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Surrender #1
Broken
Love is dysfunctional. Love is messy. Love is complicated. Love is desperate.
My two rules were simple enough:
Protect your heart and your sanity at all costs.
Never be the one to say “I love you” first.
Privileged. Ruthless. Apathetic. Billionaire heir. Business mogul. Womanizer. Sex on a stick. Conner Brathwaite turned my rules to ashes.
The lessons I learned in my twenty-four years were practical. Peace is far more valuable than passion. Seduction is from the devil. And seduction and deception usually go hand in hand.
Conner’s haunting green eyes hide so many secrets. Secrets that will probably ruin me…ruin us. The easy thing to do would be to walk away. And if everyone is right about the formidable Conner Brathwaite, this won’t end well. But I’m in too deep. We’re in too deep.
Freefall. Heart first. Consequences be damned.
This is a BWWM adult contemporary romance novel.
My two rules were simple enough:
Protect your heart and your sanity at all costs.
Never be the one to say “I love you” first.
Privileged. Ruthless. Apathetic. Billionaire heir. Business mogul. Womanizer. Sex on a stick. Conner Brathwaite turned my rules to ashes.
The lessons I learned in my twenty-four years were practical. Peace is far more valuable than passion. Seduction is from the devil. And seduction and deception usually go hand in hand.
Conner’s haunting green eyes hide so many secrets. Secrets that will probably ruin me…ruin us. The easy thing to do would be to walk away. And if everyone is right about the formidable Conner Brathwaite, this won’t end well. But I’m in too deep. We’re in too deep.
Freefall. Heart first. Consequences be damned.
This is a BWWM adult contemporary romance novel.
305 pages, ebook
First published August 15, 2019
506 people are currently reading
404 people want to read
About the author
Tia Sirrah
5 books139 followersTia Sirrah loves to create interracial contemporary romance stories about flawed people and their unfiltered journeys that eventually lead to their happily ever afters. An introvert at heart with an overactive imagination, writing has been a hobby of Tia’s since she was a little girl. Her love of reading and writing led her to attend California State University Hayward, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She currently resides in Northern California with her husband, their two children, and a cuddle-bully cat.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
September 10, 2019
A profoundly emotional read!
Congratulations to Tia Sirrah on her debut novel, Broken! She put her all in this MEMORABLE story!
" I think it is long overdue for us. This is EVERYTHING" -Novalee
"Broken" pulled at every emotion in my very being. To laugh and jump up one moment and curse and cry the next said a lot about the way Tia Sirrah weaved Conner and Novalee's gut wrenching but loving story! The tale truly reflected the moodiness of Conner Braithwaite with Novalee's ole' school music playing in the background! Awesome move Tia!
I cheered this " opposites attract" couple on from the start but was upset with how their selfish mothers (Keisha and Martina) behaved badly when they were young, impressionable children that left them truly tortured and damaged adults! I loved the way the story was told in Novalee's POV but would love to read Conner's view in the future even after his epic and all-telling epilogue!
Novalee's BFF Amy, well ... nothing left to say about her but Fatima and Quentin's forthcoming story should be interesting since we now know they both have strong feelings for one another! Quentin will have to grovel HARD after his doomed marriage of convenience to Amy Bear!!
I strongly recommend this book because it was most definitely an ENGROSSING 'triple take' read!
10+emotional stars!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations to Tia Sirrah on her debut novel, Broken! She put her all in this MEMORABLE story!
" I think it is long overdue for us. This is EVERYTHING" -Novalee
"Broken" pulled at every emotion in my very being. To laugh and jump up one moment and curse and cry the next said a lot about the way Tia Sirrah weaved Conner and Novalee's gut wrenching but loving story! The tale truly reflected the moodiness of Conner Braithwaite with Novalee's ole' school music playing in the background! Awesome move Tia!
I cheered this " opposites attract" couple on from the start but was upset with how their selfish mothers (Keisha and Martina) behaved badly when they were young, impressionable children that left them truly tortured and damaged adults! I loved the way the story was told in Novalee's POV but would love to read Conner's view in the future even after his epic and all-telling epilogue!
Novalee's BFF Amy, well ... nothing left to say about her but Fatima and Quentin's forthcoming story should be interesting since we now know they both have strong feelings for one another! Quentin will have to grovel HARD after his doomed marriage of convenience to Amy Bear!!
I strongly recommend this book because it was most definitely an ENGROSSING 'triple take' read!
10+emotional stars!!!!!!!!!!!
June 9, 2021
Oh how I love reformed bad boys!
This story came out of nowhere and threw me for several loops! I absolutely loved the drama, the intense steam and chemistry between Novalee & Conner. The shocking story behind Conner’s twisted sad past..what a tragic life both he and Nova lived before they knew each other, but I loved seeing this story play out.
I love an anti-hero, manwhore type that finds his soul mate. I love that the drama in this book has nothing to do with his love for Nova, but Connor’s lack of communication about this huge secret of his past.
There’s Christian Grey, Gideon Cross and Connor Brathwaite. Broken men that become whole with the love of a good, strong woman.
This story came out of nowhere and threw me for several loops! I absolutely loved the drama, the intense steam and chemistry between Novalee & Conner. The shocking story behind Conner’s twisted sad past..what a tragic life both he and Nova lived before they knew each other, but I loved seeing this story play out.
I love an anti-hero, manwhore type that finds his soul mate. I love that the drama in this book has nothing to do with his love for Nova, but Connor’s lack of communication about this huge secret of his past.
There’s Christian Grey, Gideon Cross and Connor Brathwaite. Broken men that become whole with the love of a good, strong woman.
August 22, 2019
This is a new author and she hit this book out of the park!! I LOVED this book OMG Connor might just be my new fav Alpha! The 2 MC's Connor and Novella had heartbreaking pasts but that didn't get in the way of their love! As alpha as Connor was Novella stood up to him and kept him in his place! Loved Fatima her cousin, I can't wait to read her story. I just wanted to say what an excellent job Ms. Sirrah did writing their story I can't wait to read more from her!
August 7, 2020
DNF at 15%
I had such high hopes.
They were dashed quickly.
Typos early and often enough I made note of them. I can handwave a few away and even not mind so much if the story is compelling. But it wasn't. And what jumped out the most especially right before I tapped out was that the characters were the type of rich people that non-rich people think how all rich people are.
I had such high hopes.
They were dashed quickly.
Typos early and often enough I made note of them. I can handwave a few away and even not mind so much if the story is compelling. But it wasn't. And what jumped out the most especially right before I tapped out was that the characters were the type of rich people that non-rich people think how all rich people are.
May 27, 2024
4.5 ⭐️ This book is quite impressive, and I was truly flabbergasted to learn that this is the author’s debut novel. The story is solid, it’s thoroughly engrossing, and it held my attention until the very end. This is definitively a book of substance—there is no fluff here.
August 26, 2019
Love Can Repair The Broken
4.5 Stars for this bwwm billionaire second chance romance. Connor and Novalee were like fyah together from the first time they met. But they both had baggage from past hurts that could not be ignored. This was a highly engaging story from a new author. I enjoyed this read and look forward to Fatima’s and Quentin’s story.
4.5 Stars for this bwwm billionaire second chance romance. Connor and Novalee were like fyah together from the first time they met. But they both had baggage from past hurts that could not be ignored. This was a highly engaging story from a new author. I enjoyed this read and look forward to Fatima’s and Quentin’s story.
July 11, 2020
I don’t know what I did for Amazon to be so kind in recommending Broken to me randomly two days ago but I am grateful!!
This book was just so enjoyable. A billionaire romance with a crazy twist, it’s sexy, emotional and binge-worthy. Connor and Novalee meet at the wedding of their mutual best friends. They’ve never met because Connor lives in New York but just recently moved back to Texas. Of course the second they meet he is enamoured with a brown skinned curly haired heroine. She’s obviously interested because he’s super hot!! But Novalee’s been hurt and is not in the market for that kind of pain again.
Eventually he breaks down her walls and they start dating. These two have so much chemistry it was oozing off the pages, they were on fire for each other!! The story mostly centers around Connor’s past and how it affects their relationship, my heart broke for him. I loved how Novalee handles it, she’s such a great character. She is so compassionate, friendly, loving, forgiving and most importantly NOT unreasonable. Connor is probably the opposite of all that and on top brash and rude but I loved it. He treats Novalee like a queen though, she is his everything.
I really appreciated that the author didn’t write Novalee to be a poor struggling student! Although she wasn’t Connor’s level of wealthy she still came from a similar background. The secondary characters were so great, especially Fatima and dare I say it... Amy! They were good additions to the story for opposite reasons.
I’m so impressed that this is Tia Sirrah’s debut novel! Honestly wasn’t expecting for it to be this well written when I first got it. As I read the first chapter I was thanking God that the story had such a good flow, and the writing wasn’t crap. It was definitely better than crap it was amazing. Of course since this is her first published book there were some things I would have changed but they were minor and it didn’t lessen my level of enjoyment. I’d be so proud to call this my first published book!
This book was just so enjoyable. A billionaire romance with a crazy twist, it’s sexy, emotional and binge-worthy. Connor and Novalee meet at the wedding of their mutual best friends. They’ve never met because Connor lives in New York but just recently moved back to Texas. Of course the second they meet he is enamoured with a brown skinned curly haired heroine. She’s obviously interested because he’s super hot!! But Novalee’s been hurt and is not in the market for that kind of pain again.
Eventually he breaks down her walls and they start dating. These two have so much chemistry it was oozing off the pages, they were on fire for each other!! The story mostly centers around Connor’s past and how it affects their relationship, my heart broke for him. I loved how Novalee handles it, she’s such a great character. She is so compassionate, friendly, loving, forgiving and most importantly NOT unreasonable. Connor is probably the opposite of all that and on top brash and rude but I loved it. He treats Novalee like a queen though, she is his everything.
I really appreciated that the author didn’t write Novalee to be a poor struggling student! Although she wasn’t Connor’s level of wealthy she still came from a similar background. The secondary characters were so great, especially Fatima and dare I say it... Amy! They were good additions to the story for opposite reasons.
I’m so impressed that this is Tia Sirrah’s debut novel! Honestly wasn’t expecting for it to be this well written when I first got it. As I read the first chapter I was thanking God that the story had such a good flow, and the writing wasn’t crap. It was definitely better than crap it was amazing. Of course since this is her first published book there were some things I would have changed but they were minor and it didn’t lessen my level of enjoyment. I’d be so proud to call this my first published book!
December 3, 2020
Broken
Style of writing was good.
This is not a note exclusive to this author but i noticed a lot of them love to repeat over and over again the race of their lead it’s like focused on too much where it becomes annoying. The first time i picked up this book that’s what made it annoying and i put the book down and picked it back up months later.
The FMC was good she wasn’t annoying and she came off likable
Her relationship with her mother was beyond and could’ve been focused on instead of all the filler ch and pgs.
There was one ch where we received a whole b/g of a character that showed up for one pg. idc what school the realtor went to it lead nowhere
The MC I didn’t really feel like he was fleshed out enough.
There were a few OTT moments in regards to how good looking he was. Every single woman wanted him it was like ok we get it.
His big secret reveal was sad and explained a lot
One of The protagonist was super dramatic and that storyline made no sense. There were clues to it that the lead had missed throughout the years of knowing her but something was off. The reveal of the whole story wasn’t enough but was also too much at the same time, it was a twofold reveal and unnecessary. I don’t want to spoil anything
I didn’t understand the couples connection. They were official within 5 min of meeting it made no sense to me. No buildup to this tortured love i was expecting to read about.
I felt their connection but i felt like it wasn’t enough. The sex was just ok i felt like it was pretty clean compared to most I’ve read.
I struggled to finish is was drawn out, boring and i skimmed through the pages after the 90% mark. At 30% i was like ok what’s going on? It’s bad when I’m anxious to be done.
Trigger warning please make note before reading
Style of writing was good.
This is not a note exclusive to this author but i noticed a lot of them love to repeat over and over again the race of their lead it’s like focused on too much where it becomes annoying. The first time i picked up this book that’s what made it annoying and i put the book down and picked it back up months later.
The FMC was good she wasn’t annoying and she came off likable
Her relationship with her mother was beyond and could’ve been focused on instead of all the filler ch and pgs.
There was one ch where we received a whole b/g of a character that showed up for one pg. idc what school the realtor went to it lead nowhere
The MC I didn’t really feel like he was fleshed out enough.
There were a few OTT moments in regards to how good looking he was. Every single woman wanted him it was like ok we get it.
His big secret reveal was sad and explained a lot
One of The protagonist was super dramatic and that storyline made no sense. There were clues to it that the lead had missed throughout the years of knowing her but something was off. The reveal of the whole story wasn’t enough but was also too much at the same time, it was a twofold reveal and unnecessary. I don’t want to spoil anything
I didn’t understand the couples connection. They were official within 5 min of meeting it made no sense to me. No buildup to this tortured love i was expecting to read about.
I felt their connection but i felt like it wasn’t enough. The sex was just ok i felt like it was pretty clean compared to most I’ve read.
I struggled to finish is was drawn out, boring and i skimmed through the pages after the 90% mark. At 30% i was like ok what’s going on? It’s bad when I’m anxious to be done.
Trigger warning please make note before reading
September 21, 2019
Started off well...
It started off well. Then it just got to be all over the place, I think Novalee was annoying and let Connor boss her around and act like an ass and then his way of apologizing is sex and then everything is ok. Definitely could have gone with out her getting pregnant, Its the same thing, black girl meets rich white man and she gets pregnant then they live happily ever after. Idk just didn't do it for me
It started off well. Then it just got to be all over the place, I think Novalee was annoying and let Connor boss her around and act like an ass and then his way of apologizing is sex and then everything is ok. Definitely could have gone with out her getting pregnant, Its the same thing, black girl meets rich white man and she gets pregnant then they live happily ever after. Idk just didn't do it for me
August 6, 2020
what in the world...
what made ol girl so different within seconds of dude seeing her that had him giving up his whorish ways so quickly? and of course she's fine with him being a controlling piece of shit. and their matching back stories was tew much.
plot didn't make sense and the book was too long.
what made ol girl so different within seconds of dude seeing her that had him giving up his whorish ways so quickly? and of course she's fine with him being a controlling piece of shit. and their matching back stories was tew much.
plot didn't make sense and the book was too long.
September 5, 2019
Excellent writing!
What a great story! Not your usual tortured souls find love in a hopeless place type of story. This was just such a compelling story of love and I just loved for every page of storytelling in Broken. Novalee and Conner are fire the moment they meet but the cheese factor was nil. I mean the sad parts of their pasts really did affect how they approached life just like it is in real life. But in darkness, you can see light and that's what happened with these two. You root for their love all the way through and the HEA was just wonderful. I really liked how the author dealt with Conner's alcoholism in a real way. How it affects the people you love the most and the empathy that Novalee showed him as she came to terms with it was spot on. Just a well written love story. I really enjoyed it.
What a great story! Not your usual tortured souls find love in a hopeless place type of story. This was just such a compelling story of love and I just loved for every page of storytelling in Broken. Novalee and Conner are fire the moment they meet but the cheese factor was nil. I mean the sad parts of their pasts really did affect how they approached life just like it is in real life. But in darkness, you can see light and that's what happened with these two. You root for their love all the way through and the HEA was just wonderful. I really liked how the author dealt with Conner's alcoholism in a real way. How it affects the people you love the most and the empathy that Novalee showed him as she came to terms with it was spot on. Just a well written love story. I really enjoyed it.
October 11, 2020
Definitely recommend this book
I’ve been coming across a lot of new authors lately and this author is one of them.
I like the story behind this book. Conner and Novalee were two broken souls, who had to heal from the trauma they endured during their childhood. I was happy that Novalee didn’t give up on Conner when he didn’t not want to share all of himself with her. Some pain are just that hard to tell out loud.
My only issue with this book was that I only got Conner’s POV at the end of book. However, that didn’t take away from the story or made it less interesting. But I would have It a 10 star lol book for me.
I’m excited to read Fatima and Quinten’s story next.
I definitely recommend this book
I’ve been coming across a lot of new authors lately and this author is one of them.
I like the story behind this book. Conner and Novalee were two broken souls, who had to heal from the trauma they endured during their childhood. I was happy that Novalee didn’t give up on Conner when he didn’t not want to share all of himself with her. Some pain are just that hard to tell out loud.
My only issue with this book was that I only got Conner’s POV at the end of book. However, that didn’t take away from the story or made it less interesting. But I would have It a 10 star lol book for me.
I’m excited to read Fatima and Quinten’s story next.
I definitely recommend this book
April 8, 2021
This story will play with your emotions! It is heart-wrenching and mind-blowing. Broken is a billionaire romance with a crazy twist. Novelee is strong and sassy, and Connor is absolutely broken. There are hot erotic scenes, and a secret, when revealed, may leave you in tears.
Novelee and Connor have such fantastic chemistry, complex personalities and have both been through terrible experiences in the past.
This book has excellent story development and plot.
Ms. Sirriah, you did a remarkable job crafting this story.
Novelee and Connor have such fantastic chemistry, complex personalities and have both been through terrible experiences in the past.
This book has excellent story development and plot.
Ms. Sirriah, you did a remarkable job crafting this story.
March 22, 2022
An emotional heartbreaking and wholesome story , it breaks your heart and picks the pieces up again , Novalee is a gem and a bad ass, conner is a broken soul that deserves another chance, everything about the book was amazing the characters the plot the pace of the story telling i truly loved
Check for TW if you plan to read it⛔️
now i want to read about Fatima and Quienten ❤️❤️❤️
Check for TW if you plan to read it⛔️
now i want to read about Fatima and Quienten ❤️❤️❤️
July 24, 2021
There's a reason why I don't enjoy adult romances as much as NA. They're typically stretched out with fillers and mundane nonsense. The couples generally lose steam once they get together. Add to that OTT drama from family or OW/OM and basically FMCs who fake reject billionaires and their lifestyle only to turn around and live it up. Just be real! And this story pretty much had these.
I wanted to DNF but was hoping it got better and by that time I was too invested to stop.
The FMC is a beautiful biracial beauty. She's loveable but it was hard to relate to her perfection. She's a stunning upperclass debutante with men falling at her feet. Yep, that sounds exactly like me! not! She plays hard to get in a half-assed attempt. After barely her second date, she agrees to a relationship with Connor. From then on, it's all about her putting Connor in his place and attempting to "save" him from himself. She half-asses being a strong independent woman and complains when Connor buys her things but turns around and accepts millions of dollars worth of jewelry, cars, a condo etc. I don't know what all that noise was about. Just more annoying shit. Novalee's worried about all of Connor's past conquests and his racist, possessive mother but Novalee is quite confident in their relationship and never second guesses it even after she finds out about Amy....
Amy and her mom struck me as suspect right off the bat with their racist comments. How the heck did Novalee even put up with it, let alone be best friends with it?
Fatima - good friend, but I found her annoyingly stereotypical. It's like she made up for the fact that Novalee was so whitewashed.
Connor- typical hot, sexy, alpha, playboy billionaire. Sounds like the makings of an interesting MMC, right? Wrong! I was intrigued when he first said he'd want to be just friends with Novalee. I was highly anticipating some great sexual tension. But by the second date, Connor was already sticking his tongue in our girl's mouth and didn't stop. I was turned off by his hardcore instalove. He never faltered in his devotion to Novalee and that is great if it were IRL. But in a story, all the potential mystery and delicious tension got thrown out right off the bat. So Connor just plays out as boringly reliable with a secret. I suspected his secret from the getgo and wasn't surprised when it was revealed.
Andre and Marcus- some random guy who felt like the token black guy in the story, there to legitimize Novalee's previous relationships and her half-assed attempts at rejecting Connor.
This story could have wrapped up in half the length with some aggressive editing of the boring mundane stuff. It truly was meh IMHO. I don't understand how it got such high ratings but then again I really don't enjoy Hallmark formulaic stories.
I wanted to DNF but was hoping it got better and by that time I was too invested to stop.
The FMC is a beautiful biracial beauty. She's loveable but it was hard to relate to her perfection. She's a stunning upperclass debutante with men falling at her feet. Yep, that sounds exactly like me! not! She plays hard to get in a half-assed attempt. After barely her second date, she agrees to a relationship with Connor. From then on, it's all about her putting Connor in his place and attempting to "save" him from himself. She half-asses being a strong independent woman and complains when Connor buys her things but turns around and accepts millions of dollars worth of jewelry, cars, a condo etc. I don't know what all that noise was about. Just more annoying shit. Novalee's worried about all of Connor's past conquests and his racist, possessive mother but Novalee is quite confident in their relationship and never second guesses it even after she finds out about Amy....
Amy and her mom struck me as suspect right off the bat with their racist comments. How the heck did Novalee even put up with it, let alone be best friends with it?
Fatima - good friend, but I found her annoyingly stereotypical. It's like she made up for the fact that Novalee was so whitewashed.
Connor- typical hot, sexy, alpha, playboy billionaire. Sounds like the makings of an interesting MMC, right? Wrong! I was intrigued when he first said he'd want to be just friends with Novalee. I was highly anticipating some great sexual tension. But by the second date, Connor was already sticking his tongue in our girl's mouth and didn't stop. I was turned off by his hardcore instalove. He never faltered in his devotion to Novalee and that is great if it were IRL. But in a story, all the potential mystery and delicious tension got thrown out right off the bat. So Connor just plays out as boringly reliable with a secret. I suspected his secret from the getgo and wasn't surprised when it was revealed.
Andre and Marcus- some random guy who felt like the token black guy in the story, there to legitimize Novalee's previous relationships and her half-assed attempts at rejecting Connor.
This story could have wrapped up in half the length with some aggressive editing of the boring mundane stuff. It truly was meh IMHO. I don't understand how it got such high ratings but then again I really don't enjoy Hallmark formulaic stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2021
This book was so good y’all!
The emotional roller coaster this book took me through was worth the ride. WTAF was wrong with me to have forgotten I had saved this book for later? Because I loved EVERYTHING!
Novalee and Conner both met at a mutual friend's wedding and from there, their chemistry was on fire. Like so hot volcanoes erupted throughout the book. Both had some emotional issues and trust issues, but they could not deny the soul mate connection they shared. I love the emotional drama, the ride or die cousin, the crazy best friend. Most of all I loved Conner and Novalee’s relationship and how they fought for each other. “Broken” was beautifully written, Ms. Tia Sirrah wrote her ass off. This book and the characters will definitely go into my favorites and will stay with me forever.
Happy Reading Friends!
November 23, 2020
This is my first time reading from this author and Ms. Tia Sirrah is now one of my faves! I am anxious to read the next one about Fatima and Quinton! But, this story about Novalee and Conner really was good! I love the drama and all of the mystery of Connor's past life as well. Very good story!
August 21, 2019
This book was excellent
This book was an awesome read. I stay up until 3 am to finish. I loved Cornnor and Novalee. She was so sweet and caring. He was an ahole. Both than demons and messed up mothers. I cant wait to read more from this author
This book was an awesome read. I stay up until 3 am to finish. I loved Cornnor and Novalee. She was so sweet and caring. He was an ahole. Both than demons and messed up mothers. I cant wait to read more from this author
August 27, 2019
Amazing
I thought this book was great. As a person who went through abuse and came out on the other side I think this story really hit home.
I thought this book was great. As a person who went through abuse and came out on the other side I think this story really hit home.
August 2, 2020
I read 80 percent, which is more than enough. The book would have been shorter if Sirrah spent more time showing the plot and less on advertising luxury brands.
June 3, 2020
I loved it, thought it was captivating. Novalee is a strong, independent woman who stood up for herself which I loved. Connor was an asshole to others but undeniably loved Novalee. Both of them had gone through all kinds of trauma and had handled it in different ways.
When Novalee said:
I’m finally at a place where I can breathe again. And I can smile again. I mean, really smile. And laugh, laugh until my cheeks hurt." I smiled up at him, fulfilled by the inner peace that I worked so hard for. "I’m finally in a good place. I just can’t risk that."
I FELT THAT. When you finally get the inner peace and happiness you had to fight for and don't want to potentially put that at risk again? Been there!
The romance between Conner and Novalee was believable and I like that she made him earn her.
Amy was...racist and as she herself admitted, very jealous of Novalee. It's hard to believe that her and Novalee were able to stay friends for 12 years. She seemed to be the type of person who had to be more successful in her personal and work life than her friends.
I'm actually glad that Novalee's mother Keisha, did not make an appearance. Be gone. Speaking of awful mothers, reading about what Martina did her sons was awful and heartbreaking and infuriating. She got hers in the end though.
The parallels in the way the media treated Novalee and how the media in real life treats Meghan Markle was uncanny.
I'm glad that Novalee and Connor got their happily ever after and I can't wait to read about Fatima and Quentin next.
When Novalee said:
I’m finally at a place where I can breathe again. And I can smile again. I mean, really smile. And laugh, laugh until my cheeks hurt." I smiled up at him, fulfilled by the inner peace that I worked so hard for. "I’m finally in a good place. I just can’t risk that."
I FELT THAT. When you finally get the inner peace and happiness you had to fight for and don't want to potentially put that at risk again? Been there!
The romance between Conner and Novalee was believable and I like that she made him earn her.
Amy was...racist and as she herself admitted, very jealous of Novalee. It's hard to believe that her and Novalee were able to stay friends for 12 years. She seemed to be the type of person who had to be more successful in her personal and work life than her friends.
I'm actually glad that Novalee's mother Keisha, did not make an appearance. Be gone. Speaking of awful mothers, reading about what Martina did her sons was awful and heartbreaking and infuriating. She got hers in the end though.
The parallels in the way the media treated Novalee and how the media in real life treats Meghan Markle was uncanny.
I'm glad that Novalee and Connor got their happily ever after and I can't wait to read about Fatima and Quentin next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2025
Meh.
Fatima and Quentin's story was so, so much better than this one.
I'm not a fan of sex as a replacement for communication. There was a lot of that in this book.
The drama in this story was such a nothing burger. The FMC was more upset that the MMC had had a sexual relationship with her best friend a decade prior (and before she even knew him) than the fact that the MMC wouldn't open up to her and show her all of himself and that he was an alcoholic. Where are the priorities?
Fatima and Quentin's story was so, so much better than this one.
I'm not a fan of sex as a replacement for communication. There was a lot of that in this book.
The drama in this story was such a nothing burger. The FMC was more upset that the MMC had had a sexual relationship with her best friend a decade prior (and before she even knew him) than the fact that the MMC wouldn't open up to her and show her all of himself and that he was an alcoholic. Where are the priorities?
Want to read
November 27, 2020🎁 The Surrender Series (2 book series) is FREE on Amazon today (11/27/2020)! 🎁
April 25, 2021
Totally enjoyed this book, recommended by @bookraves. It had me questioning a few things at the beginning but they were all clear up through the book. Conner and Novalee had to go through a hard beginning of life to appreciate the love they have and to become the person they are..
August 19, 2019
Good read could have been great
I loved both Novalee and Connor. Seeing them grow and deal with real issues was beautiful. They both had to overcome similar horrors, but it was clearly harder for Connor. Probably a mixture of being a man, the expectation because of his name and finally his brother’s tragedy.
There were a few things though which prevented me for giving it top marks. The obvious black bias was exhausting and off putting. This book is taking place in Houston among the wealthy so for every white male to only be interested in black women (even the clerk at her job) was silly. The only white ladies of note in the book, his mother and Amy were both off color. Even the OBGYN and the realtor in Chicago were black women. Too much. The episode with Marcus was both funny and cringe worthy. On one hand, Connor was right to check Marcus because he was getting into stalker territory but he took it too far with the scholarship. I guess he was so in love and drowning he didn’t want anybody to have a chance at Novalee. Novalee’s reaction to his confrontation with Amy was over the top but I supposed she was triggered. In that instance Connor behaved well, told Amy clearly were they stood and his feelings for Novalee. I liked how once she cooled off they dealt with this and how she insisted on him getting help. However i hated that she run back to her parents. Her dad had behaved appallingly, didn’t apologize and didn’t talk to her for months. So by doing that she vindicated him and lost the opportunity to set clear boundaries. The last thing you want is your parents to much in your business. Their relationship is challenging enough. A few things too. I liked her relationship with her cousin and Helena but I wish Fatima wasn’t such a cliché. I wish we had Connor’s point of view and read more about his relationships with his Father and Quentin. As well as the inner workings of his mind. I really would have liked to know what the kids looked like although they didn’t need to have so many. I’m looking forward to the book about Fatima but I really hope it won’t be so biased.
I loved both Novalee and Connor. Seeing them grow and deal with real issues was beautiful. They both had to overcome similar horrors, but it was clearly harder for Connor. Probably a mixture of being a man, the expectation because of his name and finally his brother’s tragedy.
There were a few things though which prevented me for giving it top marks. The obvious black bias was exhausting and off putting. This book is taking place in Houston among the wealthy so for every white male to only be interested in black women (even the clerk at her job) was silly. The only white ladies of note in the book, his mother and Amy were both off color. Even the OBGYN and the realtor in Chicago were black women. Too much. The episode with Marcus was both funny and cringe worthy. On one hand, Connor was right to check Marcus because he was getting into stalker territory but he took it too far with the scholarship. I guess he was so in love and drowning he didn’t want anybody to have a chance at Novalee. Novalee’s reaction to his confrontation with Amy was over the top but I supposed she was triggered. In that instance Connor behaved well, told Amy clearly were they stood and his feelings for Novalee. I liked how once she cooled off they dealt with this and how she insisted on him getting help. However i hated that she run back to her parents. Her dad had behaved appallingly, didn’t apologize and didn’t talk to her for months. So by doing that she vindicated him and lost the opportunity to set clear boundaries. The last thing you want is your parents to much in your business. Their relationship is challenging enough. A few things too. I liked her relationship with her cousin and Helena but I wish Fatima wasn’t such a cliché. I wish we had Connor’s point of view and read more about his relationships with his Father and Quentin. As well as the inner workings of his mind. I really would have liked to know what the kids looked like although they didn’t need to have so many. I’m looking forward to the book about Fatima but I really hope it won’t be so biased.
November 17, 2020
Conflicted
I’m new to the black romance world ( I am black ). I found the story to have conflicted me. I say this because I’ve no issue with interracial relationships but I felt like the author dropped the ball on addressing certain stereotypes or having NovaLee stand more firmly in her blackness. I didn’t even know that her step mother was black until the end of it because in the beginning she was making comments about how she was glad NovaLee straightened her hair. Really made me think she was white.
I didn’t like that Conner was allowed to continue to be an asshole and that it was completely accepted because he only did it in public but not to her and the kids in the end. Like why not use the opportunity to have her be able to correct his obvious white privilege.
The scene with the mother who was obviously racist and slapping NovaLee and NovaLee reacting by hitting her back. However, only NovaLee was continuously raked through in the tabloids.
My point is that these things do happen to black people and it’s our reality. I just wish the author had taken the opportunity to have it somehow corrected by having her stand up to it and not continuously fall victim and play victim and just accept it. And of course the white baby daddy saves the day. Literally it’s fiction. She could have made it happen.
I just think the ball was dropped into having NovaLee be a strong black lead who was proud of who she was and stood firmly in it.
I liked the story but it was a bit offensive to me because of all the missed opportunities to make it endearing.
Hmmm. It was cute that he put her head scarf on but that was the only acknowledgement of him accepting that she was black.
I also don’t like that her cousin is made mention of being darker and her dialect is more stereotypically black. She also went to a private school. Why does she HAVE to fit the stereotype. Why couldn’t they BOTH sound the same. ? They grew up together.
Too many inconsistencies.
The author has promise but I’m detecting favour for the lighter skins rn.
Will be checking out part 2. Hopefully she proves me wrong.
I’m new to the black romance world ( I am black ). I found the story to have conflicted me. I say this because I’ve no issue with interracial relationships but I felt like the author dropped the ball on addressing certain stereotypes or having NovaLee stand more firmly in her blackness. I didn’t even know that her step mother was black until the end of it because in the beginning she was making comments about how she was glad NovaLee straightened her hair. Really made me think she was white.
I didn’t like that Conner was allowed to continue to be an asshole and that it was completely accepted because he only did it in public but not to her and the kids in the end. Like why not use the opportunity to have her be able to correct his obvious white privilege.
The scene with the mother who was obviously racist and slapping NovaLee and NovaLee reacting by hitting her back. However, only NovaLee was continuously raked through in the tabloids.
My point is that these things do happen to black people and it’s our reality. I just wish the author had taken the opportunity to have it somehow corrected by having her stand up to it and not continuously fall victim and play victim and just accept it. And of course the white baby daddy saves the day. Literally it’s fiction. She could have made it happen.
I just think the ball was dropped into having NovaLee be a strong black lead who was proud of who she was and stood firmly in it.
I liked the story but it was a bit offensive to me because of all the missed opportunities to make it endearing.
Hmmm. It was cute that he put her head scarf on but that was the only acknowledgement of him accepting that she was black.
I also don’t like that her cousin is made mention of being darker and her dialect is more stereotypically black. She also went to a private school. Why does she HAVE to fit the stereotype. Why couldn’t they BOTH sound the same. ? They grew up together.
Too many inconsistencies.
The author has promise but I’m detecting favour for the lighter skins rn.
Will be checking out part 2. Hopefully she proves me wrong.
April 26, 2020
Conner & Novalee!
That was a fabulous read,... Don’t you love it when tough guy is putty in ONE woman’s hands, that says woman has the power to make or destroy him!? I love it!!
Conner Brathwaite is a very complex man, broody,douchy, tough as nail, don’t give one hoot about ANYONE, handsome as sin and has very deep secrets that no one is privy to. How Miss Novalee Dumont is going to crack Conner’s shell and reach his cold heart? he said that his secrets is a no dealbreaker, he said take me as i am or not at all!? Will Novalee settles for only part of Conner!? Things are never as black and white... a lot of hidden shades between.
Grab your copy, and follow the Brathwaites and Dumonts & a lots more ... it’s worth it!
ps. I was so happy to be able to see a little of Conner’s POV. i wish it was more in debt, it was better than nothing.
That was a fabulous read,... Don’t you love it when tough guy is putty in ONE woman’s hands, that says woman has the power to make or destroy him!? I love it!!
Conner Brathwaite is a very complex man, broody,douchy, tough as nail, don’t give one hoot about ANYONE, handsome as sin and has very deep secrets that no one is privy to. How Miss Novalee Dumont is going to crack Conner’s shell and reach his cold heart? he said that his secrets is a no dealbreaker, he said take me as i am or not at all!? Will Novalee settles for only part of Conner!? Things are never as black and white... a lot of hidden shades between.
Grab your copy, and follow the Brathwaites and Dumonts & a lots more ... it’s worth it!
ps. I was so happy to be able to see a little of Conner’s POV. i wish it was more in debt, it was better than nothing.
October 7, 2020
You've done well!
Conner is broken man using booze and sex to chase the demons away temporarily tormenting him. But once he set eyes on Novalee, all changes. His neat order. But Novalee is just as broken but she has the support she needs to help her through it. This is a new author I'm trying out and I can actually say I'm impressed.
Conner is broken man using booze and sex to chase the demons away temporarily tormenting him. But once he set eyes on Novalee, all changes. His neat order. But Novalee is just as broken but she has the support she needs to help her through it. This is a new author I'm trying out and I can actually say I'm impressed.
July 25, 2020
First let me start by saying that this was a great debut novel by Tia Sirrah. I really enjoyed Connor and Novalee's story. And I will admit for a while there I thought Novalee would just continue to allow Connor to ignore his past trauma's (honestly it seemed like it would happen especially when she kept forgiving him) but she took a stand and did what was right. I also appreciate that she made Connor really work for her and that she demanded all of him, not the bits and pieces he felt like giving her. Overall this was a solid book and quick read. I would definitely recommend.
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