Shattered Past Books In Order

Publication Order of Shattered Past Books

Shattered Past is a book series that begins with an installment called “Once Perfect”. It tells us the story of Evelyn Preston, whose future once looked perfect until her wealthy father was caught in an embezzlement scandal and took his own life. She was now left all alone and was struggling to find money to pay for her bills and college tuition. So she looks for a job and becomes a waitress, serving drinks at an ultra-hip nightclub called Excess. At her workplace, she relates more with the clients that come to the club more than with her fellow workers. But there’s something that draws her to a tall and sexy bouncer who works at the club.

He is called Mateo Santos and he is also an underground fighter. Although Evelyn and Mateo come from very different backgrounds, their previous struggles in life bind them in both love and survival. Mateo used to be in the army but he found himself in prison because of assaulting a man who hurt his sister. Now he directs the same instinct to protect towards the petite waitress called Evelyn. A panic attack is the chance for Mateo to step in and save Evelyn. Soon after, Mateo is injured when shielding Evelyn from a drunken brawl and so she comes to give him some help.

Their attraction for each other continues to intensify and so Mateo is interested to learn what skeletons Evelyn is hiding in her closet. He is even determined to tackle his own demons in order to rescue her. One of the good things about this book is that the characters are well developed and they appear very real. Their backgrounds, age, and situation in life appear very authentic and the author has done a very good job on the characters.

Once Perfect is not your average romance story with carbon copy characters, plot and drama like a soap opera. Even though there’s drama in this story, it is well balanced with some humor and good story telling. In fact, you might be surprised because you will laugh so much throughout the story even though the subject matter is very sensitive and some characters find themselves in heartbreaking situations. What you are going to love most about the story are the characters themselves. The author has developed them in a rich manner and you can relate to them in some way. They breathe life into every page and you will find yourself thoroughly engrossed in the story.

What’s also heartwarming about the story is the fact that even though Mateo and Evelyn faced many challenges within their relationship, at no time did they withdraw from one another. It was good to see that they chose to face everything together, which made them a power couple and won over the reader. They didn’t run away or start feeling pity for themselves, which is very common when you read most romance stories. Instead, they appear just the way one would normally act when faced with difficult situations in their relationship, which is quite refreshing. If you’re looking for a genuine romance novel, I suggest that you start with Once Perfect.

After you’ve read the first book, the next installment in the Shattered Past series is called “Once Loved”. It tells us the story of Lety Tres Santos, whose childhood memories come with scars, some emotional, some physical. She had an abusive father who was also a drug addict. Her mother didn’t help matters because she enabled his destructive habit. So when she joined college, she saw this as a chance to start afresh, until her dad found a way of ruining that too.

She ends up missing out on her scholarship but she must somehow remain in college, pay her tuition, and ignore the whispers from people around her. She intends to accomplish all of this without the help of Brody Quaid, who is a star lacrosse player with a GPA of 4.0. As a freshman, Brody had fallen hard for Lety but he just couldn’t break past the barriers that she had put up all around herself. Since Lety is now hurting so much, Brody is determined to get her back with him, and show her that real love is possible.

If Brody is to form a true partnership with Lety, it will mean that he opens up the secrets that he has kept hidden, and trusting someone in a way that he had never done before. On the other hand, Lety knows how much it hurts to be dependent on someone who can’t deliver. She also realizes that Brody is ready to become her shield and defender but she knows that it would take more than just sizzling desire for them to build their future together.

Brody is a rich white boy who is an All American while Lety is a girl from Cuba who has a very dysfunctional family. On the surface, they don’t appear like the perfect couple but then things are not what they seem. This seemingly perfect boy is just as downtrodden as the girl from a wrong family and they may have some similarities that could either bring them closer or tear them so far apart. Both Lety and Brody have a past and they were very happy and everything seemed normal until Lety’s earlier life contrives to bring them apart. After a year passes and they are sad because of missing each other, there seems to be renewed hope for them.

Pain and suffering is something that Lety wants to avoid at all costs. Her family had misled her that love was something dangerous and so she did not want to commit herself to Brody just yet. It seemed to her that the best thing that she could do was to deny love even if it came knocking at her door. Lety appears unable to shake off her past but she thinks that Brody can easily move on. However, Brody is not about to let her go and he will do anything to rekindle the love that they used to have for one another. Once again, the author has killed it with this second book and you will thoroughly enjoy reading it.