“Shattered” by Susan Cochran

Morgan has it all. A husband who doesn’t spare money he earns aplenty to make her life as comfortable as possible. Two amazing children who are in college. A beautiful house she has put time, effort, and love into to turn it into a perfect family nest.

It’s true that Morgan’s marriage did have a not-so-perfect start. She married Paul for reasons more complicated than a pure exaltation of young love. Still, for twenty years she has been engrossed in bringing up her children and enjoying the life of a housewife from an affluent suburb. She never looked back at the time when she was finishing high school and madly in love.

And then, Morgan’s marriage begins to fall apart. Usual reasons for driving people to a divorce couldn’t break it. Yet, when Morgan’s husband’s political views start to spoil their everyday life, she realises that she has to make some big decisions.

Morgan meets Brooks, her teenage love when she still clings to the belief that her marriage can be saved. But the situation at home quickly spirals out of control. Soon, Morgan realises that not only her comfortable, easy life is threatened by the path her husband has chosen. She faces physical abuse, and it looks like it will only get worse.

“Shattered” by Susan Cochran, although tackling some serious issues, such as the influence of radicalisation on domestic life and abuse within a family, was a sort of comfort read for me. I think that if it were absolutely light-hearted, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it so much. I loved the backdrop of the rich suburb and the glimpses of beautiful nature spots the author dropped throughout the story.

Morgan felt very relatable to me. I appreciated that her struggles were of a different nature rather than the search for work after a long stay-at-home period. And the romance plotline is done wonderfully, with the right dose of unexpected, swoony, and steamy moments.

I highly recommend this book for all romance novel lovers who enjoy contemplating some serious issues while getting absorbed in a beautiful love story.