Fractured Karma (Brewer Brothers book #2) by Nancy Straight

Blurb: Mark believes he is alone in the world. Rejected by his parents as a child, he spent his childhood bouncing from one foster home to another. The loss of his beloved little brother, Davey, makes him believe he has nothing left to live for. Mark finds himself on a destructive path after agreeing to help a person from his childhood. A wager made by two strangers sets a chain of events in motion: Mark finds the one person he believed he had lost forever, while he desperately tries to get out of the life he has made for himself. Never having allowed himself to get close to anyone, he can’t understand the connection he has to Libby. Can Mark escape the life he set in motion seven years ago and allow Libby into his life, or is his karma fractured permanently?

 

5 Stars

This book was so much better than the first one.  It could have been read as a stand alone honestly because it had the first story in it from Mark’s POV, albeit condensed.  Mark has a incredibly more complicated life than any other character in this series.  I totally connected with him more than Dave.  His quandry of keeping his family safe from his lifestyle was beautifully articulated by Mrs.Straight.  The research that must have went into this book kinda boggles the mind because each facet of his life is portrayed with just enough for us to get a glimpse into his thinking; without it being repetitive and boring.

And honestly, the romance aspect was only ‘meh’ for me.  I wasn’t really invested in the matchmaking part of this story.  And if I’m being 100 percent honest, I didn’t like his match in this book.  And it wasn’t that I didn’t like Libby as a character, I just thought his story didn’t need the romance.  The family bit was enough.

The fine line he walked between covering his ass and doing what was right was soooooo narrow.  I was amazed he didn’t misstep.  He lived two completely seperate lives. And somehow was able to juggle it without dropping any balls.  Although he did stumble a few times.

And the ending!  I can’t really say much more than that. I wanted to hate it, but it fit. Square peg, square hole. Just right.