Broken Beyond Repair by Emily Banting is a contemporary, ice queen, celebratory, age-gap romance about learning to trust and letting go of the past.
Beatrice Russell is a world-famous actress who can’t keep a PA for more than six months. She’s icy, unrelenting and expects her requests, well orders, to be carried out precisely and quickly. When she brakes her leg on a film set and has to return to England unexpectedly to convalesce, it requires her to find a new personal assistant. She needs someone who can not only listen to instructions but who can also be on hand for all the inconveniences that having her leg in plaster consists of. Beatrice doesn’t hold out much hope, it’s never happened before, so why now?
Sydney MacKenzie is a free spirit whose best friend is Gertie her VW camper van. She roams from job to job as a PA for the rich and famous. She’s the best at what she does and she knows it. When her long-time friend and boss bags a high-profile client, he begs her to take the job. Sydney isn’t one for following the media, she’s not on socials, she prefers to judge the people she works for at face value. She’s supposed to be on a summer break, but when circumstances require her to earn some cash to fix her beloved Gertie, she takes the job.
From Sydney’s first day on the job, she doesn’t appreciate Beatrice’s method of gaining her attention or just how demanding she is! Sydney has no problem telling the famous actress just how out of order she is. What Sydney doesn’t bank on though is the attraction she feels for her boss and the feelings that start to develop the longer they work together. Does Sydney have long enough to melt the ice queen and get to know the real Beatrice, after all, this is only a summer job! But what a hot summer it is.
Characters
Rach: Beatrice is an ice queen and like many of these icy woman that I love, she has reasons to protect herself behind icy walls. She’s worked hard to get to the top of her career and at 51 she has learnt that trusting people is never in her best interests. I adore her! (Surprise, surprise) She is definitely not likable in the beginning but, as the story unfolds you will warm to her and be so angry with what she has been through. She’s a broken woman who is trying to survive in a world that is hard to survive in.
Mildred: Yeah, no, I don’t think anyone is surprised you love Beatrice, and she is definitely not likeable at first. The finger snapping was an especially effective character trait from the author. That actually made me smile it so efficiently conveyed a lot of information – in a snap. The comical and romantic payoff later was satisfying, but first we learned that Beatrice is not shy about wielding her power, and she has set up a very high defensive wall.
Rach: Sydney is not your typical ice queen ‘melter’. She takes no messing off Beatrice from the start. She is not afraid to speak her mind and inform Beatrice that she is out of order. She is however damn good at her job and goes above and beyond to ensure that Beatrice always has what she wants and needs. Sydney is also holding on to an incident from her childhood that has left her unwilling to settle in one place, she’s constantly searching for where she belongs..
Mildred: Sydney is one tough cookie, with a past as wrenching as Beatrice’s. I found her self confidence refreshing. She doesn’t find confidence in thawing her employer, she already knows what she likes. Gertie, her most excellent camper van and a full character in herself, wanderlust and being really good at running other people’s lives for a living are what she likes. She also loves writing, and I think we both relate.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Rach: I really enjoyed the slow burn in this one, leading up to the ice queen melt and eventual romance. It was yummy and the storyline timeframe stayed true to the character development.
Mildred: The pacing was steady, which absolutely strengthened the romance aspect. Both of them have lot, like a lot, of emotional baggage to work through.
Rach: The Characters in Broken Beyond Repair are just fabulous, I love how Banting wrote the leading ladies, they are well-developed, and complex. There’s also a great cast of supporting characters that add to the story brilliantly and give it a real sense of family and belonging.
Mildred: Both leading ladies are strong, talented and really decent. Sam is my favorite co-star, and it made me happy he could offer aid to Bea’s fantastic and wise for his years son Alex. And shout out to Beatrice’s ex-husband Peter who is absolutely evil. Whew.
Rach: The story includes a lot about the darker side of Hollywood, Banting managed to get an important message across while still making the story light and witty. I really appreciate this and admire the skill it takes to accomplish.
Mildred: The story is so solid in every aspect that I felt swept along. I liked how the author portrayed serious writing, and how it’s not something a person can sit down and just do.
Cons And Heads Up
Rach: Reference to abuse in the workplace
A character is dealing with the death of a parent from her childhood.
Reference to workplace abuse and feeling powerless to stop it.
The Conclusion
Rach: This book is exactly my kind. I was excited to read it and it didn’t disappoint. It has everything! I couldn’t put it down.
The storyline is brilliant, it tackles the darker side of Hollywood while still being funny and sweet. It includes incidents of sexual abuse but no details, and it tells us about how hard it is for actors to be ‘out’ and still work in the industry.
This is a story about finding and being true to yourself. It explores the notion that to be able to live happily, you have to accept, deal with, and move on from the past. Even when that past has made you who you are today.
You can see early on that these women feel more than what employer/employee should. They constantly challenge one another and conjure the best and sometimes the worst traits from one another. Their relationship is fascinating to witness because they are equally matched from the beginning in all the ways that matter.
This book is a happy place for me. It combines all my favourite tropes. It’s filled with family moments to warm your heart, a circle of friends you’ll want to be part of, and two women whom you genuinely want to be happy.
It’s definitely not to be missed, go give it a go and I hope you love it as much as I did.
Mildred: Hollywood is a tricky place to negotiate, both horrible and wonderful in equal parts. I believe it’s getting a bit better for queer people, and this book portrays the transitional era.
Books about strong willed, powerful women are always great to read. There’s a lot of humor as well as deep thoughts about morality, bravery, and doing what you can while understanding you can’t do it all.
I was happy to see the issue of what happens when a lesbian is in love with a trans man explored. I felt this was one of the plotlines that grounded the story with real world issues. It was part of the “be true to yourself” theme explored through several characters.
Excerpt from Broken Beyond Repair by Emily Banting
Biggin Hill was already in the satnav of the Mercedes, and Sydney made it into the Signature VIP Arrival Lounge with five minutes to spare. A woman in sunglasses was being pushed into the lounge in a wheelchair just as she arrived, a bright pink cast poking out from under her dress. That was her, though her choice of colour for her cast was a little out of character for the profile Sydney had already established.
Even with the woman’s diminished stature, her presence emanated from the chair; it was a presence that could not be ignored as she left those around her breathless. Sydney sighed.
Beatrice Russell was magnificent. She had a unique beauty about her rather than a classical beauty; her face on first impressions appeared quite plain. Her blonde, wavy hair dared you to stroke it to attest to its softness, and her prominent cheekbones enticed you to prod them to check they were real. Calling for a different touch entirely were her wide, rouge glossy lips.
Sydney gulped, bit her lips in, and plunged her hands into her pockets. “Miss Mackenzie, I take it?” Beatrice said as she flicked the air stewardess away with her hand. The warm voice that Sydney recalled from their phone call was replaced with a deeper, authoritative tone with a slight huskiness she hadn’t noticed before. It would be clear even in a whisper. She braced herself, anticipating it to be the woman’s disappointed voice.
“Yes. Please call me Sydney.”
“You’re late, Miss Mackenzie.”
Okay, she was going for formal. Though she knew she wasn’t late, it was Beatrice who was in fact early, Sydney decided it wasn’t her place to argue semantics. High-profile clients always needed to be right regardless of facts. Instead, she offered a valid excuse. “Sorry, the Mercedes battery was flat. I had to—”
“So what you’re saying is you failed to prepare for every eventuality.”
Sydney remained silent; although she couldn’t see the glare Beatrice was giving her from behind the sunglasses, she could certainly feel it.
“Doesn’t sound like the best to me.”
Changing the subject, Sydney asked, “Where is everyone else?”
“Were you expecting an entourage?” Beatrice covered a smirk with her forefinger. “Do I look like a woman who needs to keep an entourage?”
Sydney thought she didn’t seem the type of woman who could keep an entourage. “There’s Jonathon, my bodyguard.” Beatrice pointed to the reception desk, where a stout, middle-aged man stood. “He’s taking a well-earned rest and flying on to…” Beatrice flicked her hand. “Oh, I can’t remember. May we dispense with the questioning, or is there anything else you’d like to know? I’ve had a long flight and…” She flicked her hand again, this time towards her cast.
“Of course.”
“Park me somewhere and summon me a coffee with cream, then load the luggage and return for me. Make sure my crutches are to hand or you’ll be carrying me.” Sydney rolled her eyes as she went off in search of refreshments. She was used to demanding clients, though they were usually politer with their commands.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-1915157072
Publisher: Sapphfic Publishing
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