Unbroken (Beachwood Bay #1) by Melody Grace

"Mom always told me there are two kinds of love in this world: the steady breeze, and the hurricane. Emerson Ray was my hurricane...."

Juliet McKenzie was an innocent eighteen-year old when she spent the summer in Beachwood Bay—and fell head over heels in love with Emerson. Complicated, intense Emerson, the local bad boy. His blue eyes hid dark secrets, and just one touch could set Juliet ablaze. Their love was demanding and all-consuming, but when summer ended, tragedy tore them apart. Juliet swore she’d never go back, and she’s kept that promise… Until now.

Four years later, Juliet’s done her best to rebuild the wreckage of her shattered life. She’s got a great boyfriend, and a steady job planned after she graduates. Returning to Beachwood to pack up her family’s beach house to prepare it for sale, Juliet is determined that nothing will stand in the way of her future. But one look from Emerson, and all her old desire comes flooding back. He let her go once, but this time, he’s not giving up without a fight. And Emerson fights dirty.

A heartbreaking history. An unstoppable passion. Torn between her past and future, Juliet struggles to separate love from desire. But will they find a way to overcome their tragic secrets—together? And after so much damage has been done, can a love remain unbroken? 

*This book contains adult situations and explicit content.*

4.5 Stars

Pretending like the past never happened is a recipe for disaster. 

Towards the end of this book, I started thinking….Oh my, God. This totally reminds me of The Notebook! Don’t worry folks, it doesn’t really end like that, but as I look back, it totally was just like the movie…well, not all of it per se, but it did have a lot of similarities: Young summer love, that all consuming-can’t-live-without-you type ending in heartbreak, the mother who frowned upon the relationship, the safe-sweet-third-person-boyfriend who just couldn’t take the place of her first love, and of course, the scorching kiss in the rain. Just look at the picture above…isn’t it gorgeous? Honestly, I read this book fast. I couldn’t put it down. 

There are two kinds of love in this world: The steady breeze, and the hurricane. 

The steady breeze is slow and patient. You can count on a breeze, steady and sure and true.

But there’s nothing steady about a hurricane. It’s wild and breathless and all consuming.

Emerson Ray was my hurricane. 

Juliet is headed back to Cedar Cove to pack up her family’s summer home and get it ready to sell. Going back to Cedar Cove is the last thing Juliet wants to do. She swore that she would never set foot to this place ever again. It brings nothing but heartache. Four years ago, not only did she have to deal with the death of her mother, but on the same day of her funeral, when she thought her heart couldn’t shatter even more, Emerson broke her heart. 

Emerson looks at me like I’m a goddess, like I’m water, and he’s been roaming in the desert for a thousand years in search of just one drop. Like it takes everything in him not to devour me right there where I stand. 

The relationship between Juliet and Emerson was an intense one. They made plans, four years ago, only for Emerson to suddenly call it all off. Juliet was beyond broken. She’s suffered from deep depression and panic attacks. Years of therapy and medication slowly brought her back to a life. She’s got a wonderful and supportive boyfriend in Daniel, and she’ll be graduating soon, though her career choice wasn’t her first choice. She headed for a safe life, the one she’s worked really hard for; she never wants to go through the heartache she felt that summer. 

But what happens when she runs into Emerson, because lets face it, you know it inevitable. How will Emerson react to her return? How will Juliet react? 

“You’re mine,” he says again fiercely. “Not his, not anyone else’s. You can try and pretend you don’t feel it, but you do. You’ll always be mine.” ~ Emerson 

Emerson is in utter turmoil upon running into Juliet. There’s no doubt that these two still have strong chemistry, but the way Emerson treats her at their initial meeting was cold and cruel. I seriously wanted to smack the smirk off his face. Why is he so cold to her when it was he who broke it off? This question was the biggest issue in the whole story. I hated wondering about it and thus, couldn’t stop reading until I found out. Emerson loves her, still does apparently. He was a hard guy to like, initially, but he slowly grew on me. As for Juliet, I felt for her. You can tell by the first few chapters that she is just one hot mess. The meds, the panic attacks: I was very sympathetic for her. As for the cheating…well, don’t worry, it wasn’t as bad I thought it would be. She handled it very well. But what of Juliet and Emerson, will they take a second chance?

I really enjoyed this story: The possessiveness of Emerson, the chemistry between him and Juliet – it was hard to walk away from their story. Like I said, by the time it all ended, I was an emotional wreck…happy, but still a wreck. Definitely recommend :)