Cover Image: The Broken One

The Broken One

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Member Reviews

4 A Stuffed Animal Changes Everything Stars!!

This is my first book by Ms. Cardello and I’m so happy I took the advice of my friend to read this one. When I started the book I thought I knew what kind of story I was going to be getting into, but then things change and we’re taken down the path of another story…one of heartbreak, sorrow, redemption and finding a love that no one was expecting.

I don’t want to give too much away, but Sebastian Corisi is a man that’s more than broken and it’s heartbreaking a points. Heather and her daughter Ava provide him a chance to redeem himself in his own eyes and heart and they niggle their way right in there thanks to a lost stuffed animal. And so begins their story.

I loved this H/h so much. There’s a hidden side to them that kind of surprised me but totally felt right for them as a couple. And Ava is the cutest and sassiest little girl! She has a way of making even the gruffest of men melt.

There’s quite the suspense circling around the Corisi family and we just get an inkling of it as it’s intertwined throughout Sebastian and Heather’s story. I’m so excited to get deeper into this story and this family because it’s going to be a wild ride!!

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I loved this story - it was like two stories in one.

The beginning is Judy Corisi, daughter of Dominic and Abby Corisi (from Maid for the Billionaire) looking into her family tree. Not sure yet how this connects to the other story but I think eventually, we will find out.

Heather is a single other to Ava, who just lost her stuffed animal Wolfie. Heather posts a reward for anyone who finds her daughters favorite stuffed animal.

Sebastian Romano, hard, closed off business man is just the one to stumble across wolfie. Persuaded to bring the stuffed animal back to it's original owners has Sebastian starting to question himself. Questioning how he became the cold, calculating man he is today.

With his family meddling and Heather calling him on his BS he starts to make changes. Can Sebastian be the man Heather and Ava need in their lives? Definitely one-click this second chance romance.

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This is the first book in the Corisi Billionaires Series and it was surprisingly sweet and heartwarming. I loved the relationship between Heather and Ava and then add in a seemingly hard, unemotional Sebastian and you have yourself a very good storyline. This was a very sweet and emotional read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for Netgalley.

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Another great story by Ruth Cardello. I have read everyone of her books. I love how her books build on each other and have some of the characters from her other books with new ones added. This was a really good story. I loved the characters in the book. It was funny, sad and a half a great love story. I can't wait to read another from this author.

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Gah. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to read it for a review. I do have a weakness for billionaire books and Heather and Sebastian's story is one of my favourite reads this year. I find myself smiling as I write this review because I loved every moment of reading this story.

Heather is a highly independent person, and her nature is that of a fierce woman who knows what she wants. That kind of personality is how I prefer the heroine to be. She can stand on her two feet and doesn't need anyone else to help her.

Sebastian. I love you, I think he's perfect for Heather and Ava of course, he is completely besotted with them and Heather's defiant nature, only meant that Sebastian was more enamoured with her. It was definitely worth the read!

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So this is the first book of Ruth’s that I’ve ever read, but I can tell you it won’t be my last.
I really enjoyed this read. In actual fact I devoured it in one day! It was such a sweet, heartfelt read that kept me turning the pages and wanting more.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Heather & Sebastian and of course who couldn’t forget sweet Ava, she just makes this story that much more.

For those who have read any of Ruth’s books before you will love this one. If you’re like me and had never read one of Ruth’s books before, I highly recommend reading this one, you won’t regret it. I may now be going off to read all of Ruth’s back catalogue of books.

4 stars ⭐️

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I was excited to start this new series by this new author to me.
Overall I enjoyed the story. This is the story Heather and Sebastian who meet under unique factors.
Finding a stuffed animal leads to an intriguing, emotional journey of family and love.
As their story develops, you learn the painful pasts that lead to their present circumstances.
Even though this is book 1 of a new series, there were a lot of characters in the story who I felt had a back story I missed.
3.5 stars!

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I was absolutely charmed by this book. So much of it grabs you and leads you straight into caring for the characters in the book.

Ava and Sebastian meet over the missing stuffed wolf that was lost by a little girl. The attraction is immediate, and Sebastian does what everyone does in this situation...he's rude to the woman he's attracted to.

Wait, that's not what everyone does. In fact, it's opposite...but, he has reasons. And getting to know him, and why he acts as he does, while dealing with stuffed wolves, is absolutely heartwarming and charming.

I enjoyed and recommend this title...and I am looking forward to the next one.

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Heather Ellis is an accountant with her own business, but more importantly, she's a single mom and can't imagine her life without her adopted daughter Ava, no matter how much chaos she brings. When Ava's favorite stuffed animal goes missing Heather's desperate to get it back, posting a picture and reward on Facebook. Sebastian Romano lost his wife and unborn baby 5 years ago, why did he have to find a stuffed animal on the side of the road on the anniversary of their deaths. Never having really dealt with the grief, Sebastian's a different man than he used to be, more than ever before his life is about providing for his parents and 3 brothers. With a push from his mom, Sebastian returns the stuffed animal in person and changes his life.

This is the first Ruth Cardello book that I've read and I was not disappointed. I really enjoy books where the h is a mom because I can relate so much to all of the struggles, the desperation to find a lost favorite item. I loved that Heather was strong, unapologetic and stood up for herself, didn't let Sebastian take his anger towards himself out on her. Another aspect of this story that I really loved was that Ava was adopted, that's an ultimate act of love, to love someone else's child as your own. I was disappointed in Heather's dad and his comments towards Ava, I feel like that's not the last we'll see of him. Poor broken Sebastian, my heart hurt for him and the loss that he suffered. I love a good sick scene in a story where one character who maybe doesn't know the other that well takes care of them, it's such a selfless act. There is such a rollercoaster of feelings, one page you're so happy for them, the next you're wondering what happened. There's a tiny sort-of cliffhanger at the end, and I'm curious to see where this series is going to go. Great book, definitely recommend.

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The Broken One is there first book in the Corisi Billionaire series.

First, the book start is confusing as the first chapters don't really let you know that your reading two different story lines that are possibly connected. So I kept wondering how the heck Judy fit into Heather's world. Just my two cents... I guess we'll find out more as the series progresses.

Heather is doing the best she can for her daughter as a single mom, it's hard. When Ava loses her beloved stuffed wolf Heather searches frantically for the toy, even turning to social media for assistance.
Sebastian is living his worst day, the yearly reminder of his greatest loss and all he wants to do is numb the pain. When he stumbles upon a dirty stuffed wolf it brings his pain in waves. He wants nothing more than to rid himself of the reminder, yet it could turn out to be his saving grace. Bringing a beloved toy back to a little girl may be the key to opening his heart up to the possibility of moving on.

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I would describe the romance in this story as cute, likeable, insta-love, push/pull attraction, well off and good looking H/h, comfortable and generic. It is very well written and the steamy parts when they happen are nicely done. Sebastian and Heather are a likeable couple and unfortunately the romance made me go - yeah okay - it's romance - nothing really happened and it was just a pleasant read. Throw in a four year old and her friends and it was amusing and made me smile, but was nothing out of the ordinary.

The bit I really did not like though, were the chapters featuring Judy and her family. The first and last chapter and one in the middle. These really disconcerted and confused me and at first I though the wrong book file had been downloaded. Obviously these characters are from a previous series or book and the author is trying to tie Sebastian's family to these other characters. Unfortunately I have never read anything from this author before and their presence made absolutely no sense to me. Maybe fans of the author will like these parts, but it threw me out of the story and into ??? territory. Many thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC and express my honest opinion.

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This is my 1st book by Ruth Cardello and I really enjoyed it. I'm super curious for the other stories to come from this series.

Heather is a single mom who's priorities is her little girl. She drowns herself into work and caring for Ava.

Sebastian has a traumatic incident happen in his life, in which he has become a totally different person. A person who his family is not accustom to and not happy with. All they want is for Sebastian to find his old self and at the same time happiness.

Two people are bought together by fate! Heather the strong minded, independent beauty falls for the handsome stubborn Sebastian who can be absolutely selfish and difficult at times but if you believe in fate then fate will bring these two together!

Great read!

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A sweet book by a new to me author. I can't wait to read more about this great family and the mystery that involves them.

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3.5 - 4 star review of The Broken One by Ruth Cardello

I know you will find this hard to believe but this is my first book by Ruth Cardello. To be truthful, this book was an emotional roller coaster of a story that I found hard to read.

The Broken One is an apt title for this book which was full of loss, pain, angst suffering and sadness. It is a book that will shatter you and hopefully put you back together as Sebastian Romano takes a leap of faith and attempts to capture love with Heather Ellis and her beautiful daughter Ava.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

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4.5 stars

The Broken One by Ruth Cardello is a well written, well paced and heartfelt read.
I enjoyed the storyline, it held my interest from start to end and I loved watching the relationship between Sebastian and Heather unfold.

Overall, The broken One is a great start to the Corisi Billionaires series and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Buy HERE~
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Broken-One-Corisi-Billionaires-Book-ebook/dp/B07PSG2X9J

*Thank you to the publisher via netgalley for the ARC *

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This was just ok for me. It’s the beginning of a new series so there is a slight cliffhanger. The romance just felt very rushed and mostly about sex. I did like the secondary characters. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

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The first book in a new series for this author. It opens with single mom Heather looking for a lost stuff animal, her daughter’s. This lost wolf is what every parent or at least most have gone through. For me it was leaving my daughter’s blanket at an office, fortunately, the woman working that day know I would be returning at some point to be looking for that blanket and she had saved it! All was right in my world and our daughter could sleep. She is in college now and still has said blanket. So when Heather is retracing her steps looking and looking for this lost wolf I could relate. When Sabastian found it and wants to throw it away, I was taken by his desire to have everyone else do it but him. When he delivers the said wolf to their house he is beginning his change from when his wife died five years ago. Between the two of them, each one is learning how to be in a new or starting in a relationship. I think the author did a good job with that. Having Heather friends help her along the way makes for a good story. Also, the beginning and the end with Judy in a separate story trying to find information about her father’s family only adds to this continuing story. I really liked this book.

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3 stars
Single mom Heather Ellis is raising her friend's child, whom she adopted when her friend passed. Sebastian Romano lost his wife and baby in an accident. He is closed off because of loss. She is closed off because she is a single mom who put her focus on work and child. With help from his mom, Sebastian is opening his heart to wanting more.

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This is the first book in a new series by Ruth and if it anything like her normal work it will be good. The only criticism that I had with this book was the the prologue and epilogue didn't floe that well

This is Sebastian and Heather's story. She is a single mum and when her adopted daughter loses her beloved stuffed wolf then she does what any mother would do she posts a reward for its return Little did she know the affect it would have on her life Billionaire Sebastian is all work and no emotion since he lost his wife and family in an accident he is only interested in making more money Then he finds a stuffed wolf and see the reward post he doesn't need the money but for some reason feels the urge to return the toy. This is how he meets Heather the woman that will change his life. He is attracted to her but doesn't want to open his heart but when business takes him to Italy he realises that she has worked her way into his heart without him even realising Can they have a future together is he ready to live again You will have to read to see.

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Sebastian Romano has focused his whole life on work after the loss of his wife and unborn child. While out looking at a property he finds a stuffed animal. A stuffed animal that happens to have a reward posted for it's return. When Sebastian delivers Wolfie back to his owner Ava and her single Mom Heather little Ava gives him a hug that seems to break through to him. It also scares him.

Sebastian and Heather just click. Their banter is great. It isn't all smooth sailing as Sebastian is very leery of opening himself up to loving again and Heather because of her past has a tenancy of shutting people out of her life. I will say their sexual chemistry and the sex scenes in this book are sizzling!

Little Ava is the star of the whole book. She is such a doll and makes you want to reach right in and give her a big hug.

The support that Sebastian has from his family is enough to make everyone jealous. Plus the banter between his brothers and him adds another great layer to this book. I can't wait till this next book.

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