Review This was the authors debut novel. I thought it was very well drafted, rounded characters a good plot although not entirely unusual, yet the way she wrote it was executed very well in my humble opinion.

Amanda has a stalker.

Love stalker type reads and I liked this one for all of the above comments and reasons.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it.

This was a boring story and the main character, Amanda, did not become a likable character. Would not recommend.

A mediocre number of stars for a mediocre sort of story.

On the one hand it had me glued to the page (well, e-reader of course), and I finished in less than two days. But on the other hand: I can't say I warmed to Amanda - her being a bit of a flat character even though she was the main character of the book. Also, the number of times she kept referring to others as being broken... or not. It was a bit much.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Amanda begins seeing the same man all of the time and thinks she is being stalked...or is she imagining it? This book was a quick and enjoyable read that I have recommended to friends.

**3.5 stars**
Amanda still has trust issues after suffering from a breakup with a controlling older man. She also has a friend who works at the local restaurant, who is desperate to introduce her to the new barista call Lucas.
Over the week, Amanda has thought that she was being stalked by an older gentleman and on finally changeling the stranger he tells her to ask Lucas. So begins a terrifying event.....

This was a quick enjoyable read. I went into the book thinking it would be a domestic noir type of thriller but I came away thinking it was more of a romantic suspense type of book. It was fairly light and I wasn’t totally immersed in the characters but the storyline was compelling enough to keep reading to a fast paced finish.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read and review.

Neither romantic or a thriller in my opinion, difficult to engage with both the characters and plot

The writing is well done. But this book really wasn't for me. I don't think it's advertised well as far as a Romantic thriller as I really got neither out of the story. There is an element of tension but too m much is given to feel like a thriller. And I really didn't connect with the characters enough to feel invested in their outcome which always makes a book feel flat.

So this is probably about a one hour read tops. I started it when I woke up and finished it before I had to leave for work.

It's a solid thriller. I found myself invested in our main character and very curious about who this mysterious man was. The only problem was that when I found out who he was and what he wanted, I never quite believed it.

No spoilers here. I think maybe had the book been bigger, the author could have fleshed out the plot a bit more. Everything with Lucas, our main character, and the mysterious man simply happened way too fast. I just kept thinking if I were Amanda, I would have simply shown Lucas the door - long before anything really happened.

It's a good beach read and I'd try the author in the future.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

We have an interesting storyline with a woman who thinks she might be stalked by a strange man, is suffering from severe PTSD due to a childhood trauma that was worsened thanks to a bad relationship, and is swimming in trust issues.

The writing moves fairly quick and the chapters are small so you can blow through this book in 1-2 hours especially once the action picks up towards the end.

Her characters feel realistic and their behavior for the most part makes sense except for the PTSD that Amanda is suffering from. Apparently when she was a kid she didn’t like the water, as in the ocean not the drink, then she saw a kid drown and developed a phobia from that. It doesn’t say that she saw this happening and there’s no intimate connection to the kid implied. The combination of her already unexplained and illogical fear of the ocean with this drowning she had no connection to became something that followed her into adulthood to the point she refused to get on boats and would have near panic attacks near water. The breaking point was when her fiancée threw her in the water with the alleged intent to drown her out of anger for breaking their engagement. Now that last part I could definitely see being something that would cause trauma but the lead up didn’t have the same sense of believability to it at least not to cause the extreme PTSD that is implied.

It wasn’t a bad book but for me it didn’t have that same level of spine tingling suspense I was hoping for considering all the rave reviews and build up. It could be that since I didn’t like the lead character and thought she was an irritating, whiny child I had trouble caring whether she would end up dead or not. It didn’t help that it was also being billed as a ‘Romance’ because there really wasn’t much to that unless you count the blink & you’ll miss it scene of Amanda and Lucas finally “getting over their trust issue” in the biblical way – cue eye roll. Like I said she just irritated me.

This was a great debut thriller! When Amanda meets Lucas after a bad break-up that's been haunting her, she thinks she may have found the man of her dreams. But can she trust him with her heart? Cautious and skeptical, she becomes paranoid when a strange man turns up everywhere she is and when confronted, tells her to "ask her boyfriend." How are these two men connected and can Amanda trust her instincts or should she run? Well-written and fast-paced, this is a novel was a fun read. While I usually like more layers in my thrillers, this one did not disappoint!

This story started off okay before it dived into multiple directions and then fell flat. The identity of the stalker turned out to be a lackluster reveal as was the budding relationship between Amanda and Lucas. This wasn't a terrible story, but it just didn't work for me.

This is just as great as I was hoping it to be. A really gripping quick read. I'm so glad I read it!

Broken was a good romantic thriller, it didn't have me gripped as I thought it would but it was an enjoyable read.

Amanda has a stalker .. or at least she thinks she does. Her mother, her best friend think it's Amanda's imagination. Something happened in Amanda's past that has brought to the forefront a mistrust of just about everyone... especially when it comes to men.

Her best friend has a guy she wants Amanda to meet. Lucas is just about perfect for her. But he has secrets.

When her stalker appears more and more often, Amanda tries to ignore him. But then, he doesn't seem to care if she sees him or not. When she finally confronts him, he mysteriously tells her to ask her new boyfriend.

And when the cops get involved, things go from bad to worse.

Story premise is good, the writing is well paced. The characters are credible, if not likeable at all times. With a past that refuses to stay in the past, the suspense builds and builds until the surprising ending.

Many thanks to the author / Close-Up Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this debut novel. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.