Broken

Broken Series, Book 1

By: Kelly Elliott

Narrated by: Shirl Rae, Nelson Hobbs

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Layton Morris and his brother Mike grew up not knowing what it would be like to live in a normal home. With no running water or electricity in their home and no parents around to protect them, they quickly learned how to survive and depend only on each other.

When a tragic accident took Mike away from Layton and the only other person that he ever let into his heart walked away from him, leaving his heart shattered, Layton focused all of his time and energy into the ranch he and his brother dreamed of. He made a vow to himself to never let love in again. The last thing Layton needed or wanted was more heartache.

Whitley Reynolds grew up in a privileged home in upstate New York. When she landed the star football player in high school no one was surprised, not even Whitley. She dreamed of a life with Roger in New York City and happily followed him there.

The first time Roger hit her for arguing with him about a dinner party, she forgave him. The more it happened, the further Whitley withdrew from her friends and family. One fateful day things got too far. Whitley made a promise to herself and found the courage to do the one thing she thought she'd never be able to do.

Fleeing with her best friend, Courtney, Whitley was determined to put her past behind her and start a new life in the small town of Llano, Texas, where no one would ever find out about her past.

Will Layton and Whitley learn to trust and love again, or will their pasts come back to haunt them, keeping them both alone and broken?

©2014 Kelly Elliott (P)2014 Tantor

OMGoodness, this woman's voice is annoying.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not especially--listened while doing housework, so I didn't really waste time.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Meh--predictable.

Would you be willing to try another one of Shirl Rae and Nelson Hobbs ’s performances?

Maybe Nelson Hobbs, but NEVER Shirl Rae. Nasal, whiny, super annoying.

Could you see Broken being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This would make a great Lifetime movie for whatever that's worth...

loved it

this book was very touching. I enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more by this author.

Story line Good

I liked the characters but a little too much profanity and more than enough sex stories. Female narrator could have been better but did like the male narrator. Not sure yet if I will continue with the next book. Maybe if it goes on sale.

GREAT BOOK!!! Wish 2nd book was out already!

Would you listen to Broken again? Why?

Yes I would listen to Broken again. Actually very disappointed that the 2nd book in the series isn't already out! The book has a great story to it ... love that the book is narrated by a woman and a man, as it gives from both view points.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Broken?

Just one memorable moment? Most memorable is when Roger shows up in Witley's house!

What does Shirl Rae and Nelson Hobbs bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

They bring feeling to the book, the view point from Witley's view as well as Layton view. If I would've read the book myself it would've just been the same tone.

Great Listen

I have had this on my TBR for a long time, and the audio has been on my account for a while as well.
I am so happy I finally listened to this one and devoured it in one sitting.

The narrators do such a great job with this story.
This story is great, and I loved it and the characters.
I can't wait to listen to the rest of the series. I am hooked to this series.

Absolutely LOVED this book!

Where does Broken rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Pretty close to the top

What was one of the most memorable moments of Broken?

I cracked up when they had their mud fight. It was hilarious!

What does Shirl Rae and Nelson Hobbs bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I loved the accents and they made it really easy to picture the characters sounding just like them.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely

Just what I needed!

Loved this story! A little unrealistic at times but loved it! The characters, the story...everything!

Unrealistic.

This book could have been better. The storyline is okay but the author repeatedly uses the words gently, slowly and instantly so much that I found myself getting annoyed with it. The female voice also makes the female characters sound like they're ditzy. I only finished the book because I felt obligated after starting it.

Sweet Steamy Romance

*Sighhh....I loved this book. It was so overwhelmingly romantic and the main couple, Layton and Whitley were so perfect for each other. It was almost, ALMOST borderline too perfect, but it had just enough grit and angst to keep them imperfectly perfect.
Whats it about?
Whitley, our heroine, is in the hospital in NY after being beaten, yet again, by her fiance. Her BFF Courtney is there and together they plot to leave right out of the hospital. Whitley wants to go to Llano, TX, a place she's heard about from a family friend. She and Courtney pull up their city girl panties and move out to the country ASAP.
Finally being free from her abusive ex, Whitley starts her long time dream of running her own event planning company. She breaks down on a back road, headed to her first client, and Layton just so happens to be passing through on his horse (the road runs along his land)and saves the day.From there, the story takes off!
Who are they?
Whitley is a very strong heroine. Yes she was put through the ringer with her ex for 4 years. However, he didn't break her. She didn't flinch every time a man entered her space and she wasn't going to let the past beat her down. She still had a great outgoing personality and she and Courtney together are a riot. I loved how she didn't break into this weak character that needed rebuilding by the hero. It definitely made it more fun to read about these two bantering and matching wits. Her only problem with loving again is being afraid to. After what her ex became, she's afraid she'll let someone take over her life again.
Layton is a soft at heart cowboy who's had his whole world taken from him. No one from his past, aside from his friends, is still with him. Over the years his mother died, his father left them, and then his big brother died. Shortly after that, as in the next day after his brother's death, his longtime girlfriend left him too.
So Layton is used to people leaving him, he's too scared to let anyone in, because he knows they'll just leave eventually.
Together these two are dynamite! At first they fight each other tooth and nail and HATE each other. Slowly, things start changing and once they do, it's nonstop, hot sexy time.
I loved how the author wove so many things from the past into the present, showing these two that fate had sealed their deal before they even knew it.
I absolutely love Courtney and Reed and can't wait for their book.

I totally recommend this read to anyone who loves a good strong alpha male, who's possessive as all get out. This is a great, hilarious, love story!
PS - I ain't gonna lie, there are a few cheesy parts, but you can easily ignore them once you get use to seeing these two in love.

The dual narration by Shirl Rae , Nelson Hobbs was good. Nelson Hobbs was the best of the two.
IMHO two narrators are unnecessary unless they play the male and female roles. I see a lot of people who comment about disliking dual narrators yet the publishers keep doing it.

I'm in love!

I can't wait to read more! Kelly Elliott nailed it! The characters are so easy to fall in love with!