Broken

by Evelyn Miller

Als Lily ihren Freund im Sommer vor dem letzten Schuljahr beim Fremdgehen erwischt, ist es nur eine weitere zerbrochene Illusion in ihrem ohnehin enttäuschenden Leben. Dann lernt sie Mason kennen, der auf eine andere Weise ebenso gebrochen zu sein scheint, doch gemeinsam machen sie den Sommer zu etwas Besonderem und machen sich daran, eine Bucket List abzuhaken... und dabei entwickeln sich auch Gefühle. Doch ihr Sommerflirt endet im Desaster, weil Lily und Mason herausfinden auf rivalisierenden Schulen sind und in konkurrierenden Teams spielen. Noch schlimmer wird es, als ein tragischer Unfall ihre Prioritäten neu ordnet: Können Lily und Mason einen Weg finden, zusammen zu sein, und werden ihre Freunde und die ultra-verfeindeten Sportteams - ihnen das Happy End erlauben, von dem sie träumen?

Genres: Romance, Love, Sports Romance, Football, Young Adult, Contemporary, Sports

ebook

Reviews

[tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

cant believe this is my first read of the year but i saw this on an insta ad and here i am after waiting for every 6 hours for new chapters....

anw, it started good tbh! but then the ending felt rushed. and i find it weird that Mason had a scholarship for a qb and ended up a doctor? timeskipjust aint my thing ig

it was fun while i read ~

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was this book written by an AI bot?

[Sophie Phelps · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I stooped to a new low by allowing myself to spend time reading this. but sometimes you need a stupid, cheesy, predictable read. 2 stars bc it was interesting but also very poorly written

[malgosia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel a bit ashamed to admit that I read it but I did
and it wasn’t good, but I just couldn’t stop

[Cassie Landt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bloody instagram ads, why do they always get me?? Anyway this was awful.

[Cecilia Mahler · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐️

Omg this book was so bad. I got sucked in by an Instagram ad that teased me with 4 free chapters that were actually pretty good… and after that I only had access to one chapter every 6 hours?! I persisted. Was it worth it? Not really, no. But once I had committed to waiting for each chapter that way, I could not give up.

This book MUST have been written by AI. Like… it’s just wild how bad it got. The further in, the less consistent and paced the plot was. Don’t read. Don’t read anything on this platform that only gives you access to one chapter every SIX HOURS. I’m sure they are also written by AI.

[Lyn ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instagram ad made me do it LMFAOOO super cliche and predictable, high school rivals fall in love. Straight to the point writing and a little plot twist for funsies

[Kaitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the fast-food of books. The advertisement pulls you in. Turns out to be not as advertised. (I'm looking at you ig ad with a scene that wasn't even in the book). Approached it with low expectations in hopes of a quick distraction read, and it was able to deliver that.

It's OK for what it is. A quick, cheesy read that works for a guilty pleasure once in a while but completely lacked in any substance. If you want an easy read, that may have been written by AI, that will keep you entertained enough, and wrap all loose ends by the last page, this book fits the bill.

[sanika · Rating 2 out of 5]

sometimes you just have to read something. this was an instagram ad. served its purpose.

[Eleonore Gloire · Rating 3 out of 5]

J’ai été prise dans l’histoire,
Mais mon dieu que c’est mal écrit / traduit.
Y a parfois des passages entiers que j’ai pas compris tellement c’est mal écrit
Et comme d’hab on pas de surprise sur la fin de l’histoire haha

[Talia Peebles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well like many others I think the Instagram ad is what captured many to read. I was one of the many I believe captured as well. The first half of the story is what attracted me. I was definitely really interested, but what lost me was the last half of the story. It just felt rush and was poorly written. The second half is just what through me off….I guess I’ll give it two stars because I did like the beginning of the story.

[whatsonmybookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Addicting.
Was it the best piece of writing I have ever laid my eyes upon? Definitely not.
However, it could be!

As a story line I loved most of it. I loved especially the fact that the couple gets together early on in the book and we actually get to bask as their relationship develops and flourishes. It is the first time I found a book like this, and I’m here for it! I was addicted to the story, and read it in 2 days. It was just what I needed!

Now, to become one of the best?
The characters need a lot more back story and some aspects of them need better explanations (especially the parent-daughter relationship!)
Furthermore, I feel the summer they spend together should be dragged out, almost entailing every day in that month. That would make it feel like a slower more natural build up to their relationship.
Then I would just add more events and adversities the couple needs to overcome from school to friends to just growing up, without them breaking up of course!
And lastly I would create a bigger context in the beginning of the story so we all feel her pain when she catches Olly and Leah.
Lastly, the ending felt super rushed and the epilogue was compl forced, I would much rather have book 2 and 3 depicting their story through university and adult life haha. Also Mason a doctor??? I thought he’d become an NFL superstar.


I’m giving it 3.5✨
because it has been a long time since I’ve been this addicted to the story. But there is definitely room for improvement and I hope to see it if the book ever gets published.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

its been a doom scroll Instagram sort of week - I fell for the ads - I fell for the waiting six hours between chapters - I fell for the very basic but cute characters and their issues - but lordy lordy was this the most basic watt pad writing of all time . it felt like a year 7 creative writing task, and that's by no means a positive comment. yet I can't rate it lower because I did kind of enjoy myself , and hate myself for it at the same time

[Finley Cassidy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So bad it’s good. Very cheesy. A good palette cleanser.

[Rhose · Rating 3 out of 5]

lol i read this bc of an ig ad

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

HAHA this was hilariously bad. the writing was awful but i was still giggling and kicking my feet. the instragram ad really sucked me in lolll

[Ioana Paval · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nu-mi vine sa cred ca am ajuns sa citesc asa ceva de la o reclama pe instagram :))))), oh well, stresul de sesiune si-a spus cuvantul si am avut nevoie de ceva usor si bellow average ca sa ma relaxez. Ii dau 2 stele pentru ca, cumva, am avut interesul sa astept cate 6 ore pentru un capitol pe aplicatia Galatea.

[Laynara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this story on TikTok and honestly enjoyed it allot more than I thought I would. The writing needed a little work but it was easy to follow and I enjoyed the relationship between Lily & Mason.

[Gina]

DNF

I can’t rate this because I don’t read hs romance books and I didn’t realize that’s what it was.

[Maja · Rating 1 out of 5]

Już nawet nie skomentuję.

[Hollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

hated how i had to wait ages to keep reading the chapters, short chapters, good storyline, easy read

[Rose Frain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I literally got an advert for this on instagram and read it all in the same day 😂 it was such an easy, light read and I genuinely enjoyed it a lot! Cute lil plot (if not mostly predictable) but I don’t care because it was cute and had my smiling/laughing a lot! Very short book so I guess my main criticism is it’s predictably and the lack of depth and being able to get to know and care about all of the characters a bit more! A tragic event happens in the book that I don’t feel like I had a huge emotional reaction to just because I wasn’t as wholly invested in everyone but for the size of the book, but I did think it was lovely and cheesy which is actually just what I was looking for today!

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what I get for reading a book after clicking on a snippet on an Instagram ad (which never actually happened in the book?!?!?!) but sometimes you need a lil sappy high school book.

[Kassandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book… must’ve been written by a thirteen year old right? I should have DNF’d but it’s like trying to tear your eyes away from a train wreck. The writing was awful extremely fast paced- and what was up with the car crash? Are we still thirteen writing Wattpad fanfiction? If I was still thirteen and stumbled upon this I would’ve loved it and that shouldn’t be taken as a compliment. That’s a few hours of my life I certainly won’t get back.

[Andrea | andidireadies]

I read this in English in one of those weird Fb/Insta Ad apps - Galatea - in like, an hour. Dont even know how many pages it was or anything. Cant believe I even found it on here. But if 1300 page monster books count as 1 book for my goal, then so does a short-ass cringey romcom.

edit: this was later published in a kindle verson in november 2025. kindle version says 186 pages so that's what we're going with.

[Kylie Upton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe I just read this. It was so terrible and the app was so annoying for someone who reads quickly. I do not recommend. I nearly didn't log it on Goodreads 🤣

[Rylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of two high school seniors who come from very dysfunctional families. Mason, who has never known his father, has an alcoholic mother and recently dealt with his brother’s suicide is the starting quarterback for one high school. Lily goes to the rival high school and has a mom and stepdad who decide it’s more important to leave their teenage daughter home alone to raise herself so they can make money in the US and Canada. Lily was a top cheerleader. (gives it up), awesome volleyballer, and very good in track.

Lilly is dating the star quarterback who ends up cheating on her with her best friend. She goes for a walk and runs into Mason. They talk and they decide to spend the rest of summer working on a bucket list for both of them primarily Lily. They realize that because of the rivalry, it’s going to be hard for them to have a relationship. So once school starts, their relationship temporarily ends. With support from Mason’s friends, they pursue their relationship.

When their relationship is exposed, the story takes a darker turn. They primarily Lily had to deal with backlash (hatred) from their classmates. You begin to see Mason’s anger when it comes to the disrespect that Lily is getting. Poor boy ends up, smashing his phone against a locker . Lily is driving while on her cell phone and gets into an argument with her disrespectful and evil mother. Because of the argument, Lily gets in an accident and is in a weeklong coma. Her evil mother visits her in the hospital twice because work is more important. Her stepdad finally decides to become a responsible parent. At the end, he becomes too strict and protective of Lily.


Overall, I am disappointed in this book. However,
you have to give this author credit for her time and dedication to this book. I’m an amateur writer and she’s published and I probably never will be. It started out pretty good, but then it just seemed too rushed. What do you expect in a 24 chapter book? A couple of times in the book, you can sense that the timing is off.

The first 16 chapters covered maybe 4 1/2 months. The next seven chapters cover approximately six weeks. Who has a state football championship game close to Christmas? Better yet, how often are 2 division rivals ever in a state championship game? But again, this is just fiction and I get that but still.

The first 19 chapters were pretty good. Chapter 20 is Forgiveness. This chapter had nothing to do with forgiveness.. I mean if anything, it just opened up dialogue between her and her dad that was barely there before.

When the mom comes to the hospital to see Lily when she’s awake, I was very angry with where the dialogue went.

Her daughter is in a weeklong coma and she starts out with. “I’m glad you’re awake.” Then she turns to “you need to be more ladylike.” Then at the end of the day she essentially tell her daughter that she wishes she was never born. It sucks that her first born son died and he’s not here anymore and she has to deal with her. And her father is actually her stepfather because she was cheating on her husband.

Even though I hate the storyline and the parents, I will give the story 3 1/2 stars.

[Courtney Piotrowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars rounded up.
Giving jt 2 because I actually enjoyed reading it as terrible as it was lol. I mean…it was a “book” from a game ad and it was exactly what I expected but I wanted to read it anyways. But despite my enjoyment, the writing was poor and I can’t give it a rating equal to other actual published novels I’ve read.

Notes:
-Awful, awful sports knowledge. Volleyball games were written as a time sport (halves, finishing games 5-2) rather than a points sport and set up like spring/sand volleyball instead of fall/indoor (which it was). Football knowledge also was lacking but written with less overconfidence so it wasn’t as obvious.
One I thought was hilarious was that the two teams playing each other both had homecoming the same night (the whole idea of homecoming is that you’re playing on your home field, which both teams can’t do at once lol).

-Poor American high school knowledge. This was just kind of funny. Author seems to be very British. There were a couple things that alone I probably would’ve thought were just a little writing quirk (to “ring” someone instead of call, “your meant to be” instead of “supposed to be”) but then there were obvious ones (“jumper” not sweater, “footballers” [lol] not football players, “bloody”), and a couple I had to look up that are apparently said in the UK but no one uses here (“bagsy not it,” and to give someone “the evils” rather than evil eyes or “the look” as we’d say in the US). Also stereotypes of the “American high school Dream.”

Otherwise, I just made a list of silly things.
Take a drink every time:
-Lily rolls her eyes
-Lily ends a dialogue with “I lie.”
-Mason says “princess”
-Harry says “babes”
-You can’t tell the setting (state/country or passage of time)
-You got an ad for this book
-There’s a wrong sports fact
-The author writes something British
-Mason says the f word
-A parent is the worst person you’ve ever met
-You have to wait 6 hours for another chapter (tip if you download the app, if you’re a slow reader like me and get busy mid-chapter, scroll the the bottom of an unlocked chapter and start the timer for the next one before you start reading the one you just unlocked, by the time you finish the next one may already be available)

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a lot of people, I got sucked in by an Instagram ad for a scene which was not included in this book, but I’m not necessarily disappointed by that because the story had good scenes still and although different, there was still a similar scene to the one I was advertised.

I think it was the first 5 chapters I read and then had to download the Galatea app to read the rest but only after waiting 6 hours between each chapter!

I really enjoyed this book despite the quality of writing not being to the level of some other books I’ve read. It had a good storyline and I really liked the main characters Lily and Mason. Mason comes across as being the dream boyfriend and I think he really is😅😂 Brittany, Skye and Liam were also really likeable, mainly because I felt they were the only other loyal characters in the book. The thing I didn’t like is it felt like every character was always rolling their eyes, that description was overused in my opinion.

I wasn’t that mad at the ending like others were, 8 years had past in the epilogue and yes there were a lot of unanswered questions, like why Mason went through a dark place and why he decided to be a doctor but at the same time, quality over quantity of chapters, at least there was a happy ending and all good things must come to an end! Overall, this was a really enjoyable, quick read for me and I didn’t want it to end but it did and I was happy with the ending!

[Tsuri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mai fidarsi degli AD su Instagram... Ero curiosa dall'estratto pubblicato, ma quell'estratto mai si è trovato in questo libro... Molto deludente.
La storia di per sé non è nulla di speciale, in più la traduzione fa abbastanza pena, tanto che mi sono chiesta più volte se fosse stato tradotto con l'AI. L'unico motivo per cui sono riuscita a continuarlo immagino siano state le notifiche di Galatea che ogni 6 ore mi ricordava del nuovo capitolo.
Tutto il libro l'ho trovato molto veloce, ma da metà storia diventa davvero assurdo, per non parlare dell'epilogo che ho trovato parecchio insensato come finale della storia, non si allinea per niente bene con gli avvenimenti successi.
I personaggi non sono molto ben caratterizzati e ho trovato parecchi avvenimenti messi lì un po' a caso, senza le necessarie spiegazioni, senza le necessarie conseguenze. Personaggi importanti all'improvviso spariscono e non si sa più niente di loro, comportamenti di altri si ribaltano completamente all'improvviso e poi tutto d'un tratto tornano come prima.
Mi ha lasciato molto l'amaro in bocca questa storia. Come prima lettura dell'anno senza ombra di dubbio potevo scegliere di meglio...