Unbroken by Maisey Yates
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Silver Creek #3
Publication Date: August 5th 2014
ISBN: 9780425273692
Page Count: 320
Rating: ★★★★
Review Copy: ARC
Reviewed by: Lynsey
Synopsis: In the latest Silver Creek romance from USA Today bestselling author Maisey Yates, former rodeo star Cade Mitchell may never ride again, but there are still a few things he can do—like care for the woman he loves.
Amber Johnson has always thought of her best friend Cade as an older brother. A really hot older brother. But growing up in foster care, she learned to rely only on herself. As much as she likes stealing glances at Cade’s chiseled jaw and painted-on jeans, she resents the way he swoops in like a superhero to fix things for her.
When former rodeo rival Jim Davis starts harassing Amber to sell her grandfather’s failing ranch, Cade swoops in once again. To send Jim on his way, Cade pretends to be Amber’s boyfriend, moving in to help fix the place up. With her grandfather behind the idea, Amber and Cade have to keep the charade going—whether she likes it or not.
But as their make-believe romance starts to heat up, maybe Cade and Amber will learn to admit that they both could use a little saving…
REVIEW
When you read a lot of romance as I do, you start to notice the really commonly-used tropes within the genre - some of which you grow to love, others you learn to avoid at all costs (for me, the latter is anything with the words 'billionaire', 'playboy' or 'rockstar,' in case you were wondering). In the case of Unbroken, we actually have two of my favourites! Friends-to-lovers, and the great relationship ruse (you know, where they need to pretend to be together for whatever reason, then the pretending starts to feel very real). You could also possibly add to this list the 'scarred and broken hero'. Although perhaps not technically a trope in its own right, its a very, VERY common feature in many romances.
Cade, our hero, was badly injured in a rodeo "accident" a few years back and walks with a limp. He's still struggling to come to terms with his broken body and hasn't quite gotten there yet. Cade's BFF since childhood, Amber, is not without her own baggage, either. She was a foster kid and was bounced around from place to place as a child and teen and has never felt wanted or accepted anywhere. This led to her making a lot of poor romantic choices as a younger girl - letting men use her body but without understanding how to form any kind of emotional attachment to them - and so now she's sworn off all men. Well, except for best friend Cade, of course. He's different, and has never treated her the way the other boys did - Awww!
So as you can see, we're all set up nicely for a friends to lovers epiphany *lightbulb!*. It's just a matter of waiting for them to see what's been in front of them the whole time!
Overall, I enjoyed the romance in Unbroken. It was sweet, sexy and had a great set up with them having to pretend to already be together. The only thing I might have liked better would have been if either of have them would have realised they weren't just "scratching an itch" a little sooner. Instead, it seemed like the author tried to fit a whole book's worth if gushy romancey talk into the last few pages. It was a bit too toooo sugary.
Great fun read - 4 Stars ★★★★
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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