Review: A Heartbreakingly and Beautiful Story!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 7, 2014
I absolutely loved this book. Loved it! The writing, the characters, the story--it's all beautiful. I haven't read a book that's left me in pieces in a good while and Best Kind of Broken managed to do just that--break my heart and put it back together all over again.Pixie is broken, both on the inside and outside. The past year has been complete hell and she's suffered through it by herself. Now she's just looking forward to spending the summer at her aunt's inn and far away from her hometown, where the stares and whispers follow and mock her. The summer ahead of her is supposed to be peaceful and relaxing, yet it's anything but when Pixie realizes she'll be living right next door to Levi, the only guy she's ever loved, who's just as broken as she is. Not knowing how to face each other, Pixie and Levi do the only thing that seems reasonable: they fight and bicker and get in each other's nerve--all to avoid the big elephant in the room.I can say without a doubt that Pixie is one of the most well-developed characters I've ever encountered. There's so much pain and guilt behind Pixie's green eyes and unruly blonde hair that threatens to drown her every single day. And if that wasn't enough, she bears a permanent remainder of all she's lost cutting diagonally across her chest. Yet she's a tough little cookie and I loved getting to know her. Pixie's been the recipient of her mother's hateful words her entire life, never being good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough. Luckily she found comfort in her aunt Ellen and her best friend's family. Charity's family has been everything to her ever since she can remember, taking her in, loving her, accepting her. So when she loses everything she held dear one terrible night, she's left broken and bruised.Like Pixie, Levi blames himself for younger sister's death and her best friend's accident. In one single night, he loses his sister, as well as his best friend, and during the months to come, he slowly  loses his parents to their own grief. Like Pixie, Levi is broken on the inside, the pain and guilt of that night eating him alive. It was heartbreaking to read. Ever since the accident, Levi's been losing the desire to do anything with his life, both losing his football scholarship and getting kicked out of school. So he's pleasantly surprised when a job as an inn's handyman for the summer lands in his lap. The last thing he expects, however, is to find himself face-to-face with Pixie after a whole year, let alone live in close quarters--and share a bathroom, mind you--with her for the next few weeks.Pixie and Levi's relationship rebuilds slowly through the course of the novel, and it was perfect. These two used to be best friends and their missing link is a stark contrast every time they're together. Furthermore, there's a lot to clean up between them and I loved that Fine didn't rush that. Both Pixie and Levi are a bit broken on the inside and it takes them some time to get trough all of the mess in their head. They haven't spoken in months and they both feel guilty for Charity's death--which is a topic they're more than happy to push aside and ignore. It's much easier for them to pretend everything's fine, instead of having an honest-to-god conversation. It's also much, much easier to ignore the sexual chemistry just bouncing off the walls!Yet once they finally get together, it's explosive and powerful and beautiful. Pixie and Levi slowly help each other heal and they mend together. They have a long road ahead of them, and it was beautiful to read. Before falling in love with each other--and it unconsciously happens way before Charity's death--they used to be close friends, and they had to first repair that relationship before they could move onto anything else.  I can't say it enough, but their story, their romance and the future ahead of them was beautiful and done just right.Best Kind of Broken is one of those rare books that steal your heart from the very first page. The healing process is never easy and Ms. Fine does a perfect job of writing down these two lost souls' story. Heartbreakingly beautiful, Best Kind of Broken stays with you, long after you've turned the very last page.Visit my blog for more reviews![...]