NEW ADULT MONDAYS: Unbroken (Beachwood Bay #1)

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Unbroken (Beachwood Bay #1), by Melody Grace
Published March 11, 2013
Publisher: self-published
Format: audiobook, purchased
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  4.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Juliet McKenzie was an innocent eighteen-year old when she spent the summer in Beachwood Bay—and fell head over heels in love with Emerson. Complicated, intense Emerson, the local bad boy. His blue eyes hid dark secrets, and just one touch could set Juliet ablaze. Their love was demanding and all-consuming, but when summer ended, tragedy tore them apart. Juliet swore she’d never go back, and she’s kept that promise… Until now.

Four years later, Juliet’s done her best to rebuild the wreckage of her shattered life. She’s got a great boyfriend, and a steady job planned after she graduates. Returning to Beachwood to pack up her family’s beach house to prepare it for sale, Juliet is determined that nothing will stand in the way of her future. But one look from Emerson, and all her old desire comes flooding back. He let her go once, but this time, he’s not giving up without a fight. And Emerson fights dirty.

A heartbreaking history. An unstoppable passion. Torn between her past and future, Juliet struggles to separate love from desire. But will they find a way to overcome their tragic secrets—together? And after so much damage has been done, can a love remain unbroken?

My list of book boyfriends I wish were real has just increased by one. And I loved Emerson because he wasn't picture perfect. In fact, there were times when I thought he was the biggest d-bag ever. That was what made him full of awesome. 

Juliet spent one summer falling in love with Emerson. It was the perfect three months until the end when her mother died and Emerson harshly dumped her for no apparent reason. Four years later, Juliet is slowly still trying to put the pieces of her heart back together. She's in a relationship with Daniel, and it's finally time to unload the house at Beachwood Bay. Juliet goes back to pack it up and runs into a very different Emerson. It soon becomes clear that even four years apart can't diminish the spark these two have. It can only complicate it. 

Unbroken brought on the feels. I spent 90% of the time listening to it massaging the tightness in my chest and yelling into the air. Gah - I LOVE books like that! When you get so involved in the characters' lives that you get genuinely angry or frustrated at the stupid choices they make. You bawl like a baby when sad things happen. You grin like an idiot when it all works out in the end. 

Juliet's and Emerson's relationship was really insta-lovey. It was very "star-crossed lovers meeting in the night." Once I got past that, though, I was totally invested in what was going on with them. It was clear from the very beginning that Juliet was living an unfulfilled life. I was sure that, even though we didn't get Emerson's POV, he was equally unhappy. The big question that seeped in through the cracks in this book was, why? Why were these two apart when they should so clearly be together? And why was Juliet with someone else?

The back story is interwoven with the story in the present as Juliet reminisces about the summer she fell in love. As the details of what went so wrong with them are slowly revealed, it does nothing but bring up more questions. If Emerson was as in love with Juliet as he seemed to be, why did he break up with her? Why was he so mean about it? And why, for the love of Mike, did he decide that the day of her mother's funeral was the best day to do it? It's no wonder Juliet was so destroyed. 

On top of that, I enjoyed quite a bit of loathing on Juliet's part for her father and sister. What horrid, selfish, messed up people. There's a scene where Juliet and Daniel have dinner at her sister's house with her and their father. It was so awesomely cringe-tastic. It was in that moment when I stopped being annoyed at Juliet for making the safe choice and not going after what she really wanted. How can anyone with such an awful support system be expected to reach deep inside and make the really hard choices? I think that was the turning point for Juliet too. 

Melody Grace did a fantastic job of fleshing out her characters and not revealing their secrets too quickly. The heat between Emerson and Juliet was so delicious. They were amazing together. The audio version was very well done, too. I would definitely look for the next book in the series in audio format. 

Loving the bookish feels the way I do, it turns out that Unbroken was the perfect book for me. It had just the right amount of secrets, angst and sexual tension. And, of course an HEA.