Broken Open (The Hurley Boys)

I have been waiting, not-so-patiently, for this to arrive. (It took an entire month!!) I had really enjoyed the first book, The Best Kind of Trouble, so I was super excited this one would be about Tuesday and Ezra. Their roles as Bestie and Older Brother helped define them in book one, but now I wanted to really get who they are directly from them.

Let's start with Tuesday. First off, awesome name. Secondly. she had a spirit that just didn't quit. She has been a widow for 5 years, losing her husband to cancer. She's artistic,quirky, a great friend, and oh yeah, and a woman of color. This wasn't a story about an interracial relationship. This was a romance between two individuals. Were there race issues that cropped up? Some, but it wasn't those issues that were the main conflict in the story.

Now Ezra. Oh, now Ezra has some issues. As a former heroin addict, once upon a time, he had crashed and burned. But Ezra has rebuilt his life and his relationships with his family. But he has worked very hard at creating balance in his life and is terrified that something will upset his careful constructed new life. He, of course, doesn't think/know he's terrified, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em.

Since family is a big part of how Ezra defines himself, we get to see more of the Hurley's. But we also get to spend a bit of time with Tuesday's family as well. Tuesday's momma had me grinning right away. I can totally see a spin off of the Easton family happening, and I would totally read it. :)

Kate Turnbull gave another great performance. I was a bit worried with the change in lead characters if it would affect how the story went. But no worries. There maintained a distinctive difference in the voices, so I had no problem figuring out who said what.

I couldn't stop listening to this and had my headphones every chance I could. It definitely didn't feel almost 10 hours long. I even stayed longer than I meant to on the elliptical I was enjoying this listen so much. I am giving it 5 stars.

Thank you to Audiobook Jukebox and Recorded Books for the opportunity to listen to and review this book.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21938163-broken-open" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Broken Open (The Hurley Boys, #2)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411348105m/21938163.jpg" ></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21938163-broken-open">Broken Open</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/226816.Lauren_Dane">Lauren Dane</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1294889255">4 of 5 stars</a>

Great book. I enjoyed watching these two learn that they had to forgive themselves and become comfortable in their own skin again before committing to each other. They had very different baggage coming into this relationship. Ezra let himself be pulled into addiction while touring with the band years ago and is just now discovering that he can have healthy cravings. He understood from the beginning that amends needed to be made to the people that he hurt along the way - but he left himself off the list. Tuesday lost her husband to cancer five years ago. She has a classic case of survivor's guilt. No suicidal thoughts here, just wondering why she should get to be happy when Eric is gone. Is she replacing him with Ezra?

I rarely comment while reading, but one of the secondary characters bothered me. Just as in real life the people that annoy take away from the moment but not the joy from the experience as a whole. I took to my goodreads wall as I would have a friend. I vented my frustration and continued reading. Thank you Lauren Dane for writing this series.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23071443-becky">View all my reviews</a>

While I may not have loved Broken Open, the second book in Lauren Dane's The Hurley Boys series, as much as I did The Best Kind of Trouble, I certainly connected with it in a way I haven't connected with a book in a long time.

Tuesday Eastwood was a great heroine and I've rooted for her since I met her in The Best Kind of Trouble. I knew that her book would be difficult for me to read but I also knew that I needed to. As someone who was left behind when my boyfriend died of cancer five years ago, I felt everything that Tuesday went through and it brought back a lot of memories for me. Some good. Some bad. From the survivor's guilt, to being afraid to move on, and worst of all, the seriously craptastic in laws.

Ezra Hurley is a former junkie with a lot of demons. Due to his heroine addiction, he left Sweet Hollow Ranch to put his life back together. Instead of going back out on the road with his brothers once he was sober, he chose to stay home and be a rancher. Yes he still works on the albums and writes a lot of the music, but he hadn't toured with the band in years. That is until he was encouraged to do a few small shows for the bands fan club.

Tuesday and Ezra's story wasn't an easy one. They both had pasts to overcome and guilt out the wazoo. In the end, I felt that they were well matched and I enjoyed spending time in their world. I hope to find someone like Ezra Hurley someday. No, I don't mean the whole rock star angle, I mean someone who is so completely accepting of the fact that the love of my life died and I've struggled to move on. He was exactly what Tuesday needed and I was very moved by their romance.

*eARC PROVIDED BY HARLEQUIN VIA NETGALLEY*

Lawsy! Put yourself on lockdown, the Hurleys are back!
This time we are treated to the purely sinful temptation that is Ezra Hurley. Currently running the family ranch, this former rock star has a tortured past of addiction that he wears like it's his skin. Unable to let go of how badly he disappointed his family and let himself down he is really tortured and therefore... delicious!
Of course we need an equally hurt woman and whom else but Tuesday Eastwood would qualify? A widow whose life fell apart five years ago and now is marginally satisfied just using men for sex. These two have been striking sparks off each other since the first moment they locked eyes in the previous Hurley book and I've been dying to see where this wild ride would go.
Needless to say I was not disappointed. There is enough angst to keep your emotions engaged while the steaminess will keep you riveted to the pages. From Ezra's pet pig (adorable!) to revisiting the rest of the characters from the previous book The Best Kind of Trouble (well hello there, Paddy Hurley!) there is a veritable feast of goodness happening.
Ezra is all man. Tattooed, muscular and in charge. Tuesday is all woman. Feisty, sharp but capable of being meltingly sweet for the right man.
Is Ezra that man?
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Lauren Dane really gets how to write the type of family I love to read. If you've read and enjoyed her previous books about the Brown Siblings you will definitely want to stage dive right into this great new series.
But make sure you bring plenty of ice water and maybe a fan... you've been warned!

Broken Open
Lauren Dane
Harlequin HQN, Nov 25 2014, $7.99
ISBN: 9780373779352

Widow Tuesday Eastwood emotionally struggled for five years with her paralyzing grief after her husband died, but found her footing when she settled in Hood River, Oregon where her BFF Natalie the librarian lives. Residing nearby at the Sweet Hollow Ranch, rock star Ezra Hurley became a heroin addict but now is clean and vows to stay that way though he tests his resolve with his first Sweet Hollow Band tour since before rehab.

Tuesday and Ezra met through her BFF Natalie the librarian and his brother Paddy also a rocker-rancher being an entry (see The Best Kind of Trouble). Attracted to each other each fears a commitment for different reasons, but simply cannot pretend their growing desire does not exist.

The second Hurley Boys Beaver State romance is an enjoyable second chance at life starring two scarred protagonists who must overcome their emotional issues if they are to forge a permanent relationship built on love. Both leads are three-dimensional although the depth of their respective emotional tsuris each confronts is a two-edged sword with astonishing layers that makes them feel incredibly real but also slows down the storyline.

Harriet Klausner

Broken Open is the second book in the Hurley Boys series by Lauren Dane. As in the first book, Ms. Dane was able to completely envelop me with her writing.
This novel focuses on the eldest Hurley brother Ezra, a recovering heroin addict and Tuesday, a woman whose life was destroyed five years earlier. Both tortured by their past, they meet and an all-consuming craving for each other, far beyond chemistry, totally enraptures them.
Can Ezra fully forgive himself for the pain he caused his loved ones in order to move forward with his life and can Tuesday risk opening her heart to love again?
A remarkable story!
I loved how both Ezra's and Tuesday's families were involved in the story and look forward to reading more about them in the next book.

http://ripeforreader.blogspot.com/2014/11/broken-open-by-lauren-dane.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1100643027

My rating: 4.5 of 5 ⭐️

*****

I so enjoy these brothers… and Ezra was intruiging right from the first book in the series. Leave it to Lauren Dane to depict a perfect dark and tormented hero!

The main characters, Tuesday and Ezra, are familiar to those who have read the first book in the series, and although I don't believe it is necessary to read the first, to enjoy the second, I found it gave me a good solid base for my impression of the protagonists.

Tuesday and Ezra have been dancing around each other, aware of their mutual attraction, but neither acting on it. That is, until the first kiss. Both in denial, each battling their own guilt issues and insecurities brought on by their respective painful pasts, they retreat into their safe corners. The heart has a mind of its own and builds on the impact of that brief physical connection until resistance becomes futile. The only option for self-preservation seems to be a purely physical relationship, but there are things that cannot be controlled, no matter how hard they try.

With all restraints gone on their relationship, the shadows from the past come creeping in and expose insecurities, but the only step toward any future is to leave the past behind. The question is whether Tuesday and Ezra even can…

Lauren Dane describes the evolution of a unique and intense physical and emotional connection that, although revealing and raw at the onset, develops into a healing relationship for both.
Beautiful, intense and well-written… as always.

✨An emotional, mature and insightful read!✨

**Copy provided in return for an honest review**

Tuesday Eastwood suffers from a really bitchy mother-in-law, even five years after the death of her husband. Ezra Hurley, rancher and rock star, has his own cross to bear after having succeeded in rehab after getting hooked on heroin. But he doesn't trust himself or his emotions. How can he commit to someone when he feels he craves her just like he craved getting high?

Tuesday has to decide if she's willing to keep trying or let him go when Ezra refuses to tell her how he feels about her and then DO something about it.

The heat in this one may be too much for people wanting a less overt description of the love scenes, but the rest of the story was worth it.

Last of the Hurley brothers, finally. As always this whole series has a quirky and loving family. Great characters. Sex. Good story. Humor. Enjoyable. Can be a stand alone read, but I recommend reading the others 1st. Lots of recurring characters/back stories to catch up with otherwise

I loved Ezra Hurley. Seriously, I was completely wrapped up in his thrall. Watching him fall in love with Tuesday while he learned to forgive himself for the addictions of his past is all this book needed to keep me hypnotized until the final page. I've read it and listened to the audiobook a few times since. Sometimes I simply revisit my favorite scenes (that eyebrow waggle!) but every time I dive into these pages I enjoy myself.

The author did an excellent job of introducing us to Tuesday and Ezra earlier on in the series...we know they are both strong...but in "Broken Open" we see how that strength turns in to passion. Steamy..believable...and you find your self wanting to know more about them.

Received an ARC for review

Well....Erza is smoking hawt and Tuesday is beautiful. They are smoking together. But oh my word, all the angst from them individual and together just made this drag and drag and drag. The best part was when Tina got stopped. I hope Kelly and Vaughn's story moves a little quicker.

I really liked the first book an was looking forward to this one but was very disappointed. The dialog between the H and h was totally unrealistic. Ive read other Dane books but this one was a total disappointment especially at the price. It read like $.99 self published book.