Broken Beyond Repair (A South Downs Romance #1) by Emily Banting, narrated by Angela Dawe

Broken Beyond Repair is a delightful celebrity romance, with an ice queen in her ivory tower and a younger woman who isn’t impressed with either money or rudeness.

Sydney wants to be a writer but works as a PA to celebrities. Her new assignment is with movie star Beatrice Russell, a 51-year-old British actress, who broke her leg on a stunt. Beatrice has encountered a long string of incompetent PAs and keeps trying to test Sydney. Sydney, being the best, slowly charms her way into Beatrice’s heart.

Both MCs are endearing and relatable each in her own way. There are several good side characters, my favourite is Beatrice‘s child Alex. Being a teenager isn’t easy for anyone, being the teenage child of a famous actress makes it even harder. Alex’s journey towards finding himself, and finding his way back to his mother is one of the best arcs of the story.

Is Sydney too good to be true? Yes, though she is supposed to be the best, isn’t she? Is Alex too wise for a teenager? Also yes, though teenagers and children can be surprising IRL as well. Broken Beyond Repair is the definition of a feel-good novel and Angela Dawe’s wonderful narration makes it feel even better. I have to admit that I wondered why the author went with this specific narrator, since most of the characters are British and Dawe’s an American. Admittedly, she excels at accents but so do the British narrators I know. That said, she does a fantastic job and deserves all the praise.

I also want to point out something that I wasn’t sure about but that Neen Cohen, author (check out her debut novel The Void) and fellow reviewer, addresses perfectly in her own review: one of the most important side characters is Sydney’s ex Sam; part of why Sam is her ex is that he transitioned and Sydney keeps saying she’s a lesbian and he’s all man. I felt the author dealt with the situation in a sensitive manner. Things are more complex than Sydney seems to think, though, and you should watch Neen’s review for a more in-depth analysis.

All in all, I had a great time listening to the audiobook and I look forward to the next book in the series, Reality in Check. 4.5⭐️