Broken: Lauren Layne

Blurb:

When Olivia Middleton abandons the glamour of Park Avenue for a remote, coastal town in Maine, everyone assumes she’s being the kind do-gooder she’s always been. But Olivia has a secret: helping an injured war veteran reenter society isn’t about charity—it’s about penance. Only, Olivia’s client isn’t the grateful elderly man she’s expecting. Instead, he’s a brooding twenty-four-year-old who has no intention of being Olivia’s path to redemption . . . and whose smoldering gaze and forbidden touch might be her undoing.

Paul Langdon doesn’t need a mirror to show him he’s no longer the hotshot quarterback he was before the war. He knows he’s ugly—inside and out. He’ll do anything to stay in self-imposed exile, even accept his father’s ultimatum that Paul tolerate the newest caretaker for three months or lose his inheritance. But Paul doesn’t count on the beautiful twenty-two-year-old who makes him long for things that he can never have. And the more she slips past his defenses, the more keeping his distance is impossible.

Now Paul and Olivia have to decide: Will they help each other heal? Or are they forever broken?

Review:  3 Stars

It's not an easy feat to take a cheater (from one book in the series) and make them the heroine in the next book.  Although Olivia exceeded my expectations with her maturity in Isn't She Lovely, I was a bit nervous about whether I would like her in Broken.  Kudos to the author for crossing that hurdle and, in my opinion, being successful with creating a likeable character who could have easily been a cliche of a snobby socialite.  

Unfortunately, this book was not as enjoyable for me as the previous one in the series.  There's only so much abuse (from Paul) and watching Olivia be a doormat that I can take.  I prefer female main characters who don't put up with any shit.  I'm also not good at forgiving ass-aholic behaviour, regardless of the underlying reasons for it.  So, Paul just didn't float my boat.   Taking a bit of a break from the series, but I do plan to return to read Michael's story.