REVIEW +GIVEAWAY: BEAUTIFUL BROKEN MESS BY KIMBERLY LAUREN

Jace Riley’s close connection with his identical twin brother, Jaxon, is put to the test when he tries to choose between keeping his promises and following his heart. Is this girl that still haunts his dreams, even after four years, really worth it? Jace can’t help but wonder if he made a huge mistake all that time ago when he let her walk into someone else’s arms, especially since that someone was his twin.

Audrey Mills often wonders at what point she should throw her hands up in defeat and allow all of the horrible circumstances of her life to overtake her. Despite the demons she has faced, however, something inside her won’t give in. When she leaves her small town in Texas to attend college in California, Audrey runs into the one guy who could make her or break her. But is the past they share too painful for them to overcome?

This is the second book in the broken series. While each book can stand on its own, it's recommended you read Beautiful Broken Rules before Beautiful Broken Mess.

New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance - recommended for ages 18 and up.
eArc received from author in exchange for honest review for this tour*

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OUR REVIEW:

We first met Audrey in Beautiful Broken Rules (which I highly recommend you read BEFORE you start this one--you don't have to but it gives you an enhanced understanding of the all of the relationships and interconnectedness of the characters involved...AND IT"S GOOD!). I'm not going to sugarcoat it...when I first met Audrey I hated her. She came off as snooty and a troublemaker. You can imagine my complete surprise when my opinion of her changed almost instantaneously; I liked her...a lot! She had suffered and overcome and was working her ass off to make something good for herself. The only thing not really clicking in to place for her was a serious relationship. We knew she had a history with Jax but what we come to learn is the depth of her desire for a relationship with Jace..and what a complete cluster ..ahem...eff the attempts at a relationship with him had become.

I had a lot of trouble grasping that this was the same girl who I thought was absolutely horrid in the first book! Wow. Did I feel like crap after I read the beginning of this one. I guess that I should keep my hateful thoughts to myself more often! Hah. It is cray. Okay, so anyways, I absolutely adored the first book...I mean c'mon twins...shee-it. But I had no idea there was so much more to Jace than we thought. And that there was even more history between them all than the watered down version we got from Jax in book one so that Emerson wouldn't leave him..for that at least. Haha. But as with all things, there is always way more to the story than we realized...and these boys are just as amazing and emotional as before. Loved it.

Jace, as we knew from the first book, is a driven, hardworking, smart, kind guy. He seemed to never get in trouble and was the consummate good friend to everyone. That perception is never really challenged or altered through the duration of this book--he remains to be a good person...kind...sweet--his biggest flaw is caring so much about what those who are close to him think of him (not exactly a huge problem, right?!). He's always trying to balance what he wants and needs but will easily defer to the wants and needs of his friends and family-- if they need him. We soon see that this personality trait is partially to blame in how the impending relationship with Audrey went from probable to non-existent in a matter of hours. It's also what continues to plague him in other important matters too.

Yes. As extroverted as Jax is and was, Jace is the opposite. Maybe that is the way it is with some twins (Shel, you can weight in on this, maybe?) that one is carefree, and the other feels the need to protect and not rock the boat. Or maybe just siblings in general. Mayyybbeee? Well, Jace is the perfect example of all of these things, and you just know there is a wild man waiting to be let out of those perfectly restrained muscles. And there is. And he is hot. But also sweet, like we thought. Sigh...I like him a lot.

It's easy to see that both Audrey and Jace care deeply for each other...and that they have some issues to overcome but they both have a willingness to see if a relationship can work. Once they are finally able to communicate, they discover hidden truths and strong desires and I held my breath just hoping that they wouldn't screw it up. Famous last words, right? What I found refreshing, though, was the way things were handled after the screw up(s); they were fairly grown up in the way they dealt with their problems (for the most part--there is one MAJOR moment of dumbassery). I loved how strong Audrey was--what a great female character!

Yeah. I totes wanted to kill him. KILL HIM. He killed me. I thought it was proof of what we said before that all that perfectly controlled restraint was only going to take this boy so far...wellllll.....he cracks in a bad way. Just read to see, but while this book is epic and fun and sexy, there are some emotional moments for this group of friends that must be overcome.

The first two books in this series have been really great reads and I'm looking forward to enter into Lane's head next! He is an awesome addition to the group! I am excited!

Shelley: 4 1/2 Stars

Courtney: 4 Stars

About the Author:

I'm a wanderer, an adventurer, a traveler.

I want to see it all. I haven't been everywhere but it's on my list.

"She travels the world & home is always in her heart."

Lately if I'm not traveling or chasing a toddler, I'm writing. Which is weird because I hated writing in college. Oh wait, that's because that was boring. Who really wants to sit there and cite all your sources into APA format? Not this girl. Writing for yourself is enjoyable and cathartic. Please try it. Then tell me about because I love indie authors.

When I was 19, I packed up and followed my high school sweetheart from Texas to California. We had a blast living it up in San Diego. Four years later we made a crazy decision and packed up again and moved to Germany. What? Yep, you read that right. Guess what? Best decision ever! We OWNED Europe. For three years we saw as much as we possibly could. We lived an hour outside of France, a couple from Switzerland and Italy. Most amazing time of my life. Please go out there and see the world, you won't regret it. After Europe we moved back to California, and for now we're just debating our next adventure.

I earned a degree in Child Development. And now I write novels. Makes perfect sense! I write because I walk around all day with these stories in my head. It's nice to be able to get them out of my head in an organized fashion. I hope that someone out there enjoys them, because I have enjoyed so many others'.Facebook URL:

Where to Find Kimberly Lauren:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyLaurenAuthor

Twitter URL: https://twitter.com/KimLaurenAuthor

Website: https://www.kimberlylauren.net

Goodreads Author URL: http://www.goodreads.com/KimberlyLauren

Goodreads Book Link URL: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18307792-beautiful-broken-mess
Beautiful Broken Rules (Broken, #1) Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17729712-beautiful-broken-rules