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thesapphicnarratives 's review for:
Broken Beyond Repair
by Emily Banting
this is one of those books that’s genuinely so hard for me to review because my feelings are all over the place. but let’s start with something i can say without any hesitation: angela dawe’s narration? absolutely nailed it. she made the story so engaging and easy to fly through, definitely elevated my overall experience.
now... onto the conflicting emotions. broken beyond repair had everything i usually love in a sapphic romance: age gap, celebrity ice queen, grumpy-sunshine vibes. it checked so many of my favorite tropes, and when i found the audiobook, i was honestly hyped. that’s probably why i'm so torn, because even though it had all the right ingredients, i didn’t fully connect with the characters, either individually or as a couple.
beatrice, our older celebrity star, has this traumatic childhood that explains her ice queen exterior. and look, i'm never trying to invalidate a character’s pain, but here... it felt a little too much like it was just there to excuse her bad behavior, and that never fully worked for me. then there’s sydney, the personal assistant who starts off with a really rough intro, but she turns into this perfect ray of sunshine. sometimes too perfect. i did appreciate that she wasn’t about the miscommunication life, she spoke up when needed, which was super refreshing, but a lot of her actions toward beatrice felt a little like insta-love blindness.
as for them together... i wanted to feel it so badly. the buildup was there, and i was rooting for it, but when they actually got together, it just felt kind of underwhelming? like i blinked and missed the emotional punch. and the scenes towards the end where beatrice still lowkey treats sydney like her assistant? not the vibe i was hoping for, honestly.
BUT (and here’s where the conflict really kicks in), despite all that, i still enjoyed listening to the audiobook?? if you ask me if i liked the experience overall, i'd say yes. i know that sounds weird after everything i just said, but it is what it is. angela dawe’s narration definitely carried a lot, but even beyond that, the story had enough charm to keep me hooked.
so yeah, messy feelings, but still a good time.
now... onto the conflicting emotions. broken beyond repair had everything i usually love in a sapphic romance: age gap, celebrity ice queen, grumpy-sunshine vibes. it checked so many of my favorite tropes, and when i found the audiobook, i was honestly hyped. that’s probably why i'm so torn, because even though it had all the right ingredients, i didn’t fully connect with the characters, either individually or as a couple.
beatrice, our older celebrity star, has this traumatic childhood that explains her ice queen exterior. and look, i'm never trying to invalidate a character’s pain, but here... it felt a little too much like it was just there to excuse her bad behavior, and that never fully worked for me. then there’s sydney, the personal assistant who starts off with a really rough intro, but she turns into this perfect ray of sunshine. sometimes too perfect. i did appreciate that she wasn’t about the miscommunication life, she spoke up when needed, which was super refreshing, but a lot of her actions toward beatrice felt a little like insta-love blindness.
as for them together... i wanted to feel it so badly. the buildup was there, and i was rooting for it, but when they actually got together, it just felt kind of underwhelming? like i blinked and missed the emotional punch. and the scenes towards the end where beatrice still lowkey treats sydney like her assistant? not the vibe i was hoping for, honestly.
BUT (and here’s where the conflict really kicks in), despite all that, i still enjoyed listening to the audiobook?? if you ask me if i liked the experience overall, i'd say yes. i know that sounds weird after everything i just said, but it is what it is. angela dawe’s narration definitely carried a lot, but even beyond that, the story had enough charm to keep me hooked.
so yeah, messy feelings, but still a good time.