Review: Broken #1

Synopsis

Caleb is perfect in every way, almost too perfect and Gwen has never felt so happy. He is hers and she is his. Life can't get much better and their love can't get any stronger. That is until mistakes are made and their world comes crumbling down. 

She's left alone with no money, no home and a growing person invading her stomach. How will she survive? 

Forced to leave culinary school, the job she needs and the home they made together. 

Gwen finds a knight in the most unlikely source. Caleb's brother Nathan. A complex man with a phobia she doesn't understand and mannerisms that aren't of this day and age, will she be able to melt his seemingly frozen heart and become his friend? Or will he forever push her away and wallow in his loneliness and self loathing? 

Review
Broken didn't have a great start. The beginning was a bit of a mish mash, a girl meets a boy on a beach and falls deliberately in loves, how gullible is she and how gullible does the author think we are that we would believe such nonsense? The beginning of this story would be a good story for a fifteen year old, its very unrealistically romantic, if not headache inducing. I was livid with the author for such a bad start.

However as the story progressed, I began to understand the characters. This author is good at characterization, in Lil Bits of Us, I loved Mia not because she was perfectly formed but because she was flawed, she was a young woman coming to terms with the death of the father and coming to terms with growing up. However in Broken Gwen is sappy, very weak and to a certain extent stupid. Towards the end I began to sympathize with her. Yes she needs to stand up for herself but I'm hoping she does this in the second book.

This isn't a story that rings true, it sounded as though the author thought about how great it would be to meet someone on the beach and she went for it. But Gwen and Caleb are not the kind of people I would have a drink with, they characters in a book and don't translate to real life. But I still think this author has potential,  the story is captivating enough, funny and there are elements of brilliance and I was entertained but I think the author needs to go back to the drawing board. Sort out the dialogue for example and create characters as great as Mia.

Question: Does anyone know an English Caleb, the name is very American. Sigh!

Ps. I was sent this book by the author.