Review: Lexi Ryan's "Unbreak Me."

Lexi Ryan’s “Unbreak Me” had been on my kindle for a couple of weeks waiting to be read and reviewed. I had helped with the cover release and the synopsis had me intrigued but I kept putting it off in favour of other books. Well serves me right because I missed out on a 5 star read. Yes I’m a fool!!!!! This book was so different to anything I’d read before and I was so emotionally invested, nothing and no one could pull me away from it, even my kindle being on deaths door. Yup, I went and sat by a plug socket so I could recharge it and finish what was a beautiful story.  Lexi Ryan, I’m so glad this one came my way, and my sincerest apologies for not giving it the attention it deserved sooner.

So What’s It About?

Maggie’s life is far from perfect. From the age of fifteen, she's been let down by every man she's trusted, her life slowly spiralling out of control. Over a period of six years, a series of events have left her broken. In her mind, she is damaged goods, a slut and a failure with no one convincing her otherwise (including those who love her):

At fifteen, I fell from my father’s grace. He would tell me I was a harlot sent by

the devil to destroy men. He never said this to my sisters, never suspected

they were anything but innocent. I was special in this way alone.

Of course I’d given him all the proof he needed.

To her family, Maggie is nothing but a disappointment. To make matters worse, twelve months ago, she called off her wedding to William Bailey (the one man who loved her and thought she was worth fixing). And now, here she stands in her bridesmaids dress at the altar watching William tie the knot with her sister (Krystal). A lot can happen when you’ve been away for a year.

William can’t let Maggie go. Seeing her brings everything back and one word is all it will take for him to call the wedding off:

One month ago, when I told Krystal I loved her, I didn’t have the devil

on my shoulder weighing that love against my love for someone else.

One month ago, Maggie was out of my system.

Then there’s Asher Logan, a man with his own fair share of demons who has come to New Hope to stay out of trouble. From their first encounter, he sees straight through Maggie’s facade. He sees the pain, the hurt and the secrets that are eating her alive. But Asher doesn’t want to fix her:

Physical attraction is something I can ignore. But this need to protect her from

the pickup driving assholes of the world? This need to uncover the

 woman hiding behind those walls? I’m consumed by it.

He wants her to knock down the walls she’s built to protect herself, to trust him and to let him love her the way she deserves to be loved. Can they bare their secrets without being judged? Can they find the redemption they so desperately seek? Maggie has a choice: be with the man who holds her together or go to the man who gives her permission to break. Which path will she follow to get the peace she so desperately craves?

This book was just so beautiful, the story, the characters... wow. I read most of it with a lump in my throat, my emotions getting the better of me. At one point there were even big ugly tears. How often do you get that with a book? From start to finish, as their stories unfolded, it was like watching a train wreck and there was nothing I could do to stop it. With each secret exposed, I felt as if another piece of my heart had broken.  

Maggie’s character left me devastated. Every time I read a chapter from her POV, it was like my heart was being squeezed, the life being drained from it and it hurt. Maggie came across as an open book, indifferent to people’s opinions and head strong. She was even funny:

“Who knew that one day I’d be on a date with the lead singer from a famous boy band.”

“Infinite Gray was not a boy band.”

“Were there any girls in the band?”

“No.”

“That makes you a boy band.”

“It makes us an all-male rock group.”

“Right, like NSync.”

But most of it was just a front to help her survive each day. Inside, she hated herself, the feeling of self loathing eating at her like a cancer, the hurt never going away:

The hurt never goes away, but this moment wrenches it to the surface like

someone’s torn off the bandage and dug dirty nails into my wound.

And relationships?  No one ever got close to her on an emotional level. She’d  been hurt and would never let it happen again. Now the physical kind... well that’s a different story. Maggie used sex as a shield. It allowed her to forget her demons and gave her  the control she desperately needed to get by.

Asher saw a different side to her. The vulnerable, hurt and fragile person she hid from the rest of the world:

The flash of hurt, a wounded girl resurfacing for a split second

before she pushed it away again.

I loved the way he just wanted to protect her. He saw firsthand how cruel the people of New Hope could be and he couldn’t stand by and watch. He was the one person that fought her corner (even if it was to his own determent). Selfless to the end and I loved him for that.  Asher never rushed Maggie when it came to their relationship, despite her wanting that physical connection. Asher was determined it would be more:

“It’s not just sex. That’s why I won’t sleep with you. I won’t let this be just sex.”

He wanted her to trust him, to share the past that haunted her, to share the burden and he would wait:

“ Next time you strip for me, you’re taking off more than your clothes.”

Despite Maggie pushing him, hurting him even, he was still there waiting to catch her if she fell (new book boyfriend maybe?????)

And William... he tugged at my heart strings.  He was a good person and he would do anything for Maggie but was it enough?

I’m an addict and Maggie is my drug.

He had tried to fix her but couldn’t. William was a part of the past, part of the problem. Again, as his secret came out and I discovered the sacrifice he had been willing to make, the rope around my heart was pulled a little tighter.

In terms of Maggie’s sister (Krystal), I initially struggled to connect with her. She came across as selfish and cruel but she wasn’t. She was in love with William:

“Will’s been in love with Maggie, and I’ve been in love with Will. “

“And what about Maggie?”

“Maggie’s too busy hating herself to love anyone.”

She just wanted her relationship to work, for William to love her like he had loved Maggie but deep in her heart, I think she knew the minute Maggie returned to New Hope, she’d lost him. Even her secret shocked me. She must have been so desperate to do what she did. The lump in my throat got even bigger!!!!

This book was emotional. Yes there were funny moments, especially with Maggie’s dry sense of humour but overall, it was a heart breaker. There were moments where I laughed, but more often than not, I was either crying or close to crying. At 91%, I even hit an angry moment where I think I stopped breathing because I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I have tried really hard to keep this review spoiler free and for those that wanted more of an insight into the book, I am truly sorry. The secrets these characters hold are not for me to share but for you to uncover. If you feel like I’ve already given you too much, trust me, I haven’t even touched the surface.

Really, you need to go buy it and read it for yourselves.

This book got 5 massive Hearts from me.

Although initially, “Unbreak Me” was going to be a stand alone, it will now be a series. Don’t worry, there was no cliff hanger so you can rest easy but there will be more books telling the stories of the other characters we met.

Favourite quote from the book:

“Don’t be afraid to break, Maggie. Stop holding on to the ugliness just to stay whole.”

“What if no one can fix me?”

“It’s like your mosaics. The beauty is already there, you just find it. Let it go, sweetheart.”

“I’m afraid I’ll shatter”.

“If you shatter, I’ll find you.”

Thank you again Lexi Ryan for an amazing story.