Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Review and Giveaway: A Little Broken by Juli Valenti

Jessie Braden thought she had it all. A husband, a new baby – her life was on course, exactly what she always wanted…Until one day, she loses everything.

Ruined and broken, she’s left alone to pick up the pieces of her life. Unable to cope, she spontaneously packs up and moves across the country, hoping that new scenery will help.

Once in sunny Florida, she finds an apartment and a job but while Jessie is surviving, she isn’t living…until one night she meets someone. Dominick.

Desperate for an escape from the pain of her memories, she relents to his unerring determination and agrees to spend time with him.

Through his patience and understanding, she will learn that she’s not ruined…she’s just a little broken.




4 Star Review by Jen Hagen


The life that Jessie is proud to live has changed within a matter of heartbeats.  Her husband is no longer able to support her during this immensely troubling time, both in terms of finances and as well as emotionally.  Jessie decides she needs to move away from the nightmare that she has found herself living.  Maybe moving away from her reality will make a positive change for her.  Jessie embarks on a journey that takes to her a new state, attempts to escape the dreams that haunt her, and in turn finds there is hope in having a second chance at happiness.

Dominick is her new-found source of happiness.  Dominick didn’t have an easy time in his relentless pursuit of convincing Jessie to go on a date with him.  Jessie is very closed off and doesn’t allow anybody to see beyond the shell of the body she inhabits.  Nobody knows the truth as to why Jessie ran so far from her family that she couldn’t bear to face because of the guilt.  Dominick gives Jessie the feeling of being alive again and living in the moment, escaping the pain that haunts her. 
 

This was where she belonged…where she didn’t feel so lost and alone.  With Dominick, she didn’t feel quite so ruined. 
 
Jessie is able to trust Dominick, but she still can’t tell him the reason behind her pain.  Dominick is very patient with Jessie, never pushing her to speak about her past.  Jessie also has an enormous fear of waking up to find Dominick will be gone.   However, after several episodes of Jessie shaking Dominick awake to make certain he is still alive, he begins to question if he is strong enough to be what Jessie needs as she struggles to move away from the despair of her past.   

“You said you’re ruined.  You’re not ruined Jessie…you’re just a little broken.”
 
Jessie’s pride gets in her way of accepting Dominick’s words of advice in helping her deal with the past.  Jessie returns to her old ways of living in the darkness and mourning the loss of what she had.   Once she finds her way out of the dark and into the light that is Dominick, will he still be there for her?
 
This was a read that invoked many emotions. I was extremely saddened by the loss that Jessie had to endure, but was enlightened by the outpouring of love that Dominick gave to her and how she was able to discover that she could be deserving of happiness and love again.  Dominick is a very sweet man and he gave the story so much depth with his patience, support, and declarations of love.  

“I’ll always catch you, Jessie.  I’ll be where ever you are, please know that. I love you.”

 
 





Barnes and Noble

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No comments:

Post a Comment

How to Configure Numbered Page Navigation After installing, you might want to change these default settings: