“Some things aren’t meant to be broken, and therefore can’t be mended – ever. I was one of those things. Whatever had been shattered in the incident would never be whole again.” Amber struggles with the memories of a cruel attack that destroyed her life years ago. Realizing that she’s close to ending it all – something she promised her family to never try again – she moves in with her brother … brother Brian and his friend Zachary to start a new life, and maybe even college. But how can she possibly live a normal life, when even a hug from her brother sends her into a panic attack? While Brian pulls back, Zach seems determined to make her feel relaxed in his presence, and soon her longing to be near him is stronger than her fear. But how can someone like Zach, someone who can have any girl, want someone like her? Someone broken.
When Zach spots Amber for the very first time, he can’t believe she is the same girl his friend Brian described as broken. Suddenly, Zach wants to give up his womanizing ways and help Amber live again – show her that closeness can be something wonderful.
But her brother Brian isn’t the only one who’s worried about the bond that’s growing between Amber and Zach. Even Zach knows that there’s more at stake than the fury of a scorned woman. Amber isn’t like all the girls Zach discarded after a night together – if he messes up, that could break her for good. But Zach can’t stay away from Amber.
Can Zach help her heal? Or will he be the one to push her over the edge?
MATURE CONTENT
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Thank you, Cora!
5/5
I really liked the book. The plot is very calm and smooth. You will not wait for shocking moments that will drive the main character back to the past. The book is completely different. About healing, recovery, and returning to normal life.
When I found out her story, my heart broke, but thanks to the right people, she achieved good results. This made me happy to the point of tears.
Zack-despite his difficult family, he does everything to make amber better.
Pumpkin-his fate was also terrifying, but thanks to amber, he found a home.
Brian – sometimes I didn’t understand him. Sometimes it seemed that he was not interested, afraid of helping amber.
The only thing missing from the book was the epilogue, as if the book had abruptly ended. I would like to learn a little about the future life of each character. Many people I think this book will seem boring and sluggish, but I love this.
And don’t compare this book with any of Cora’s other books.
One of my favorite books by Cora
I enjoyed it and loved it
I’m a huge fan of Cora’s, so when she revised and republished this book, I was excited to get my hands on it.
This one was so emotional, and at times painful to read. Our story centers on our deeply traumatized heroine, Amber- a young survivor of a brutal sexual assault and who is is living daily with the intense emotional trauma and pyschological damage from her attack. When we first meet her, she can’t bear to be touched, even by her brother and father. In order to try to start somewhere fresh (and as only we know from Amber, to give her father some reprieve), she moves in with her college-aged brother and his roommate Zach.
While Zach is cautious around her, Amber soon notices that he doesn’t treat her with the same kitten gloves as everyone else, that their connection doesn’t feel as painful as the ghost of her relationship with her brother, and she finds herself being drawn to him. As they start to connect, we see a tender and fragile bond forming between them- both not really sure how to manage it with Zach’s own relationship issues and Amber’s painful past, not to mention the forbidden “brother’s best friend issue.”
I loved and hurt for Amber a lot in this book- her story is painful, and she’s so brave to keep fighting on just living day to day with all of that hurt inside her. And, her beautiful soul is constantly trying to heal, and is also constantly feeling pain for the way her life has changed that of those around her, especially her brother and her father. Zach, on the other hand, was frustrating. I loved him at first- saw his kind spirit, the way he cared for Amber by just treating her as a PERSON and not a victim, and found him magnetic. He’s so sweet with her, so understanding. But, then he does and does stupid crap, multiple times, because he’s immature and can’t handle his feelings. Twice, not once but TWICE he does things that can be considered cheating…with the same girl, and at one point in the same freaking house as Amber. I get that in real life people use sex to get over real feelings, but this isn’t real life- this is my fictional world and in my fictional world I hate it when the dudes sleep around when they already love the girl. And, in this case, it really bothered me because it was with the same “other” girl both times. That makes it worse, and it also makes it worse that this he’s doing it to not just any girl, but a girl whose life has been deeply and painfully impacted by sex crimes.
Ultimately, it ended happily, but I’m still a bit frustrated by it ruining what overall was touching and sweet romance for me. 3.5 stars, I’ll round up because I was happy in the end and because I love Cora and Amber.
I’ve read most of not all of Cora’s books and this one was definitely the one that drew tears from my eyes.
Amber’s life isn’t filled with roses and daisies, instead it’s filled with horrendous memories and painful thoughts but somehow she’s able to remain standing.
Zachary also has his own demons that he has to work through but his character fell a little short at times when I feel Amber needed him the most.
I loved the progression of this story and how raw it was, but at times I felt Zack needed a bit of a push.
Great read if you’re into Cora’s books, it’s definitely different from anything she’s written before.