The Indie Bookshelf: Broken by J. B. McGee

Broken by J. B. McGee
Book #1 of the "This" Trilogy

Review by Angela McLaurin

4 Stars

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Synopsis from Goodreads: Gabby's life has been anything but easy. She is surrounded by friends who seem to have everything she doesn't: money, social standing, and happily married parents. While dealing with the loss of her mother, she experiences her first heartbreak. She commits herself to her studies and runs away from any emotions that aren't safe. Bradley Banks, a confident CEO and commercial architect, who has long time commitment issues forces Gabby to feel again, but will he be her next heartbreak?

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.

My thoughts.....

I loved this book first and foremost because of the setting! I live in South Carolina and Charleston is my absolute favorite place in the world to visit! Reading this story gave me so many wonderful visions of the beautiful streets of Charleston, Folly Beach, and Columbia, where I went to college. J. B. McGee is also from Aiken, which is very close to my home, and it was just fate that I fell upon this story. The setting was described in pristine detail and I commend her for her accuracy and the imagery created through her beautifully woven words.

This book is categorized as a contemporary romance, but to me it was more of a mature YA story. The story was told in alternating third person point of views which took a bit of getting used to as I read. It quickly made sense to me and worked to it's full advantage as the story moved from past to present slowly unfolding Gabby's story with Bradley. The further I read into the book, the more this intentional writing style seemed to simply work for me as a reader.

Gabby was broken, hence the title, and found herself completely captivated by the dashing Bradley. She was young, sure, but I found myself almost being proud of her maturity by the end of the story. Not only did I discover what happened in her past, I also cheered her on for being so strong and unmovable in her character. Bradley was of course handsome and a bit of a bad-boy before he decided to settle down and pursue Gabby. I hope that the next installment will reflect more upon Bradley and his past that led him to where he is now. The secondary characters, who also played a strong supporting role in the story, were described just as well as Gabby and Bradley through looks into the past and snippets of the present.

This was a quick read and will not take you long to sit down and devour. There is some warning though....be ready to dive right into the second book of the story when you finish. J. B. left me dying to find out where the story was heading next! While this was not the typical angst-filled contemporary romance many of us are used to reading, it was a sweet love story that many of us need to feel warm and fuzzy after so much drama from other stories out there.

Be sure to check out the next book in the "This" series, Mending.

I immediately picked it up and dove right in! I have to say that I think I am loving it even more than Broken. This series just keeps getting better!