Review: Broken Lion by Devon Hartford
Note: This ARC was provided by Ardent PRose in exchange for an honest review.
Broken Lion is the new standalone contemporary erotic romance from Devon Hartford and is my first read from the author. It's the story of Brigid Flanagan, orthopedic surgeon assigned to the emergency care unit of a local hospital and divorcee and mother to ten-year-old Daniel Wright, and Lion Maxwell, cage fighter and mixed martial arts champion. When Lion is brought into the ECU due to a torn ACL, Brigid is the orthopedist on duty but he makes it clear that he'd like to know her on a more personal basis. She points out that it's unethical for a doctor to be involved with a patient, but that doesn't seem to bother Lion one bit. Even after he's discharged, he pursues Brigid. She knows nothing good can come from their dating but fate seems to intervene when Daniel decides to sign up for Lion's jiu-jitsu classes. As the weeks pass, Lion and Brigid try to maintain a semblance of being nothing more than friends, but they're falling for each other faster than expected. Can they really make a go of a relationship if it has to be kept secret?
For the most part, this was an entertaining read featuring a taboo relationship between a doctor and a patient. Of course, if you keep tabs about everything that's going on in the story, the solution to their dilemma is one that's pretty obvious but the main characters appear to have forgotten about in their need to keep everything under wraps and pretending that they're nothing more than friends. Both Lion and Brigid were likable, although I must admit that Lion was that strange mix of a no-holds-barred kind of guy who was more than vocal about what he intended to do to and with Brigid but then was all sweet and sappy, making wood carvings and planning thoughtful outings that included Daniel. Brigid was doing the whole back and forth thing, constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure no one knew she and Lion were getting to know each other far more intimately. There's chemistry between them but I don't think there was enough interaction for Lion to have decided how deep his feelings for her were in a limited time.
Brigid's ex-husband Donald Wright plays a significant supporting role in the story, and admittedly, the guy was a jerk towards both Brigid and Lion. I wanted some sort of retribution as far as he was concerned because it felt as if he got away with the asshattery he did. Then there's Brigid's ex-mother-in-law, who Donald appears to have taken after. She has a discussion of sorts with Brigid but because nothing really happened to back up threats made, they felt like empty ones and kind of unnecessary to the overall story. With everything going on between Brigid and Lion, however, I did wish that these two had more interactions with people who could give them advice and guidance. I mean, Brigid did have a couple of good friends and same with Lion but their appearances were sporadic and sometimes inconsequential. Still, for the entertainment factor and the fact that there was that punch of humor thrown into the story to lighten things up when things got too heavy, Broken Lion turned out to be a pretty good read, so 3.5 stars. ♥
Date Read: 04 August 2016
Learn more about Devon Hartford.
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