Beautiful Broken by Nazarea Andrews Review

I won a copy from Goodreads First Reads.

"She's been broken by her past. He's been breaking for as long as he can remember.
Together, they can make each other whole--or destroy each other.

When his best friend asks for something, Dane rarely says no. But babysitting a newly sober Scout Grimes for three weeks isn't exactly a normal request. And with their history, it's a recipe for disaster. Not to mention, she's drop dead gorgeous and he can't touch her.

There are few people Scout trusts as much as Dane Guillot. He's always been her safe place, where nothing can hurt her. He's also been the only man she's never let herself want--screwing up their friendship isn't worth one amazing night together.

They have too much history, and too much personal baggage to ever work. But if they are willing to take a chance on love--it might be worth the risk."

I'm not sure how people can deem this book "Romantic" and "Sweet." But I'm not going into that...yet. 

I wonder how many people notice the similar names to the characters from To Kill A Mockingbird. For example, Scout Grimes is the same as Scout Finch (or at least her first name). And Atticus Grimes (Scout Grimes' brother) is the same as Atticus Finch (Scout Finch's father). And that's pretty much it, but I just wanted to point that out. 

Beautiful Broken (is going to make me throw up, but that might be because of lactose intolerant [and I drank milk five minutes ago]) is a sickly romantic story built on all the wrong parts. It's gross and perverted in ways many people will not see. Should I add a few quotes? 

"'The first time you [Scout] you were lying out back with Lou is that tiny green suit you got down in Panama...I...love that thing. I probably would have killed any guy who saw you in it...I was walking through the woods, and I saw you lying there, and you untied that damn top...I stayed in the woods for almost an hour, just listening to y'all laugh and watching you.'" -Dane Guillot, Beautiful Broken

And do you want to know what's even worse? That this is only the beginning of all the perverted things he said. What kind of girl sleeps with a freaking pervert? I don't see this as romantic. I see this as obsessive and stalkerish. Yes, the stalker (I'm just calling Dane that) may love her, but I don't like say, "Hey, that guy saw me topless. I'm going to bang him." Scout's mind is an enigma. Sheesh girl, you really need to go to a shrink (but you're going to one). 

Despite the disgusting foundation of the beginning, I'm going to ignore that and pretend that Dane is a normal guy, with a dad who seems to be abusive. Yeah, there's no way Dane is going to be normal, but I can pretend he's not a pervert. Beautiful Broken has a good strong story and exposition that really gets the blood flowing. It has a strong plot and conflict.

Scout, perhaps the major character of Beautiful Broken despite sharing half of the spotlight with Dane, undergoes major character change. I like how more open and courageous (not to mention stupid and reckless) she becomes at the end. It's a true emotional rollercoaster for her. There's a good ending for her. 

Rating: Three out of Five