Üle kõige

Broken Pieces #1

by Natasha Anders

ARMASTUS ON HALBADEST ASJADEST PARIM



Selles nukravõitu igatsusloos püüavad kaks armastajat vahetada sünge mineviku helge tuleviku vastu.

Tina Jenson kuulub samasse sotsiaalsesse klassi nagu Harris Chapman, aga poiss on tema jaoks kättesaamatu – või vähemalt nii tüdruk arvab, enne kui nad koos voodisse hüppavad. See on täiuslik öö, aga kui tüdruk juhtub järgmisel hommikul pealt kuulma tooreid ja valusaid kommentaare, kiirustab ta lahkuma.

Kümme aastat hiljem on Tina oma eluga puntras. See Harrisega veedetud öö haavas mitte ainult tema tundeid, vaid vallandas terve pettumuste ja südamevalu laine. Iga kord, kui naine Harrisega kokku põrkab, pöördub tema süda pahupidi. Tina igatseb endiselt meest, kuid varjab nende koosveedetud ööst saati valusat saladust, mida ta pole valmis paljastama.

Genres: Romance, Second Chance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers, Enemies To Lovers, Second Chance Romance

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2019

About the author

Since making her publishing debut in 2012, Natasha Anders has drawn praise and attention as a unique voice in romance. Montlake author and 2018 RITA® Finalist, Anders was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She spent nine years as an associate English teacher in Niigata, Japan, where she became a legendary karaoke diva. Anders currently lives in Cape Town.

Reviews

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 - 2.5 Stars...With a Caveat

It really bums me out to rate a Natasha Anders book anything less than 4/5 stars. Truly. She has penned some of my all time favorite reads (The Unwanted Wife, A Husband's Regret, A Ruthless Proposition, to name a few)...but unfortunately, I really struggled with this book.

Although I think it was totally on me.

The book is written around the premise that Tina hates Harris because of an incident that occurred when they were younger...and that incident revolves around Tina's weight. Now, I have mentioned this in another review somewhere (although I can't for the life of me remember which one, but if I find it, I will link it here) but I was a former chubby kid who was mercilessly teased for said chubbiness. No joke. In 4th grade, I had someone spit on me once after calling me a pig. It was a total riot.

Anyway, that incident launched me toward what would evolve into YEARS of disordered eating, starvation dieting, exercise-mania, depression, and all the subsequent health issues that come with said nonsense. It took me a while to work through all that and I've reached the point where I feel pretty free of the chains of said issues and now function as a somewhat normal, perhaps now overly confident adult.

But anyTMIramble.

All that said, even in the super stable place I am now, I unfortunately do find that books in which food and weight issues are featured prominently present the shadowed beginnings of a trigger for me. Thus, being that Tina thought about/discussed her weight a lot on top of the traumatic incident featuring Harris seemingly belittling her for it...

I just didn't enjoy it.

And Tina would NOT let it go. For the almost the whole book.

Also, I found myself much more interested in what was going on with Libby and Harris' asshole brother - and I REALLY hope they get a book next.

In short, I feel like this in an unfair review as my own personal history rendered me completely unable to enjoy it or to view it objectively. As such, take this review with a grain of salt. I'm sure other readers without said personal issues will enjoy this book and I can't wait to see what Ms. Anders offers us next.

Crossing my fingers for Libby and Asshole!

[Alex ♈]

He was with many OWs during 10 ys separation, and she was celibate.
She was celibate for 10 years!!!
WTF? How is this crap romantic?! Does the story take place in 1952???!
Pitiful 2nd chance. Even not reading the story, the heroine deserved better! At least a chance to try a relationship with a decent other man!
Pitiful.

Could it be this author doesn't like women a lot?! Why else would she write her heroines this way? Meek till almost pathetic, and with a lack of sex? 🤔

[Dilek VT]

It has everything I hate.

1. One-night-stand that ends in unplanned pregnancy
(People should learn about protection. If they know how to have sex, it is also possible that they can grasp how to avoid diseases and unplanned pregnancy.)

2. Secret baby
(When there is a secret baby, I always blame the mother for hiding it from the father. No matter what the situation is, the father needs to know. I can only understand the hiding if the father is a villain - e.g. a rapist, a killer etc.).

3. Separation for 10 years
(That's too much for me to rekindle).


If you need more details, here is an awesome review from my friend:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ellie]

I enjoyed previous books by this writer, but it's admittedly been a couple years since I've read anything of hers. My tolerance for certain things has taken a deep plunge recently and now I wonder - are all her heroines so odious? I'm almost of a mind to reread the books I've read to see if I still feel the same. I have a feeling I wouldn't.

I just don't get why writers feel the need to create such unlikable or unrelatable female leads. They are either tripping and falling, spilling their coffee or blathering on like imbeciles when they get nervous. Or they have 'issues' that make them seem weak or unstable, or they just can't get their shit together. I'm sick of reading about these women gasping and trembling through their panic attacks, needing rescued from nightmares, falling apart over every bloody thing, not being able to suck it the fuck up and move on with their lives.
Jesus, get over it already.
I don't know anybody like this and wouldn't want to. Sorry, but I generally prefer those who have some composure and backbone.

It's therefore unsurprising that the heroine, Tina, set my teeth on edge. She was a cow. I'm not going to sympathise with a heroine who stubbornly ignores the facts and accepts no responsibility for her pathetic, loser life.
It's much easier to cast blame on anything and anyone else rather than where it belongs. Heaven forbid people grow the hell up and get on with the business of living.

**Imma spoil this b*tch now, so STOP READING if you don't want to know more**


The hero, Harrison, was NOT the villain here. What pisses me off about this story is that he is the real victim, and that fact is never properly addressed.
First off, the guy was roofied by one of his mates. Now, if it had been a woman that had something slipped in her drink, there would be an outcry. But here it was a man, so, what, it's okay? No! No, it fucking isn't and give me a goddamned break.
He was NOT responsible for being manipulated by his mates. If everyone weren't so eager to vilify this guy they'd see he never actually agreed to any 'bet.' But he did sleep with a girl - a girl he'd liked for years, I might add - and unfortunately happened to be in the room where Tina heard his friend running his gob about a bet.

I read that Harris should have groveled more. Uh, no. No, he shouldn't have. He was a victim but you know what? He DID grovel and he did take on blame that wasn't his to own. He was a decent bloke throughout the whole story, but you'd never know it by the way he's perceived.

Now Tina. She KNEW he'd been drugged and still acted like he was Satan. And seriously, what eighteen-year-old headed to uni - to be an obstetrician, no less! - doesn't know that it takes more than one birth control pill to be protected and doesn't demand a f*cking condom?
She was never held responsible for keeping his child from him. He wasn't even angry with her!
WTF.
No, it was all 'poor Tina' this and that and I wanted to scream. I despise the mentality that insists the guy always fall on his sword. Fuck that.
Yes, sometimes it is warranted. But not here.
The bottom line is that this particular hero was a victim, at the hands of both the peer who drugged him, AND the girl he'd always fancied who selfishly denied him the right to know his child.

Double standards, indeed.

Being a woman does not mean I unconditionally side with women. I side unconditionally with what is right and fair. I do not advocate the notion that the man always bears the fault. Harris was not the one with the lion's share of blame here. Aside from one night, this pair was never 'together.' He was presumably not celibate during that preceding decade and she was, but why does that make him an arsehole? That he had feelings for her was irrelevant. She (wrongly) despised him and there was no expectation of a relationship.

I have reasons for disliking this story, but Harris wasn't one of them. It's unfair that he be slated as a man whoring bastard when it is the furthest from the truth.

YMMV, of course.

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

Some pain was just too huge to be self-soothed away…

I have a general rule when it comes to Natasha Anders books; she writes them, I read them. The woman can write a grovel like no one's business. And she's the queen of creating these perfectly imperfect and broken characters that you can't help but fall for.

The second I read the blurb for this book, I was foaming at the mouth to get my hands on it. But I have to admit that it was not quite what I had expected. I thought I was going to read about a devastating hurt, and then a delicious grovel. And while this book was definitely one of those things, it wasn't exactly. Confused? I was too. But let me explain.

Harris Chapman has been a boy that young Tina always had a crush on and who was entirely out of her league. Tina is a girl that was a slave to her own self consciousness about her looks and weights, and the cruel words of her classmates didn't always help. One night with the boy of her dreams suddenly ended in the biggest heartbreak of her life. But Harris is not the cruel guy she's made him out to be all these years. In actuality, Harris is a sweet, down to earth type of man that's spent over ten years trying to make things right with Tina while she spent them avoiding him.

And while I enjoyed the story, I struggled quite a bit with liking Tina. To be perfectly frank, I never really warmed up to her. This is a woman that's spent ten years in a spiral over something that could have been fixed over letting Harris have a second of her time and a conversation. Don't get me wrong, this is a woman with some deep rooted pain and it's no little thing. But I also wanted her to get her life together and finally shake herself out of her neurosis. She's so scatterbrained and flighty, that it took almost the entirety of the book for me to connect to her. I felt for her, I really did. But I also wanted to shake her throughout most of the story.

Harris is so sweet and patient with her. He tries so hard, only to be shut down time and time again.

Now here's the thing, though, while I struggled to connect with Tina, I still found myself enjoying the book. There's a somewhat of a secondary plot that gets unraveled here with Harris's twin brother and Tina's best friend that I was dang near rabid to get more on. I loved the cute small town setting and the crossover with some of the previous characters we got in Natasha's Alpha Men series. And even though Tina frustrated me, I still couldn't put the book down and read it in practically one sitting. Was it my favorite story, probably not. But it sure set the stage for the next book and it did ultimately wrap up quite sweetly and made me finally see Tina in a different light.

ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange for an honest review

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[Vintage · Rating 2 out of 5]

The flippant remark would be More Than Anything I wish I had not read this book. It wasn't that bad nor does it deserve that kind of snark.

The heroine is the problem here in a rare case of Hero deserves better. Don't get me wrong, the heroine has/had just cause to be snippy with the H when right after their first time she overhears him getting paid off by some gross mean boys for sleeping with her. However, and it is a big HOWEVER, the hero was never in on the bet as he was roofied and has tried to apologize for ten years. TEN YEARS!!!!!

What do you do when the hero in a book does all the right things and still has it thrown in his face? You give the heroine and the book two stars. There is more to the heroine's refusal to see the hero for what he is, and I am being a heartless reviewer, but I just didn't buy the ten year hair shirt the heroine decides to torture herself and others with. She doesn't even tell her best friend since childhood what happened to her to set her off on a journey of failure which I also found unbelievable so the h ended up swimming into manufactured angst territory. I hesitate to say more for those that want to read this as SPOILERS.

She has allowed her Great Big Mystery that is HP 101 to sabotage her life. I got so irritated with her incompetence I wanted to fire her. She opens a restaurant with BF and forgets to send in the ad, forget to send out the flyers, goes home to take a nap while her just-had-a-baby BF whips up masterpieces in the kitchen, and etc...

The next story coming is the H's shutdown twin trying to win back his wife who is the best friend in this story. I feel like we have already seen it, but NA may pull something out of her hat.

I like NA writing as she can pull a story together, but when I spend half my time yelling at the heroine for being a big ninny it just doesn't work.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Growing up, Martine “Tina” Jenson always had a thing for her older brother’s best friend, Harris Chapman. Being that their families were also close, Tina got to spend her teenage years gazing at Harris from afar and hoping one day, he’d notice her as more than his friend’s plump little sister. She thought her dreams were coming true when at sixteen, Harris finally (FINALLY!) does more than notice her at a party one night. Thinking this may be the beginning of something awesome, Tina’s dreams are crushed when she overhears some disparaging remarks at her expense and realizes Harris never really wanted her in the first place.

Fast forward ten years and Tina’s no closer to figuring out her life than she was as an unsure teenager. Already wracked with self-confidence issues, that night with Harris was a turning point for the worse as far as she’s concerned, and she’s never been able to get things back on track. Even worse? She’s never been able to forgive and forget Harris.

Harris still carries the guilt from that fateful night, even after over a decade. His memories are fuzzy, but he does remember being absolutely enchanted by Tina and wanting to make her his. It kills him to know that night caused Tina so much pain and he wishes she’d let him apologize properly for once. If he’s asking for things, what Harris really wants is an honest to gawd relationship with Tina, but her icy reaction to him tells him he better keep that tidbit to himself.

Can Harris ever get Tina to forgive him for what turned out to be one horrible night or will the urge to cause him bodily harm be too much for Tina to resist?



As far as writing men that are complete and total douchebags and then proceeding to have those same men grovel their cold, bitter hearts out, nobody does it better than Natasha Anders. I loved both The Unwanted Wife and A Husband’s Regret, so much so that I’ve done numerous rereads of both books. The setup for More Than Anything is different in that Harris is far from the bombastic jerk we’ve come to expect from Ms. Anders. He’s sweet, gentle and wants nothing but Tina’s happiness, even if it comes at the cost of his own. He more than owns up to the pain that was inflicted on Tina, even though the blame really doesn’t lie with him. And the love he feels (and has always felt) for Tina is absolutely swoon-worthy.

I’m going to lay down a bit of uncomfortable truth here. I didn’t really like Tina all that much. I felt for the girl who overheard those cruel remarks at an extremely vulnerable time. I felt for the young woman struggling to make a life for herself afterwards. What I didn’t really relate to is the DECADE it took to move on with her life. Maybe it’s because a good deal of the first 40% of the book is spent complaining about her situation and lack of accomplishments and the reader’s not given a complete picture of everything Tina’s experienced. I kept thinking “get off your butt and make things better!” when it wasn’t that simple.

After the halfway mark, things start moving along nicely. At that point though, I really wasn’t sure if I wanted Harris and Tina to make it work. In many ways he was a victim that fateful night as well as Tina and after some time, I just wanted her to finally enjoy all that is Harris and forgive him. Why can’t book characters just do what I want, when I want, dammit! My patience was eventually rewarded and most of the loose ends were tied up, but I didn’t enjoy the journey quite as much as this author’s previous books.

As a side note, Libby and Greyson’s book can’t get here soon enough. Seriously, I have a feeling Greyson’s going to be the Natasha Anders asshole I’ve been waiting for and I couldn’t be more excited!

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a voluntary, honest review

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: Body-Shaming, panic attacks, anxiety, death of baby after teenage pregnancy, drugged drink and had sex while intoxicated

If you don’t know already, I am obsessed with the book The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders, I haven’t gotten over it despite it being so long. I heard the next book in this duet has a grovelling MMC who fucks up. And I think it can be read as a stand-alone but I still wanted to give this a shot. At first I was a lil bored since I was more interested in Libby and Greyson, the FMC and MMC in the next book. I was tempted to just skip this and go to their book. But then the FMC Tina and the MMC Harris got my attention. The first chapter starts off with a major fuckup. I really appreciated that Tina was a plus-size FMC since we don’t see that enough in romance books but she does deal with a lot of body shaming. It can be triggering to some, check out Val’s review. The way people treated her was so fucked up but Harris never commented or shamed her which I loved, he treated her normally because she IS normal. There was just a lot of push on Tina’s end and a lotta one-sided pull on Harris’s end and it was getting repetitive and annoying. But once I got used to that, I was over it.


Tina has a HUGE crush on one of the Chapman twins named Harris. When Harris and his twin brother throw a party, Tina is so excited to go and win Harris over. And she does, she makes out with him and they end up sleeping together. But once she comes out of that room, her life is forever changed. The one boy that she thought she loved, ended up sleeping with her because of a bet. After punching him in the nose, she avoided any possible encounters with him. 10 years later, she is forced to deal with Harris along with her traumatic memories from the past.


I am really excited for Libby and Greyson’s book since Greyson really fucked up. He accused Harrison of getting Libby pregnant and was super ignorant with Libby, neglecting her once she got pregnant. He sounds really stupid, he doesn’t think and hurt his wife in the worst possible way. But I did not expect for their story to play a major role in this book when we’re gonna get the details of their story in the next book. And I heard in the next book, Tina and Harris’s drama is gonna show up since the timeline matches this book. I’m not sure why it’s done this way and I hope I don’t have to deal with repetitiveness in the next book but I’m excited regardless. I really loved Harris, he’s different from other MMCs I’ve read about so far by Natasha Anders. The two books I’ve read by her so far are MMCs like Greyson, assholes that are dumb but end up grovelling and redeeming themselves kinda. Well I didn’t like the MMC in A Ruthless Proposition but yea. In this, Harris is a cute, sweet guy that wants nothing more than to win Tina over. What I did hate is that during their separation, Tina is celibate while Harris slept around and it’s so annoying how common this is. Why does the girl have to remain celibate while the guy gets to have all the action like come on why? I liked that Tina had a backbone, I mean the girl punched Harris in the nose after she found out he cheated and he even has a crooked nose because of it. Tina does push a lil too much and I felt like Harris kinda grovelled from the start and did feel bad for what he did. But sometimes the grovelling was too much and that is coming from someone who LOVES GROVEL. Despite all of this, I adored the story and just wished some of the things were done differently. Also all of the characters in the Alpha Men trilogy by Natasha Anders show up here and they’re all amazing characters. I haven’t even read the trilogy but I checked it out cuz I saw all these names and had a feeling they were from her other books. I am glad I decided to read this since this book made me wanna give other books of hers a shot.


Now for spoilers


The book starts off with Libby and Tina, they’re best friends and Tina is getting ready for the Harris’s party. I found it interesting since I didn’t know the duet was about two twins and two best friends who fall for them. Libby fell for Greyson and Tina fell for Harris. Libby is apparently Greyson’s cook’s daughter which is super interesting, I can’t wait to read her story with Greyson even if he’s a major asshole. Harris sees Tina and they immediately make out and have sex after dancing and all is good until Tina leaves the room. She finds Harris drunk or high outta his mind and his friends are talking shit about Tina and how she is overweight, they said some fucked up shit. Harris never joins in, he just kept saying “Soft” so it kinda did lessen the blow but when his friend gives him money and he’s just smoking and sitting there I’m like the fuck my guy? He did look confused and was out of it but I loved how Tina went in and punched him in the face, I’m sorry, it just felt good to see her go off rather than be a doormat. After this moment, she always avoids Harris despite him tryna apologize and meet up with her for ANYTHING. Tina’s family treats her like shit, her mother constantly makes comments about Tina’s weight and her brothers put her down because of her struggling to be successful at anything. It was just sad to see, but it was interesting. When Tina got the call that Libby was gonna have the baby and left, I was kinda frustrated we didn’t follow Libby’s story since it seemed a lot more interesting.


Greyson didn’t show up to any of Libby’s pregnancy appointments. He believed the baby wasn’t his and was Harris’s which is so fucking stupid, I felt so bad for Libby but she was so strong. Tina sees Harris and freaks out. I found it interesting since Tina’s brother is also best friends with Harris. I was so surprised that Harris would continue to follow Tina and ask her out to coffee or to go out somewhere. When Libby decided to move to another town, I thought it was smart because Greyson was so shitty. I loved how Tina went as well and how they ran a business together. When Harris would send pictures of the baby to Greyson, I just loved him for it. Harris is such a good friend. I’m guessing Greyson got jealous when he saw the picture of Libby and another guy and finally decided to go and get her. But I love how Libby was like homeboy, you really think it’s that easy? But you notice what I’m noticing? There’s a lotta Libby and Greyson moments that take the spotlight and make Tina and Harris’s story boring since you wanna know what happens to Libby and Greyson. Tina is gonna fix some baby stuff and Harris asks her to help and it was cute how he couldn’t do it as well as Tina, and I loved how he constantly tried to tag along and help Tina with things.


Seeing Harris do small things to win Tina over was so cute but it was so annoying how she just wouldn’t tell him what bothered her. He constantly apologized for the night of the bet, he regrets it and hates that it happened. When he moved next door, you just knew that he did it because he wanted to be near Tina. When he held Clara, Libby’s daughter, he was so gentle and sweet. He was such a good friend to Libby and good brother to Greyson despite Greyson accusing him of sleeping with Libby. Greyson’s reasoning was bullshit too, he was jealous of Harris’s friendship with Libby, like the fuck? Whenever Tina would defend Libby it was nice to see but she had a problem being near babies. She had nightmares at night and it was sweet seeing Harris help her. But then it got sexual and I’m like damn, she’s gonna regret this. So I went in knowing spoilers about Tina getting pregnant but I assumed she had a miscarriage. But turns out she had the baby, moved away and her baby died, which is fucking devastating. Harris had no idea because Tina never told him because she thought he did this whole thing because of a bet. But apparently someone drugged Harris’s drink and talked him into doing the bet when he wasn’t even fully there? The whole situation was weird to be honest, but it’s messed up because even Harris was a victim in that situation. It’s honestly bizarre how his friend drugged his drink when he might’ve slept with Tina anyway. And I liked how Tina mentioned she was naive into assuming that birth control works after a coupla hours and honestly, like Libby said, Harris shoulda still used a condom. But again he was intoxicated so he wasn’t even thinking clearly. It also doesn’t make sense how he was able to have sex with Tina when he was so out of it but he mentions this in his POV too so everything is lowkey addressed. It was a weird situation but I liked how Greyson told Harris that he’s also a victim since he was intoxicated and didn’t know what was happening and Tina had no idea either. I also like how consent was mentioned and Harris said he knew he wanted to but he just didn’t know what was going on cuz of the drugs but reassured Tina and stuff so it clears up the consent even if he technically couldn’t consent while intoxicated. When he went to his friend 10 years later, it was funny cuz his friend didn’t have any idea but he’s still a nasty scumbag so I liked how Harris went off.


Harris would sit on the porch and it was so cute how he tried to talk to Tina constantly. Even when Tina was rude, he didn’t give up. Tina slowly started opening up to him, when they went on the cheese date and kissed, it was so adorable. Harris being ticklish, him constantly mentioning that they can talk about other things rather than Libby and Greyson. Harris being super patient with Tina. Greyson was the typical rich asshole but Harris actually cooked and cleaned, I loved how easily annoyed he got with Greyson since he’s used to having workers around. And when Greyson would go over to Libby’s house to fix things, I just knew it was some sorta grovel. Tina’s business isn’t doing well and Harris was willing to do anything behind the scenes to help her. He even talked to her brother about him being a jerk to Tina and never helping her, and this pushed her brother to help her out more. He never expected a reward when he helped Tina, he just did it because he loved her. He couldn’t take his eyes off her when she was in the room and always tried to spend time with her. Harris and Tina drinking coffee together, he would be ready to break a door down just to see if she’s okay with her nightmares. The fact that he kept her earring as a necklace and wore it for all 10 years is insane. I mean this guy slept around but he had so much regret for the Tina situation that he wore her earring. It was annoying that Tina didn’t have sex during the 10 years though. And honestly, Tina wasn’t being honest with him. She blamed him for her whole life crashing down, and yes he is kinda at fault but she should’ve told him why she was pissed rather than avoiding it. I liked how Harris admitted he was wrong to do what he did that night, even if he was intoxicated, but he was like why the hell does she blame me for everything else? And I liked how he said it wasn’t fair and shit, it was actually nice to see his POV on things. Tina would even push Libby away because she couldn’t stand being near Clara because of her past trauma so it was nice to see her finally open up. But Libby being all pissy and rude to Harris was annoying cuz THE GUY HAS NO IDEA. Tell him and then get pissed like what the hell, I get that she didn’t want him to know but my god, the story was dragging on.


Greyson is slowly losing it, he’s wearing Harris’s clothes and he looks miserable, as he should. Libby lets him around Clara but keeps her walls up which is nice. Seeing Greyson struggle with Clara after being so confident was hilarious, him begging for Harris to help him was so funny. Libby isn’t that open about everything that happens between her and Greyson. When Greyson said they’re going on a date and was all excited, I was like wait, are we gonna see them be together by the end of the book? But nah, Greyson got divorce papers, yikes. Meanwhile Tina finally told Harris about Fletcher and it was devastating. She had a panic attack while taking care of Clara and Harris dealt with it all like champ and he hated himself for everything. She also tells us she had to deal with the police investigations which is devastating, now Harris knows why she blamed him for everything. He also asked questions I wanted to ask, if she got help, if she went to a therapist. Tina did everything but she still needs help since she will forever be scarred by the death of her son, it’s so fucking sad. Before this, Tina and Harris were lowkey moving to becoming a couple and Tina would have sex with him, and then Tina would shut him out. When she saw the necklace and asked him to give it back, I was so pissed and annoyed with her. She didn’t even have a reason to take it back, she was just being plain annoying. When Harris told Tina he loved her and didn’t wait for her response and left, I was like bruh come on. I also liked how Libby called out Tina for being a shit business partner when she walked out, but Libby had no idea Tina was dealing with shit. But I liked how straight-forward they both were and how Libby felt bad after she realized. Greyson was there for Tina when she cried her eyes out and you slowly see him become emotional. He’s so desperate to make things right with Libby but nothing seems to be working despite them probably making out and having sex (Libby says they did do things but yea). Harris basically hides in another country and Tina sends him voice memos and text messages every day. They send messages to each other but then she shows up at his office when he returns home and they go back to having sex. And I loved how Harris always called it lovemaking and refused to call it fucking lol, he was like no I don’t care. Meanwhile Tina tried to act like it wasn’t emotional sex when it was to her. I also loved the amount of cuddling, it was surprising that there was some of it and I adored it, Harris is a major softie. When they went to each other’s family dinners together, I loved how Harris stood up for Tina and admitted he was Fletcher’s dad. All of Tina’s brothers beat him up and he was so chill about it since he loved Tina so much. I liked how we got closure with Tina’s mom, she was so rude for saying the things she did but I liked how they talked about it.


Harris continues to hate himself and Greyson is the one that ends up helping him. It was so annoying because Harris continues to say that he either wants all of Tina or nothing and since he knows he won’t have all of her, he can’t do anything. And when Tina would just let him walk away after all the work he did to win her over, it was annoying. I felt like the text messages and voice memos were the bare minimum. I wished she also did some grovelling, I liked how she put the necklace back on him and had the initials of their names and their son’s name. I liked how comfortable she was with opening up to Harris about Fletcher and how he would listen and watch the videos over and over again. I know Tina never gave up and continued to send messages even when Harris didn’t respond but I wished she would go and visit him or something. Like do more than that. But I was glad they finally got together and are even engaged. They were so darn cute in the end, Harris deserved a happy ending and so did Tina, she went through so much shit. I am so happy for them, when they told Greyson, it was adorable. And them planning the future together, ugh I loved it. He also asked about kids but made it clear that he only wanted her so that was a relief since everything was kinda addressed. Harris won my heart over and Tina had a good backbone but it got a lil too annoying. I still loved this book though.



I cannot wait to get to Libby and Greyson’s story despite it playing a major role here. We even got spoilers for the next book. Greyson made such a stupid mistake and didn’t even have a proper reason to, so I’m worried. And we already know about what happened between Tina and Harris and apparently they will be in the next book like how Libby and Greyson sometimes took over here, so I’m worried about that as well since it will be repetitive. But I am excited! Anyway, stay safe folks!

[Elizabeth]

Spoilers
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Update: it was KU so I downloaded to see how the celibacy was handled, and for those who hate other women talk, he actually refers to all the other beautiful women he had while in the act with her, and how her boobs are bigger etc its gross. Really disappointed Anders went this route, cant trust any authors anymore. He gets to live his life while the heroine had to deal with a pregnancy, and losing her baby. I dont care how annoying she is in the book, it's such a bad writing choice to give the hero a fun and happy life and to make the heroine suffer in celibacy. I get that was the plot of the book but it's a horrible plot. It does not endear readers to it when there is no ability to make up for the imbalance in their lives. Nothing the hero said or did would ever make me get over my annoyance at how the heroine was written to only be able to be happy with him when he lived his life perfectly fine without her. I wish authors would understand this in second chance and romance books in general.


Some quotes for the ppl who hate this crap as much as I do:

"Harrison was an expert at fucking—he’d fucked many beautiful women in his time"

"He groaned when he cupped her. She was bigger than he was used to"

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Man, I love Anders, but I refuse to read books anymore where the heroine is celibate in the separation and the hero isnt. I dont care if it "makes sense", even then it's a writing choice the author makes that they could easily not make or rework to not keep doing it when I feel it is almost universally detested.

[Giorgia Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I like Natasha’s books. For some reason they can really get me emotional. This was no different. Compared to the over embellished plot we get from other books by her this was fairly mild in drama but still had a touch of sadness... ok, more than a touch.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw the blurb for More Than Anything I couldn't hit the Netgalley request button fast enough. The Unwanted Wife by Anders remains one of my all time favourite reads, no matter how many times I read it so any book following that has a lot to live up to.

Getting back to the blurb, I was sold. I love me a second chance romance and throw in that the hero made a right hash of things at the beginning (though I don't feel he was to blame there ....) Harris had a mountain to climb to win Tina over. And this is where the story lost for me. See, I think if anyone should've done the grovelling it was Tina. For an almost 30 year old woman she definitely wasn't the brightest bulb in the box and her constant accusations, pushing away and blame game got old. Harris was WAY too good for her, he was a total sweetie and at times too patient, too understanding and bordered on a bit of a doormat. It didn't sit right with me that he grovelled and apologised as much as he did.

The drama between Libby and Greyson was way more intriguing and I was far more interested in them than I was the main characters of this book.

Less of this unnecessary drama and the whole new business thing, less of her feelings of inadequacy and please lord! less running away and this would have garnered a much higher rating from me.

3.5 stars

Arc provided by Netgalley for review.

[Syndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am declaring that i am in love with Harrison. This man! Oh my God! Why he only exists in ficitonal world?? He is perfect!

Another winner by miss Anders. She usually writes an asshole heroes. But in this book, she creates an endearing loving hero. Harris. And she did not disappoint. she really can write and play with my heart like a guitar string. She really can.

I laugh, smile, cry and break listening to the audio book. Such a perfect journey for Harris and Tina. Their HEA almost lost but they both brave enough to take a second chance. Perfect perfect perfect. Everything in this book is just simple perfect.

5 stars

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wee bit more than broken…

I would love to take the easy route in reviewing More Than Anything and just say it was good, packed with emotions and ended on a happy note. The problem is that it was A LOT more than that. I “enjoyed” the journey but felt a slight disconnection from the main characters. I liked seeing the connection between the heroine and her best friend but couldn’t understand keeping such a big secret for so long. There were times that the hero was one of the best blokes, however, he was also responsible for a horrible betrayal. There were so many lows before we even get a glimpse of the highs. How do I explain my enjoyment without giving it all away? This is the kind of story that you must get the whole picture before you can judge.

I didn’t understand Tina and her self-loathing. No, I take that back, I did understand but it got a wee bit old by the end. She’s very negative about EVERYTHING and I became impatient waiting for her to realise that her family was one of the main causes of her issues. Her parents are snooty and along with Tina’s siblings, spend a lot of time finding fault in her. Her best friend Libby, who always has her back was a better person than all of her family, yet Tina kept her biggest struggle a secret. As I said, I did understand her low self-esteem, but I was impatient to see her get past her issues and confide in the people that matter.

Harris and his twin brother Greyson have a pretty good life but it’s far from perfect. Greyson’s marriage is in shambles and he only has himself to blame. Harris has feelings for Tina but can see that she will never forgive him for his betrayal when she was 18 and he was 20. Harris’s family have been long-time friends with Tina’s family and her brother is one of his best friends. He tried to apologise numerous times, but it’s been ten long years and she still can’t look him in the eye. Harris wants Tina’s forgiveness and he will do whatever it takes to make things right.

I spent most of the book frustrated with the heroine for her lack of communication skills. I get why she closed herself off emotionally and physically, but I really didn’t get why it took so long for her to share her burdens. This is one of those stories where you’re pulling your hair out because YOU wouldn’t do what the heroine does. YOU would communicate. YOU would stand up for yourself. YOU would have taken the steps to get help to move on, get better and find support. But, this is not my story and I haven’t faced the traumatic experience that Tina did. I had to step back and let Tina fight her demons at her own pace.

How do I rate a story that frustrated me, made me sigh, smile and squirm, and left me a little emotionally drained? Well, my first instincts were 4 stars. Then, when I started writing this review it headed into 3-star land. But, I also remembered the high I felt when all the secrets were out, conversations were had, and love won out after all. I’m going to stick with my first instincts.

If you’re looking for a story with a whole lot of emotional bang for your buck, then I highly recommend giving More Than Anything a whirl.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.

[Carvanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my! This was not at all what I was expecting. And I absolutely love it more because of it.

Ten years ago Tina had her eyes set on Harris. When he not only acknowledges her, but fulfills her young girl’s dreams, she is euphoric. Until she overhears a conversation. She walked away that night and the rest of her life was forever changed.





Harris has been attracted to Tina since she turned seventeen. After making a monstrous mistake in their youth, he has tried to make amends. He NEEDS to make amends because he yearns to have her in his life. But Tina hasn’t spared him a moment’s notice to do so. When circumstances provide an open door, he eagerly steps through and refuses to walk back out.





Tina was lost, trying to find her way in life and failing miserably time and time again. I loved watching her climb out of the despair she lived in and into a bright new sunrise. She had a lot of past pain to deal with and to witness her build herself up and face it was a heartbreaking, beautiful thing.

”For ten years I was stuck in the past Harris. I felt incapable of moving forward with my life. I was trapped by my own incapacity to let go. I suffered from panic attacks, awful nightmares, and a crippling inability to settle in one job for too long. I know I appeared flighty and irresponsible. When in truth I was incapable of digging myself out from beneath a mountain of suffocating self-doubt and fear.”

Harris was such a fun hero. He had a wild sense of humor and was always careful to give Tina the room she needed even as he wanted to push for more. He was devastated by all that Tina had gone through, the result leaving him shattered and broken. His heartbreak was as painful to read as Tina’s.

”He hoped this meant she’d forgiven him. He hoped it was the beginning of something more. He hoped she cared for him even a fraction as much as he cared for her.
He hoped. And it terrified him.”






This couple had so much to overcome and it seemed completely insurmountable. There is some push and pull from Tina as she must face her past and what she is presently feeling. This book started with that night years ago and from the first page I was glued to this story. With some amusing moments, great banter, and sizzling chemistry between these characters, I fell completely in love and can’t wait to get my hands on Libby and Greyson’s book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Montlake. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dual POV
Safe no ow/om drama; h gave virginity to H yrs ago and hasn’t been with anyone since; H has been with other women through the years
Triggers infant death; H drugged at party

[Ainhoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uhm…

I’m the queen of just the right amount of grovel in ma books thankyouverymuch. And this author always delivers too much for my taste. What can I say? But I’m sure Harris is the perfect match for many of my GR friends with all his feelings and regrets 🤢

I need to gather my thoughts on this, but mostly:

I felt the writing style was a bit too much, going in circles about the same thing over and over, giving us too many details and superfluous information for what was needed.

Although the story was good and the development in time was spot on.

So, all in all. Not too bad 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Wendys Wycked Words · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved "The Unwanted Wife" by this author. I read it multiple times a year. So naturally, I had to give this one a go in the hope of it turning out to be another favorite. 

Now even though I did enjoy reading this one...it didn't top any of the other books I have read by this author. In all the former books I really felt bad for the heroine... I wanted her to get all the grovel she deserved !! (which they all did ;) )



Unfortunately, that wasn't how I felt about the heroine in this book. Sure, I understand that she got her feelings hurt, but I just think she took things a bit too far. I actually started to feel annoyed and that is never a good sign. 



I still enjoyed reading this story but in all the other books I was really rooting for the heroine and in this one... I felt the hero might be able to do better. 

I am however very excited to read the next book...Which will "hopefully" be about Libby and Greyson. 


An ARC was provided to

in exchange for an honest review

 

[BookLover · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC requested through Netgalley, and kindly provided by Montlake Romance in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this latest story by Natasha Anders, who delivers with a deliciously angsty story about Tina Jenson and Harrison Chapman, who after a disastrous evening together during their youths, do not come back into one another’s lives until ten years later.

“If I never see you again, it’ll be too soon, Harris,”

Tina and Harrison’s story checked a lot of my boxes for a good romance:
1. Second chance romance (of a sort)
2. Misunderstandings galore
2. Imperfect hero who must redeem himself with the heroine
3. Strong supporting cast

I have read a lot of reviews slamming the fact that the hero was not celibate while the heroine was while they were apart but that didn’t really bother me, given the circumstances. Tina and Harrison, after ONE night together, went down very different paths. Harrison had no knowledge about anything Tina was going through because she kept everything a secret.

“How long are you going to bear this unreasonable grudge against me?”

Tina used the way she was treated in high school, particularly on that fateful night with Harrison, as a means to deflect the true cause of her hang-ups in life. I think that had she not kept things a secret and instead had a support system to help her through, she may have been able to get help, instead of everything manifesting in failed life experiences and her inability to move on with a romantic life. I really wanted to shake her throughout this story, knowing that her distorted filter on her life and everyone around her could have been avoided, if not at least lessened if she had felt like she could turn to anyone for support. I really loved the part that Harrison played in Tina's journey to recovery and happiness.

“I wish you wouldn’t hate me.” The words were soft and wistful.”

Harrison wasn’t one of Natasha Ander’s typical hero. I truly felt like he was just as much a victim in this story as Tina. I really rooted for him and couldn’t imagine him ever making inroads with Tina, based on the way the story was progressing. I think he handled himself just right.

This story really took it out of me emotionally, but I came out of the other side very satisfied. I loved that the setting of this story brought in all of my favourite characters from Natasha’s last series and I truly enjoyed the tease of what’s to come with Libby and Greyson. I have no idea how Greyson can possibly be redeemed but I was able to come around to forgiving all of Natasha’s other heroes, I’m sure Greyson can win me over. Really looking forward to that story.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

re-read, 3 stars, they doesnt communicate well, they doesnt talk...
3,5 rounded up 4 stars
I voluntarily read and reviewed an copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book via Netgalley

This author knows how to write books with angst, cruel hero and good (sometimes strong) heroine.
This book wasn't different.
It was sad. It was joyful. A lot of angst. Drama.
A lot of triggers. Pm me for them
I didn't like the heroine was celibate during ten (10!!!) Years!! She didn't even get BOB .. hmmm. Not good not good
Hero wasn't celibate, clearly it's not for me. But he grovel good enough to be forgiven

[Vashti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harris and Tina's book.
When I read this author's first book,THE UNWANTED WIFE,several years ago,I was blown away by that book and her characters.Sandro,the hero, was a real piece of work and I was so happy that the heroine in that book put him in his place and made him work at getting her back.That book had me in ugly tears,and I hated the hero.
Well,in this book,I had more sympathy for the hero,than the heroine.Yes,I could sympathize with her,she really did go thru a lot in her young life starting with her oh so judgemental parents and siblings,then her deflowering by the hero who I might add was drugged unbeknownst to him and her,and her subsequent loss.But come on,she had the hero dangling on a branch for 10 freaking long years never telling him the reason of her hatred.When ever he attempted to speak with her or explain,she just cut him off abruptly and stalked away.Her self esteem was rock bottom, and really ,she had no self love for herself,but she did say that 10 years later,she did come to terms with the way she looked.
I felt that this romance had 2 main couples,and I was more interested in the secondary couples story than the main couple.
While I did enjoy this story,the angst level moderate,I felt that the hero loved the heroine more than she loved him.He kept a momento of their night together and wore it as a necklace around his neck for the past 10 years,though at the end,the heroine did add 2 more initials to the necklace.
There really was no epilogue per say ,and I really felt that this couple needed the all important epilogue.Maybe in the next book about his brother,we will see their epilogue.

[Chris C - A Midlife Wife · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loaded with emotion. Written with heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love a good second chance romance and this one has a lot of great factors that made it a book that you will appreciate the further you get into it.

All is not well with the main characters. This book had me tied up a few times with the drama and the secrets. I ended up liking Harris way better than Tina. She took a while for me to warm up to.

The beginning of the book was a bit much to slog through but by the second half, all of the secrets and issues started to come to out. The connections grew. The ability to stay away from each other heated up the pages. The angst and drama was not far away.

While this book has some irritations for me, for the most part I was really sucked in and flipping those pages to get to the big revaluation. Harris was amazing in all ways. So strong and a perfect balance for Tina.

Unique locations, nicely developed characters, and plenty of hot, spicy scenes, More Than Anything is a romance story like few others. A bit long, but just sit and absorb it. The last half makes it worth it all.

* Copy received for review consideration
full review - https://amidlifewife.com/more-than-an...

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - "We have unfinished business..." Stars.

The first book in Natasha Anders’ new Broken Pieces series gives us a second chance romance with a whole boat-load of past drama and issues for our couple to work their way through before even getting anywhere near a HEA.

Some pain was just too huge to be self-soothed away…

I hate that I didn’t love this book as much as I usually do when it comes to Natasha’s writing, and after finishing and thinking about the story, for me there were two main reasons why.

He’d been her first… and only.

I’ve read enough books by the author now to know what to expect in relation to her characters and story-lines, and you are always assured that there will be a whole bunch of emotional turmoil that jumps off the page and pulls you in. The same can definitely be said for Tina and Harrison’s story. Their families and friends all run in the same circles, so they have known each other from childhood, but one thoughtless act in Tina’s late teens, completely derails then and still to a certain extent now all of her life plans, it also takes Harris from friend and teen crush to a walking nightmare/reminder of everything that is and has gone wrong in her life, so-much-so she spends the next decade actively avoiding him, much to his consternation.

Being around Harris again bought back all those old insecurities and self-doubts…

The part of their back story you know about from the beginning is attributed to Tina being of the curvier persuasion, something she’s been made to feel badly about for a long time by pretty much everyone, something Harris (although unwittingly) with his group of douche-bag friends act out towards classically, and on this front I really did empathise with her having similar weight issues all of my life myself. But as the book progressed I felt it was a little overplayed in one context, in that she constantly bought it up, but then her actions didn’t always follow up with what she had previously said. I also found her constant digs at Harris as a kind of punishment a little below the belt and immature, especially when you take into account the other half of the reason she’s so anti him, which he doesn’t actually know about until much further along in the story, it was reasonable to understand why he felt she was overreacting in relation to her behaviour towards him.

"I don’t want to go back to the way I was before…"

The two main issues between this couple are pretty heavy, the one that has the longer term effects on Tina, we don’t actually find out about (although I did suspect it early on) until later on in the story, was handled really well, although due to its sensitive nature I really hope a trigger-warning is added to the beginning of the book for those that purchase it.

"I’m sorry I’m not great at talking about stuff…"

My second issue is the fact I really struggled to warm to Tina, despite understanding a lot of what she was going through in one respect, I just didn’t like the way she treated everyone for the bulk of the book, and although I feel my sympathy should have lain with her, because of everything she went through, it actually moved to Harris pretty sharply because of how she was treating him, when you take into consideration she was not actually giving him the full reasons as to why. Usually the author gets the balance right and I think it was a little off this time.

"You were seventeen when I first looked at you and saw…"

That-said I did not struggle to read this book. I loved the neat little link up with the town and people of Riversend, if you have read the Alpha Men series you will feel right at home, and it was great to see how the characters from those books are getting on. I also loved the side story playing out between Tina’s best friend Libby, and her husband (Harris’ brother) Greyson, their book - Nothing But This is next, and I am dying to read it, it’s got classic Anders written all over it from what has happened between them already.

So although not a 100% winner on this occasion, more through characterisation than anything else, More Than Anything left me itching for its follow-up, and hoping that the author has more characters and story-lines that she can continue to add to the Riversend group going forwards.

ARC generously provided by the author via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review.

[Lu Bielefeld]

#DNF 34%
=========
I really like the author, but I could not finish reading and I gave up by 30%.
The author made a combination with everything I hate most about the stories.
I did not like the heroine and that ruined all of the story ... I confess I was more interested in the story of her best friend.
The hero also did not please me, so I decided to move on.

Tina knew that she only got invited to the twins’ events these days out of obligation.

He had moved her out to the quiet patio and kissed her. Her first kiss!

Her, Tina Jenson, finally touching beautiful Harrison

It had hurt, of course. She had known it would. But he had been gentle and considerate. It was messier and a lot quicker than she’d expected, over in less than a minute. But she didn’t mind. She knew that next time would be better.

“Man, I can’t believe you fucked Tina Jenson,” the male voice said with an incredulous laugh. She recognized it as Jonah Spade’s voice.

“Fuck, I don’t know if it was worth it, dude. No amount of money could entice me to touch that with a ten-foot pole.” This gem came from Schaeffer Higgins, another elite asshole.

“How did you manage not to puke after fucking that fat freak, Harris? Was it like sticking your dick into a marshmallow?” Jonah asked.

“Soft and gooey, right?” Schaeffer chuckled. “Soft,” Harris said, his voice almost absent as he stared at the lit tip of his cigar. The other guys brayed with laughter, and Tina felt the first scalding tears hit her cheeks.

“Here’s your money, bro—you fucking earned it!” One of the guys tossed a note at Harris, and he stared down at it like it was something completely unrecognizable.

The only way Harrison Chapman would ever want Tina Jenson was if he were drunk or high out of his mind.

Tina felt used and cheap and so, so humiliated. Her heart shattered into a million pieces, and she mourned the loss of the boy she had idolized. A boy she now knew had never really existed.

“If I never see you again, it’ll be too soon, Harris,” she said, her voice quiet. “What you did was despicable, and I . . . I hate you for it.”

Tina was short and overweight with pale, freckled skin and a shock of bright-red hair. Not tall, willowy, blonde, and absolutely gorgeous like her mother, brothers, and father. The cuckoo in the nest. The odd one out.

Tina cursed Greyson for his negligence and disinterest. He had never seemed fully onboard with Libby’s pregnancy. Had missed every single one of her OB-GYN appointments; Tina had accompanied her friend to those.

And though Harris had developed a preference for slender, sporty women over the years, Tina had always pushed his buttons. She looked—and felt—soft and plush.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I swore I wouldn't read this but...

I did. And it was heartbreaking. I hate long separations and this was 10 years later and the heroines pain felt so real to me. I cried at several points in this book. It was very touching. I really did get annoyed at the heroine at one point and said just get over it, but then I found out what happened. And she had such a loser family, or at least I thought she did, but there is so !ugh youngin in one book. I just wish she had accepted the heroes overtures earlier. Like years earlier but then there would be no book.

The heroine is described as a fat girl but I don't think she was. She just wasn't small and she was only 5'2" tall. It never said how big so there were times I felt Like she was very big to times she was just curvy. But the kids at school called her fat and the hero had a one night stand with her when he was not totally with it. Then she overheard some disgusting comments by his supposed friends and the heart ache was on. She struggled for a Very long time too. 1 0 years to be exact. The hero pursued her relentlessly after they finally meet back up and I loved it. But he did do a couple of wtf things that made me want to hurt him. It was not a smooth road but so worth the read. I who hate non-celibate heroes gave this a four star rating. Because of course he is not celibate for the ten years and yep you guessed it, she was celibate. I understood why though and at least it was believable.

In the background iss Libby, her best friends story and who married Harris's twin brother Greyson. In this book you see his pain as he tries to work His way back into his estranged wife's heart and what he did was awful but I am not sure I am going to read that one. It sounds like she is just going to make him suffer forever. Which he should but he made up with his brother whom he had treated badly to. I did love the scene where he, greyson, is wearing swear pants and everybody is in shock. Too funny but I will have to see if I will read it.

This book, though heartbreaking, is definitely worth the read. I am glad I actually read it.

[Rejane]

Yeah, right!? 😖🙄
It seems the problem here is the jerk asshole heroine. The kind of woe is me and everyone else is to blame for her “misfortune.
Great review here: 👇👇👇👇

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Another input on female mc poor characterization: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... SMH There's weak and then, there's this heroine.

[Kristina]

Why does the hero YET AGAIN get to be a pig and sleep his way through countless women but the heroine is CELIBATE for 10 years? Who buys into this sexist claptrap. And who actually CONDONES this double standard bullshit. Really? It's 2019 isn't it not 1919, women have apparently progressed and yet this genre still tries to set women back. It's not romantic, it's not love. It's pushing women down again.

Absolutely Pathetic.

[Sentranced Jem · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my first book by Natasha Anders and I must say, it wasn't a good introduction.
I did not enjoy reading this book. I didn't DNF the book but now having read it, I feel like it was wasted time.
I did not like Tina. She irked me to no end. Harris was alright. Compared to Tina.... He feels like a gem hahaha

*ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Jultri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both from mega-wealthy families. Harris is a twin and Tina's older brother's best friend. At eighteen, she had harboured a not so subtle crush on him for years but he was beautiful and she was... well...chubby (although also beautiful as it turns out). Attending a party at his house, she was ecstatic to finally get his attention and so within a few short moments, she went from receiving her first kiss to POP, bye bye cherry. Gone. It wasn't mind-blowingly good, but she wasn't going to dwell on the disappointments, because it was Harris after all. Her bliss lasted marginally longer than the act itself, doused by the devastating discovery that he did it all for a drunken wager and she was the laughing stock of the party.

Fast forward 10 years and Tina's BFF is married to Harris's twin and about to have his baby. Twin is being total prick and Tina and Harris find themselves forced to interact to support the new mum and baby. Harris has been trying to apologise to Tina for years but she won't have a bar of him. Turns out their disastrous one-night-stand had long term consequences for Tina (*spoiler alert* pregnancy and later loss of her baby boy to SIDS) who remains traumatised and embittered by the experience.

This is where my problem with the book and Tina's character comes in. We soon learn that Harris was drugged by his 'friend' and cannot recall much of the night. He was decent enough to claim responsibility for allowing himself to be placed in such a position to start with. Tina didn't know that he was drugged initially, so I can't blame her anger although she wasn't exactly an unwilling participant and stupidly slept with him after just a few flattering words. However, I can't accept that every single horrible career decision she has made over the years (and there were many) was a result of that one night and the resultant trauma of the death of her baby. These career choices and plans were poorly researched and impetuous and it was no wonder her family were disappointed in her and tired of having to keep saving her from her failures. She's not the brightest spark as evident by her assumption that she would be covered if she started her oral contraceptive pill on the morning of her fated sexual encounter. Again, can't blame Harris as he did have the awareness to ask (even in his drugged state) if she was using protection and she said yes. If she had remained catatonically depressed and poorly motivated after the loss of the baby, I can understand. But she made these career decisions enthusiastically and with the conviction they were the right choices for her until there weren't. That's just incompetence. Setting up her restaurant and failing to follow through with her responsibilities was also sheer incompetence, especially when she had people relying on her for their livelihoods. Repeatedly abandoning the business whenever she had a rough moment was also irresponsible and unprofessional. Her best friend and partner in the restaurant had just been rejected by her husband after giving birth, but still managed to run the restaurant kitchen efficiently and did not go off crying when the going got tough. Yes, shit happens, but people just get going shit and all, mainly because they don't have a choice and they don't have a powerful and stinky rich family to come to the rescue when they hit a bump on the road. And why not confide in her bestie about the pregnancy and baby instead of having the friend think that Tina hated the baby?

Harris recovered well from his youthful idiocy and treated her right after that, at least from the time they got together after the birth of his niece. I am not convinced that he truly had strong feelings for her throughout these years apart because he sure did not stay celibate waiting for her and didn't really make that much of an effort tracking her down. As an aside, he also had an irritating habit of substituting the wrong words in common phrases or idioms. Not endearing at all. He's a smart and successful guy and this quirk just didn't fit. I have read and liked the author's books in the past. She likes her angst and so do I usually. This one just didn't fully work for me. The angst felt too forced.

This was an ARC provided by NetGalley.

[Meredith is a hot mess · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARC received via Netgalley.

Reasons why I don't like this book:

1) Pregnancy/baby drama

Had I known this book had a pregnancy subplot and major baby drama I would not have requested this ARC. Pregnancy drama in contemporary romance is a pet peeve of mine. It comes across as an easy ploy to gain the reader's sympathy.

The heroine has a one-night stand with a childhood friend. She becomes pregnant, and is sent off to Ireland to have the baby. The baby dies. She keeps it a secret. Ten years later her best friend is pregnant. We get two pregnancy stories in this book. The heroine freaks out around the baby from PTSD or something, and she's forced to be around her baby's daddy again. Sparks fly and there's lots of drama and emotion.

2) Drama, drama, drama

I don't mind drama and angst, but the characters' motivations need to be fleshed out. The characters were not well-developed in this book.

When Tina's friend, Libby, gives birth her husband Grayson isn't there. Later Libby says, "Grayson isn't coming back, he says the baby isn't his." Um, what? That was out of the blue. The author injected this because it spurred Libby and her baby to move in with Tina (thus causing Tina's anxiety around babies to manifest). Later Harris tells Tina Grayson is claiming he thought his wife (Libby) slept with Harris and that the baby's father is really Harris. Um, what again? There's no explanation for why Grayson would claim his wife slept with Harris. Grayson doesn't even tell his wife this. It was just stupid drama.

The heroine's drama with her brothers seemed off too. Underdeveloped. They all talk down to her, and then one day Harris calls one of the brother's out. The brother then calls Tina to apologize, and she spills her baby drama story to him. There are tears, etc, etc. It was hard for me to buy into the brother doing a 180 in his treatment of his sister because Harris called him out one time.

It was clear the author had all of Tina's family act like jerks to her, so Harris could seem like a hero. Very contrived.

The restaurant drama was boring

Ok, I'm just complaining at this point. Nothing worked here for me and everything was irritating. I think the underdeveloped characters and the author's attempt to write high emotions is the root cause of the problem.

3) The dialogue felt unnatural

I could use lots of examples, but I'm not going to take the time. One thing that made me laugh was when Grayson called Harris "bud." lol. I've never heard guys in their late 20s call each other "bud."

Harris' inner thoughts seemed off too. I wasn't fully immersed and could picture the author trying to write from a guys POV.

4) Nothing felt authentic

This goes back to the under-developed characters, and the dramatic baby drama plot.

5) The heroine

The author worked overtime trying to make her seem sympathetic to the reader and it backfired.

Tina's body insecurities, baby issues, lack of support (all her family members are nasty to her), and her inability to hold down a job defined her. What were her good attributes? The author did not give her any. She had no personality. This story is basically Tina's sob story. I have no idea what Harris saw in her. I normally like second chance romances, but I never rooted for this couple. Instead I kept on wanting Tina to take control of her life and get a hobby.

I've seen from other reviews that the author has written other books that were very good. I may try her other books in the future.

[Betül · Rating 2 out of 5]

**ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**



Second-chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, so I was pretty excited to read this book. However, I really struggled to finish it. My biggest problem was how Tina continuously was pushing Harris away and didn't even give him the chance to make it right or explain himself. I can understand that what she went through really broke her and left scars, but to heal you would have to talk it out with the person that in your opinion caused all the hurt. I loved Harris, I thought he was very patient and sweet. He didn't let what Tina was throwing at him push him away. It was obvious that he felt a very strong attraction and love for Tina, and it didn't really diminish in the ten years they were apart.

However, when Tina was ready to take the next step, Harris wanted to sacrifice himself for her happiness. Which was nice of him, but he shouldn't have. He finally got her to give him a chance, and then he wants to give her space to grow. I was glad it didn't take long for Tina to convince him otherwise. Overall, I thought this was an okay second-chance romance, but I couldn't really feel a strong click between the characters. I also didn't like some of the decisions they took. I was very close to DNF'ing the book, but decided to finish it anyways, and thankfully it got a bit better. I liked the writing style and I thought it had a very nice flow. Even though I didn't enjoy this story, I do want to read her other books because I loved The Unwanted Wife.

[Lady Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

"5 -Then, Now, and Forever Stars!"

As with all of Natasha Anders' books, I always feel a whirlwind of emotions when I've finished one of her stories.

Her characters are so damn complex and layered.
The characters and histories are heartbreaking, sad and painful.
But, the journey to forgiveness and healing is SO worth the read.



This story is no exception.
I absolutely adored Tina's character.
She went through so much at such a young age, the consequences and results of that "one night" still affected her.

The strength it took to persevere (even though she was so broken) was inspiring.
Unfortunately, in order for her to survive, she had to build an almost indestructible wall around her heart.
It was to only way she could cope and semi-function for the last 10 years.



Until... she started spending time with Harris.
There is so much history and hurt between the two of them.
Some things are just unforgivable, and Harris doesn't know the whole story about what happened after that "one night".



So many secrets are screaming to come to light and now is the time.

I loved Harris! He was such a great character.
His perseverance, gentleness and love for Tina was beautiful.



I really enjoyed this story.
It is a story of loss, regret, forgiveness, love and learning to move forward and second chances.




"I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review."