thisiswhyshedied's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kbranfield's review
4.0
Broken Open is the second delectably steamy installment in Lauren Dane's hot rocker Hurley Boys series. In this outing, deliciously tortured rancher/rock star Ezra Hurley and sinfully sexy widow Tuesday Eastwood give in to their searing passion and unexpectedly heal the wounds of their respective pasts.
The few glimpses of Ezra and Tuesday in The Best Kind of Trouble hinted at some kind of connection between the couple so it comes as no surprise that their relationship begins pretty much right away. These two share a sizzling attraction to one another and while they have danced around it for months, they finally are ready to explore their mutual lust. What Ezra and Tuesday both find surprising is how much they enjoy one another's company outside of the bedroom. And this becomes a little tricky for Ezra as he tries to navigate the unknown: a real relationship.
Tuesday has had a difficult time moving on since the death of her husband. She disconnected from real life for a long time but through her close friendship with Natalie (from book one in the series), she has finally made a new life for herself. She has a successful framing and jewelry business and she has also indulged in a few short-lived, casual hook ups. Although she is very open to a relationship with Ezra,Tuesday does experience some guilt over the depth of her emotions and the strength of her desire for Ezra.
Ezra might have shaken his addiction to heroin, but he has been unable to let go of the guilt and shame of what his addiction did to his family and friends. Needing a complete lifestyle change after his stint in rehab, Ezra quit touring with Sweet Hollow Ranch and focused his energy on the family ranch, songwriting and studio work with the band. In the past few months, he has performed live with the band in a few small shows which really highlights how far he has come in his recovery. While Ezra is delighted at his surprising romance with Tuesday, it also makes him very uneasy as he tries to find the same balance in their relationship that he has found in the rest of his life.
Ezra and Tuesday's relationship is mostly conflict free and it is very enjoyable watching them build their relationship. Their lives perfectly complement one another's and their shared interests bring them closer together. Their social lives also intersect since Ezra's brother is involved with Tuesday's best friend and this provides them with added opportunities to get to know one another. While there are several scorching hot love scenes between Ezra and Tuesday, the novel mainly focuses around their deepening emotional bond and the impact this has for them as a couple.
Emotionally compelling, Broken Open is a beautiful novel of healing for Tuesday and Ezra as they find the courage and strength to open their hearts to the possibility of love despite their emotional baggage. The characters are multidimensional with believable obstacles to overcome. The storyline is realistic and Lauren Dane never shies away from difficult topics. The resulting romance is quite heartwarming and one that I highly recommend to old and new fans of the Hurley Boys series.
The few glimpses of Ezra and Tuesday in The Best Kind of Trouble hinted at some kind of connection between the couple so it comes as no surprise that their relationship begins pretty much right away. These two share a sizzling attraction to one another and while they have danced around it for months, they finally are ready to explore their mutual lust. What Ezra and Tuesday both find surprising is how much they enjoy one another's company outside of the bedroom. And this becomes a little tricky for Ezra as he tries to navigate the unknown: a real relationship.
Tuesday has had a difficult time moving on since the death of her husband. She disconnected from real life for a long time but through her close friendship with Natalie (from book one in the series), she has finally made a new life for herself. She has a successful framing and jewelry business and she has also indulged in a few short-lived, casual hook ups. Although she is very open to a relationship with Ezra,Tuesday does experience some guilt over the depth of her emotions and the strength of her desire for Ezra.
Ezra might have shaken his addiction to heroin, but he has been unable to let go of the guilt and shame of what his addiction did to his family and friends. Needing a complete lifestyle change after his stint in rehab, Ezra quit touring with Sweet Hollow Ranch and focused his energy on the family ranch, songwriting and studio work with the band. In the past few months, he has performed live with the band in a few small shows which really highlights how far he has come in his recovery. While Ezra is delighted at his surprising romance with Tuesday, it also makes him very uneasy as he tries to find the same balance in their relationship that he has found in the rest of his life.
Ezra and Tuesday's relationship is mostly conflict free and it is very enjoyable watching them build their relationship. Their lives perfectly complement one another's and their shared interests bring them closer together. Their social lives also intersect since Ezra's brother is involved with Tuesday's best friend and this provides them with added opportunities to get to know one another. While there are several scorching hot love scenes between Ezra and Tuesday, the novel mainly focuses around their deepening emotional bond and the impact this has for them as a couple.
Emotionally compelling, Broken Open is a beautiful novel of healing for Tuesday and Ezra as they find the courage and strength to open their hearts to the possibility of love despite their emotional baggage. The characters are multidimensional with believable obstacles to overcome. The storyline is realistic and Lauren Dane never shies away from difficult topics. The resulting romance is quite heartwarming and one that I highly recommend to old and new fans of the Hurley Boys series.
hoots222's review
4.0
I received this book from Goodreads First Reads Giveaways.
This is a great book, the story line is well fleshed out, and I enjoy Dane's writing style. I love Ezra and Tuesday. I'm so glad Lauren Dane wrote both these characters as strong individuals although they are damaged in their own ways. I loved that Ezra had a pet pig, Violet, and a dog named Loopy. This book can be read as a standalone.
This is a great book, the story line is well fleshed out, and I enjoy Dane's writing style. I love Ezra and Tuesday. I'm so glad Lauren Dane wrote both these characters as strong individuals although they are damaged in their own ways. I loved that Ezra had a pet pig, Violet, and a dog named Loopy. This book can be read as a standalone.
elalalala's review
4.0
So. Many. FEELINGS.
Lauren Dane did a great job bringing the backgrounds of two troubled people together.
I will say that some points dragged a bit, but what book doesn't? I laughed, I cried, I had a good time.
Definitely falls squarely into the romance category.
Lauren Dane did a great job bringing the backgrounds of two troubled people together.
I will say that some points dragged a bit, but what book doesn't? I laughed, I cried, I had a good time.
Definitely falls squarely into the romance category.
awestruck's review
3.0
I loved both Ezra and Tuesday in the previous book, and so I had higher expectations for this book. Given how easy Ezra and Tuesday fall into their romance, which I loved, the book actually felt like it dragged on. A lot of the scenes felt unnecessary to the story, and at times I felt like I had to force myself to keep reading to finish.
I loved the ending, but felt like it could have got there quite a bit sooner.
I loved the ending, but felt like it could have got there quite a bit sooner.
leelah's review
3.0
This is a second book in the Hurley Boys series, but third one featuring Hurley brothers (Vaughn's & Mary's story was told in [b:Lush|15761526|Lush (Delicious, #3)|Lauren Dane|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342792431s/15761526.jpg|21462345]).
Super steamy and fast read as usual with Lauren Dane.
Ezra is the oldest Hurley. He is the founder of Sweet Hollow Ranch, but due to his escalating drug problem he was forced to go on rehab and after that he decided to retire from the group. He still occasionally performs with his brothers, but he doesn't go on tours.Instead he spends his time mostly on their ranch, as a foreman, taking care of animals.
Tuesday is Natalie's ([b:The Best Kind of Trouble|18688614|The Best Kind of Trouble (The Hurley Boys, #1)|Lauren Dane|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397616616s/18688614.jpg|26532888]) best friend. She is designing jewelry and she holds a store in a town where she sells her pieces. She lost a husband to his galloping cancer few years back.
So, one thing I both loved and hated loved about this book is romance between Tuesday and Ezra. Oh, you will still have a lot of sensual and really delicious erotic scenes, but there was no real external problems- no necessary drama and misunderstandings between them- these are two adults who are really attracted to each other, exploring if that attractions leads to something further. But their inner conflicts were high level and simply exhausting to read after certain point: Both of them are having doubts: Tuesday because she is not sure if she's really ready for serious commitment after Eric and Ezra has a lot of guilt as an ex-junky and he's feeling he betrayed his brothers and scared he will betray Tues as well. They are both very honest with each other, but they are very harsh toward themselves: their mutual attraction is made obvious and nobody is backing away- but they are also adults who don't want to jump too fast into something that can leave them devastated. In the end they proved to be perfect for each other and I was convinced in their love.
Ezra is like every other Dane hero swoon-worthy. He is an attractive mix of popular tropes right now: lumbersexual rock star: he has beard, he is huge, raw, inked, but a total sweetie. But I loved Tuesday: she is accomplished as a woman and as a person, but she is still mourning her husband. She was lovely to read about.
I read few reviews and noticed that some readers thought that Dane should have focused more on the fact that Tuesday and Ezra are biracial couple. I can't really say she omitted showing this: Tuesday in one point has encounter with a racist, but she definitely went safe and decided to show relationship between two people of different race without racial tension and side-eye from others. Simply, all possible triggers you can think off regarding this are avoided. So, the real question and one that can determine will you enjoy this books is this:
Do you want a fantasy that's portraying interracial couple just like every other couple with problems every other couple have and making them work at the end, or do you want a fantasy where interracial couple has to deal with with all possible challenges and troubles that follows that kind of couple beside usual relationship problems and making them work at the end?
I did notice, though, that it took far too long for heroine's appearance to be mentioned in a way that would indicate she is black,so if you didn't see cover and didn't read previous book in series, I guess you would be surprised- what are chances for that to happen, though? Tuesday's race was shown more subtly, like when she says she can't miss hair appointment because she learned long time ago that she needs a hair saloon and a person who knows how to treat and take care of black woman hair. I personally didn't need any more indicators and reminders she is woc, but I came from reading first book where she appears briefly and already formed a picture how she looks like in my head.
Stars were chucked off because book dragged in some parts, especially when characters are self-questioning themselves. It also has plot development regarding Tuesday's ex mother-in-law that I found a bit eyerolling.
Huge shoutout for cover!
tita_noir's review
4.0
4.5 stars
I was very much anticipating this book just on the meeting of this couple from the first book [b:The Best Kind of Trouble|18688614|The Best Kind of Trouble (The Hurley Boys, #1)|Lauren Dane|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397616616s/18688614.jpg|26532888].
I loved the first book in the series. It was a good, solid book that looked at the building of a relationship from the inside. No real external conflict, just the struggles and issues that a pair of grown ups with lives and a past have. It also did a great job of drawing a picture of a big, complex family as well as a fantastic friendship between two friends, Natalie (the heroine from that book) and Tuesday (the heroine in this book).
So when Tuesday and Ezra circle around each other in that first book, meeting eyes and zinging with awareness, the anticipation for them was set.
With such high expectations I was a bit nervous whether this book would really meet them.
Boy did it.
Just like the first book, there are no external conflicts here for the couple. They acknowledge they want each other. But each has a lot of baggage that is potentially problematic in trying to start up something new.
Tuesday is still coming back from the devastating loss of her first husband to a quick and brutal bout with cancer. While Ezra is a 5-years clean ex-heroin addict. The book does a great job of letting us in on how the two of them are somewhat still broken by these things but because of their relationship, are starting to put it behind them and heal. Ezra struggles a bit more than Tuesday and I must say I liked that the author allowed this aspect to be a little lopsided, rather than trying to make both of their issues completely equal.
Ezra is terrified of back-sliding back into the behaviors that made his addiction possible. We learned quite a bit of what happened to him and how it affected his family in the first book, so this one just colors in the lines a little bit more and gives some insight from his POV. He is deliberate in the things he does and the controls he needs to wield over his life. I was fascinated by the parts where he described how much of his success in staying clean was the result of behavior modification and how vigilant he still is. So Tuesday becoming a real part of his life must be approached with some caution by him.
Of course, Tuesday is a grown ass woman with ideas of her own and I like how she pushes him and doesn't shy away from saying things. She doesn't tip-toe and is rather frank in her feelings.
This is a relationship book more than anything and it follows the pattern of the first book which just allows the couple of fall in love without odd misunderstandings or unrealistic situations.
As with the first book, this book is brimful with the Hurley family relationships. We get a little foretaste of what is gonna happen with the next book. It also continues with the awesome Natalie/Tuesday friendship. I love books that feature healthy and strong best girlfriend relationships. It also continues to give us a peek into Natalie and Tuesdays extended and enduring friendships with their posse from college. This little bit adds nothing to the plot, but does add color and flavor and as such goes toward creating good character depth. As does Tuesday awesome family and her rather ratchet in-laws
Tuesday is black and this is only briefly mentioned in the first book and isn't an issue here. I love that the author didn't go into elaborate food-coloring descriptions of Tuesday. You get the impression of a beautiful, athletic outdoorsy woman with fabulous hair. There is one racial incident that felt a little over-dramatic but in the aftermath of it, Tuesday's conversation with Ezra hit the right note, imo, where she is pragmatic about such things because she is black. Whereas he, unaware because of his privilege, wants to punch things.
I will give kudos to the author for her little touches with Tuesday, esp. with her hair. Little moments where Tuesday wraps her head before bed or wears afro puffs (a real turn on for Ezra apparently) or where Ezra gazes longingly at her little satin pillow she brings to his house to sleep on. The significance of that satin pillow did not escape me.
Finally this is a sexy, sexy book. Ezra and Tuesday are hot and chemical. They really have a strong sexual and romantic chemistry in the book. I was hoping the hot spark from the first book would burst into flame here... it did.
Great book. I recommend both books in the series so far.
I was very much anticipating this book just on the meeting of this couple from the first book [b:The Best Kind of Trouble|18688614|The Best Kind of Trouble (The Hurley Boys, #1)|Lauren Dane|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397616616s/18688614.jpg|26532888].
I loved the first book in the series. It was a good, solid book that looked at the building of a relationship from the inside. No real external conflict, just the struggles and issues that a pair of grown ups with lives and a past have. It also did a great job of drawing a picture of a big, complex family as well as a fantastic friendship between two friends, Natalie (the heroine from that book) and Tuesday (the heroine in this book).
So when Tuesday and Ezra circle around each other in that first book, meeting eyes and zinging with awareness, the anticipation for them was set.
With such high expectations I was a bit nervous whether this book would really meet them.
Boy did it.
Just like the first book, there are no external conflicts here for the couple. They acknowledge they want each other. But each has a lot of baggage that is potentially problematic in trying to start up something new.
Tuesday is still coming back from the devastating loss of her first husband to a quick and brutal bout with cancer. While Ezra is a 5-years clean ex-heroin addict. The book does a great job of letting us in on how the two of them are somewhat still broken by these things but because of their relationship, are starting to put it behind them and heal. Ezra struggles a bit more than Tuesday and I must say I liked that the author allowed this aspect to be a little lopsided, rather than trying to make both of their issues completely equal.
Ezra is terrified of back-sliding back into the behaviors that made his addiction possible. We learned quite a bit of what happened to him and how it affected his family in the first book, so this one just colors in the lines a little bit more and gives some insight from his POV. He is deliberate in the things he does and the controls he needs to wield over his life. I was fascinated by the parts where he described how much of his success in staying clean was the result of behavior modification and how vigilant he still is. So Tuesday becoming a real part of his life must be approached with some caution by him.
Of course, Tuesday is a grown ass woman with ideas of her own and I like how she pushes him and doesn't shy away from saying things. She doesn't tip-toe and is rather frank in her feelings.
This is a relationship book more than anything and it follows the pattern of the first book which just allows the couple of fall in love without odd misunderstandings or unrealistic situations.
As with the first book, this book is brimful with the Hurley family relationships. We get a little foretaste of what is gonna happen with the next book. It also continues with the awesome Natalie/Tuesday friendship. I love books that feature healthy and strong best girlfriend relationships. It also continues to give us a peek into Natalie and Tuesdays extended and enduring friendships with their posse from college. This little bit adds nothing to the plot, but does add color and flavor and as such goes toward creating good character depth. As does Tuesday awesome family and her rather ratchet in-laws
Tuesday is black and this is only briefly mentioned in the first book and isn't an issue here. I love that the author didn't go into elaborate food-coloring descriptions of Tuesday. You get the impression of a beautiful, athletic outdoorsy woman with fabulous hair. There is one racial incident that felt a little over-dramatic but in the aftermath of it, Tuesday's conversation with Ezra hit the right note, imo, where she is pragmatic about such things because she is black. Whereas he, unaware because of his privilege, wants to punch things.
I will give kudos to the author for her little touches with Tuesday, esp. with her hair. Little moments where Tuesday wraps her head before bed or wears afro puffs (a real turn on for Ezra apparently) or where Ezra gazes longingly at her little satin pillow she brings to his house to sleep on. The significance of that satin pillow did not escape me.
Finally this is a sexy, sexy book. Ezra and Tuesday are hot and chemical. They really have a strong sexual and romantic chemistry in the book. I was hoping the hot spark from the first book would burst into flame here... it did.
Great book. I recommend both books in the series so far.
kimmypete1's review
3.0
Check out this review and more at On the Wings of Books
• I have a weakness for contemporary romances featuring families. I love the family elements and seeing my favorite characters grow and change as each book comes out. Broken Open is the second book in The Hurley Boys series and I couldn't love this family more.
• This was a bit of a different read for me, I don't do a lot of rock star romances, but this one was really good.
• I loved Ezra and Tuesday. They were a good match for each other and could help each other work through the pain that they had. In Tuesday's case it was her late husband and his crazy family, in Ezra's case his former addiction.
• I can't remember if I've read a book where a character was a recovering drug addict (so I suppose it's safe to say I haven't) and I though Dane handled it really well. Ezra still thought about his former addictions, but wasn't even close to relapsing. His story about how he finally got into rehab broke my heart.
• As an interracial couple Tuesday and Ezra have more to deal with than the average couple. I liked how Dane worked that into the story without it overwhelming the story. Also it sucks that people are asshats.
Overall I enjoyed Ezra and Tuesday's story, but I am super excited to read Back to You which is about Vaughan and Kelly rekindling their relationship.
What I Thought...
• I have a weakness for contemporary romances featuring families. I love the family elements and seeing my favorite characters grow and change as each book comes out. Broken Open is the second book in The Hurley Boys series and I couldn't love this family more.
• This was a bit of a different read for me, I don't do a lot of rock star romances, but this one was really good.
• I loved Ezra and Tuesday. They were a good match for each other and could help each other work through the pain that they had. In Tuesday's case it was her late husband and his crazy family, in Ezra's case his former addiction.
• I can't remember if I've read a book where a character was a recovering drug addict (so I suppose it's safe to say I haven't) and I though Dane handled it really well. Ezra still thought about his former addictions, but wasn't even close to relapsing. His story about how he finally got into rehab broke my heart.
• As an interracial couple Tuesday and Ezra have more to deal with than the average couple. I liked how Dane worked that into the story without it overwhelming the story. Also it sucks that people are asshats.
Overall I enjoyed Ezra and Tuesday's story, but I am super excited to read Back to You which is about Vaughan and Kelly rekindling their relationship.
lateresita27's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
paddlefoot55's review
4.0
ARC received from Harlequin via Netgalley for an honest review
This is the second book in the Hurley Boys series, and while it could be read as a stand alone, why would you want to miss out on anything these boys have to offer.
This is Ezra Hurley’s story, and it is not exactly an easy story. Both he and his woman Tuesday have had hard pasts and they are struggling to get past things to move forward.
These are not your usual rock star books. In fact, most of the time you wouldn’t know they were rockers at all. These books are about the people behind the rock star personas.
There is so much sexual tension between Ezra and Tuesday. Everytime they are in a room together you can feel the tension roll of them. And you just know that when they get their sh*t together, sparks are going to fly.
And they do. Hooey their sexy times are sex-y!
For me though, the middle part of this book seemed to drag. Ezra and Tuesday seemed to go around in circles with their relationship. They would meet up, have the sexy-sex, avoid. Rinse, lather, repeat. There was no reason why their relationship couldn't move forward other than themselves. There was no big blow up, no big misunderstanding. They just didn't. Didn't admit their feelings, didn't move forward. I felt that this part of their story could have moved along quicker - but this is just my thoughts.
I love that we get right into the whole Hurley family dynamic. His mum and dad are great, his brothers and their partners are awesome.
I am really looking forward to getting more of Damien and Mary's story, and especially intrigued about Vaughan and Kelly's story. It is going to be interesting to get down to the nuts and bolts with that one!
Can't wait to see where this series goes next.
This is the second book in the Hurley Boys series, and while it could be read as a stand alone, why would you want to miss out on anything these boys have to offer.
This is Ezra Hurley’s story, and it is not exactly an easy story. Both he and his woman Tuesday have had hard pasts and they are struggling to get past things to move forward.
These are not your usual rock star books. In fact, most of the time you wouldn’t know they were rockers at all. These books are about the people behind the rock star personas.
There is so much sexual tension between Ezra and Tuesday. Everytime they are in a room together you can feel the tension roll of them. And you just know that when they get their sh*t together, sparks are going to fly.
And they do. Hooey their sexy times are sex-y!
For me though, the middle part of this book seemed to drag. Ezra and Tuesday seemed to go around in circles with their relationship. They would meet up, have the sexy-sex, avoid. Rinse, lather, repeat. There was no reason why their relationship couldn't move forward other than themselves. There was no big blow up, no big misunderstanding. They just didn't. Didn't admit their feelings, didn't move forward. I felt that this part of their story could have moved along quicker - but this is just my thoughts.
I love that we get right into the whole Hurley family dynamic. His mum and dad are great, his brothers and their partners are awesome.
I am really looking forward to getting more of Damien and Mary's story, and especially intrigued about Vaughan and Kelly's story. It is going to be interesting to get down to the nuts and bolts with that one!
Can't wait to see where this series goes next.