Broken At Love by Lyla Payne

              Broken At Love by Lyla Payne 3.5 Stars 

Synopsis: When a knee injury ends twenty-year-old Quinn Rowland’s pro tennis career, he’s not only dumped by his hot Russian girlfriend but ordered to attend college by his disinterested billionaire father. A rich kid who’s not used to being disappointed by life, Quinn and his sociopathic half-brother Sebastian create a frat house game intended to treat girls how they see them—as simple game pieces to be manipulated for their pleasure. College sophomore Emilie Swanson knows Quinn’s reputation—after all, he did send one of her sorority sisters into therapy earlier in the semester—but the game and his charm bring them closer together and soon she starts to believe there’s more to Quinn than people think.
Quinn and Emilie might be falling for each other, but there are secrets he’s not ready to tell—and lifestyle changes he’s reluctant to make. She willingly stepped on the court, but if Emilie finds out she started out as nothing as a pawn in Quinn and Sebastian’s twisted game, she might never forgive him. To his surprise, Quinn finds that he might finally care about someone more than he cares about himself…even if that means letting Emilie walk away for good.

Authors Pick for Emilie

Authors pick for Quinn

Genre: NA Romance Novel
Characters: Quinn and Emilie

Cover: Appealing
Rating: PG-13 
Overall: Interesting, at times intense
Plot: Unbelievable and predictable, but somewhat sweet
Page Turner:  At times
Series Cont.? Yes
Sex Scenes: A few...
Setting: Florida University

Recommend: Yes 

Overall- I enjoyed the book generally, but I did find some of the plot unrealistic and annoying. The characters while charming and strong, lacked some of the genuineness of a character that I fall in love with. But I think the story kept me interested, even though I knew how it would turn out, and while I was interested and intrigued I wasnt glued to the book dying to know the endings. I liked the characters more than the plot though and thats likely what kept me going through the book. And the writing was pretty good.


Plot--I think the plot was a little over the top for my liking. which is interesting considering I read a similar type book except the player was a bad guy and not the guy she fell for. Perhaps thats what I disliked about this book. I understand the "bad boy" appeal in books, and the players image, wanting to change that guy for the better etc. But what I didnt like about this was the over the top nature of everything. The overly planned plot of Quinn and Sebastian, the distance between the parents and their kids, emotionally speaking. Emilie seemed somewhat real, except that she was bit braver than most women. Brazen even. Going into a frat house full of guys to yell at the notorious player....I dont know something about this plot got to me. I think while Emilie was very brazen she was also somewhat foolish. And the ending felt way too methodical. In the end, I liked the book, but I didnt love it and I would recommend it to someone looking for a light read thats not too deep or emotionally attaching. 

Characters--I LOVED Quinn and Emilie. I loved their interactions, she was so fiesty and he was so irresistible. Their chemistry was really amazing too, and the author really developed the characters. I didnt like the immediacy of their feelings, but at the same time, I understand that in college (or high school) thats sometimes what happens, (though in my experience it never works out quite as well as it does here!) I found Emilie to be sexy and confident but sweet and kind hearted, down to earth. I liked her a lot, possibly one of my favorite book heroines of a romance. She went into this thing knowing what could happen and that takes a lot of courage!!

My Quinn

Now Quinn on the other hand, hes quite the pill. His type though is typical of rich spoiled frat boys. But he sure was hot! And as much as he didnt want to admit it he was a good guy, with a romantic streak. You cant bed that many women without a little charm, or loving characteristics.  I think Quinn is broken more than anything (granted its in the name of the book) . I think the mother thing was a little weird, and unexplained, but I think his character really did just need someone to love him, and show him that they can love him over his faults. I think a lot of his bad choices was him try to forget the pain he felt, and that makes sense. So he may have been the bad guy sometimes, but he was also a good person underneath it all and showing the reader his perspective on certain topics made it easier to understand where he was coming from. He's a sexy bad boy with a good heart, but broken and in need of fixing. While its fun to read about, Im not sure I could have handled it the way Emilie did!