Review: Unbroken (Cedar Cove, #1) by Melody Grace

I’ve had my eye on this NA book for a long time. I love the cover and the synopsis had me excited! While I will admit, I’ve been trying to read more YA books, sometimes you need some romance novel drama in your life!

Juliet left her turbulent past behind four years ago when she left Cedar Cove for the last time. Her family’s beach house in the small sandy town had once been a place of love and laughter. Now the old house built by her grandfather brings back memories of a hurricane romance and a painful family loss. When her father decides to sell the place, Juliet leaves her picture perfect boyfriend and life in the big city to go back and pack up her memories. She hopes to never see Emerson, the local bad boy in town, but does just that. Their wild and passionate relationship picks up where it left off, but will their past heartbreaks tear them apart?

Unbroken was interesting to read. As I’ve said before, I’m often turned away from some NA romance novels because they always tend to center around violent sexual behavior and/or past sexual abuse. This is a rant I’ve had before, but I’m tired of reading romances involving young women and their abusive past relationships. That’s not to say that those things don’t happen or that they’re bad books. I’m just at a point that if I’m reading a romance novel, I want it to be happy and passionate, not depressing and gross. It’s not my thing.

For some reason, I kept feeling like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop in Unbroken. I felt like any page could open up a past filled with abuse for Juliet. It could have been the mystery behind her aversion to the beach house or her familiar relationship with a brooding bad boy, but I was just waiting for my hopes of a happily ever after romance to be shattered.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Unbroken turned out to be my kind of love story. I promise no spoilery other than that I got my happy ending. I enjoyed reading both Emerson and Juliet’s characters and their struggles were relatable.

Emerson is the townie that just can’t seem to get out and Juliet is the girl with a messed up family life trying to find the right path. I really liked Juliet because she had real problems and she dealt with them. With an alcoholic father and a non-existent relationship with her sister, Juliet goes from having a screwed up family life with no future ahead of her, to swinging in the complete opposite direction. Dating the preppiest boy on her campus and giving up her dreams to be a photographer to be an accountant, it seems that Juliet’s only way of coming out on top to change who she is. By the end of the story, she comes to terms with the fact that she doesn’t need to change who she is to be happy or successful and that other people’s misfortune and unhappiness won't become her own.

She was also not your typical romance leading lady. Most girls in these NA stories get worked up over their guys dating other girls when they weren’t even together or freak out for no apparent reason. Juliet has a good head on her shoulders. She’s sensible and realistic and it was refreshing.

The story was well written and the pacing was great. Sometimes stories with flashbacks can become confusing, jumbled and annoying, but Grace does a great job in navigating Juliet and Emerson’s past with their future.

Overall, I read this in one sitting and I really enjoyed it once I got past my fear of having the story turn out to be a Fifty Shades of Grey copycat.

8 out of 10

Happy Reading :)