Tuesday, 29 August 2017

Shattered - Helen Hardt - Review




Ryan Steel is known in Snow Creek as the handsomest Steel brother with the most jovial personality. Now that his busy grape harvest and winemaking season is over, he's happy to spend time with his family and help his brothers, Talon and Jonah, celebrate their impending nuptials. The Steels are taking a well-deserved break from the conspiracy surrounding them...until an unlikely woman and a long-buried secret shatter Ryan's world. 


Detective Ruby Lee has been on her own since she was fifteen. When her past collides with the Steel family's mysteries, she's determined to find the truth. She has her own issues, and she's not looking for a relationship, despite her all-consuming attraction to Ryan Steel. The gorgeous dark-haired man gets under her skin anyway...and he needs her. 

Together they explore both of their histories, but those pasts could cost them a future.







 4.5 Stars 

 Shattered is honestly the first book written by Helen Hardt that I have read.  Although I would recommend reading the previous six titles in the Steel Brothers Saga, I didn't feel lost as snippets of information from the previous titles was revealed throughout Shattered. 

 I adored Ryan and Ruby a pair of complex, endearing, and wounded characters.   

 Ruby is innocent in many ways, yet jaded in others.  Despite her upbringing, Ruby has chosen a profession that seeks justice and redemption for her father's sins.  She is strong, independent, compassionate, caring and a huge amount of integrity. 

 Ruby is a rancher, and a winemaker, his family is integral to his identity.  He's charismatic, kind, caring, assertive and sexy. 

 What starts as a holiday with family and friends, has some intriguing twists and turns.  Strong themes of intrigue, family, fear and deception flow throughout the story line. 

 Shattered is a tangled web of lies, deceits and secrets.  You are left with more questions than answers, and I will be eagerly anticipating the next title Twisted in the Steel Brothers Saga. 









  2. After being left at the altar, Jade Roberts seeks solace at her best friend's ranch on the Colorado western slope. Her humiliation still ripe, she doesn't expect to be attracted to her friend's reticent brother, but when the gorgeous cowboy kisses her, all bets are off.


    Talon Steel is broken. Having never fully healed from a horrific childhood trauma, he simply exists, taking from women what is offered and giving nothing in return...until Jade Roberts catapults into his life. She is beautiful, sweet, and giving, and his desire for her becomes a craving he fears he'll never be able to satisfy.

    Passion sizzles between the two lovers...but long-buried secrets haunt them both and may eventually tear them apart.


  2. Jade Roberts is in love with Talon Steel but no longer welcome in his home. While she resolves to move on, she still longs for the passion she and Talon shared…and when her boss asks her to dig up information on the Steels, she’s only too happy to comply. Talon and his brothers are hiding something, and Jade is determined find out what it is.

    The moment Talon saw Jade he wanted her, ached for her, craved her…and now his desire has become his obsession. He knows she deserves better than his broken soul, but he can’t stay away from her, and he finally confesses his love. If he and Jade are to have a future, he knows he must make peace with the dark shadows and horrors of his past.

    But as Talon begins his journey of healing, Jade uncovers some startling secrets…

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  2. Jade Roberts’s love for Talon Steel is the real deal, and she’s more determined than ever to help him come to grips with whatever is haunting him. To that end, she continues her investigation of the Steels…and unknowingly attracts some dangerous foes from their shrouded history.

    Talon loves Jade deeply and longs to possess her forever, so he faces his worst fears and exposes his rawest wounds in an attempt to heal. The road is icy and treacherous, but if he perseveres and comes out whole on the other side, he’ll finally be worthy of Jade’s love.

    The untamed passion between the two still blazes, but as the horrors of Talon’s past resurface, Jade and Talon aren’t safe…

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Jonah Steel is intelligent, rich, and hard-working. As the oldest of his siblings, he was charged by his father to protect them. 

  1. He failed in the worst way. 

    Dr. Melanie Carmichael has her own baggage. Although the renowned therapist was able to help Jonah’s brother, she is struggling with feelings of inadequacy. When the oldest Steel walks into her office seeking solace, she can’t turn her back. 

    As Melanie and Jonah attempt to work through their issues together, desperately trying to ignore the desire brewing between them, ghosts from both their pasts surface…and danger draws near.

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  1. Jonah Steel is knee deep into trying to solve the mystery surrounding his family and his brother’s abduction, and the arrival of his best friend has complicated the situation…although not as much as his infatuation with his brother’s therapist, Dr. Melanie Carmichael. The quiet humility of the blond beauty has him enthralled, and he burns for her as he never has for any woman. 

    Melanie Carmichael is intelligent and driven, yet filled with regret. She has fallen in love with gorgeous Jonah Steel, but fears she may never be able to tell him. The demons from her past have come for her…and she may not get out alive.

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Jonah Steel has fallen in love with Melanie Carmichael but still lives with the guilt that consumes him as he tries to unravel the mystery of his family's past. A new threat has surfaced, and he finds himself trapped in a web of deceit and lies. 


Melanie loves Jonah but has yet to surrender completely to his needs. Meanwhile, a new friend uncovers more information and more questions. While the ghosts of Melanie's past still hover around her, she joins Jonah on his quest for answers. Together, they vow to find the truth. 

But the deeper they dig, the more danger they uncover...and Jonah's life hangs in the balance.
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#1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Helen Hardt’s passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to being an award winning author of contemporary and historical romance and erotica, she’s a mother, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado, where she lives with her family. Helen loves to hear from readers.