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A review by xobooktrovert
Beautiful Broken Mess by Kimberly Lauren
4.0
Before I jump into this review, I have a confession to make: I could not finish the audiobook due to the narrator. I am pretty sure that it is the same woman who narrated [b:Beautiful Broken Rules|24954150|Beautiful Broken Rules (Broken #1)|Kimberly Lauren|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438610530l/24954150._SX50_.jpg|24802085]. The one that ruined my reading experience for the first book. Maybe I am too harsh, but her voice acting is really distracting. Not only did all her men sound like old Cajun women with laryngitis, but Audrey sounded like she really needed to spit. My hair is standing on end just thinking about listening to this audiobook with earbuds; the stringy-saliva sound was amplified. And for the ones that read my BBR review, Em's voice was still equivalent to nails on a chalkboard. I really don't recommend opting for the audio with this one guys. I quit listening about a third of the way in, and I didn't regret it at all.
Audrey Mills got a character makeover in this installment. The once bratty, wannabe home-wrecker has a difficult past. Who would have thought it? She tells us about her terribly abusive parents and wanting to escape immediately after her high school graduation. She was just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel when she met the Riley brothers.
Jace Riley had never been drawn to a girl in his life. After his father's passing, he had been too consumed by keeping his twin brother tamed than to try to start courting some girl. Yet Audrey was different. After he knocked her down on the street, he took her for coffee and invited her to Cole's party. He was prepared to take the leap of faith with this girl. It all gets shattered when he walks into the party to find Audrey kissing his brother Jaxon. But that is just the beginning of their story.
Audrey managed to escape after graduation just like she had planned. What she hadn't planned was wrecking her relationship with the Riley brothers - especially Jace. She is now in grad school and conveniently, or inconveniently, at the same school as them. Lane, her best friend, tries to get her to tell Jace and Jax the whole story. However, Audrey is tired of seeking them out only to have them toss her aside. If they truly cared, they would listen. Right?
Jace is beside himself when he realizes that Audrey is attending his school. They are like magnets that keep gravitating towards one another. As much as he wants her, she is still off limits. He doesn't want Jax's sloppy-seconds even if, technically, she was his first. There is just too much history there for them to start over. He just wishes it didn't hurt like hell.
I loved seeing this couple come together. Jace has always been my favorite twin from the beginning, and I was thrilled that he was getting his own book. I must say that I was surprised that Audrey was his love interest. I totally blame the author for that. She made us hate Audrey in BBR; I was wondering how she was going to redeem her character. Lauren was really able to revive her, but it didn't match up to the Audrey in the first book. It didn't feel cohesive to me. However, I did enjoy this one much better than the first.
4 stars!
Audrey Mills got a character makeover in this installment. The once bratty, wannabe home-wrecker has a difficult past. Who would have thought it? She tells us about her terribly abusive parents and wanting to escape immediately after her high school graduation. She was just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel when she met the Riley brothers.
Jace Riley had never been drawn to a girl in his life. After his father's passing, he had been too consumed by keeping his twin brother tamed than to try to start courting some girl. Yet Audrey was different. After he knocked her down on the street, he took her for coffee and invited her to Cole's party. He was prepared to take the leap of faith with this girl. It all gets shattered when he walks into the party to find Audrey kissing his brother Jaxon. But that is just the beginning of their story.
Audrey managed to escape after graduation just like she had planned. What she hadn't planned was wrecking her relationship with the Riley brothers - especially Jace. She is now in grad school and conveniently, or inconveniently, at the same school as them. Lane, her best friend, tries to get her to tell Jace and Jax the whole story. However, Audrey is tired of seeking them out only to have them toss her aside. If they truly cared, they would listen. Right?
Jace is beside himself when he realizes that Audrey is attending his school. They are like magnets that keep gravitating towards one another. As much as he wants her, she is still off limits. He doesn't want Jax's sloppy-seconds even if, technically, she was his first. There is just too much history there for them to start over. He just wishes it didn't hurt like hell.
I loved seeing this couple come together. Jace has always been my favorite twin from the beginning, and I was thrilled that he was getting his own book. I must say that I was surprised that Audrey was his love interest. I totally blame the author for that. She made us hate Audrey in BBR; I was wondering how she was going to redeem her character. Lauren was really able to revive her, but it didn't match up to the Audrey in the first book. It didn't feel cohesive to me. However, I did enjoy this one much better than the first.
4 stars!