Storm Goddess Book Reviews & More: Review & Except: The Broken Road

BLURB:

Twenty-six-year-old Megan Connors’s life is not going in the direction she thought it would. With her love life in the dumps, she doesn’t think it could get any worse until her long-time crush, Shane asks to move in. After all, he has no clue that she’s been in love with him for the past ten years. But fate has a way of turning things around.

As their relationship goes from “just friends” to lovers, life takes a turn for the unexpected. Shane isn’t the person that Megan once fell in love with all those years ago. Shane has a past; deadly secrets that are only revealed once the FBI knocks on Megan’s door.

Secrets, tragedy, and deceit force Shane—and Megan—to make choices that will change their lives forever. Once Megan learns the truth, will she still want to be with Shane? Or will someone else be at the end of her broken road?

The Broken Road contains mature themes, heart-pounding action, edge-of-your-seat suspense, graphic violence and steamy romance, with a side of strong language, drug dealing, and a lot of sarcastic humor.

Review Rating: 3.5 LIGHTNING BOLTS

Review: The Broken Road caught my attention because of the friends to lovers type trope. The story started out fairly strong, though I did have a hard time connecting as well. But I pushed on because I wanted to know more.

Megan's life is a little down in the dumps, and she's been in love with her best friend Shane forever. Shane needs a place to stay, and ends up in her apartment. I didn't get a good vibe from Shane at first, to be honest, and that path continued throughout the story, especially when his past came into play. I found myself wondering when Megan was going to get a clue that this might not be the best situation for her. There were a lot of twists and surprises along the way, which kept me on my toes. I also didn't always feel from the characters in certain situations, it was like I sat on the outside. I couldn't relate. I do however want to see what else this author has in store. The story has so much potential, there were times I was a little confused at some of the situations and feelings thrown at us, but I did enjoy the read.

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Excerpt 1
He stretched his long legs out in front him and yawned.
“I'm not sure. I’m beat. Adrian has had me working all night on this special project and then I was running around all morning. I feel like I haven’t sat down all day.”
“That sucks. So why aren’t you at home sleeping?” I replied, putting away the food.
Shane stood up and silently washed the dishes. As he dried his hands on the dishtowel he turned and looked at me.
“Honestly, that’s the main reason I'm here. You remember that Ben is getting married to Paige, right?" he asked, mentioning his roommate. “Well, Ben has accepted a job in Baltimore near Paige's condo. So he’s moving in with her next week. The lease on the apartment is up anyway, and since I'm practically broke I need a place to crash,” he said, his eyes boring holes into mine.
It took a beat before I fully grasped what he was saying. Holy shit, he wants to move in with me, I thought. The romantic, wishful part of me started doing a happy dance in my head, until the smarter, more realistic side smacked the other one down and told it to shut up.
“So, you’re asking to move in.” Caution filled my voice as I walked into the living room and sat on the couch.
Shane sat down at the opposite end facing me. So, that’s why he’s here. I should have known. The word “sucker” must’ve been stamped on my forehead. I could never say no to him and he knew that.
“It will only be for a little while, until I can get my own place. Please?” He gave me a pleading grin.
I chuckled and then became curious.
“What happened? How did things get so screwed up?” I asked casually.
“It’s been building for a while. I lost my job at the dealership two years ago. At that point, I couldn’t find anything substantial, except for side jobs working with Adrian. I couldn’t keep up with the rent at the old place, so I was evicted and moved in with Ben. Credit cards were maxed out and I depleted my savings. But things are looking up. I’m paying off my debt a little bit at a time and I managed to get a full-time spot at the shop. I’m trying to clean up my act, but I really can’t get a place of my own quite yet,” he said quietly, almost as if he was ashamed.
I never knew about these problems, but then again, Tommy had kept me removed from most of my friends when we lived in Virginia. My best friend Jen was practically Shane’s sister. She had told me a few times that he was having some issues, and that he was just being a regular pain in the ass, but she never went into detail. I felt a swell of pride for him; it took a lot for him to say that to me.
“I’m sorry to hear that. What about Allison? Why don't you move in with her?” I replied, playing with the string on my sock. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear the answer to the question.
Shane gave a dry chuckle. “Yeah, we’re not on that page yet. Plus, her two roommates don't really like me.”
Relief settled over me. Then some slight apprehension. Could I block out these feelings? Yes, I had to. Besides, he had a girlfriend. We could be just friends. . . I hoped.
“Yeah, sure, you can move your stuff in,” I said with a smile. “But only until you can find something on your own.”
I pushed aside the doubt that had been looming. We were just friends. What could go wrong?
“Thanks Megs. You’re so great to me.”
He surprised me by wrapping me up in a hug. I quietly inhaled his cologne and closed my eyes. This was going to be harder than I thought.
I let out a fake chuckle and pulled back. “So, when are you bringing over your stuff?” I hope that I had a few days to prepare.
“Well, I figured you wouldn't leave me out in the cold, so I brought over what I could fit in the truck.” He practically bounced off the couch and gave me a knowing smile.
I swatted him in the leg. “You arrogant jerk! What made you think I would say yes? I could have said no!”
“Aw, come on. You can never say no to me. Don’t try to lie,” he said, calling my bluff as he walked out the front door.
I sat on the couch for a minute, shocked at what had just happened. He had pulled a fast one on me. He was moving in and I didn’t think I could have said no. I chuckled. He hadn’t changed one bit. Still used his charm and smile to get what he wanted.
While Shane brought in his pillows and trash bags of clothes, I made up his bed in the guest room. He added his toiletries to the bathroom and a pang of nervousness hit my gut. This was going to be interesting. There was only one shower in the house and my fantasies about the two of us in the shower flooded back. My face flushed and I quickly turned my attention to an invisible speck on the comforter.
“So, is Allison going to be okay with you living with me?”
He paused while he hung up a white polo shirt and winked. “She’s just someone I like to have fun with. We’re not serious, so she’s cool with it.”
“Ah. Okay. Good. I just wanted to make sure there weren’t going to be any issues,” I mumbled as I headed back down the stairs to cool off. These feelings would need to be separated if this was going to work.