BOOK REVIEW: BEAUTIFUL BROKEN MESS BY KIMBERLY LAUREN

Title: Beautiful Broken Mess
Author: Kimberly Lauren
Genre: Romance, New Adult
Published on: April 7, 2015 by Montlake Romance (first self-published in 2013)

Jace Riley and Audrey Mills had a tender and irresistibly passionate romance…until Audrey shattered his heart. Years later, she still can’t stop thinking about him. They shared kisses that she’ll never forget, and one brief, explosive encounter that she wishes she could. But no boy could rescue Audrey from her nightmarish home life, so she rescued herself, got through college and got into graduate school…only to find herself at the same school as Jace and his identical twin brother, Jaxon, who has his own complicated history with her.

It takes only one glimpse of Audrey’s long legs and brown eyes for Jace to ache for her once more. Yet he’s determined not to fall for her again. She ripped apart his heart and betrayed his brother…or so he thought. But what if Jace made a terrible mistake about Audrey? And what if he has one last chance to fix it?

After a few sporadic appearances in Beautiful Broken Rules, a minor character returns as a protagonist. She’s Audrey Mills, a young woman attending college. Beautiful Broken Mess takes place after book one, but the beginning is from an earlier time. It introduces readers to twins Jace and Jaxon Riley before they met Emerson Moore. The Riley brothers are from a wealthy Texas family. In contrast, Audrey lived in a trailer park with a seriously abusive father.

One day, Audrey meets Jace Riley by chance. The two quickly hit it off and agree to stay in touch. Later, Audrey goes to a party Jace invited her to. Things become an absolute mess that day. Audrey makes an inadvertent mistake she’ll regret for years to come. She distances herself from the Riley family and goes on to become a model college student. Audrey hasn’t forgotten Jace, though. Despite having known each other for a few hours, they left a lasting impression on the other.

Audrey wasn’t shown in a very good light in Beautiful Broken Rules. At least, that’s what I thought from the few scenes she had. Audrey seemed like a brat, an obsessive girl with a chip on her shoulder. I was so wrong. Audrey’s had to overcome so many obstacles it’s stunning that she hasn’t given up. Things just seem to keep going wrong for her. At least Audrey now has Lane, a muscular roommate who’s become like an older brother to her. He is an ex-military type and is extremely protective of Audrey. Lane knows a lot about Audrey’s history, including the part involving the Rileys.

Although it’s been several years, Jace hasn’t forgot Audrey either. No other girl has made him feel the way she did. They had a very intense attraction, even if their interaction was short-lived. Now Audrey is back in his life, and wants to make up for lost time. She also wants Jace to know what really happened all those years ago. Jace is unsure how he could be with Audrey, even if he still loves her. There is a pretty big obstacle (Jace-created) standing in the way of a relationship between them. Audrey chips away at Jace’s misgivings, though.

One surprising thing is that Audrey winds up befriending Emerson. The latter was just as wrong about Audrey as I was. The circumstances of her meeting Emerson seem suspicious, but it's apparently an honest coincidence. Emerson is an outgoing girl, so it's no surprise she didn't judge Audrey before getting to know her for real. But even this friendship won't make things easy for Audrey and Jace. Beautiful Broken Mess really puts all three of them through the wringer. Yes, Emerson included. You'll have to read the book to see what I mean. I was a bit hesitant about reading it, but I'm glad I did. It's just as good as Beautiful Broken Rules. I strongly recommend it to New Adult romance fans.

My rating: ★★★★ 1/2

4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!