Broken Things to Mend
by Karey White
Celia is in desperate need of a change--a change of scenery, a change of pace, and a complete redo of all relationships. Not knowing what else to do, she opens a map, closes her eyes, and lets fate decide her future. Then she packs her meager belongings and buys a one-way ticket to a little town on the fringes of Oregon's Deschutes National Forest called Sisters. She's wanted a family for years. Will she find one in Sisters? What Celia doesn't plan to find is a strange Chinese woman whose meddling ways keep throwing her in the path of a handsome, but reserved, forest ranger. But no matter how kind or dependable Silas seems to be, there are some things in Celia's past that neither of them can escape, and this time, the damage might be too much to mend.
My Thoughts:
This is a touching story about Celia, a young woman needing a new start in a new place due to some awful circumstances in her life. She meets the Matchmaker, a strange old Chinese woman who helps get her settled with a roof over her head and a job in the town of Sisters, Oregon, and then disappears from her life.
Celia meets Silas, the nephew of Nancy, they lady she is renting a boarding with and they hit it off fairly well, though Celia has no intentions of a romantic relationship given what happened to her in Chicago. Though Silas is equally wary for his own reasons, he begins to fall for her. Nancy warns caution though as she feels that Celia is keeping something secret, but can’t pin her finger on what it is. Will Pearl’s ability as a Matchmaker be able to take these two people with brokenness in their lives and bring them together to build the love and trust they need to make it as a couple?
I found Broken Things to Mend to be an engaging novel with contemporary issues that some women have to deal with. It touched on the emotional difficulties that arise from a woman in placed in a position like Celia was in.
I liked that the storyline was about the development of relationships and how important communication and truthfulness/honesty (or lack of secrets) is to those relationships. Without it, all kinds of incorrect conjectures can be drawn and create havoc between two people trying to develop enough trust in one another in order to open up their heart to love. Fortunately for Celia and Silas they had developed enough trust through friendship to weather the storm of the secret that Celia had been keeping.
For me, the best part of the book was the ending – not because the book was over, but because of the beautiful way the author chose to complete the book. It’s hard to say much more without giving the ending away, but I will say that Silas’ idea of what makes up a family is more than genetics.
Other than some kissing, this is a totally clean romance novel. It is suitable for any audience who would enjoy a light romantic book to read. This is the first book of a twelve book series written by various authors (one released each month of 2016), which will be connected by Pearl, the Matchmaker in each book. The prequel, The Matchmaker, gives the background as to how Pearl came to be the matchmaker. Each book in this series can be read as a stand-alone novel.
I totally enjoyed Broken Things to Mend and if this book is a sneak peek into the quality of the stories coming up in this series, then it will be a huge success. I gave this book a rating of 5 stars out of 5.
Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.
Author Karey White
Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist. She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.$50 Amazon Gift Card or $50 in Paypal Cash Ends 2/2/16 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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