In New York Times bestselling author Ruth Cardello’s sexy and emotional romance, a billionaire dares to invest in the riskiest proposition of his life: a second chance at love.Single mom Heather Ellis would do anything for her adopted daughter, Ava. Even post an online reward for anyone who found the girl’s lost stuffed animal. Who’d have guessed it’d be returned by a drop-dead-sexy man with such … drop-dead-sexy man with such sadness in his eyes that she had to reach out to him? To Ava, he’s a hero. To Heather, he’s a fantasy that puts at risk the happy life she’s made for herself.
It’s been five years since billionaire developer Sebastian Romano lost his wife and unborn child in a tragic accident. Now he’s all business. No room for emotion. Until he stumbles across that damn stuffed wolf and the beautiful single mother looking for it. Is he ready to give love a second chance?
But there’s more to Sebastian, his family, and his past than Heather knows. More than even Sebastian knows. Will the life they’re building together be challenged when the truth is finally revealed?
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I’m a fan of Ruth Cardello, so I scooped this up day one since it was available in KU read and listen for free. This book was great – it did not disappoint at all.
At the beginning, Sebastian starts off as a cold fish, but with reason. He lost his wife and unborn child years before and he never really quite recovered. Enter Heather and her daughter, and a rogue wolf stuffed animal, and his heart begins to beat again. This was such a well-written story. Really has a lot of depth, and a broad range of emotions going from humorous to heart-breaking to swooney.
It was such a great listen, too. Brian Pallino and Summer Morton do a great job expressing emotion and bringing life to the words on the page. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Started out so confused but by the end got so invested! The bulk of the story revolves around Heather, a single mom to her adopted daughter, and how losing her stuffed animal brings Heather to meet a man named Sebastian. Heather is used to doing everything on her own as a single mother, and when her daughter loses her prized possession – a stuffed animal wolf – she posts on social media hoping that someone will find and return it. When Sebastian finds said stuffed animal, it takes him back to a dark place as it reminds him of a tragic event in his life, but through the powers of fate, his mother sees the post and makes him return it to it’s rightful owner, Heather. The relationship between Heather and Sebastian is like a train wreck – it seems that neither of them can say the right things at the right time and they both continue to dance around each other while going back and forth on taking things the wrong way. Intertwined with this story is a few chapters focusing on Judy, a nine year old girl who is researching her family history for school and refuses to give up on finding out the background of her father. While these chapters don’t really make sense in the bulk of the storyline, at the end, they make perfect sense and it’s that connection that got me hooked and highly anticipating the next book in this series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
This was a story that just got better and better as the pages turned. I loved the characters, they have steamy chemistry but it was more the funny things that Heather says and does and the way Sebastian responds to them.
This was an instalove story, my favorite kind of book. They both fall hard and fast.
I’ll definitely be looming out for book 2, there’s a slight cliffhanger with a young girl named Judy, I need to know how she fits with the Romano family.
The Broken One by Ruth Cardello is my first book by this author. In it we meet Sebastian, a beautifully damaged and scarred widower. Not only did he lose his college sweetheart in a car accident but his unborn child as well. Years later and he is still suffering the loss as if it were yesterday. Heather is a motivated young woman with a heart of gold. When her unwed college roommate dies giving birth to a beautiful little girl, Heather adopts her and raises her as her own. These two unlikely people meet and an instant attraction draws them together in a cat and mouse game of give and take, should I shouldn’t I, hot together chemistry that cannot be denied moments. When they both finally accept their need for one another their happily ever after is ever so sweet and together they both are no longer broken.
I have been reading Ruth Cardello’s stories for years and she never ceases to amaze me. The thing about Ruth is her stories are human driven. They are about emotions and feels, humor and laughter and sometimes sorrow though it always works out in the end. Ruth gave me my first book boyfriend, Dominic Corisi and along the way she has just added to the men I have claimed.
Sebastian Romano is a broken man. His losses are devastating, and more than any one person should have to deal with. He’s filled with bitterness, anger, and regret. More importantly, he’s dealing with a broken heart. Ruth is so adept at letting us feel his pain. She is so masterful at delving into the soul of this broken man.
Heather is fighting a battle. She has an adopted daughter, Ava that she wants to shower with all the goodness in the world. But kids being kids, they usually find their solace in something that we as adults look at as disposable. Well, Wolfie is not disposable and once he’s lost the tale of discovery and healing begins.
The combination of Sebastian and Heather are what romances are made of. A stuffed animal brings them together, a child shows them the way and their hearts mesh as one.
The whirlwind Ruth takes us on is tearful, heartbreaking, heartwarming and funny. It takes a special author to include all these feels without the story ever missing a beat. Ruth can make me cry one minute, laugh the other and toss my kindle a lot of the time. She is the Queen of love stories, because that is what she does. She gives us “love” stories.
That is the sign of a 5-star author and The Broken One is a 5-star read.
I loved Heather and Sebastian. I wanted to hate him for being such a butt. However as his story unfolds you can’t help but fall in love with him. He had such sweet and tender moments but they always ended abruptly. The sweet gesture for Ava had me swooning. Such a thoughtful gift after the trauma of losing her precious Wolfie. Ava was such a wise young lady, love her. I can’t give the story away but when he is at his wife’s grave and telling her about Heather I couldn’t read for the tears my goodness his words still get me teary eyed. I loved the strength of Sebastians family, his mom and dad are terrific. I can’t wait for more from this family and the tie in to Dominic. And once Judy meets Ava, watch out these two are unstoppable.
Love is strength, not a weakness
I adored these characters! Heather Ellis, little Ava and Sebastian Romano were so easy to fall in love with .
The Broken One was such a sweet romance about overcoming loss and finding that reason to move forward in life. Sebastian’s reluctance to break away from losing himself in work was quickly and easily whittled away by Heather (without her even trying). She was highly independent and self sufficient and was comfortable in the life she built for her and Ava and a broody (and HIGHLY sexy) man in a suit was not going to change that. She never hesitated to give him a piece of her mind and put him in his place. That boldness only endeared her more in his eyes.
Throw in a meddling bestie and close knit Italian family…them being together was inevitable and the perfect start to their happily-ever-after.
I would’ve given this five stars, but I was a bit puzzled by the “mystery” aspect of the Corisi family. Not enough was hinted to as to why is was part of the story. I can guess but it just felt like fodder thrown in the mix. I actually could have done without it in this book…but I’m curious as to how it plays out. So that curiosity could explain its presence in the story. I am still interested as to how that all plays out in the series.
Ruth Cardello has new Series the Corisi Billionaire. The book introduce us the family link to Dominic Corisi. The first book is Sebastian’s story.
Sebastian’s story was one of struggle, family, and love. Sebastian suffer great loss which lead him to struggle to find his way back to the person he once was. Sebastian was not even sure that could happen. That is when Heather and Ava enter his life. Heather is an amazing character with her strength and love for Ava. To make the book even better you enter Ava sweet and loving.
I felt so much with this story. You feel for Sebastian and his struggle. You see how brave Heather is. When the two come together it perfect love. Together they awesome.
Sebastian and Heather were a great story to start the new series!! Five star read.
Sebastian Romano has focused his whole life on work after the loss of his wife and unborn child. While out looking at a property he finds a stuffed animal. A stuffed animal that happens to have a reward posted for it’s return. When Sebastian delivers Wolfie back to his owner Ava and her single Mom Heather little Ava gives him a hug that seems to break through to him. It also scares him.
Sebastian and Heather just click. Their banter is great. It isn’t all smooth sailing as Sebastian is very leery of opening himself up to loving again and Heather because of her past has a tenancy of shutting people out of her life. I will say their sexual chemistry and the sex scenes in this book are sizzling!
Little Ava is the star of the whole book. She is such a doll and makes you want to reach right in and give her a big hug.
The support that Sebastian has from his family is enough to make everyone jealous. Plus the banter between his brothers and him adds another great layer to this book. I can’t wait till this next book.
ARC for honest review with no compensation received from NetGalley
The Broken One is book 1 in the Corisi Billionaires series by Ruth Cardello. Wahoo…more of the Corisi family and friends!
Judy Corisi has to do a family tree for school but the teacher tells her it’s only immediate family not all the people in her life. When she tells her Dad, Dominic he gets sad so she asks her Aunt Althea (both from the Legacy Collection series) for help to find her Dad’s family but what happens next brings us to the story of Sebastian Romano and Heather Ellis and an underlying story that looks to play out in the next book(s)…
Heather Ellis’s college roommate becomes pregnant and on her deathbed after delivery makes Heather promise to take care of her daughter Ava. She promises to raise Ava as her own. Now a business owner, single parent, no help from family she puts Ava first over everything but when Ava loses her favorite stuffed toy “Wolfy” their lives change forever…
Sebastian Romano, billionaire developer who lost his wife and unborn child years ago has shut off all emotions. When he find a dirty, sticky stuff toy at his soon to be building site, he tells his assistant to throw it way but then sees a post on social media of someone offering a reward for its return…what happens next will change the the lives of Heather, Ava and Sebastian…forever.
Tears, sadness, chuckles, second chances, healing, an emotional read which keeps you turning the pages to see if they find their HEA and answers to Judy’s family tree???
Wow!!! I was just blown away by this book!!! It was my first Ruth Cardello book and I’m thinking were have I been on this lady, sleeping or something!!!??? I have so much catching up to do and if her other books are as wonderful as this one then I’m in for a real treat. This book had everything you could possibly want in it from mystery, romance, comedy and rip your heart out and bleed sadness. I mean that’s part of the perfection you look for in a book. Sebastian and Heather are absolutely amazing characters and I’m glad they found their way to each other. And what they both went through was devastating. And Ava is absolutely adorable and I love her. And I cannot wait to see what Judy finds out and what all these secrets are about!!!! I need the next book asap!!!!! I highly highly recommend this book!!! 5 stars isn’t enough!!! By Tina
Ruth Cardello revisits her original Billionaires as her new spin-off series begins with The Broken One. Long lost family of her original heart breaker Dominic Corisi are now on the scene and Sebastian & Heather add some spicy-hot chemistry to the mix. This book has just the right amount of humor, awesome characters that will make you want to keep coming back for more and a story that make the pages fly by. I didn’t want the story to end so I’m glad there will be more to come.
THis book written by Ruth was definitely pager turner. True to the title a man in Sebastian who lost his wife and child in a car accident. A woman in Heather who adopts a child who loses her stuff animal. Who would thought that it was a handsome man that returns the animal and sparks fly but with secrets being revealed how does this relationship pans out. All I can say is to read this story and find out.
Oh my, oh my, oh my how I loved this book. Ruth Cardello has written an amazing story. Page after page I fell in love. This is the best book I have read this year. My new favorite.
I absolutely loved this book!! For me it was like seeing an old friend as the author returns some of the characters I fell in love with in her Legacy Collection series. While it has ties to that series of books these are all new characters and can easily be enjoyed without having read the previous books. Although if I were you I would grab those too! The author also seems to have returned to her previous writing style that I have been missing in some of her recent work. With this book we get new set of fresh and intriguing characters, a big boisterous Italian family, a passionate and delightful romance and just a bit of mystery. I for one can not wait to read more about the Romano family and discover what ties they may have to the Corisi family. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.
Sebastian Romano was broken and wanted to stay that way. Through a stuffed animal named Wolfie, he was forced into opening his broken heart. Terrified and angry at the loss of his wife and child, he wanted nothing to do with Heather and her daughter Ava. Yet as they were thrown together by a seemingly innocent stuffed animal, Sebastian found himself beginning to feel again.
Ruth has written a beautiful story of finding love the second time around and is an excellent beginning of the Corisi Billionaires.
It’s my first book by the author and I’m glad that i choose to read her.
This book’s the first in a new series and there are a few characters that apparently were in other books as well but i felt like it’s safe to read it as a stand-alone.
It’s an interesting story, i liked the writing, it’s rich and the characters grow a lot throughout the pages. their interactions are funny for the reliable situations and the honesty and openness it’s a fresh breeze to this love story. There are many hot moments between them as well and overall it’s a great enjoyable read.
I’m so in love with The Broken One. You fall head over heels in love with Heather and Ava. I love this mother-daughter duo. Ava is such a sweetheart. Once you get the background of Heather and Ava how can you not fall for them both. Then there is Sebastian. He comes off arrogant, unemotional, unfeeling at the beginning. But you know there is more to him hiding. I love that little push he gets from his family. There is just so much underneath the man that is Sebastian. I love the chemistry between Sebastian and Heather. This is a sweet read filled with a little laughter, a dash of sadness and a whole lot of love with new beginnings. I loved everything about this one.
Amazing start to this new series. It starts with Judy, a girl trying to find her father’s relatives for a family tree project, this story is an ongoing one and I hope to read more in the following books from the series. Then we have Sebastian, a man that lost everything he loved her pregnant wife, then we meet Heather, a single mother posted a reward for her daughter’s favorite stuffed animal. Sebastian finds it and goes to return it, then everything changed. This book has other characters from previous books, but it’s a new series so it can be read as a complete stand alone. There are some hilarious scenes and some truly deep emotional ones as well.
I cried ALL. THE. TEARS. (both sad & happy) My heart was breaking for Sebastian! He came off as a giant jerk, but you could tell it was because he was trying to protect his heart after losing his wife. I loved when he met Heather & Ava! Their meet cute was maybe one of my favorites, and I loved seeing them both try to help each other heal. It was such an amazing book!