Review Tour: Broken (Brody Brothers #4) by Stacy Gail

Title: Broken

Series: Brody Brothers Series

Author: Stacy Gail

Genre: Contemporary, New Adult, Cowboy/Rancher Romance
Release Date: June 17, 2020

“The Hatfields and McCoys have nothing on the Brodys and Smileys.”

The feud was all Winnie Smiley heard about while growing up next door to those arrogant cowboys, the Brodys. Smiley homestead might be a dilapidated eyesore that she’d run away from as a teen, but it did possess something the Brodys had schemed in vain to get—Smiley Lake. Now, with the region crippled with drought and her monstrous father burning in hell, Winnie stands to inherit the lake. She knows that’s why Des is suddenly everywhere she turns, but that doesn’t matter. She’d never had a chance to grab at happiness before, so even if it’s just the lake Des wants, she’s going to make damn sure she’s part of the deal.

“The Smileys live to screw with the Brodys.”

After nearly dying on the horns of a murder-happy bull, former rodeo star Des Brody now has to figure out his place on Green Rock Ranch. All his brothers are settled with their new families, and they know exactly what to do to make Green Rock run. But Des? All he can do is try to make sure the empire they’ve built doesn’t shrivel up and blow away in the drought. Landing Smiley Lake is key to stabilizing Green Rock’s water supply, but there’s an obstacle—Winsome Smiley. Only she’s not really an obstacle. More like a meal begging to be eaten.

And he’s hungry as hell.

“I’m a Brody, and a Brody always gets what he wants.”

When Winnie doesn’t inherit Smiley Lake, she assumes she and Des are finished before they even began. To her shock, Des has other ideas and shows her an undiscovered world of pleasure. But just as she starts to believe Des wants her solely for herself, she discovers he hasn’t been totally upfront with her. Now she had a choice to make—trust her heart, or believe her ancestors had it right in saying that a Brody can never be trusted.

***This contemporary romance is the fourth and final book in the Brody Brothers series. While it may be read as a standalone, I suggest reading the first three books, BRANDED, BRACED and BRUISED for a more enjoyable read. This book contains multiple sex scenes and lots of swearing. It also contains a bossy Alpha who may compel you to throw your Kindle at the nearest wall (please don’t). No cheating, no love triangles, no cliffhangers. HEA guaranteed. Due to adult language and sexual content, this book is not intended for people under the age of eighteen***

***TRIGGER WARNING*** This book contains a heroine who suffered sexual abuse as a child, and a hero who suffered physical and emotional abuse. If you have issues with these elements, this book is not for you.

MY REVIEW

Winnie (Winsome) should feel bad that all she feels is relief at her father's funeral, but she can't bring herself to care. After all, the man was nothing short of abusive and evil while he was alive, and the world's a better place without him. And then the Brody brothers stride into the funeral premises and Winsome knows she has to let them know if they've only come to try to weasel her father's land out of her, they're out of luck.

Des and his brothers may need that land with the lake on it to help keep their livestock alive, but that's not really the reason why he's come to see her, or at least, it's not the ONLY reason he's come to see her. No, he's always been fascinated by the girl who lived next door, even if her father forbade him to talk to her. Her father's gone now, though, so Des is going to stake his claim on his Winsome, whether she likes it or not.

Hmmm...I'm of two minds about Broken. On one hand, I love me an alpha man - the more alpha, the harder they fall after all. But, in Des' case, he wasn't just alpha, he was kind of, OK, definitely, a dick who pushed Winsome around constantly without regard to what she wanted, what she said, with the only reason being that he knew better. Ummm...NO, just no. Disregarding someone's wishes because you think you know best is not alpha, it's controlling and pure asshole. Des is just not the kind of alpha I like. I do like Winnie, and her friend Cleo, and even Des' brothers and sisters-in-law, though, and they all save this from a lower rating because aside from Des' character, this is a great story with a wonderful secondary cast, an awesome heroine, and seriously hot chemistry.

“What do you want in life, Winsome Smiley?” Automatically he turned in the direction of his old room, the one and only place that had been somewhat of a safe haven in this nightmare place. “What hopes and dreams does the girl next door have?”

“Probably not the kind that would set the Brody world on fire.”

“All that matters is if those dreams set your world on fire. Do they?”

She nodded in a shy little way that made him want to tug her to him and never let go. “I’ll admit, I do have a few dreams that are near and dear to my heart. What about you?” she added, glancing up at him with those heart-stopping pale eyes of hers. “What is it that you want out of life? Name the first thing that comes to mind.”

“You.”

Her gasp probably wasn’t the most encouraging response he could have hoped for. At least he had her attention.

“What?” she whispered, her free hand fluttering up to her chest. “Sorry, I misheard you. What?”

“You heard me just fine.” He didn’t bother to hide how closely he watched her, gauging her reactions to see just how far he could push things. “Though I think I need to make sure you understand me.”

“Um…”

“I’m attracted to you, Winsome—the look of you, the sound of you, the scent of you. I want you, more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life, and I want you to want me the same way.”

“Des.” As he watched, her eyes darkened with both an arousal that thrilled him and an alarm that made his teeth grind. “You can’t just pop off and say things like that.”

“Yeah I can, and I’m not done yet. I’m not done, because I want you to know the thoughts that go through my head whenever I look at you are so X-rated they’d make a porn star blush, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

“Holy crap,” she whispered.

“That’s why I want you to hunger for me like you haven’t eaten in a week and I’m your favorite dish. That’s how I hunger for you, so I won’t be happy until you feel the same way. I want you naked, and I want to be naked with you. In fact, I’ve wanted that from the moment I found you skinny-dipping. That’s a night I’ll never forget. I got so hard for you I couldn’t sleep that night. Not even jerking off with your name on my lips when I came was enough to satisfy me, and the cold shower I took afterwards didn’t cool me down either. So I’m not going to lie to you. When you ask what I want out of life, you are the first thing riding the top of my wish list. It’s best you know that.”

  

A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail began writing stories in between events to pass the time. By fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a figure skating coach who was also a published romance author, or a romance author who was also a figure skating pro. Now, with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, contemporary to paranormal at night, both dreams have come true.

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