Brokenhearted by Brooklyn Taylor is the story of two people who have experienced tremendous heartbreak in their lives. Trevor James and Ryann Payne had both loved and lost in ways that left them feeling they would forever be alone. Neither of them wanted to take the chance of love again so their through themselves into their respective lives.
Trevor’s idea of coping with his loss was to leave the town he grew up in and more or less, cut his parents out of his life. He felt he was justified in staying away from his parents, specifically his father, because of things that his father said, regarding Trevor’s teenage love, Leah. In addition to cutting most people out of his life, after the loss of Leah, Trevor throws himself into his education and becomes a doctor. His chosen profession then becomes almost everything in his life. Trevor does allow one person to stay close to him throughout his life, his best friend Max.
Ryann Payne is a woman who has suffered loss in multiple ways. She grew up with the strong female influences of her mother and her aunt Jackie. She suffered the loss of an absent father and suffered another loss in her romantic life. When Ryann had finally had enough from her philandering and verbally and mentally abusive boyfriend, Jake, she threw him out of her home. Ryann used the pain and heartbreak from that relationship to fuel her desire to live her life. Ryann made the decision that the best thing for her to do was to live her life to the fullest, save a new romantic relationship. Despite pressure from the women in her life, Ryann avoided men on a romantic level.
One-day fate stepped into Trevor and Ryann’s life. Trevor and his friend, Max, went to the bar where Ryann was a bartender. Nothing amazing happened. Ryann and her best friend Sadie, both noticed Trevor and Max, but that was as far as things went for Ryann. As the story progressed, Ryann and Trevor continued to run into each other. For the sake of Max and Sadie, who had started to see each other, Ryann and Trevor agreed to be friends. Considering the two both considered themselves broken and never wanted to love again it should have been the perfect arrangement, unfortunately, Ryann started to develop feelings for Trevor. Trevor, on the other hand, tried to deny his feelings for Ryann and on many occasions was a complete and utter jerk to her.
Brokenhearted includes tragedy, humor, revelations, forgiveness, and acceptance. From the outset, I absolutely loved Ryann’s strength, her determination to live life on her terms, and her devotion to those that meant something to her. I applauded her when she made a stand against Trevor for being the selfish and cruel person he was at times. I was impressed with how she handled a shocking revelation from her mother. She is a woman who got knocked down in more ways than one but pulled herself up and made her life a happy one.
Trevor, he left me conflicted. I appreciated how he dove into his education and his subsequent career as a doctor. I appreciated how he had his tight bond with his friend Max. He also appeared to be a caring doctor. On the other hand, I wasn’t a fan of his stubborn attitude. I also didn’t care for his violent outbursts or how he basically kept leading Ryann on. In some respects I feel like Ryann’s love and friendship, and Trevor’s own personal tragedy upon returning to his hometown, started to change the negatives aspects to his personality that were a direct result of losing Leah. Part of me would have liked to see him make amends to those he had hurt because of his own pain. At least more than the limited gestures, he showed.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. Ryann is hands down my favorite character in the story.