Characters

Mickey is fun but complicated. Cale is smoking hot but physically disabled. You read that right, he can’t walk. They are two halves of one whole. The main characters in this book are amazing. You get into their heads and they feel real! The secondary characters not so much…but that is not who you are there for.

Plot

Exactly what you’d expect with more zing. Boy meets girl, girl is totally smitten, there are secrets that could tear them apart, and they may or may not make it. Romance. However, this author brings a little extra complexity to the table. It isn’t just romance it is life being lived in a way not everyone understands, yet it is beautiful.

Overall

Well written romance. It isn’t all sunflowers and daisies but the characters and their story are satisfying. Best of all is the ending. When I read it my mind thought ‘this is exactly how it should end.’ There is a lot of adult language but it is right along with Cale’s personality. You’ll laugh, you’ll want to cry, and you’ll root for them. Everything you want in a romance, plus the steamy scenes are great (totally believable with the physical disability)!

Rating

5 Stars

This is a realistic romance, flaws and all, and I loved it. This is exactly what I want from a romance story and it was brilliantly beautiful. Do be warned the author does switch from 1st to 3rd person but that didn’t bother me.

Our main character, Mickey Hart, doesn’t do one-night stands. But then she wakes up in a luxury penthouse with nothing but a t-shirt, and she meets Cale Windermere, who is gorgeous, ambitious, and successful.

He knows he wants her – even if she’s got things to hide. He wants nothing more than to chase after Mickey and make her his. But he can’t. He can’t even walk, much less run.

But that definitely won’t get in the way.

This story was beautiful.

The plot was such an emotional roller coaster. It was lighthearted and yet it dealt with such serious issues, and this sentence is going to sound vague but: This book was so much more than the story of two people falling in love.

The story definitely had its ups and downs, and I was able to feel the experience and understand how the characters felt throughout the novel. Let me tell you, YOU WILL FEEL MANY MANY DIFFERENT EMOTIONS.

The characters in here were definitely very well developed. Mickey and Cale were both characters that had gone through things and still had the wounds from them, and I thought that the way their backgrounds were revealed was well-paced and written perfectly, in the way that allowed the readers to understand that this character had secrets and flaws, respect that they needed time and space, but love them nevertheless.

There was so much chemistry between Cale and Mickey, and I was definitely rooting for them the entire way! And so many swoon-worthy and adorable scenes – this book made me want a Cale in my life.

This book does largely center around Cale and Mickey alone, but I also thoroughly enjoyed the side characters. Mickey and Mel (the best friend) had such a great dynamic together and I would’ve loved some more serious scenes between those two!

The writing style was great as well, not to mention unique. There were often italicized thoughts interjected into the story – like commentary – and while this was definitely different, it really worked for me.

I thought the dialogue and thoughts were so witty and hilarious, and it not only added to the reading experience, but to the characters’ personalities as well.

Overall, I’d say that this book was such a beautiful story, and thank you so much to the author for providing me a copy – what an amazing read!

“This girl…”

I’m a sucker for romances. I devour them and eat them like candy. And this one was no different. Well, it was, in that it tugged so deeply at your emotions and was absolutely beautiful and phenomenally written. I mean, talk about an emotional rollercoaster.

The main character is Mickey, short for Mackensington (seriously). Mickey is a photojournalist who never drinks. Until the night that she does. She doesn’t do one-night-stands either, but here she is the next morning in another man’s luxurious silk bed… in a penthouse.

Then there is Cale. Beautiful, god-like, sculpted Cale. Rich Cale. But there’s one thing that sets him apart - he’s in a wheelchair.

Immediately there is a spark, but they are both hiding things that they don’t want to divulge. Both have pasts that affect how they react to each other.

This book deals with very serious issues, but at the same time is so playful and full of laughter. At one point I think I was laughing, crying and yelling at the same time. Yes, that can happen.

I’ve never read a romance with a paraplegic main character, but man does it work. It’s refreshing and so very real. It’s a side of romance I’ve never seen before. It also shows how life is for a man in a wheelchair and brings a new perspective.

I’m dying for the next one (if there is one - which I hope so!!!!! *wink*), but I won’t risk delving any juicy details by telling you why.

You’ll just have to see for yourself.​

This book received five stars from me, which I do not give out all that often. In order for a book to get a five star from me it has to stay with me. Once I close the book do I continue to ponder it or do I just move on, that is what separates a four star from a five star. This book did that for me. From the moment I picked it up I was sucked in and did not want to put it down and when I did have to put it down I thought about the story until I could get back to it. I love it when books stick with me like that.

Cale Windermere as a character is well written. Having been a very successful business man before his accident you would not expect him to just lay down and die after. That is not to say that he has come to a true acceptance of his disability but more that he desires to overcome what he is expected to fail at and achieve what he considers as close to normal as he can have. I love that as much as he is written as a strong and ambitious person his weaknesses are also put under the spotlight. The author does not try to gloss over his handicap but rather highlights it as it would truly be and there is no shame. I just love that!!

Mickey Hart, oh my gosh, she is just a pandora’s box. When the story first started I felt that she was a typical chick who drank too much and ended up with a morning after walk of shame. What I did not expect was that as the story went on this seemingly normal woman started to really change for the worse. I was truly surprised. Usually we see all the characters issues up front and they “work through” them as the story goes on so that by the end they are all sparkles and rainbows. Not in this case. Mickey has issues and they are shadowed by Cale’s disability because that is the “elephant” of the story but in reality Mickey is the elephant in the room. She and her best friend have cryptic conversations that really clue you in to what is truly going on inside of Mickey and after every reveal you are left feeling like what is going to come up next. By the end of the story you are blown away by the awfulness of her situation and the amazing amount of safeguards she has in place in order to protect herself and why she has all that in place. Utterly amazing, the whole transfiguration is like watching a magician pull a rabbit from his hat——where did that come from??

The ending I was expecting a “and they lived happily ever after” ending but that is not what I received. This ending was not an ending at all but more of a work in progress. I loved that Mickey was not magically better after confessing her darkest sins. I love that she still had her quirks that she needed to work through. She did not immediately achieve perfection, she remained perfectly imperfect and I think that a work in progress ending was just beautiful. I loved this story and I highly, highly recommend.

Just when you think you have read every type of contemporary romance, Annie Arcane scampers onto the scene with Hart Broken and you just know you have read one of the most amazing love stories ever! Heartbreaking, uplifting, humorous, sweet, hot and passionate, yep, pure bliss for the heart and soul told in a unique way that comes to life in an endearing way. Two points of view, two damaged souls, caught up in one struggle to hang on, can they do it? Can Mickey and Cale find what others only dream of or will self-doubt and secrets slam the door on Cupid’s arrow?

What did she do?? Mickey woke up, hung over, in a man’s T-shirt and clearly not in her own bed. Oh, and she had no idea how she got there or what she did? Did she miss a great night of passionate sex with a stranger? Wait, she doesn’t do one-night stands, she doesn’t do relationships, either and she sure as heck doesn’t spend the night away from home, EVER. And then she saw her host…

Cale is hot, drool-all-over-yourself hot with an upper torso and smile to die for and Mickey has NO idea what she is doing in his bed. He is also disabled, BUT, instead of being a brooding male lost in his own self-destructive and self-pitying world, he is upbeat, a ray of sunshine, a gentleman and clearly a savior of drunken women.

They each have emotional baggage, although Cale is more than willing to take the first steps to getting to know each other, while Mickey tries to put up every barrier possible to avoid him. Thanks to a forgotten cellphone and her own traitorous heart, it is beyond impossible, but demons must be exorcised first.

Annie Arcane has nailed realistic romance with all of its warts and flaws, laughter and tears, steam and passion, and I loved it! Take a journey into Ms. Arcane’s world where the heroes are strong and sexy, the heroines are tough, yet feminine and love is in the air!

When I was asked to read and review this title, I was somewhat hesitant as I knew nothing of the author.  However, when I read the blurb I was intrigued and so I decided I would give the book and the author a chance.  I had to find out more and I am glad I took the chance.​

I have read a lot of romance novels, but never one where the hero was a paraplegic. So you know why I had to read this one. It was refreshing to read a romance novel where the hero was not 100% physically perfect. ​

This is by far one of the most amazing love stories I have read in quite a while. It was funny, inspiring, sweet, hot and heartbreaking.  ‘Hart Broken’ is one of those stories that demonstrates that love is an emotion that has the power to break down any barriers no matter how strong. It’s a story about two broken souls, who never expected to fall in love and the struggles they faced in coming to terms with their feelings.

Mickey and Cale were two of my favourite characters. They both had their emotional baggage dealing with. Mickey covered her pain with her feistiness and by pushing people away.  It is evident that the secrets she is living with contributed to sabotaging any relationship that she was involved in. The moment things begin to get serious she finds a way to end things.  When her secret came to light, my heart went out to her. I understood clearly why she acted the way she did. She was not a hateful person, it’s just that she has suffered so much she never thought she was worthy of loving anyone or being loved.

I loved Cale’s outlook on life and his upbeat personality. He never allowed his disability to get the better of him.  However, beneath the bubbly exterior, there laid a vulnerable soul. He had fears just like anyone else and his biggest being that Mickey had the power to break him.  There were times when self –doubt would creep in but his love for her was stronger than his fears. 

Their chemistry was undeniable.  I enjoyed the way they interacted with each other. I kept hoping that they would be able to break down their walls and seize their chance at love. 

Aside from the characters, the thing that made the story a treat to read was the author’s writing style. First of all, she told the story from two POVs, the first and the third. The manner in which switched between POVs was good. I was able to follow the story each time the switch was made.  Also, I liked how she italicised the internal thoughts of her main characters.   I was able to distinguish between what each was thinking and when they were having a conversation otherwise. Only the reader would be privy to these thoughts.  I found the story to be well written. It was captivating and difficult to put down. I am eager to find out what will happen in the next chapter of their lives.

Verdict: 

A unique and beautiful story of unconditional love which I enjoyed and definitely recommend.

This book is amazing and has literally left me speechless.  The writing is so beautiful and eloquent.  Annie Arcane has written an amazing love story about two people,  each broken in their own way that come together. I felt so many emotions while reading this book. Happy, sad, disappointed, devastated, warmth, and love. It was a roller coaster ride of feelings.

We get to know Cale and Mickey and discover how unique they are. Cale is a paraplegic who refuses to let life stop him. He is stubborn, he is alpha male, he is hot, and he is a paraplegic!

Mickey is fun and curious but emotionally  unavailable.

Cale realizes this but still falls hard.
“This girl…..
It had never bothered me with other women. Even after my impressively muscular legs had withered away to nothing but skin and bone, if it never bothered me before. Not with any other woman. But for some odd reason, it bothered me now.

It bothered me with her.

I didn’t want her to look at me differently than she would any other man. I couldn’t even stand the thought that she might…..

“This man….
She was inexplicably drawn to him. It wasn’t normal. It couldn’t be explained. It didn’t make a lick of sense. The pull went far beyond attraction. It went far beyond lost. Every fiber of her being screamed to reach out and touch him. Anywhere. Everywhere.

What is it about this man?

Things eventually come to a head and Mickey turns inward,  unwilling to share her painful past with Cale.

I was devastated when Mickey’s story was revealed. Totally gutted.

I must highly recommend this book! As I said earlier it is an amazing read. The writing is just so beautiful and flows from chapter to chapter.