Sunday 11 January 2015

Review: Once Loved By Cecy Robson

Every memory Lety Tres Santos has from her childhood comes with a scar—some emotional, some physical. Her father is an abusive drug addict, and her mother enables his destructive behavior. College offers Lety a fresh start . . . until her father finds a way to ruin that, too. Now, after losing her scholarship to kick off junior year, Lety must somehow stay in school, pay tuition, and turn a deaf ear to the whispers that follow her. And she intends to do it all without Brody Quaid’s help.

Brody is a lacrosse star, a 4.0 student—and as a freshman, he fell hard for the beautiful and spirited Lety. But their relationship crashed and burned because he couldn’t break through the walls she’s put up around her heart. With Lety hurting more than ever, Brody strives to win her back and make her believe in real love and true partnership. That will mean opening up secrets locked away in his own past—and trusting someone more than he’s ever dared.

Lety knows how painful it can be to depend on the wrong man. She also knows how much Brody wants to do this the right way. But it takes more than sizzling desire to move on and build a future together.


ebook, 252 pages
Expected publication: January 20th 2015 by Loveswept 
Genre: New Adult

Kristine's Thoughts:

I received an advanced readers copy from Loveswept via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Once Loved is the second book in the Shattered Past series which I didn't know when I started reading it. I was able to follow along without reading the first book but I could tell that there was some history that may have made some things clearer in the beginning. Upon investigating I discovered that the first book was about Lety's brother whom I really liked in this story so I will have to go back and read it.

This instalment revolves around Lety and Brody who are both very likeable characters. Both of them have very major family issues and secrets that they are struggling with at the same time that they are trying to reconnect and get back together. At first I wasn't sure what to think. The story line seemed quite busy to me as it went from Lety's issues with her father to Brody's issues with his family and their attempt to re-establish a relationship. I remember thinking wow...there are a lot of issues packed into 252 pages. Although originally I thought it might be a bit too much I found myself glues to the pages and wanting to know what would happen next. This indicated to me that I was enjoying the story more than I thought.

There were a few rabbit trails in the story that I feel were not necessary to the story and could have been omitted. Some of the story revolving around Lety's college friends and their relationship troubles were not necessary to the story line in my opinion. Perhaps this was an attempt to remind the reader that Lety is in fact a college student and that these are typical struggles for that demographic. I just found that it took a little bit away from the big picture and the seriousness of Lety and Brody's troubles. Their friends struggles just did not interest me with everything else that was happening.

In the end. this is a story of two people who are trying to overcome and succeed when the odds are stacked against them. It is filled with a lot of serious and emotional trials and tribulations on both sides while at the same time delivering on the things that fans of new adult fiction come to expect. I expect that there will be a third book revolving around Lety's younger sister and I will be keeping my eyes open for it. 

**On a side note, the cover photo does not reflect the description of Brody at all!**




About the author
CECY (pronounced Sessy) ROBSON is the Penguin Random House New Adult author of Once Perfect, Once Loved, and Once Pure, and the award-winning author of the Weird Girls Urban Fantasy Romance series. A self-proclaimed professional napper, Cecy counts among her talents a jaw-dropping knowledge of useless trivia, the ability to make her hair big, and a knack for breaking into song despite her family's vehement protests. A writer, registered nurse, and mother living in the South, Cecy enjoys spending time with her family and silencing the yappy characters in her head by telling their stories.

Connect with Cecy



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