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Broken Together
His parole may have restrictions, but love knows no bounds.
Jacob Perry is on the brink of freedom after spending eight years in the Bellevue psychiatric ward. As he sets out on a new journey, he must learn to reconcile his former identity with his present one.
But with newfound freedom comes a fresh set of navigating college as a first-timer, landing a job with a criminal record, dealing with a hostile parole officer, and building relationships with people who can never know the truth about his dark past.
But when Jacob meets a sharp-tongued, enigmatic woman harboring secrets of her own, he's faced with another unexpected challenge – romance. As she slips into his life with her endearing wit, Jacob grapples with the daunting question he's been is it possible for someone to truly know him – all of him – and love him anyway?
---
Broken Together is a clean, heartwarming tale of love, redemption, and second chances. It contains themes of mental health, murder, suicide, self-harm, and physical and sexual abuse.
This book is a sequel to the first book in the Redemption Series, Keep No Record.
Jacob Perry is on the brink of freedom after spending eight years in the Bellevue psychiatric ward. As he sets out on a new journey, he must learn to reconcile his former identity with his present one.
But with newfound freedom comes a fresh set of navigating college as a first-timer, landing a job with a criminal record, dealing with a hostile parole officer, and building relationships with people who can never know the truth about his dark past.
But when Jacob meets a sharp-tongued, enigmatic woman harboring secrets of her own, he's faced with another unexpected challenge – romance. As she slips into his life with her endearing wit, Jacob grapples with the daunting question he's been is it possible for someone to truly know him – all of him – and love him anyway?
---
Broken Together is a clean, heartwarming tale of love, redemption, and second chances. It contains themes of mental health, murder, suicide, self-harm, and physical and sexual abuse.
This book is a sequel to the first book in the Redemption Series, Keep No Record.
402 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 7, 2019
About the author
Cassie Beebe
12 books17 followersWelcome to the world of Cassie Beebe, where clean romance meets captivating storytelling. Since 2016, Cassie has been enchanting readers with heartwarming tales filled with laughter, tears, and profound reflection. As a devoted Christian, Cassie infuses her writing with themes of faith, love, and redemption.
When she's not crafting unforgettable characters or weaving intricate plots, Cassie can be found alongside her wonderful husband, working diligently as housekeepers. Their cozy home is shared with two adorable cats, Gallifrey and Melody.
If you'd like to get to know Cassie more, head on over to www.cassiebeebe.com.
When she's not crafting unforgettable characters or weaving intricate plots, Cassie can be found alongside her wonderful husband, working diligently as housekeepers. Their cozy home is shared with two adorable cats, Gallifrey and Melody.
If you'd like to get to know Cassie more, head on over to www.cassiebeebe.com.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 29, 2021
I was highly anticipating this since reading the first one in 2017. I really liked that book, and you can read that review if you look up my reviews. I seldom do them, so it will be easy to find. If not I can link it here.
I will try to be as spoiler-free as I can.
After being locked away eight years in Bellevue Psychiatric hospital Jacob is finally a free man. Not long after he starts going to college trying to find a normal life for himself. There he meets some people who will be very important to his life, and we see how he navigates those relationships, while at the same time trying taking care of himself. I'm really bad at resumes of books so I'll just stop there and get into the meat of the review instead.
Flowing dialogue
In the first book I said that I really liked the dialogue because it felt so real, and how people actually talk. Beebe continues this tradition, and I actually think the dialogue flows even better this time around. At the same time there are many details sprinkled throughout them, making it much more natural. Instead of the boring he said, she said, they replied etc, the dialogue instead shows the characters behaving like normal people during the conversations and it all becomes that much more alive. Like for example the character of Giles in Buffy always doing something when he is talking: Cleaning his glasses, walking around, eating etc. We never just stand around looking right at the person, we always do something. This I feel Beebe characterized pretty well.
I do feel at times that some of these conversations are a little too detailed, it can become a little distracting. But in general I don't find it a huge fault.
Characters and story
I found that the author hooked me pretty fast on the book and the continuation of the character of Jacob. The previous book we saw it all from Sarah's perspective but this time it's Jacob. While I didn't find Sarah as well developed in the previous book, Jacob as a main character is being thoroughly fleshed out in this one. We get to see all his facets, and he only gets more intriguing the more I read. Things we didn't get to see last time, because we weren't in his head, now becomes more apparent. Maybe a re-read of the previous one will gather more insights to it all?
As I said I was hooked pretty quickly to the story. The first chapter I wasn't all that sure about, but then again it had been a long time since I read the last one; so it didn't take long for me to get into it. Besides the story this time around is a little different. The first one was more of a thriller, and this book calmed it all down. I liked the change of pace, and it didn't hurt the story at all. At the same time I did like how the previous book was layered with it's tense story-telling. It's going to be hard for me to rate these two books against each other. Not that I have to do it. But I don't know which one I like the most (for now the first one is a little ahead). When all that is said, I was really interested to see how Jacob acclimated to this new life, and I followed his new life with anticipation. I wasn't disappointed.
The other characters were also pretty cool. I feel like we got to know them quite well, and Jenna more than others. It's always interesting to see which characters are the once the authors take further and how they develop them when I am reading. Characters are the meat and bone for me. Story always takes a backseat as long as the characters are good. Which is to say that if the people in the plot is uninteresting the story can savior it, but I will always be less interested if the character is not up to snuff. Thankfully that is not a problem in Broken Together.
While we get to know other people in the story as well, I am most interested in Jacob and Jenna. Jacob meet Jenna by a coincidence, and it wasn't always clear to me if she was just going to be a small character or a bigger one. I was pleasantly surprised when she was elevated to a more important character. Not that I didn't think she could be, but just because I hadn't read much of the blurbs beforehand just to be surprised overall. Trailers, blurbs or whatever is out there, almost always spoil too much for me. But still we like to get the details, so yeah. And to just say it I did really like her character from the get go. There was something about her that I wanted to get know more.
Thankfully that is also the case. I would get more into the interactions between them, but then we are getting far to much into spoiler territory. Instead I am going to just say that I really liked the the journey of Jacob and Jenna from the start well into the story. I feel that they both got the deserved screen time (if I can say that). We learn enough about Jenna to care about her. All though it would be neat if we could have a chapter or two where we see things from her perspective, but overall I am not complaining. As I will repeat or have repeated ad nauseam, I am being pretty vague here, but I don't like really want to go to much into spoilers. Read it. It will be well worth it.
I have to admit that I did like the first half of the book the most. The transition of Jacob into his new life was fascinating to see. I wonder how well I would've done it if I was in the same position as him? I did fall off a little after the first half, but that might just be because I was just distracted by other things in my life, and what I was doing. I did eventually pick the book back up again, but I struggled a little to get back into it. None of the characters or the author's fault, I just struggle to get back into things if it's been a long time since I've read it, played it or watched it. When that is said I did like the first half of the book more than the last half. I guess I wish there was more of a build-up than it was. I don't wish there was more of the book, because as it is I think the novel is tight enough with it's story. So I do appreciate it was just the right amount of length for the story Beebe wanted to tell. I do like to read long books. But sometimes it's better to have a tight story that doesn't meander too much. I think Beebe did that wonderfully.
There is probably more to say, but for right now this is what I've got.
I will try to be as spoiler-free as I can.
After being locked away eight years in Bellevue Psychiatric hospital Jacob is finally a free man. Not long after he starts going to college trying to find a normal life for himself. There he meets some people who will be very important to his life, and we see how he navigates those relationships, while at the same time trying taking care of himself. I'm really bad at resumes of books so I'll just stop there and get into the meat of the review instead.
Flowing dialogue
In the first book I said that I really liked the dialogue because it felt so real, and how people actually talk. Beebe continues this tradition, and I actually think the dialogue flows even better this time around. At the same time there are many details sprinkled throughout them, making it much more natural. Instead of the boring he said, she said, they replied etc, the dialogue instead shows the characters behaving like normal people during the conversations and it all becomes that much more alive. Like for example the character of Giles in Buffy always doing something when he is talking: Cleaning his glasses, walking around, eating etc. We never just stand around looking right at the person, we always do something. This I feel Beebe characterized pretty well.
I do feel at times that some of these conversations are a little too detailed, it can become a little distracting. But in general I don't find it a huge fault.
Characters and story
I found that the author hooked me pretty fast on the book and the continuation of the character of Jacob. The previous book we saw it all from Sarah's perspective but this time it's Jacob. While I didn't find Sarah as well developed in the previous book, Jacob as a main character is being thoroughly fleshed out in this one. We get to see all his facets, and he only gets more intriguing the more I read. Things we didn't get to see last time, because we weren't in his head, now becomes more apparent. Maybe a re-read of the previous one will gather more insights to it all?
As I said I was hooked pretty quickly to the story. The first chapter I wasn't all that sure about, but then again it had been a long time since I read the last one; so it didn't take long for me to get into it. Besides the story this time around is a little different. The first one was more of a thriller, and this book calmed it all down. I liked the change of pace, and it didn't hurt the story at all. At the same time I did like how the previous book was layered with it's tense story-telling. It's going to be hard for me to rate these two books against each other. Not that I have to do it. But I don't know which one I like the most (for now the first one is a little ahead). When all that is said, I was really interested to see how Jacob acclimated to this new life, and I followed his new life with anticipation. I wasn't disappointed.
The other characters were also pretty cool. I feel like we got to know them quite well, and Jenna more than others. It's always interesting to see which characters are the once the authors take further and how they develop them when I am reading. Characters are the meat and bone for me. Story always takes a backseat as long as the characters are good. Which is to say that if the people in the plot is uninteresting the story can savior it, but I will always be less interested if the character is not up to snuff. Thankfully that is not a problem in Broken Together.
While we get to know other people in the story as well, I am most interested in Jacob and Jenna. Jacob meet Jenna by a coincidence, and it wasn't always clear to me if she was just going to be a small character or a bigger one. I was pleasantly surprised when she was elevated to a more important character. Not that I didn't think she could be, but just because I hadn't read much of the blurbs beforehand just to be surprised overall. Trailers, blurbs or whatever is out there, almost always spoil too much for me. But still we like to get the details, so yeah. And to just say it I did really like her character from the get go. There was something about her that I wanted to get know more.
Thankfully that is also the case. I would get more into the interactions between them, but then we are getting far to much into spoiler territory. Instead I am going to just say that I really liked the the journey of Jacob and Jenna from the start well into the story. I feel that they both got the deserved screen time (if I can say that). We learn enough about Jenna to care about her. All though it would be neat if we could have a chapter or two where we see things from her perspective, but overall I am not complaining. As I will repeat or have repeated ad nauseam, I am being pretty vague here, but I don't like really want to go to much into spoilers. Read it. It will be well worth it.
I have to admit that I did like the first half of the book the most. The transition of Jacob into his new life was fascinating to see. I wonder how well I would've done it if I was in the same position as him? I did fall off a little after the first half, but that might just be because I was just distracted by other things in my life, and what I was doing. I did eventually pick the book back up again, but I struggled a little to get back into it. None of the characters or the author's fault, I just struggle to get back into things if it's been a long time since I've read it, played it or watched it. When that is said I did like the first half of the book more than the last half. I guess I wish there was more of a build-up than it was. I don't wish there was more of the book, because as it is I think the novel is tight enough with it's story. So I do appreciate it was just the right amount of length for the story Beebe wanted to tell. I do like to read long books. But sometimes it's better to have a tight story that doesn't meander too much. I think Beebe did that wonderfully.
There is probably more to say, but for right now this is what I've got.
March 19, 2020
In the heels of her previous book Mrs. Beebe writes an excellent ending for Jacob! Eight years after he leaves therapy, this journey follows Jacob's thoughts as a reformed man trying to adjust to life on the outside. Meeting friends along the way, he tries to fit in while hiding his deepest secrets. It is a rollercoaster of emotions! Filled with gripping testimonies of his past and those of his new friends, this book penetrated my heart with renewed empathy, deep anxiety gave me number of chuckles along the way! She is a brilliant writer who brings her audience into the hearts of her characters. Highly recommended!
May 13, 2021
I really loved "Keep No Record", and "Broken Together" is even better. I just love the character development and dialogue. Great writing and a compelling story. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that the romance is very touching and special.
September 19, 2019
Broken Together is the fantastic sequel to Cassie Beebe's debut novel Keep No Record. In this book we follow Jacob as he starts his new life after being released from Bellevue, experiencing the real world in some ways for the first time. As he thinks of his future and begins to navigate the world of college, friendships, and love we see him grapple with the gravity of his past actions and how they affect both his mental health and his practical life (how does one get a job with a felony record?) As he forms new relationships with those around him, we get introduced to fantastic new characters. When he meets Jenna just prepare to not want to put the book down ever again. She is so much fun, her quick wit and humor are equally matched with her kindness. The development of side characters is great, it's just enough that you don't feel like they are an afterthought, but not too much that it overshadows the main story. I love that while the book follows the reality of Jacob's current life it also seamlessly offers snippets of his formative years and insight into why he became the man he is. Jacob is such an endearing person and seeing his awkwardness as he deals with female friendships (and romance!) is so relatable and makes you just adore him. Broken Together is the best book I've read all year! I loved it!
February 1, 2020
This is the second (and final?) book in the series that started with Keep No Record. I read the first one because I knew Cassie Beebe's writing online and was keen to see how that translated into a novel. Although I was gripped there were things about the writing style that I found tricky in the first novel: odd descriptive words or phrases that occured too often, disconcerting changes of narrative viewpoint, etc. This second book has none of those flaws, the writing fits the situations and the characters perfectly and I never stumbled over anything clumsy.
Broken Together is touching, heartfelt, and gripping. It reminded me a little of The Silver Linings Playbook.
My only criticism is that as a reader I cannot forgive Jacob. We get ample insights that explain his past actions, and the fight he undertakes to win back a happy loving life are impressive, but his actions in Keep No Record left me more ambivalent than the characters around him (and the author?) acknowledge.
Given the improvement from book one to book two, Cassie Beebe's next book will be well worth looking out for too.
Broken Together is touching, heartfelt, and gripping. It reminded me a little of The Silver Linings Playbook.
My only criticism is that as a reader I cannot forgive Jacob. We get ample insights that explain his past actions, and the fight he undertakes to win back a happy loving life are impressive, but his actions in Keep No Record left me more ambivalent than the characters around him (and the author?) acknowledge.
Given the improvement from book one to book two, Cassie Beebe's next book will be well worth looking out for too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews