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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Wow - just wow. Nicole Dykes you broke my heart numerous times and slowly but surely and with emotion interactions between all the characters you put me back together again. Anyone that has gone through a tragedy needs to read this book. HOPE the world needs more HOPE.
(ARC review)
Another interesting MM book by this author and I loved all of them!!
I generally like books with dual POV because I love to see the inside of both protagonists, the particular mental process and growth of each one. What they feel, how they are affected by the attitudes of the other and how they solve their own possible traumas or problems, until they converge and can move forward and establish a relationship, and this book is a good example of that. Although they begin to heal by leaning on each other, both, each in their own way, realize that they have the strength to stand up and face their own demons.
Perhaps I would have liked a little more "drama" or "angst" when each had to face their previous partners, but that is more my own taste and not a flaw in the book.
I liked the dynamic with the rest of the characters and I look forward to Roman's book!!
Another interesting MM book by this author and I loved all of them!!
I generally like books with dual POV because I love to see the inside of both protagonists, the particular mental process and growth of each one. What they feel, how they are affected by the attitudes of the other and how they solve their own possible traumas or problems, until they converge and can move forward and establish a relationship, and this book is a good example of that. Although they begin to heal by leaning on each other, both, each in their own way, realize that they have the strength to stand up and face their own demons.
Perhaps I would have liked a little more "drama" or "angst" when each had to face their previous partners, but that is more my own taste and not a flaw in the book.
I liked the dynamic with the rest of the characters and I look forward to Roman's book!!
[I received a digital arc for an honest review]
Bruised But Not Broken by Nicole Dykes is the first book in her new Spark of Hope series. Ben Price lives to keep his gym going and maintain his small circle of family and friends. He has no time for bi-weekly trauma therapy sessions or for the broken man who shows up asking for a job. Colby has finally walked away from his life of privilege at the cost of his safety and emotional well-being. He didn't realize asking for a job at the gym would find him everything he was missing. Both men are hesitant to trust what’s developing between them and ask themselves if they’re willing to put the past behind and work towards a better future together.
Ben has lived through trauma and found his sanctuary in building his gym up. He manages a few close relationships but keeps strangers at arm’s length. Colby manages to get Ben’s attention in a way he’s never experienced and his urge to protect the broken man is so strong he can’t resist. Ben never explored his sexuality outside of his relationship with Summer so when he has such a strong physical reaction to Colby he wants more.
I can’t help the protectiveness I feel over Colby, but it doesn’t matter. It’s settled deep in my bones, and I don’t want anyone – not even my brother – to hurt him.
Colby struggles to see himself as a brave person because it took him so long to walk away. He’s fed up and exhausted by the time he meets Ben. He can’t help but fall for Ben as he feels a sense of security he hasn’t in so long. He doesn’t trust his feelings at first though because of Ben’s sexual identity and doesn’t want to just be an experiment. He’s looking for a partner he can trust, not just a bed partner looking for release. Once he allows himself to be open with Ben emotionally their physical relationship blossoms. Along the way he also finds himself inducted into Ben’s family of Roman and Andrew and becoming friends with Ethan at the gym.
“What do you want, Colby? I’ll give you anything you want.”
“You.” He looks at me with total trust, and I’m a goner.
The author took on a difficult subject of trauma in a variety of forms and did it respectfully. While trauma played a significant role in the story the reader also gets to enjoy watching the romantic relationship develop between Ben and Colby. Their intimate scenes were hot while still sweet which is exactly what you wanted for both men who had been hurt in the past. I look forward to seeing the others find their HEA and work through their own pasts towards a happier future.
4 stars for Colby and Ben breaking down their past traumas towards a bright future.
Bruised But Not Broken by Nicole Dykes is the first book in her new Spark of Hope series. Ben Price lives to keep his gym going and maintain his small circle of family and friends. He has no time for bi-weekly trauma therapy sessions or for the broken man who shows up asking for a job. Colby has finally walked away from his life of privilege at the cost of his safety and emotional well-being. He didn't realize asking for a job at the gym would find him everything he was missing. Both men are hesitant to trust what’s developing between them and ask themselves if they’re willing to put the past behind and work towards a better future together.
Ben has lived through trauma and found his sanctuary in building his gym up. He manages a few close relationships but keeps strangers at arm’s length. Colby manages to get Ben’s attention in a way he’s never experienced and his urge to protect the broken man is so strong he can’t resist. Ben never explored his sexuality outside of his relationship with Summer so when he has such a strong physical reaction to Colby he wants more.
I can’t help the protectiveness I feel over Colby, but it doesn’t matter. It’s settled deep in my bones, and I don’t want anyone – not even my brother – to hurt him.
Colby struggles to see himself as a brave person because it took him so long to walk away. He’s fed up and exhausted by the time he meets Ben. He can’t help but fall for Ben as he feels a sense of security he hasn’t in so long. He doesn’t trust his feelings at first though because of Ben’s sexual identity and doesn’t want to just be an experiment. He’s looking for a partner he can trust, not just a bed partner looking for release. Once he allows himself to be open with Ben emotionally their physical relationship blossoms. Along the way he also finds himself inducted into Ben’s family of Roman and Andrew and becoming friends with Ethan at the gym.
“What do you want, Colby? I’ll give you anything you want.”
“You.” He looks at me with total trust, and I’m a goner.
The author took on a difficult subject of trauma in a variety of forms and did it respectfully. While trauma played a significant role in the story the reader also gets to enjoy watching the romantic relationship develop between Ben and Colby. Their intimate scenes were hot while still sweet which is exactly what you wanted for both men who had been hurt in the past. I look forward to seeing the others find their HEA and work through their own pasts towards a happier future.
4 stars for Colby and Ben breaking down their past traumas towards a bright future.
3.75 stars
“I’m worried I can’t make you happy.” […] “I’ve never known happiness until you. Please know that. Please.”
I enjoyed this book so much. This was so much fun to read and a lot of the plots in this book appealed to things I absolutely love in books. So much in this book just really worked for me and I had a good time reading this one. This was a really good reading experience for me.
Brief Summary
Ben just divorced his ex-wife of 10 years. He is wallowing and not really enjoying his life. Colby just left a very abusive relationship, and he feels all alone in the world. They meet each other and they fall in love.
I absolutely adored Colby. When we first meet him, he is super lost, and he is bruised and scared because of the abusive relationship he’s in. He had such a fighting spirit, and he was such a lovely character. I just loved reading about him and seeing him find love, comfort, and peace. It was everything he wanted, and I was so glad that he got it. Colby was such a wonderful character to me. I love reading about trauma and characters who have trauma and I really liked reading about Colby’s and I liked knowing more about him and his life. He was just a wonderful character to read about and I loved him very much.
I loved the relationship in this one. I loved how nice to Colby Ben was. I loved how Ben just wanted to take care of Colby. I really liked how they had to learn to know each other and adjust to the other and what the other wanted. I really liked how they had relationship struggles and they had to work their way through them. I really liked how this book was done. Both of these characters had their trauma and their issues, and they both had things about the other that they didn’t really like, or that didn’t align with what they wanted in life. I really enjoyed how a lot of the book was about them growing as human beings and seeing how they can be good for each other.
I really liked the getting to know each other parts of this book. It was super fun to read about them being friends and to read about what their lives are like. I really liked to see how they behaved together and how they acted around each other. They always were open with each other and honest and I really enjoyed that. I really liked how Colby had his worries about the relationship and how Ben proved him wrong at every turn. I really loved the part of the book where they started dating. It was so swoony and they were always fantasizing about each other and saying cute things about each other. It was so sweet and I loved it, very much.
I really enjoyed how Colby’s trauma was shown in the book. I liked how it was an ever-present thing and how it affected everything that he did and thought. That just really worked for me. I also really enjoyed how Ben’s trauma was shown. It felt so realistic in a way that I haven’t read often in books, and I really enjoyed that.
I really loved how the hurt/comfort was done in this book. There was so much of it in this book, and I loved it so much. I loved how they were always taking care of each other. I loved how they always listened to each other and reassured each other when it was needed.
As much as I enjoyed the trauma in this book and how it was done. I did think that the pacing of everything didn’t necessarily work with the characters, sometimes events felt like they just happened too fast, for me.
This book made me cry so much. I was just such a mess while reading this book and I really enjoyed that. This one made me so emotional, and I really welcome that.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the start of this book. It felt a little jarring to me, and I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ben as a character. Once I got more into the book, I really started loving the book and really appreciating it, but the start of this one just wasn’t my favourite. Ben is really closed off and set in his ways. He also has a lot of prejudices about the world and how things work. A lot of the book is about him growing as a human being and realizing why he had those views and challenging them. Which I really enjoyed, but I did think that the start of the book was a little jarring to read.
One other thing, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the pacing in this book. There were so many scenes I just absolutely adored, and I was a big fan of, but then they were cut by other scenes that didn’t feel as relevant to the plot and those scenes lost me a little.
I had a good time reading this book. It was a super sweet and emotional experience, one that I really enjoyed.
I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest opinion
“I’m worried I can’t make you happy.” […] “I’ve never known happiness until you. Please know that. Please.”
I enjoyed this book so much. This was so much fun to read and a lot of the plots in this book appealed to things I absolutely love in books. So much in this book just really worked for me and I had a good time reading this one. This was a really good reading experience for me.
Brief Summary
Ben just divorced his ex-wife of 10 years. He is wallowing and not really enjoying his life. Colby just left a very abusive relationship, and he feels all alone in the world. They meet each other and they fall in love.
I absolutely adored Colby. When we first meet him, he is super lost, and he is bruised and scared because of the abusive relationship he’s in. He had such a fighting spirit, and he was such a lovely character. I just loved reading about him and seeing him find love, comfort, and peace. It was everything he wanted, and I was so glad that he got it. Colby was such a wonderful character to me. I love reading about trauma and characters who have trauma and I really liked reading about Colby’s and I liked knowing more about him and his life. He was just a wonderful character to read about and I loved him very much.
I loved the relationship in this one. I loved how nice to Colby Ben was. I loved how Ben just wanted to take care of Colby. I really liked how they had to learn to know each other and adjust to the other and what the other wanted. I really liked how they had relationship struggles and they had to work their way through them. I really liked how this book was done. Both of these characters had their trauma and their issues, and they both had things about the other that they didn’t really like, or that didn’t align with what they wanted in life. I really enjoyed how a lot of the book was about them growing as human beings and seeing how they can be good for each other.
I really liked the getting to know each other parts of this book. It was super fun to read about them being friends and to read about what their lives are like. I really liked to see how they behaved together and how they acted around each other. They always were open with each other and honest and I really enjoyed that. I really liked how Colby had his worries about the relationship and how Ben proved him wrong at every turn. I really loved the part of the book where they started dating. It was so swoony and they were always fantasizing about each other and saying cute things about each other. It was so sweet and I loved it, very much.
I really enjoyed how Colby’s trauma was shown in the book. I liked how it was an ever-present thing and how it affected everything that he did and thought. That just really worked for me. I also really enjoyed how Ben’s trauma was shown. It felt so realistic in a way that I haven’t read often in books, and I really enjoyed that.
I really loved how the hurt/comfort was done in this book. There was so much of it in this book, and I loved it so much. I loved how they were always taking care of each other. I loved how they always listened to each other and reassured each other when it was needed.
As much as I enjoyed the trauma in this book and how it was done. I did think that the pacing of everything didn’t necessarily work with the characters, sometimes events felt like they just happened too fast, for me.
This book made me cry so much. I was just such a mess while reading this book and I really enjoyed that. This one made me so emotional, and I really welcome that.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the start of this book. It felt a little jarring to me, and I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ben as a character. Once I got more into the book, I really started loving the book and really appreciating it, but the start of this one just wasn’t my favourite. Ben is really closed off and set in his ways. He also has a lot of prejudices about the world and how things work. A lot of the book is about him growing as a human being and realizing why he had those views and challenging them. Which I really enjoyed, but I did think that the start of the book was a little jarring to read.
One other thing, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the pacing in this book. There were so many scenes I just absolutely adored, and I was a big fan of, but then they were cut by other scenes that didn’t feel as relevant to the plot and those scenes lost me a little.
I had a good time reading this book. It was a super sweet and emotional experience, one that I really enjoyed.
I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest opinion
I wasn't sure what to expect with this one but I actually found myself liking it a lot! I thought the story was very hopeful and I thought Ben & Colby had a lot of chemistry together. I was happy to see them both work through their own traumas too.
“I’ve never known happiness until you. Please know that. Please.” I kiss his lips softly. “Please,” I say again like a prayer because he has to know.
“I’ve never known happiness until you. Please know that. Please.” I kiss his lips softly. “Please,” I say again like a prayer because he has to know.
love is love
No one writes broken people and healing hearts quite the way ND does.
Superhero Ben & sweet, sad Colby were just too cute for words honestly.
This might have been an M/M romance, but the focus wasn’t on that, even with one of them being with women only before. It was just a matter of the heart, and not the skin they were in, and I loved it so much.
No one writes broken people and healing hearts quite the way ND does.
Superhero Ben & sweet, sad Colby were just too cute for words honestly.
This might have been an M/M romance, but the focus wasn’t on that, even with one of them being with women only before. It was just a matter of the heart, and not the skin they were in, and I loved it so much.
Bruised But Not Broken is the start of new series. As we all know we can expect all the emotions with a story by Nicole Dykes and this was no exception.
Trauma can come about in so many different ways I love the idea of the support groups. While not everyone was a fan in this story that's just true to life. I loved Ben and Colby together and how they progressed through the story. I also can't wait for more from all of these characters!
Trauma can come about in so many different ways I love the idea of the support groups. While not everyone was a fan in this story that's just true to life. I loved Ben and Colby together and how they progressed through the story. I also can't wait for more from all of these characters!
"He's not broken. Maybe he's a little bruised up like the rest of us, but he's far from shattered."
This book illuminates how trauma comes in many forms. It could stem from abuse or an accident. It could come from a close call. It could even be from something you witnessed happen to someone else entirely. There's no rulebook for what is deemed traumatic. What might be for some, isn't for others. Nicole Dykes handled this topic with the care it deserves, while also telling us a beautiful love story brought on by healing and friendship.
Ben is a savior. He's also one of the kindest MCs I've ever read. His empathy is strong, so strong that sometimes he takes too much onto himself. Not everyone wants to be saved. Others just want to be the one to save themselves. That's Colby. At the start he feels leery of Ben's kindness. After getting to know Ben more, Colby's leeriness turns into feeling unworthiness. How could someone like him deserve a man like Ben in his corner?
As Ben and Colby get closer, Colbys self esteem gets higher. Their friendship grows everyday and they share things with each other they've never told anyone else. Slowly but surely the healing begins. Then the romance does. It was definitely a slow burn steam wise, but that was important for this book. Colby needed to learn to love himself, to trust himself. Ben needed to let Colby thrive on his own. When they finally got together, both were surprised with how easy it was. They slotted perfectly with each other and I think that's truly because the friendship and trust came first. It didn't matter that Ben had never been with anyone but his ex wife. Colby made him happy, that's all that mattered. Somehow, he made Colby happy too and I just loved how it all played out.
We get a little teaser for the next book and I have to say I can't wait. Roman was such a funny side character. I loved how he liked to bust Ben's chops all the time. I'm hoping Andrew and Ethan get their own books too. So many likeable side characters. Never a bad problem to have!
This book illuminates how trauma comes in many forms. It could stem from abuse or an accident. It could come from a close call. It could even be from something you witnessed happen to someone else entirely. There's no rulebook for what is deemed traumatic. What might be for some, isn't for others. Nicole Dykes handled this topic with the care it deserves, while also telling us a beautiful love story brought on by healing and friendship.
Ben is a savior. He's also one of the kindest MCs I've ever read. His empathy is strong, so strong that sometimes he takes too much onto himself. Not everyone wants to be saved. Others just want to be the one to save themselves. That's Colby. At the start he feels leery of Ben's kindness. After getting to know Ben more, Colby's leeriness turns into feeling unworthiness. How could someone like him deserve a man like Ben in his corner?
As Ben and Colby get closer, Colbys self esteem gets higher. Their friendship grows everyday and they share things with each other they've never told anyone else. Slowly but surely the healing begins. Then the romance does. It was definitely a slow burn steam wise, but that was important for this book. Colby needed to learn to love himself, to trust himself. Ben needed to let Colby thrive on his own. When they finally got together, both were surprised with how easy it was. They slotted perfectly with each other and I think that's truly because the friendship and trust came first. It didn't matter that Ben had never been with anyone but his ex wife. Colby made him happy, that's all that mattered. Somehow, he made Colby happy too and I just loved how it all played out.
We get a little teaser for the next book and I have to say I can't wait. Roman was such a funny side character. I loved how he liked to bust Ben's chops all the time. I'm hoping Andrew and Ethan get their own books too. So many likeable side characters. Never a bad problem to have!
Title - Bruised But Not Broken (Spark Of Hope #1)
Author - Nicole Dykes
Genre - MM Romance
Published - May 2022
Pages - 239 Pages
Ben owns and runs a gym when his brother and his best friend decide to set up a trauma support group, they ask Ben to host it at his gym, and Ben caves and agrees. Ben has always tried to rescue the people in his life, but he's never managed to though. He swears that with this support group he won't fall back into old habits. That is until Colby walks in. He's bruised but not broken.
Colby's running from an abusive relationship, he's had his whole life being told he's no good. He's pretty but that's about it. He has no life skills, when he walks into a gym looking for a job, he has no idea just how much his life is about to change.
First of all, I'd like to say this book touches on topics of therapy and I personally feel this was handled with respect and grace. I felt it was done really well. I found the characters to be well written, with great character development. I liked the characters and found them to be relatable.
I enjoyed the plot, I found it to be sweet and endearing. It was also very moving and heartfelt. I enjoy this author's writing style, I found the pace of the book to be really good. I felt it flowed well, was well written, and was easy to follow and it kept me hooked throughout.
This is the second book I've read by this author now and I must say I have become a huge fan.
Author - Nicole Dykes
Genre - MM Romance
Published - May 2022
Pages - 239 Pages
Ben owns and runs a gym when his brother and his best friend decide to set up a trauma support group, they ask Ben to host it at his gym, and Ben caves and agrees. Ben has always tried to rescue the people in his life, but he's never managed to though. He swears that with this support group he won't fall back into old habits. That is until Colby walks in. He's bruised but not broken.
Colby's running from an abusive relationship, he's had his whole life being told he's no good. He's pretty but that's about it. He has no life skills, when he walks into a gym looking for a job, he has no idea just how much his life is about to change.
First of all, I'd like to say this book touches on topics of therapy and I personally feel this was handled with respect and grace. I felt it was done really well. I found the characters to be well written, with great character development. I liked the characters and found them to be relatable.
I enjoyed the plot, I found it to be sweet and endearing. It was also very moving and heartfelt. I enjoy this author's writing style, I found the pace of the book to be really good. I felt it flowed well, was well written, and was easy to follow and it kept me hooked throughout.
This is the second book I've read by this author now and I must say I have become a huge fan.
Bruised But Not Broken
Ben and Cole are so freaking adorable. Ben has a heart of gold and wants to protect anyone that's in any kind of trouble. That need to protect led him to taking a chance in hiring a guy in need of a job, and also giving him a place to stay. They became friends which led to a romantic relationship
Ben and Cole are so freaking adorable. Ben has a heart of gold and wants to protect anyone that's in any kind of trouble. That need to protect led him to taking a chance in hiring a guy in need of a job, and also giving him a place to stay. They became friends which led to a romantic relationship