Jamie's Book Blog

Great Story About Second Chances!!!

Unbroken is the aptly named story of two broken people trying to pick up the pieces, to find what they had once thought was lost forever and about allowing yourself the right to love others along with giving someone else the chance to love you back. It's about lost love, that one true great love of your life that no others can compare to, wounded hearts and taking that one risk that's so far in the back of your mind that you're not even fully aware that it's there until you're pulling into Beachwood Bay after four long years. Juliet and Emerson met the summer before Juliet is going off to college. Her mom drags her to the small seaside town in order for their family to have one last summer together. Juliet's family is dysfunctional at best. Her dad is an alcoholic and professor wannabe who spends most of his time hanging with his rich sophisticated crowd, trying to keep up and spending money that he doesn't have. He's written one book years ago which he likes to talk about and is always telling people about his "new book" which he will never actually write. Juliet's mom is starved for affection which she never gets from her husband and when he does notice her it's to make fun of her while pretending to be joking. Juliet's sister cares only about bagging that rich husband and hanging out with her friends so Juliet isn't particularly thrilled to spend the whole summer with them but this will be the last summer before she's free to go to art school and start her new life over. On the way up they get into a minor accident and Emerson enters the picture.

"I'm Emerson",' he calls. Then he smiles, a flash of something true and reckless, so darkly beautiful I feel my heart stop all over again. This is what they write stories about, I realize, as if from far away. All those books and movies and poems I've read, this is what they all were preparing me for, the day when a strange man smiles at me, and makes me forget who I am.

Emerson has had an even harder time than Juliet. His dad ran out on them when he was young and his mom has battled with addiction for years leaving Emerson to practically raise his younger brother and sister. Eventually his mom just altogether abandons them and Emerson who wants nothing more than to get away from Beachwood Bay and to start his own life is stuck working several jobs to raise his siblings. He's damaged, he's his mother's son and eventually after hearing the whispers behind his back from those who live in his small town he starts to believe that he's no good, worthless and quits fighting to prove them wrong. So he drinks, he fights and he has a lot of sex but then one day a chance encounter out of the blue he meets Juliet and for once he starts to believe that maybe he is worthy, a good person after all. The two of them share their love during that summer and make plans together. They belong to one another and nothing can tear them apart and they live happily ever after. At least that was how it was meant to go but then tragedy strikes and on the worst day of Juliet's life their fledgling love is over.

Four years later Juliet is trying to pick up the pieces, to get on with her life. She's almost finished with college: she's an accountant now and has a nice, safe and wonderful boyfriend but she has to go back to Beachwood Bay to take care of some business but once there can she deny the love and attraction she's always had for Emerson. Does she even want to? Does she dare to take another chance on the man who broke her heart after all she's got a nice boyfriend, a good life planned out but deep down there's only ever been one person for her and she's never been able to move on no matter how much she tries to convince herself that she has.

Because I realize now, that's the way it works. That if you're lucky, you might get to fall in love so hard and so deep, that it changes you. That love seeps its way into every atom and molecule in your whole being, so that even if it's over, or the two of you are forced apart, you'll always carry the imprint of their soul with you, steady as a heartbeat. Forever. But you have to decide: give yourself up and surrender to a force far greater than you will ever understand, or turn and walk away-live the rest of your days safe on dray land, knowing that when it mattered most of all, you weren't brave enough to risk it. You weren't brave enough to love.

This was a great story of love and second chances. Juliet and Emerson were both passionate and you can't help but feel their mutual love and attraction as you read each page. The side characters are all great additions that enhance the storyline. It was well written, had just the right mixture of angst and love, hope and despair along with some nice sexy scenes. I had a blast reading this book! Emerson and Juliet make a great couple and after you get over wanting to slap some sense into each of them you can't help but cheer them along as they rediscover the meaning of true love. I highly recommend this book along with the rest of the Beachwood Bay series. Each book works well as a stand alone novel, they're light, easy to read and just all around fun. Take a trip to Beachwood Bay, kick back, put your feet in the water and take a chance on finding love.....again!