Broken (Broken #1) by Kelly Elliott

Broken (Broken #1)
by Kelly Elliott
Release Date: November 19th 2013
Rate: Enjoyed it+ (4,5 gorjuss dolls)

Synopsis:

Layton Morris and his brother Mike grew up not knowing what it would be like to live in a normal home. With no running water or electricity in their home, no parents around to protect them, they quickly learned how to survive and depend only on each other.

When a tragic accident takes Mike away from Layton, and the only other person that he ever let into his heart walked away from him, leaving his heart shattered, Layton focuses all of his time and energy into the ranch he and his brother dreamed of. He makes a vow to himself to never let love in again. The last thing Layton needed or wanted was more heartache.

Whitley Reynolds grew up in a privileged home in upstate New York. When she landed the star football player in high school no one was surprised, not even Whitley. She dreamed of a life with Roger living in New York City and happily followed him there. 

The first time Roger hit her for arguing with him about a dinner party, she forgave him. The more it happened, the further Whitley withdrew from her friends and family. One fateful day things go to far. Whitley makes a promise to herself and finds the courage to do the one thing she thought she’d never be able to do.

Fleeing with her best friend Courtney, Whitley was determined to put her past behind her and start a new life in the small town of Llano, Texas, where no one would ever find out about her past.

Will they both ever learn to trust and love again, or will their pasts come back to haunt them, keeping them both alone and…

Broken.

Kelly Elliott has the ability to bring sweet, hot and incredible swoony in just one story. I have to confess that all her stories are predictable (you know they are gonna end up together, am I right?), but you don't mind, 'cause that's one of the main reasons you read her stories.

In this story, both main characters, Layton and Whitley, are emotionally and even physically broken. Layton's brother died and that left him broken inside, without being capable of truly love again. Plus her "witch" ex-girlfriend breaking up with him, just the day he found out about his brother death. Bitchy move. I know.

Whitley, on the other side, grew up in a privileged home and had her boyfriend sweetheart with her. All seemed to be a fairy tale, even when she left everything just to be with him, in his dreamed city with his dreamed job. However, when Roger's constant beatings land her in a hospital bed, Whitley takes the big decision to leave her fiancée and never look back.

That's when Layton and Whitley met. They are both attracted to each other, even that at first they bring the worst of the other, and end up being beyond cute, adorable and damn hot. 

So yes, once again, Kelly Elliott blew me mind with this amazing romantic New Adult story. The level of sexual tension during Layton and Whitley's fights is simply unbearable. You just can't put down the book until these two confess their true feelings for one another and heal their broken souls. They are the perfect couple.

The plot was Ms. Elliott's full style: it's an easy read and it captives you from the very first page. There were a lot of romance, funny and emotional fights, lots of good moments with a new gang you just happens to be in love with, drama, a bad guy and lots of sexy scenes. But what I like about Ms. Elliott's writing, is that she's capable of make me not only drool over her fictional characters, but make me addicted to them. I just can't wait until the next book's out and I can promise you, that it would be mind-blowing, swoony and romantic. That's for sure.

The characters? Well, we have hot, cowboy Layton who's going to be in every girls dream after reading his story. He's passionate, sweet and simply adorable without losing his manly cowboy touch. and you can't stop smiling every time you read his point of view of the story. There's also Whitley, who's the perfect damsel in distress in the story without losing her strong attitude. She's honest and sweet and is easy to read her point of view. 

But we also meet Courtney, Whitley's best friend, who left everything behind to help her best friend. Some of you might relate to her, since she's a romance book addict, too. She's the dramatical one and also the confident one, that also happens to bring trouble to the story with her own love drama.

And Courtney's love drama has also a name: Reed, Layton's best friend. Another cowboy who has serious problems expressing his true feelings. See? It oozes drama and a good love story just by describing the characters. However, these two have their own private story in the second book of the Broken series.

If you are still wondering if you have to read this book, the answer is "what are you waiting for?". I loved every single thing in this story and If you love New Adult romance stories, this is your story, too. Also the ending can be kind of predictable, the drama and how the characters fall for each other are not. And that simply makes this book an amazing love story that you really need to read. 

Kelly is married to a wonderful Texas cowboy who has a knack for making her laugh almost daily and supports her crazy ideas and dreams for some unknown reason...he claims it's because he loves her!

She’s also a mom to an amazing daughter who is constantly asking for something to eat while her fingers move like mad on her cell phone sending out what is sure to be another very important text message.

In her spare time she loves to sit in her small corner overlooking the Texas hill country and write.

One of her favorite things to do is go for hikes around her property with Gus....her chocolate lab and the other man in her life, and Rose, her golden retriever. When Kelly is not outside helping the hubby haul brush, move rocks or whatever fun chore he has in store for her that day, you’ll find her inside reading, writing or watching HGTV.