A year and a half ago, Amanda Tart's brother got behind the wheel drunk and killed his best friend. Today, he's coming home from prison.
Amanda's been the one living with the fallout, made worse by her brother's recent unapologetic TV interview. People think he's a monster. Still, she loves him. It's her dark secret, until she starts getting close to Henry again--whose sister is paralyzed from the accident.
A year and a half ago, her brother destroyed his life. Now Amanda has to decide if she'll let his choice destroy hers.
I feel so confused right now, because on one part What's Broken Between Us was quite a gripping read that I felt portrayed some real emotions pretty well, but on another part I absolutely hated pretty much everyone in this book.
Backtrack - let me elaborate on that. This is a book that really got me - I felt sorry for Amanda, she gets all the judgemental looks and questions even though it's her brother that drives drunk and kills somebody, this is a character that for the most part doesn't deserve the treatment she gets. She has to deal with the fact that she still loves her brother and is excited for his release, but also that she feels wrong for feeling that way. Its written very well and it makes for some emotional reading.
On the other hand, despite the fact that I felt for the protagonist because of the stuff she has to go through, this doesn't mean that I liked her. This girl cheats on her boyfriend and barely even thinks about it. Okay, so she uses the excuse that he's only with her because she needs someone, but it doesn't come across to me. She uses the excuse that she loves the other guy, but she should break up with her boyfriend. Don't ever try and explain away unfaithfulness, it just comes across as not thought through and desperate.
I felt completely thrown by the fact that we're supposed to like Jonathon - to keep this blog family friendly I will refrain from saying how I felt about him, but seriously, he deserved the ending of the book.
Overall, What's Broken Between Us is a well written book battling some issues in an engaging way. Unfortunately I just couldn't connect with any of the characters, which made this book difficult to read at times.
Book released 29th December 2015 by HarperCollins
Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review
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