Review: Undone (#2, Unbreakable) by Rebecca Shea

My Thoughts

An emotional and heartfelt journey of one man’s
struggles to overcome his past in order to embrace
the happiness he finds so unexpectedly.

Synopsis

I’ve found it’s easier to share my body but not my soul. I need no one, yet I crave her.

Self-assured and independent, she doesn’t need me—but she wants me, and undeniably I want her too. At war with myself as I battle the secrets of my past, I don’t know if I can allow her to see the darkest parts of me, the parts I’ve left untouched—undone.

As she chips away at the walls I’ve built for years, I fear those secrets will hold me hostage from love—forever.

My Review

“We all have scars; some scars can be seen and other cannot. Every scar has a story and every story needs to be told.”

This book is a journey full of turbulent ups and downs, pushes and pulls, as Landon works to fight through the darkness of his past. A darkness that has consumed his life for so long… ruled his actions and fueled his decisions. His past has shaped him to be the kind of man that is determined to help others, but also one thoroughly afraid of being abandoned. So before someone else can destroy him, he walks away. Shutting himself down from getting to know anyone. Keeping his secrets — his demons — buried deep. He’s been vulnerable once before, as we saw in Unbreakable, but he had to let Jess go. So now he’s back to a life filled with one-night stands accompanied by a endless string of different women to warm his bed.

“I don’t do romance, I don’t do relationships, and I definitely don’t do love.”

So what happens when a cop that lives his life to serve others refuses to care after himself? His own heart? Fate intervenes.

When a police call takes Landon and his partner, Matt, to a small country bar, his eyes quickly find a beautiful girl with a beaming smile across the room. There’s an energy that surrounds her that he can’t help but be drawn to. He also becomes quickly determined to make her his, within the confines of his rules, of course. Little does he know, however, that Reagan won’t be abiding by his rules.

“Something in the pit of my stomach is telling me this girl is dangerous — she’s beautiful, confident, and smart — a dangerous combination.”

Reagan is beholden to her own horrific memories. She’s been focused on her career, trying to survive a past that shattered her. When she meets Landon, she too is immediately drawn to him, but she quickly realizes that Landon doesn’t do relationships and she’s not the kind of girl that subscribes to one-night stands. Despite the clash of these fundamentals, they enjoy each other’s company. An easy vibe flowing between them, but anytime Reagan tries to dig an inch beneath the surface, Landon pushes her away. She knows this tattooed boy has a good heart, but he’s bad news for a girl like her.

“He’s dangerous… but damn if I’m not attracted to that danger — knowing that if I succumb to it, it would be nothing but heartbreak for me.”

But soon enough the connection between them begins to crackle. And both must come to terms with what they want and what they’re willing to gamble. For Reagan, is she willing to risk another broken heart? For Landon, is he willing to try? To open up and face his past head on? To see a life of possibilities? They’re ready to yield to the desire that burns between them, but then what?

“But what happens when one of us wants more?… Because one of us will, it’s inevitable. What happens then? You fuck me and leave me — never see me again.”

There is a great deal of angst infused in the story. There are so many times when Landon pushes Reagan away that just made my heart hurt for her. Landon’s secrets are dark. Festering. Haunting. The kind that are difficult to forget and even harder to forgive. Reagan is willing to give Landon time. She’s fallen for him, but she knows that sooner or later he needs to let her in. The level of emotional turbulence is high, moments between them intensifying in more ways than one and Landon realizes that he may have pushed Reagan too far. And suddenly, the thought of losing her scares him more than he cares to admit.

“I could try, I should try, but I’m so fucking afraid that when I fuck this up, because I will … I will lose her, and I’m not sure I could handle that.”

This is a story of survival. Surviving a past that can break a person. Surviving a life bereft of love. Surviving a relationship with unequal amounts of give and take. It’s also about taking chances and willing to put in the work to find the kind of happiness that can heal. That can shine a light on the darkness that someone like Landon has carried inside of him for so long. There were certainly times where I felt so distraught over what happened to both Landon and Reagan. They’ve both been through so much and I loved them both as characters. The journey they have undertaken is one filled with lots of bumps and bruises, leaving holes that would never quite fill and scars that would never go away, but once they find themselves in it together, their future looks brighter if they’re willing to fight for what they have.

“… it’s you and me, babe. You. And. Me. We’re undone.”

Reading Order and Purchase Links

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