Sandy M’s review of Broken by Shiloh Walker
Contemporary romance published by Berkley Trade 2 Mar 10

After reading about Quinn in his brother’s book, Fragile, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Broken. From the moment we meet this man, our hearts are broken just as much as his has been up to the point his life actually starts when his mother dies and his father brings him home, when he meets his twin. You want him to reach out and grab the love of his new family, but he’s got so much hurt and distrust, it’s a total unknown if he’ll ever be able to put all the pieces back together again.

We get to see the same scenes from Fragile now from Quinn’s point of view as a child, and you can’t help but weep for the boy whose mother never loved him, who beat him at the drop of a hat. Though later he witnesses the loving relationship between Luke and their father, he still can’t trust enough to drop the I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude, to stop pushing his father to provoke that first punch he just knows will come. But in time Quinn does learn life doesn’t have to be bruises and stealing to keep himself fed.

Twenty years later he has a good relationship with his father and sibling, he’s left the army and is now a bounty hunter, bringing those who abuse to justice. What he still needs in his life is that person who can heal him inside and out, who can soothe his soul, who can love him no matter what. When he least expects it is when such a person literally falls into this arms.

Sarah has her own problems, ones that have kept her on the run for the past two years. She moves from city to city, gets lost in the crowds whenever possible, never lets herself get too attached to those who are nice to her so someplace feels like home. She’s thinking of moving into an apartment offered by a woman who seems to look straight into her heart and know what Sarah’s all about, though she knows that’s not possible. Accidentally falling into the arms of the woman’s other tenant is one more reason she should turn around and keep running. But the lure of safety and friendship, against her better judgment, is difficult to resist.

The attraction is instant between Quinn and Sarah, but they both know they can’t get involved. They have too much distrust, too much of a past to let themselves even think of starting a new relationship. But what’s between them is stronger than they are. Thoughts and dreams of each other plague them and fate seems intent on throwing together whenever possible. They eventually do give in to their needs and the resulting lust and sex is explosive.

Little by little they learn more about one another. Not the huge things in life since they both hide from such disclosure, but it’s the small things that bring them closer. And, of course, the sex. Sizzle, burn, hot, the above explosive, any of those adjectives barely cover the surface when these two characters are together. But I digress. For Quinn, the little things he’s learned is enough to acknowledge his feelings for Sarah. It takes a little longer for her. And neither of them can bring  themselves to say it out loud. And that made me want to scream every time. Just say it before she leaves! Say it before he walks away!

The ending is a huge surprise. Never in a lifetime would I have figured out what Ms. Walker so cleverly comes up with. And amid it all is when both Quinn and Sarah realize they have to begin to trust each other to make their love work, though one last time they’re still stubborn in admitting those feelings, which made me scream again. And it wasn’t screams of frustration due to a ruse to keep the characters apart as you see in a lot of romances. It’s more of NO! Don’t give up! Now’s your chance for all you’ve been missing in your life! Sigh. These two exhausted me. But it’s a good exhaustion.

This book is everything I thought it could and would be and then some. I think Quinn Rafferty has become my favorite Shiloh Walker hero. And that’s saying something considering all of her heroes.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter for a private detective agency in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He’s drawn to her-but he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else.

Sarah McElyea is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She has a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can’t risk telling him the secrets she’s hiding.

But Quinn must get closer to Sarah when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and both Quinn and Sarah will have to expose their true feelings-as well as their fragile hearts-if their love is to survive.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: