Wrecked by Priscilla West (Wrecked #1)
Released December 11, 2013
New Adult Romance
Blackbird Publishing

Reviewed by Sheena

Blurb: “There would be no happy ending for us. He was too damaged. I was too broken.”

Two years ago, Lorrie’s mother was murdered. But that wasn’t the end of it. Reeling from the tragedy, Lorrie’s father spiraled into alcohol, depression, and finally suicide.  The two most important people in Lorrie’s life are both gone but she’s still alive.
Trying to recover from the tragedy, Lorrie returns to campus, ready to pick up the pieces of her life. All Lorrie wants is to get back to “normal.”  Then she meets Hunter. The man, the legend, “the Hammer.”

Hunter is a cage fighter who takes on every fight like he’s got nothing to lose. His life is a tangled mess of girls, booze, and fist fights. And while it may seem like he’s got a devil-may-care attitude, he’s fighting a private cage-match with a monster he can’t defeat.

Lorrie knows that Hunter is the exact type of guy she should stay away from, especially in her fragile state, but Hunter has other ideas.  As Hunter and Lorrie grow closer together, will they be able to overcome their pain and heal each other? Or will they both end up wrecked?

After reading Wrecked…I am reeling.  Literally. I feel like I’ve been snatched from the shower and thrust into Times Square, NYC – naked and without a towel.  Where can I possibly even begin?  The book opens with a very sad college girl. Why is she so despondent and broken? Meh, I think her mom died and father committed suicide or something.  Honestly, I was not initially invested when we first meet Lorrie.

In any case, the pretty college girl has a near death experience – boy saves girl – (pardon, HOT boy saves girl) and then and only then am I remotely intrigued.  The hero, Hunter, is a very well written character.  Far more developed in some ways than heroine Lorrie.

Now here’s where I must be honest. I am hard on my heroines. I want them to do what I want, when I want them to do it.  Lorrie fought and repressed her feelings for Hunter FAR longer than I typically find acceptable. But once she (finally) allowed herself to fall for him, BOY did she fall.

 “His words sent a shiver down my spine, as if he had caressed me with his hands.  He was too concerned about me, too caring.  I pictured everything that could happen.  The whirlwind romance, the heartbreak that would come afterwards.  Guys as hot and flirty as him were always dangerous, and in my current state, getting my heart-broken would shatter me”

The best parts of the story are the scenes where it is all about Lorrie and Hunter and the banter they share. I lived for their bonding!  Those moments kept me advancing to the next page as I anticipated the next funny, quirky, witty exchange.

Did I mention Hunter is hot and clever and has this-this-this warmth of character that makes you want to just want to meld your spirit to his soul? I’m talking the kind of “bad” boy you possessively shriek “BUT I LOVE HIMMMMMMM” when anyone dares to deny the legitimacy of your relationship?

Oh ok, just making sure this was clear. I love Hunter.

As a novel, this was a definite slow burn. Almost too luke warm at times. I took the story for granted, my mind wandered often and then things got really real, incredibly fast.  Suddenly my light , boring  frothy romance was not just cute and luke warm but I began to notice the faint smell of charring organs…my freaking heart and lungs were burning! What the hell! Where did all this pain and emotional devastation come from! It crept up on me and put my chest cavity in a freaking vice!

Suddenly I am death gripping my Nook and holding back tears and freaking the freak out!  I feel Lorrie’s pain- I am dying in Hunter’s angst and hopelessness.  I want to charter a jet to their fictitious college town and save the day. But I can’t, all I can do it keep reading and be a spectator to one of the most gut wrenching chain of events that I have ever read.

I am an emotional person. But I am not a crier. You won’t find my reviews full of    “OMG I burst into tears.” I mean am not one to simply burst into tears. That’s not really how I emote.

I finished reading Wrecked…then I burst into tears.

Wrecked is worth the initial work it takes to read it through.  The ebb and flow and startling crescendo of events are enough to make you reconsider your own life events that you long thought were settled. If the author had only tapped into a fraction of the art that was the last quarter of the book, this would have been a solid B+.

Rating: C

Goodreads l Author Website l Series Guide

Kindle l Nook