This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
She’s hiding secrets.
For Anna, keeping her deepest scars hidden from the world has always been a necessity—from the bruises of her childhood to the mistake that nearly cost her everything. To keep herself safe, she must keep everyone around her at a distance—especially the man who has tempted her since the moment they met.
His demons are taunting him.
Mason has done his best to bury the past by achieving more than he ever thought possible. But even with all of his success, his life feels empty.
When tragedy strikes, Anna is left fighting to protect the only family she has left. And Mason will do anything to keep her and her loved ones safe—even if that means the ring of wedding bells.
But as a new spark ignites between them, someone is watching.
And they’ll do whatever it takes to snuff out that light for good.
My Review
First Impressions
Beautifully Broken Redemption is the finale in the “Sutter Lake” series, and this is the long-awaited book I have been the most excited for out of most of the series. It has some great tropes, and everyone seems to rave about this one the most so I was very curious to see how it would be handled and I still can’t get over this delectable cover that gives me all the swoon vibes. This book is a story that will deliver strong family feels to it, beautifully developed chemistry and all the moments that capture your heart as only Catherine Cowles is capable of. It also contains some powerfully suspense elements that will be a bit different from what I have seen this author place in her stories but enjoyed it just as much.
Summary
Anna, was framed by her boyfriend when their car was pulled over with drugs in the trunk. She had some prison time in juvie and her parents abused her most of her life. She has lived in homeless shelters most of her adult life, until she discovered Sutter Lake, found a job as head over a community center and made her first home in a cottage and taking care of her nephew and niece whenever she could. When her sister is killed, she is determined to fight guardianship but she knows her parents have connections that she doesn’t have. But when Mason reaches out to her and offers her a marriage of convenience so that she can get complete custody over the children, she knows she has little choice as she doesn’t want them to live in a abusive home. She doesn’t expect Mason to be a man of honor and integrity, who laughs free with the children and gives her an open honest relationship where she can be herself and find love along the way…
“I love you so much it scares me sometimes.” I pressed my palm against his chest. “I know.” Because I felt that same fear at times. “I think it’s the price we have to pay for loving so deeply. And I’ll pay it every day for the rest of my life. If you’ll be in it with me.” Mason brushed his lips across mine. “I only want to be where you are.”
What I Loved
There are many aspects to this story that endeared my heart so completely. First and foremost, I adore a wonderful telling of a marriage of convenience and when its in a contemporary setting, even better. I absolutely adored it in every way. I definitely can see why so many readers loved this book the most, it has so many qualities to it that just portray this authors best work in my opinion or at least some of her most heartfelt at least. While its not a perfect book, its beautifully conveyed in a way that reaches deeply to the heart of those reading it. I wasn’t sure when I started this one how I would feel about Anna. I liked her in the previous book but didn’t love her character and I truly fell hard for her strong and sure. She is such a caring person, who has so many flaws but those are so relatable when you look at everything she has suffered in her young life.
Then we have our hero, Mason, who is a self made hero. He has worked hard to get the wealth he has and is so loveable. He is so giving of his time and generous to a fault and sees the good in people. He has integrity and honor to her character that is so admirable. And seeing him with these kids, my heart completely melted for him. He just immediately knows the best things to do for them to keep their spirits up and engage with them often and is such a strong support for them when they need it. Both Anna and Mason know exactly how to speak to these children in a way that is healthy and honest and full of love. And the way that Mason is with Anna won me completely over. We see throughout the story how much he gives to her and wants her to trust him because he cares deeply for him and is willing to fight with her and her demons to get to the heart and soul of who she is and let her out more openly. He sets healthy boundaries in the relationship and fights for her so strong.
“Never been happier than when I’m with you.”
The plot of the story will keep you on edge all the way through. You can feel the conflict just rise throughout the story as you wonder what will happen with the guardianship over the kids. I mean you can guess what the end result will be (because its a romance haha so the ending is pretty obvious) but as you stick with the story, you feel the conflict and tense vibes the couple and these kids work towards as a family unit as they work together to keep their spirits up and do everything they can to win and have justice in the end. But don’t be surprised if you see more than one conflict rise up in this story, its typical Cowles plot machination and I really enjoyed seeing the ending in the story here. Beautifully Broken Redemption won my heart from beginning to end and I can’t wait to get these books in print to decorate my shelves with.
What I Struggled With
There was a small conflict that I struggled with, although it didn’t affect my overall view of the story. I wasn’t a fan of how the heroine acted through the conflict here. I wish that she had taken more accountability for her actions instead of placing it all on Mason’s shoulders.
Overall View
Beautifully Broken Redemption is a heartfelt and deeply emotionally provoking story that delivers intimacy of the heart and balanced out wit and embracing the best parts of life.
Title: Beautifully Broken Redemption
Author: Catherine Cowles
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Length: 304 Pages
Book Links
Amazon| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 5
Story Itself: 5
Character Development: 5
Writing Style: 5
World Building 5
Feels + The Romantic Heart 5
Pacing 5
Plot 5
Cover Art 5
Ending 5
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Sutter Lake
Beautifully Broken Pieces-Pub 2019 #1 in the Series
Beautifully Broken Life-Pub 2019 #2 in the Series
Beautifully Broken Spirit-Pub 2019 #3 in the Series
Beautifully Broken Control-Pub 2020 #4 in the Series
Beautifully Broken Redemption-Pub 2020 #5 in the Series
About The Author
Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she’s not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.
I really need to read Catherine Cowles soon. This sounds like a really well-done romance. I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
I loved this book and I loved your review for it! It reminded me of all the great things about it.
NIce that this latest one really grabbed your heart. Just your description had me buying into their marriage and the fight to get guardianship of the kids.
Anna had been dealt such a terrible hand and my heart hurt for her. She was such a fighter and determined to keeping moving forward. Mason felt a little too good to be true, but I didn’t even care. I just adored him and how he was so in love with Anna and the kids and would do absolutely anything for them. So glad you loved this one, too! Loved your review!
Argh! What you struggled most with would be what I would struggle with lol. I absolutely love your review for this book. I haven’t tried this author yet, but you have been tempting me with each and every review! xoxo
Nice to see another win from Catherine Cowles! I enjoyed the books I’ve read by her too. I need to read more!