Broken Down, from Amanda K. Byrne (Hidden Scars #2)

Hi, there! Welcome to the first official review of the day! I’m hoping to write more than my two schedule, that’s why I say “official”. I’m here to talk about Broken Down, second book in the Hidden Scars series, from Amanda K. Byrne! I’ve received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review from Xpresso Book Tours. Thanks again, guys! Let’s do it!

from my Instagram!

Shane knows that Krista sent him on his way all those months ago for a reason. He was a jerky during their relationship – if one can call what they had a relationship at all. Shane was too weak to fight for what he wanted with Krista then.

Not anymore. Not after Eric.

Shane won’t stand losing Krista too. He wants her, he needs her in order to keep breathing. And he knows she won’t refuse to at least help him, so he takes a long shot and appears on her doorstep, in the middle of the night…

.Krista broke up with Shane for a reason. Ok, several reasons, but still: they were just fuck buddies and she fell for him. The rules were simple and she broke then. She had to walk away in order to keep sane. She refuses to allow anyone else to break her again.

Not anymore. Not after Riley and her break down.

Krista is doing her best to move on with her new career and life in Portland, far away from the temptations of Los Angeles. Away from Shane. She just didn’t count that the one thing she couldn’t have would appear on her door… Just like he always did.

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

Broken Down is a very well-written book. At first, I was afraid this would be one of those romances full of meaningless porn-like sex with ridiculous existential doubts.

And then I read page one and was hooked.

I fell deeply in love with both Shane and Krista, they were wonderful protagonists and managed to not irritate me at all! They screw up for sure, but they were so real, their situation so down to earth that my heart was always filled with emotion during the read. I won’t lie, there were some parts in that I couldn’t believe what I was reading and how much of an ass Shane was, but even then, I also could understand a little his side. I didn’t let go of Broken Down until it ended and it is with the deepest pleasure that I announce it a five stars book! ❤

The narrative style is third person, with switching points of view between Shane and Krista. I loved how Byrne manages to insert us deep within the characters minds without using the first person narrator, IT IS BLACK MAGIC!! =O

This is my favorite narrative style and Byrne’s writing was so powerful and beautiful that I wanted to hug her several times during this book. Also, there were lots of funny moments to harmonize all the drama that James and Krista are going through.

The plot was complex on a simple way, as both Shane and Krista had many pending problems and secrets that they kept from each other. They had to basically come clean and start their relationship over in order to be together and this is so much more easier said than done. Also, there are a couple of twists that simply blew my mind up!

The characters were just awesome. As I said, I fell in love with Krista and Shane and found myself pinning for them to be together all the time – I usually don’t fangirl about heterosexual couples, which proves the black magic use on Byrne’s part, haha! Shane only didn’t make it to My Bookish Boyfriends list because his behavior is not quite my style. I prefer my men more open and gentlemen like, haha!

Also, all characters were so real. Their struggles, funny quotes, how they deal with problems… EVERYTHING! I loved it ❤ I’m tempted to give a go to the first book (Hidden Scars) and see how Sara and Taylor really met and got together, as she is the PERFECT best friend, haha! Let’s see if I have an opportunity to read it some time 🙂

One of the strongest points on Broken Down was how Byrne handled abortion. One of the characters chose to have one and lose her incoming child and defended her choice as the correct one until the end. Given that:

• her brother was in a coma due to heroin use;
• her parents didn’t give a crap for what happened to her brother;
• her work had given her a nervous breakdown and she had to quit;
• she was taking anxiety meds;
• and, most importantly, she had dumped the father of the child before acknowledging the pregnancy (which was result of a bad condom incident) and thought they would never meet again;

I say I’m with her on that. And when the said former boyfriend asked if he didn’t have a say in the abortion, she’s absolute: no, he hadn’t! It was her body, it was her problem! They weren’t together anymore, her life was a mess and both her mind and body couldn’t afford to bring a child to this world. She would have never forgiven herself if she hadn’t stopped the pregnancy. This is such a delicate matter and Byrne just slayed it like a queen. I am so proud of her!

I am most pleased to say that there are three sex scenes in the book and each one important for a reason. No frantic bodies every two pages, no hours reading porn on the reader’s end, not any of the things that usually makes me avoid contemporary romance 😀 And, to be honest, the scenes are very hot, filled with emotion, passion, unspoken and spoken love and vulgarity free!

And can we take a moment to appreciate this cover? It’s not my usual cup of tea, but I liked it! It totally matches the mood of the book *–*

Overall, if you love well-written books, romance, down to earth characters that could live up on your street and be your neighbors, strong females and grumpy rock stars, Broken Down will be the book of your lifetime!

Thanks for reading my review! Bellow, you can check where to grab your copy of Broken Down (its official release date is tomorrow), info on Amanda K. Byrne and details about a juicy giveaway!

For now, Broken Down is only available in ebook format at our usual book buying places. I’ll double check tomorrow and update this post if something changes 🙂

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

When she’s not plotting ways to sneak her latest shoe purchase past her partner, Amanda writes sexy, snarky romance and urban fantasy. She likes her heroines smart and unafraid to make mistakes, and her heroes strong enough to take them on.

If she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking hot chocolate, and trying not to destroy her house with her newest DIY project. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and no, it really doesn’t rain that much.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

AND WE HAVE AN INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY!

Two lucky winners will take home each a $25 gift card of the store of their preferences! *–*

To join me on this shot, just click here and good luck: GIVEAWAY!

That’s it, thanks so much for reading it all! And thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for my review copy and for sparing a place for me on the book tour!