The Beauty of Broken Things takes a tragedy and turns it into a beautiful friendship. The characters are relatable and one can easily see oneself replicated in their actions and feelings.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

This book was a very easy read about broken people. It was emotional without being heartbreaking, and I am sure lots of people would enjoy reading this

This book was not what I expected. This story is about feeling broken in different ways and finding ways to overcome their losses. It is not a romance, but a beautiful friendship. Very encouraging and hopeful.

This was a beautifully written story based on grief and healing. And while this could have easily morphed into a sappy romance, the author does a wonderful job of developing a friendship between Luke and Orla. Make sure you grab a box of tissues as you journey through a tale of love, loss, community, and satisfaction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

What an enjoyable and heart-warming read. I relished getting to know the two main characters and found their story compelling.

This is a story about grief and how different people deal with their pain and loss. It was not a romance, but it did have the potential to be a love story.

The setting was magnificent. An atmospheric old castle in an idyllic setting. And that cover…. beautiful!

I also enjoyed the scenes that contained Orla’s overly large, one-eared dog. Aptly named ‘One Ear’, he added some canine joy to the narrative.

This lovely story was about finding the beauty where some think none exists. About embracing life, loss, friendship, and community.

Recommended to those readers who like character-rich novels with positive messages.

Very enjoyable read by this author, who never disappoints. An easy read with a richly vivid world. If you love a strong sense of place and like to visit settings that aren't necessarily familiar to you, this will appeal.

Luke Hansard was devastated after losing his wife, Helen, in a tragic accident and he was desperate to keep her memory alive. He decides to reach out to an online friend whom Helen had mentioned numerous times, but locating this woman would prove to be more challenging than Luke imagined.

Orla Kendrick lives alone in an isolated Suffolk castle where she hides away from everyone and everything, including her past that left her with physical and emotional scars for life. When Luke finally found Orla, he wants to help her just as Helen wanted to. He does all he can to try and encourage her out of the life she’d been living and see that there was another world beyond the walls of her Suffolk castle. Just when Luke thought he was starting to make progress with Orla it seems to come to an abrupt end. In time would Luke and Orla be able to heal one another or would they remain two broken souls?

This was an amazing story of friendship, love and loss which I thoroughly enjoyed. A captivating, emotional and powerful story that I absolutely loved. Highly recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author's descriptions of place are wonderful. Her characters are people one feels like one would like to know. The story is touching and heartwarming. What more could one ask?

This is a beautiful story of loss, grief, and hope. There IS beauty in broken things and sometimes they can be made whole again.
Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Stupidly I got given the chance to read this on NetGalley but didn’t realise I had to download it before the archive date so I purchased the book to read. It’s a truly lovely story that I really enjoyed. The first one I’ve read by Victoria Connelly and I’ll now be looking to read more

The beautiful cover and a title that intrigued me, I picked this book from Netgalley.
I hadn't read any of Victoria connelly's books and have loved this story so much that I will definitely be reading more of her past titles soon.

The story is about two people, ina very difficult phase of life meeting under peculiar circumstances, through the memory of one person......

Helen, a young lady who works in a not so exciting day job creates excitement in her life through her photographs on a social media site. There she becomes friendly with the account tiltled 'Beauty of Broken Things. They foster a deep online friendship helping each other out in their passion. Tragedy strikes and Helen dies in a train accident. Luke, Helen's husband has this idea of searching her online friend and conveying about Helen and here begins the story of these two broken souls trying to help each other through their grief

A well written emotional contemporary fiction. The story moves along at an even pace with not a single boring moment. As a reader I was completely involved in tbe story. Loved the growth of the characters and thir relationship.

If you love to read heart touching stories about dealing with grief and trauma then this is for you.

I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for approving my Review request. The opinions expressed are entirely mine.

When Helen is killed in a train crash Luke is devastated and lost without her but when he finds a gift for Orla an online photography friend of Helens he is determined to hunt her down and give her the gift, but Orla doesn't want to be found..... can he find her by clues in her photographs? Orla is a scarred recluse living in a remote Suffolk castle, where she will not even face her gardener, and spends her time searching auction sites for beautiful things, but with a difference.....they can't be perfect. Can these two broken people meet and help to mend each other.

A beautiful story of two damaged unhappy people who find hope again. I found Orla's story particularly moving with the courage it took her to move out of her comfort zone and the damage that had been done to her. Another great book by this author

I zipped through this book as discussed a lot of nothing. For sure loss and grief are debilitating but this book seemed to think gardens and beach walks were the remedy. Characters were all too lovely and book was so predictable.

Okay, so I started and stopped, typed and backspaced so many times when I started writing this review, I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to be left with. I couldn't seem to (and still can't to some degree) quite express the level of beauty that is captured within this work. It truly takes us through the landscape of the heart with all its pitfalls, and passions, letting us be guided by the characters themselves as they attempt to find a level of balance in their lives once again.

My heart broke for Helen, Luke, and Orla, equally in turn. The first for the lack of life she'd have, the second for the heartbreak he experienced along with the what ifs, and the third for her tenuous connection to life that was lost, but also the horrors she still needed to face in her own life. There was so much hurt, so much pain, so much brokenness that one didn't quite know where to look to find some semblance of joy, some light of hope in these very dark times. They say that people come into our lives at exactly the moment they were meant to...no sooner, no later. Well a definite case can be made for that here because for as much sadness as there was to go around, these two broken souls were able to pull each other through to the other side of their great losses, and while they both still have a ways to go, steps forward are still a win toward discovering happiness once again.

So take a chance on this beautiful novel full of broken "things"...and I think you'll discover just how truly human those experiences that made the cracks, and created the chips, really are.

This is a beautiful story that is emotional, heartfelt and wonderfully touching. I so enjoyed this well crafted story by author Victoria Connelly. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own opinion.

This is first a story of grieving and how to find solace in grief after loss of a spouse. Luke is devastated after his beloved wife Helen dies. He finds something she wanted to give to a online friend and decides he will take
it to her personally. He finds Helen living a isolated life that she prefers as solitary. She lives in a wonderful historic castle and Luke is right away determined to help her heal from her own inner pain and re introduce her to the outside world which she wants no part of. She does not want contact with anyone and is not interested in friendship. I so appreciate that the author did not go the usual format and instead they remained as friends as this reader hoped for as their friendship grew. It was this friendship that made this book so beautiful to read. The author respected both charcters and their strong fortitude by giving us a wonderful friendship and showing the reader how friends help us heal from grief. I highly recommend this wonderful book. Review cross posted.

What an incredibly touching and inspiring novel. When two strangers are brought together by a tragic death, their lives start to heal.

Luke has recently lost his wife, Helen, to a tragic train accident and his life is broken. As he tries to make sense of it, he discovers his wife’s true devotion to her craft of photography and the close friend she has made on a website called Galleria which showcases their photos. After discovering a gift Helen was planning to send to her friend only known as BB (Beautifully Broken), Luke discovers that BB doesn’t want to be found. When he tracks her down, she is living in a castle and wants nothing to do with him or anyone else for that matter. Will he be able to grant his dead wife’s wish and help this lonely woman who meant so much to her?

Orla is a recluse and afraid to let anyone in her life again after the disturbing incident a few years ago. She has lived in Lorford Castle for two years and no one has seen her or talked with her. But one day a stranger comes to her door to bring a message and a gift. Her wonderful and kind friend, Trees and Friends, or Helen, her husband calls her, is dead. The kindred spirit who understood her passion for photography is gone. Should she let Luke in to her life, or will it bring more fear?

I love the way the characters slowly develop to bring a thoughtful look at life after tragedy. My heart broke for both Luke and Orla. Luke’s amazing gesture to bring Helen’s gift to Orla in person is so heartwarming and his determination to encourage her to see the world again is truly remarkable considering what he was going through himself. Orla’s ordeal is awful and her anxiety and fear is understandable for all she has gone through. But when she finally takes steps to make her life better, she truly shines and gives back so much to Luke and the place she lives in. Speaking of which, the supporting characters such as Bill and Margy, Orla’s gardener and his wife, are extraordinary and so kind to help Luke acclimate Orla to her lovely neighbors and become part of the lovely community.

Overall, this a beautifully written story about loss and renewal and finding inner peace after devastating events in life. If you enjoy heartwarming stories about hope, give this book a try.

Thank you to Ms. Connelly for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

This is a touching story which shows two people who are both working through grief, loss, anger and desolation. They meet totally by chance and slowly, their lives begin to interweave. Some of the secondary characters ground the story in everyday life, especially the villagers who live near Orla. You can totally imagine the community spirit and their perplexed feelings as to why Orla is so reclusive.

The East Anglian setting is beautifully evoked and you can almost smell the salt in the air and feel the sand between your toes. There are one or two surprises that turn up as the story unfolds. In particular, you feel that Orla's mother has her own issues to work through and I am sure could feature in her own story! Seeing below the surface and noticing the beauty in the flawed and the damaged, Orla and Luke seem to have an understanding almost from the start. This is a story to savour.

Thanks to the author for a copy of the book.

The Beauty of Broken Things
By Victoria Connelly

“The only way to get through this is to get through this”

This novel was a heart-breaking book filled with hope, growth and healing. Luke and Orla are brought together, through their love and subsequent grief of Helen.

Helen Hansard, Luke’s wife, was killed in a tragic accident coming home on the train one night.

The Beauty of Broken Things was written in such a sensitive tone, that brings you to tears many times. A beautiful and poignant story filled with grief, fear and the memory of love.

Any details I give in this review would take away the captivating storytelling that pulls you into this book.

Victoria Connelly is a bestselling author of two series – Austen Addicts and The Book Lovers, and her first published novel Flights of Angel, was made into a film in 2008 by Ziegler Films in Germany.

I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity of reading an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley
#TheBeautyofBrokenThings

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for my Advanced Reader’s Copy. I really hoped to like this one but was disappointed in the author’s writing style and couldn’t get past it. So much of the novel takes place inside the two main character’s heads and the author’s sentence structure is stale and overdone. I thought it would be sweet and easy, but instead I found I wasn’t picking it up to read.