Broken Play

False Start, Book 1

By: Alison Rhymes

Narrated by: CJ Bloom, Edward Black

They have ties that bind.

June grew up in the shadow of her brother and his best friend, Drew McKenna. She stood back while Drew dated his way through high school and college, watching and waiting. Waiting for him to realize he loved her as much as she loved him.

When he did, it was the happiest she'd ever been. Until she found him with another woman only five years after their marriage.

Leaving her husband was a simple decision, but there was no easy way to cut him out of her family. When June receives a fresh start to her career, she also finds what could be a new lease on love. Reality hits Drew with a vengeance.

He wants her back.

She wants to make him suffer.

Contains mature themes.

©2022 Alison Rhymes (P)2023 Tantor

Really Good

I felt all the heartache of of the heroine. Finding your husband with an ex-girlfriend would be so hard and to find out they were regularly seeing each other. She made grovel. Good book!

Emotionally deep and stunningly honest

Finished this fantastic audiobook today, and I am definitely gonna have a bit of a hangover from this one.

This is NOT a book for everyone. The entire relationship arc begins with him cheating. So if that's not your thing at all, skip this one. But, if you want to immerse yourself in a redemption arc with a very heavy focus on the FMC finding her true self and moving forward with that, this one will make you cry, cheer, cry some more, dig into your righteous indignation, cry again, and then embrace both characters in their beautifully imperfect selves together.

The narration is absolutely superb, and if you are an audiobook lover like me, you will revel in how stunningly CJ Bloom and Edward Black bring Alison Rhymes characters and their story to life.

What I love about it:
How much depth and work went into the relationship building between June & Drew.
The care and intention that was taken to build June as a survivor, not a victim.
The tender yet ferocious and in-your-face FMC.
June claiming her power.
The solid redemption arc for the MMC.
Supporting characters with depth and purpose.
Holy Hell! That scene!!! So freaking hot! You’ll know it when you get to it.
And that final resolution. Way to go June!

A 5 Star Read that you HATE!

WoW! Never thought I would give a book 5 stars that I hated but hear me out! With that being said, this book was a roller coaster of emotions that made me want to throw my phone across the room as I listened to it. Forewarning, this book is about cheating and the author does a great job of making you feel the raw, gritty, gut wrenching emotions that come with heartbreak. It was like watching a train wreck and not being able to look away. I listened to the entire book in one day and was left with a whirlwind of emotions and still wondering how I felt at the end. I loved watching June grow into a stronger woman through the process but had mixed feelings about her and Drew in the end. At times I wanted to scream at both the characters for how they behaved but the author does a great job of making you feel empathetic towards both of them. In the end I was torn between rooting for them to stay together while also feeling like June should just throw Drew off a cliff. Even with the love/hate relationship I have with this book, I would totally still recommend it all day long to other readers!

Heartbreaking and healing at the same time

Loved this book when I read it but CJ Bloom really brought June to life. Felt I knew June better through this narration.

Heart wrenching journey

Great book on a plot line I never thought I would enjoy reading. Very angsty read, but if you are in mood for one this is an excellent choice. Performance was good but CJ Bloom seemed way too chipper at beginning and the tone of her read for several chapters didn’t fit story/scenes.