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A review by tita_noir
Broken Open by Lauren Dane
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.