Unbreak Me

Starred review from June 3, 2019
An unlikely pair take on their pasts together in this endearing contemporary tale of love through emotional hardship. Andra Lawler is stuck on her family’s horse ranch, beset by constant sense memories of being assaulted in college. When the ranch hires LJ Delisle, a New Orleans–born cowboy, he makes his way into Andra’s kitchen and begins to teach her to cook, setting them up for a straightforward story of a kindhearted man helping a battered woman heal. Then LJ is called back to his family home, where Hurricane Katrina’s destruction is still very much in evidence, to help his ailing mother and confront his own memories of discrimination and loss. The two survivors are ready to fight for their future together, but they find that closing the wounds of the past is not as easy as falling in love. Hazen writes with grace and compassion about life after trauma, smoothly addressing racism, sexual assault, and large-scale disasters without pat answers or platitudes. This is a sure tear-jerker for any romance fan. Agent: Naomi Davis, BookEnds Literary.