2 out of 4 stars
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Unbreakable by Rianne Moss is the second book in "The Dynamic Journey" romance series.
Natalie is a recovering heroin addict who got sober six years ago after learning she was pregnant. When her boyfriend, Scott, was unable to remain sober with her, she made the decision to be a single mom to her daughter. Now she has a steady job and is in a happy relationship with a man who cares deeply for her and her daughter. For her daughter's sake, Natalie is still concerned about Scott's well-being and his extensive drug use. She attends an intervention urging him to go to rehab so that he can be a better father.
Seeing Scott succeed and come back from rehab once again acting like the man she once loved, Natalie starts questioning her current relationship. Although Daniel acts like the perfect boyfriend and gives her everything she could ask for, her relationship with him lacks the passion that always came so naturally with Scott. Natalie isn't sure that her feelings for Scott will ever go away completely. Does she owe it to her daughter to give Scott another chance and become the family she always wanted? Will Natalie ever be able to fully trust him after all they have been through together?
Not having read many books with main characters who have addiction problems, I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book. The struggle that Natalie faces with finally being in a healthy relationship while simultaneously experiencing old feelings for the father of her child, is something I think many people can relate to. Scott is someone who will never be completely out of her life and she will always have a soft spot for him. The ripples that these feelings cause in her current relationship play out beautifully and was honestly the best part of the book.
Unfortunately, the writing doesn't quite live up to the overall plot line of the book. The writing feels very stilted at times and the dialogue between the characters fails to flow naturally. It makes their interactions feel very inauthentic and forced. While I was reading, I frequently pictured the characters as bad actors who were reading from a script rather than real people who were saying what they were actually thinking. It felt like the author was simply trying to move the story from point A to point B by having the characters say things out loud rather than letting the reader rely on the writing to understand what was happening.
Despite being the protagonist in this book, Natalie is never fully described and feels like a very one dimensional character. We are told that she has a job as a prep cook in a restaurant, but we never actually see her at work. The only thing Natalie does in this book is worry about her relationships and nothing else. Her appearance is never really described in any kind of detail, further making it difficult to grasp who this character really is.
Another problem I had with the book was the lack of chemistry. Besides the fact that Scott and Natalie were in a previous romantic relationship, there was nothing shown that would make the reader think these characters still loved each other. It felt like it was out of left field when they began talking about possibly getting back together because they acted more like distant acquaintances than anything else.
Although I enjoyed the overall concept of this book, I have to give it 2 out of 4 stars. The characters had little personality and their interactions with each other felt contrived. There were errors throughout the book that were also very distracting and halted my reading numerous times. I think this book has a lot of potential and could benefit from another round of editing. If you are a fan of romances where the protagonist is torn between love interests, you might like this book.
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Unbreakable
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