Today, I finished reading, Once
Perfect: Shattered Past, by Cecy Robson. This book is of a genre
that I have not been familiar with. A romance story under the New
Adult label. The description of the book intrigued me.
Mateo Tres Santos is a guy from the
rough side of town. He is an underground MMA fighter with a criminal
past. Mateo works as a bounder in a club and is well respected by
his co-workers. He is a complete badass when you look at him.
Having a large build, tattoos, along with his past stint in prison,
Mateo is one who's appearance puts fear in Evelyn.
Evelyn is a college student who grew up
as the only child in a wealthy family. Her mother died when she was
a young child and she was raised by her father. Misdeeds of her
father prior to his suicide has caused her the loss of the family
wealth. Upon his death, Evelyn was forced to face a life of poverty.
Having grown up with wealth, she is completely ill equipped to face
this future. Friends and those close to her prior to her father's
death are no longer a part of her life. They have turned their backs
on her in her time of need.
Evelyn finally finds work at a local
club. It is here that she meets Mateo. She steers clear of him out
of fear. His criminal record, tattoos, and his badass demeanor at
work has her completely unnerved when he is around. That is until
the night Mateo surprises her by coming to her aid. Mateo, she
learns, is a gentle giant. Being the lead bouncer of the club, he
has a tough guy image that he has honed well. In private however, he
shows Evelyn that he is someone she will never need to fear.
Both Mateo and Evelyn are tortured
souls. Each has a past that threatens to consume their lives.
Because of their hidden pasts, each is broken and struggles to get
through each day. It is compelling to see their vulnerability and
how they face it together. Each try to face their personal demons
alone. They finally realize that it is their leaning on each other
that makes them strong enough to overcome the demons that haunt them.
As they faced their struggles, I found myself wanting to cheer them
on as they worked through the baggage that they each brought to their
relationship.
There are other characters in this book
that I connected with as well. Mateo's two younger sisters were
especially strong in their influence on me. I find myself now hoping
that Cecy Robson will write their stories as well. The traumas that
Mateo deals with are ones that have affected his sisters as well.
Each had their own experiences with the antagonist that has had a
major influence on how they relate to others. I would love to see
the girls each have a story that leads them to finding happiness as
well.
The humor in the book is of the snarky
sort that you would expect from a person in their 20's. It was
refreshing and I found myself laughing often. This book was written
in the first person. Typically, I don't like books written in that
way, but this one worked for me. It was told from Evelyn's
perspective. I love the balance that the author had in her writing.
In previous books by other authors, that hasn't always been the case.
Some write the first person perspective to the point of being anal.
As a reader, I really don't care to have an unfiltered glimpse into
the person's thoughts and emotions. While this book does let you
know what is going on in Evelyn's mind, it is done in a way that
eases you through it. Thank heavens!!! I know that I, for one, have
no desire to be a fly on the wall inside a college student's mind.
<shudder> LOL
Overall, I highly recommend this book.
The struggles that are faced in the story are definitely adult issues
that I would not suggest for a young teen or someone who is sensitive
to topics of abuse. The abuses mentioned are not done in a graphic
way, but some gentle souls may have a hard time with it.
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