Broken Strings is a romance story by Casey Carson. It is a story about recovery, abuse, finding a way out of those situations, and being able to find love and happiness. In the story, we meet Corey, a famous singer who was recently attacked and severely injured.
After the attack, a crazed fan does anything to see him in the hospital, leading Corey’s manager to hire a bodyguard for him. Max, the bodyguard that is hired, is a recently discharged police officer. He is an alcoholic, whose addiction causes him to make several bad decisions during a police sting, getting his partner killed.
Disgraced and blamed for the death, he is removed from the police department and finds work with a private security firm.
Max does his best to be all business when he works with his new client, but the reader sees his struggle to remain sober on the job. When Max discovers who the client is, his ability to keep his inner fanboy in check becomes difficult. Despite the challenges, the two quickly become friends, and both desire each other, but neither is willing to be the one to say anything first.
It seems like a perfect fit and things seem to be going well, except that Corey’s manager wants him to go on tour immediately. Corey doesn’t want to as he still needs time to recover, not only from his injury but from other things that have happened in his life.
All of this, we learn eventually, stems from an abusive ex-boyfriend, Fallon, who was a drummer in his band. Fallon arrives drunk and jealous and Max is determined to protect Corey from him.
This was a good story. It is dark in several sections, but one thing that stood out to me is there isn’t a quick and easy solution. Max’s drinking is a major problem throughout the story. The reader sees him struggle with trying to be sober but not able to. At no point, though, does he magically get better. Which I liked because in real life it wouldn’t be cured because he found love. It would take time for him and be a constant struggle to remain sober. So, I appreciated that aspect.
There is one thing I don’t like about the story which doesn’t pertain to this book specifically. This is the first in a series of books with a shared theme. I loved this book and was looking forward to the next installment to read. But, when I read the description, I learned that the main character for that story is Fallon. In my opinion, he was a horrible character, a well-written character, but a horrible person. He had no redeeming qualities about him. So, the idea of reading a story where, as a reader, I should be rooting for him, isn’t something I was looking to do.
That being said, as a single stand-alone story, read this book. It is amazing.
Available on Amazon
Esteban Q Mathieus 