Once Broken is set in Metro Boston between 1970-2009. It’s a story about a single mother, Jackie Martin, who has two objectives: First to raise her daughter, Gina with her self-esteem unscathed by her father’s abandonment; Second, to see her daughter’s father, Tony Salvucci suffer for his abandonment. Both objectives come to pass. With lots of twists and turns and memorable characters, Once … Broken is an inspirational story about forgiveness vs. revenge and living one’s life moving forward, no matter how painful the past.
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Once Broken is a charming romance that spans forty-four years of an on again off again love story. If you enjoy a nostalgic look at the past decades this is a fun read. The author describes nicely the changing times, music and styles of the years as they unfold.
Jackie Martin, the heroine, is always one step ahead of disaster as she struggles to come to terms with the early loss of her father and the struggles of growing up without him. Of all the men in the world, she falls for a man, who is the epitome of self-absorbed and selfish, Tony Salvucci. Handsome and spoiled from the get-go he’s immature and incapable of accepting responsibility for his actions, but he’s charming and she falls for him. The years fly by, and Jackie becomes a single mother, puts herself through school and struggles to get over Tony.
When life hands you a bunch of lemons, add sugar and this is just what Jackie does as she matures into an independent woman that the reader will cheer for. I think one of the strongest points that comes across is that people change. They grow, and they learn from their mistakes, which is a central theme of the book. The happy ever after in this book is very satisfying and watching the two main characters change through the years is well worth the read.
Once Broken is a heartwarming story of a woman’s journey of love, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Traumatized at a young age by her father’s death, Jackie Martin is infatuated with the boy of her dreams. The spoiled, self-indulging boy, Tony, toys with her feelings and abandons her when she becomes pregnant. Their rocky relationship continues as Tony travels in and out of Jackie and her daughter’s life. While Jackie matures and pursues a promising career, Tony makes one disastrous mistake after another. Many years later, the two reconnect on the one common thread they share—their daughter. D.M. Hamblin shows the importance of forgiveness throughout the story.
Hamblin’s characters are relatable and realistic. The dialogue, for the most part, is natural and flows and the detailed descriptions place the reader in the scene. The storyline is enjoyable, but the large amount of head hopping distracted from the story. I look forward to reading more of Hamblin’s books.
Once Broken by D. M. Hamblin
Book subject sounds interesting and I wanted to give this new author to me a try.
1993 wedding of Camilia and Tony.
Story goes back in time as it catches us up with the present day. Jackie and Gina on their way to the mall…jackie had once loved Tony and knows he’s getting married…Tony is Gina’s dad.
Tony’s father stuck up for him no matter what bad things Tony had done.
Like how Jackie lives with the decisions she made in her life and have a bad feeling as to what really happened to her intended…
Happy to learn the grandparents want the child in their life…
Medical emergency gives them all a chance to stand back and think of what’s going on and get it all in order.
What I like about this book are many things: music and lyrics of the time when I was growing up also, locations of places visited as I live or have been to the same ones-magical, the career Jackie decides on and why-so brave! So many hidden treasures: charms, needlework, picnics.
Unpredictable, scary, romantic, sex scenes, travel, just an all around great read. Can’t wait to read more from this author as she gets her point acrss without a lot of drama. Love how it follows their lives through the teen to adult years and those older-well rounded family life. Feel so much closer to this author after reading her bio as we have gone through so many of the same things in life.
Received this review copy from the author via Goodreads and this is my honest opinion.