is a man who would literally do ANYTHING for this woman, no matter the cost to his safety or sanity, and has time and time again. He is the one constant in her life. Her life full of disappointments, feelings of being unworthy, and general turmoil and avoidance. She has been written off by nearly everyone in her life, but Dean is her one true constant.
“You’re safe – you always have been. You keep the nightmares away.”
The pain radiates off Scout in waves. To everyone else it comes off as being self important, and a user, but Dean sees the truth. He sees it in her, and he sees the likeness in himself. These are two peas in a pod, perfectly made for each other, neither willing to relent and give in to the passion, neither believing they are worth it.
I look at her, clean and healthy, a little weight on her, hair adorable and falling in her face. Eyes clear and questioning as she meets my gaze. This is the girl I fell I love with without trying.
Dean fights the inevitable. Atticus has been his best friend and like a brother for as long as he can remember. The Grimes family took him in when his own worthless parents could care less. Dean carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, guilt from what happened to Scout, to not being able to save his mother and sister. Because of this guilt he pushes everything and everyone away. Women are for sex, not feelings. If you don’t let anyone in, they can’t get hurt, and you aren’t responsible for any choices they make. Once those walls start to come down, the swoon really starts!
“You aren’t the only one with issues, Scout. I’ve got my own to deal with – maybe it’s time you quit deciding what I need and accept that you’re what I want.”
These two fight each other at every turn. It is exhausting, exhilarating, and damn good reading! They come to realizations in their own times, usually not at the SAME time. You will want to throw your e-reader, and then grab it, give it a big hug, and apologize. Nazarea has this beautiful way of writing that allows you to BE THERE with the characters. I could hear the music, feel the angst and heartache, rejoice in the love. I didn’t want for it to end!
I’ve never been held like this – like I am the only thing keeping him from falling completely apart.
What we come to realize, long before Dean or even Scout does, is that she is as much his rock as he is hers. These foundations are what make a strong, lasting relationship. All the elements for success are present, these two hard headed individuals just continue to fight the inevitable.
“Scout. You know what I love about you? I love that you have been through hell and you still fight. You know that you’re broken and you still try. You want to be strong for people even when you don’t realize how strong you are. You’re amazing – I wish I could be as strong as you.”
I ADORED this book and would have happily read a couple hundred/thousand more pages of their story! According to the author, there will be more stories to come, even though this had a clear ending, and I cannot wait. Definite 5 star read for me!!!
“I’m not strong Dane. I’m a mess – a broken, fucked-up mess.” “You’re beautiful broken. I wish I could let you see through my eyes. See how strong you are.”
Read Where it All Began with Book One in the University of Branton Series : This Love
She wants a summer job and a ride to a wedding.
He wants an assistant and a distraction from the mess his life had become.
They didn’t know they needed each other.
Avery Emili needs two grand. Two grand and a plane ticket–her sister is counting on her to get to Jamaica for her wedding. But the semester is over, and tutoring college freshman and high school students has dried up until the fall.
Atticus Grimes needs help–the messy split with his wife left the twenty-eight year old professor scrambling to keep things together as the semester winds down. Now he’s got a research grant he has to actually do research for and all he wants to do is drown himself in a tall bottle of bourbon.
When Avery sees his ad for an assistant, all she’s thinking is a summer job. But as they spend time together, in the office and out, both of them begin to realize something is there. Something that can’t happen–he’s a professor and she’s a student. And both of them have histories, pasts that won’t let go. Can two broken people pulled apart by expectations find a way to be whole?
Buy This Love at Barnes & Noble
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