Beneath Broken by CJ Pinard: Review


Posted July 10, 2016 in review Tags:

Beneath Broken by CJ Pinard: ReviewBeneath Broken by C.J. Pinard
Pages: 197
two-half-flames

Series: Imperfect Heroes #2
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Also in this series: Above Protection
Also by this author: Above Protection
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He’s a clean-cut cop who loves a good challenge.She’s a smart executive with no interest in falling in love.It won’t take long for the flames of desire to scorch them both, forcing them to either douse the blaze, or succumb to the fire.
MASONI don’t give up easily. My personality and training taught me that failure is not an option, and getting the attention of the beautiful executive president Harper Mathis is going to be my biggest challenge yet. But first I’ve got to find out why she’s so withdrawn. A woman that stunning must have secrets and I’m going to find out what’s hiding behind those baby blue eyes of hers. She’ll quickly see how much I love a good game of chase.
HARPERI’ve gone through hell and am not ashamed to admit that I’m broken. Damaged goods. Used up and empty. I want nothing to do with men or love, especially not a cop and a veteran – one who puts his life in danger every day. I’ve been there, done that, and my heart has no interest in someone like Detective Mason Oliver. Even if he's the hottest thing I’ve laid eyes on in a very long time. I get the feeling Mason always gets what he wants, though. Well, he hasn’t seen my stubborn side.
Beneath Broken is book 2 in the IMPERFECT HEROES series and is for readers 18+.

Beneath Broken
CJ Pinard

Beneath Broken was not at all what I was expecting! First, even though this is book 2, it really is a stand alone. Second, Harper is dealing with the death of her husband. He died in Iraq where he was serving as a Marine. So, be prepared for a lot of emotions regarding her feelings. I thought Pinard did a great job of really touching on the myriad of feelings-the deep sadness, the pain, and the guilt. Honestly, I thought her portrayal of a grieving military spouse was the highlight of the story.

Harper and her late husband started a nonprofit that helped veterans find employment. Her business is robbed one night and the officer assigned is Mason Oliver. There have been several nonprofits in the area that had be robbed that fit the pattern. Its not really a romantic suspense story-the robberies are non-violent and they figure out who is responsible fairly easily. The story is more of a contemporary romance about moving on after losing a spouse.

Like I said, the best part of the story for me was the way Pinard portrayed Harper. Overall, I thought the rest of the story was fairly predictable and slightly boring. Mason spends a LOT of time talking about how hot someone is. Every women he encounters he describes her physical appearance and always makes sure to point out the extra hot ones. It was not only distracting (I mean, he is suppose to be THE guy for Harper…) but I found it really made him seem like a flat, static character. Thats not what I want in a hero at all and certainly not who I wanted for someone as great as Harper.

 

  • POV: dual 1st
  • Tears: I did cry a bit when Harper talked about her late husband
  • Trope: dead spouse
  • Triggers/Sensitive topics: military death, PTSD
  • Series/Standalone: Stand alone
  • Cliffhanger: No
  • HEA: View Spoiler »
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Navy Seal Seduction by Bonnie Vanak, Laid Out by Sidney Halston…then you will probably like Beneath Broken!

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Harper

I had to tell myself to breathe. To inhale and exhale. To pull in air in order to keep living. The minute Detective Oliver left my office, I scrubbed my hands over my face and smoothed the few stray hairs back into my sleek ponytail. I shook my head and laughed. Someone that hot should not be a cop. He looked like he should have been an underwear model or some kind of movie star.

I swallowed hard and smiled a little to myself. This was a ridiculous notion, being so attracted to someone who was obviously not attracted to me, but just doing his job by interviewing me. Yet, he looked familiar to me somehow. I could swear I had seen his dark hair and alluring hazel eyes somewhere before. He had a small smear of dark, sexy stubble on his chin, and the olive colored dress shirt he wore not only matched his name, but made his eyes gravitate toward the green side of hazel instead of brown. His colleague, Detective Jenkins, had been checking me out – I wasn’t stupid and these things rarely went unnoticed by me, but Jenkins wasn’t someone I would have ever taken interest in. He seemed a little overconfident and flirtatious, and the gleaming silver wedding band on his left hand was not overlooked by me.

But Detective Oliver – he radiated a heat and confidence that woke me up a little. This dead and desperate depression I’d been wallowing in for over a year had taken its toll on me. Between the under-eye bags and weight loss, I had little confidence that someone of his hotness and caliber would be remotely interested in me.

I bit back a smile as I thought about how proud my best friend would be of me for even having these thoughts. Today was Friday, and work emergency or not, I knew she’d be dragging me out to God knew where, as I had promised her I wouldn’t be spending another Friday night with a tub of Mint Chocolate Chip and reality TV.

I had to shake off the look of Mr. Oliver’s eyes and the way his dress shirt clung to his muscled arms and get back to work. Aside from the mountain of paperwork and endless emails, I now had to deal with police reports and insurance claims, and that was something that I needed a clear head and a no-nonsense attitude for. There was no time for lusty thoughts or lip-biting over a super-hot detective who probably had forgotten about me the minute he had stepped out through my shattered front door.

About C.J. Pinard

I'm a California girl living in land-locked Colorado. Lover of red wine, wearer of fabulous shoes, and a die-hard Niner fan, I'm also an editor at heart. I've written over a dozen books and short stories that contain both contemporary/new adult and paranormal romance that are a little bit badass, a little heart-wrenching, and sorta funny (to me, anyway). Almost all my books usually contain law enforcement or military undertones, since strong, brave, alpha men and women are my weaknesses. When I'm not writing, I can be found working at a very strange day job, which may or may not have some mild influences on my gripping stories - so strange, in fact, I think I'll write a book about it one day.

I'm also a proud member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA). Maybe one day they'll give me a super cool romance award! (A girl can dream!)

Samantha
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