Once Perfect (Shattered Past #1) by Cecy Robson - ARC review

Once Perfect by Cecy Robson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Once Perfect (Shattered Past #1) by Cecy Robson – New Adult Series

If you like reading about characters who survive awful circumstances and come out strong and on top you will enjoy this book. It’s an inspirational story of love, survival and family.

Evelyn originally came from a rich upbringing, tragedy pushes her out of her privileged life into a world of poverty. She struggles to put her life back together, but something in her past she can’t seem to run from haunts her sleep. Until she meets Mateo, he is an ex - army guy who ended up in prison. At first Evelyn is afraid of him because of what she hears about his past. But she is still strangely attracted to him as well. He is more then what he seems, Teo is kind and gentle to her. They start a friendship that soon turns into love. As they explore their feelings for each other they both slowly reveal secrets about their pasts. Will their troubled childhoods stop them from having a future, or will their violent pasts bring them closer together.

I really adored this story I was pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up liking it. The beginning was a little slow for me and I wondered where the author was going with the characters at first. But it picked up around forty percent into the book. Then I could not put it down I had to find out what happened to Evelyn in her past that she couldn't remember. Boy was it a doozy. Her new found relationship with Mateo triggers some memories that her mind pushed away because they were just too horrible to think about. When she finally remembers, Mateo is with her every step of the way when she has to face horrific events from her childhood. As Evelyn starts to recover we learn more about Mateo’s shattered life and the violence that has pledged his sisters and mother at the hands of their abusive father. I thought the author handled this sensitive subject matter of violence, rape, alcoholism and drug use very well. I truly felt for the characters and sensed a realness to them. The background characters that I hope to read about in the series, like Lety and Brody (which is the next book Once Loved due out in January 2015) as well as Sofia and Killan were really fascinating. I also thought the surrounding friends were a great group of people, Dee Dee and Big Chris and Noelle and Ant. I hope to read more about these characters as well, either in their own stories or in the series.
This was my first Cecy Robson book and it will not be my last. This is a very thought-provoking New Adult read and I highly recommend it. There is an HEA and no cliffhanger though we do hope for the stories of other characters that were introduced in the book.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.




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