Beautifully Broken Redemption (The Sutter Lake Series)

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation: Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️ World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎 Cover:📔📔📔📔📔 Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻 Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️ Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒💒 Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞💞 Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂😂 Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖📖 Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧 Overall View: ✨✨✨✨✨

First Impressions Beautifully Broken Redemption is the finale in the "Sutter Lake" series, and this is the long-awaited book I have been the most excited for out of most of the series. It has some great tropes, and everyone seems to rave about this one the most so I was very curious to see how it would be handled and I still can't get over this delectable cover that gives me all the swoon vibes. This book is a story that will deliver strong family feels to it, beautifully developed chemistry and all the moments that capture your heart as only Catherine Cowles is capable of. It also contains some powerfully suspense elements that will be a bit different from what I have seen this author place in her stories but enjoyed it just as much.

First Line Derek's voice cut through the car at a decibel that endangered our eardrums.

The Main Protagonists The Hero: Mason Mason is a self made billionaire. He is intelligent and successful and has finally found his place in Sutter Lake. He has just built his dream home offshore of a lake.

The Heroine: Anna An ex convict for being framed by her ex boyfriend, she has lived from shelter to shelter until she found Sutter Lake and took over a community center. She helps her sister with her two kids and always sees the good in others but is paranoid about strangers especially sexy rich ones like Mason.

Summary Anna, was framed by her boyfriend when their car was pulled over with drugs in the trunk. She had some prison time in juvie and her parents abused her most of her life. She has lived in homeless shelters most of her adult life, until she discovered Sutter Lake, found a job as head over a community center and made her first home in a cottage and taking care of her nephew and niece whenever she could. When her sister is killed, she is determined to fight guardianship but she knows her parents have connections that she doesn't have. But when Mason reaches out to her and offers her a marriage of convenience so that she can get complete custody over the children, she knows she has little choice as she doesn't want them to live in a abusive home. She doesn't expect Mason to be a man of honor and integrity, who laughs free with the children and gives her an open honest relationship where she can be herself and find love along the way...

What I Loved There are many aspects to this story that endeared my heart so completely. First and foremost, I adore a wonderful telling of a marriage of convenience and when its in a contemporary setting, even better. I absolutely adored it in every way. I definitely can see why so many readers loved this book the most, it has so many qualities to it that just portray this authors best work in my opinion or at least some of her most heartfelt at least. While its not a perfect book, its beautifully conveyed in a way that reaches deeply to the heart of those reading it. I wasn't sure when I started this one how I would feel about Anna. I liked her in the previous book but didn't love her character and I truly fell hard for her strong and sure. She is such a caring person, who has so many flaws but those are so relatable when you look at everything she has suffered in her young life.

Then we have our hero, Mason, who is a self made hero. He has worked hard to get the wealth he has and is so loveable. He is so giving of his time and generous to a fault and sees the good in people. He has integrity and honor to her character that is so admirable. And seeing him with these kids, my heart completely melted for him. He just immediately knows the best things to do for them to keep their spirits up and engage with them often and is such a strong support for them when they need it. Both Anna and Mason know exactly how to speak to these children in a way that is healthy and honest and full of love. And the way that Mason is with Anna won me completely over. We see throughout the story how much he gives to her and wants her to trust him because he cares deeply for him and is willing to fight with her and her demons to get to the heart and soul of who she is and let her out more openly. He sets healthy boundaries in the relationship and fights for her so strong.

The plot of the story will keep you on edge all the way through. You can feel the conflict just rise throughout the story as you wonder what will happen with the guardianship over the kids. I mean you can guess what the end result will be (because its a romance haha so the ending is pretty obvious) but as you stick with the story, you feel the conflict and tense vibes the couple and these kids work towards as a family unit as they work together to keep their spirits up and do everything they can to win and have justice in the end. But don't be surprised if you see more than one conflict rise up in this story, its typical Cowles plot machination and I really enjoyed seeing the ending in the story here. Beautifully Broken Redemption won my heart from beginning to end and I can't wait to get these books in print to decorate my shelves with.

What I Struggled With There was a small conflict that I struggled with, although it didn't affect my overall view of the story. I wasn't a fan of how the heroine acted through the conflict here. I wish that she had taken more accountability for her actions instead of placing it all on Mason's shoulders.

Overall View Beautifully Broken Redemption is a heartfelt and deeply emotionally provoking story that delivers intimacy of the heart and balanced out wit and embracing the best parts of life.

Book Details (also in my shelves) Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense Character Types: Billionaire/Mr. Moneybags, Ex Convict Themes: Book Boyfriend, Danger, Family Bonds, Kids Involved, Heart-Touching Tropes: Forced Proximity, Marriage of Convenience

Book Perspective DUO Pov

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict Plot Conflict is the focus

Song This Book Inspires Wolves-One Direction

Recommendation For Reading Order You can read as standalone if needed

I think this book was really good. Did I love almost everything about YES! Did I hate the fight these 2 had because of miscommunication also yes. Could it have been avoided yes, but I seen how and why it happened. I once again have fallen in love with another book boyfriend, Mason Decker. Good lord that man is freaking amazing. This book is so incredibly sweet, and it just goes to show you that help can come from the last place you would have looked for it. Anna’s childhood was full of pain and betrayal, all from the people that should have protected her the most. Since coming to Sutter Lake, Anna has found peace she’d never known before, and safety that she so craved. She is now the head of Hope House, a shelter, where she could give help to those most in need. She has friends, a home, and she feels safe. Then in walks Mason, which she felt attracted to, but didn’t want to go there. She loved the way he was with the children at the shelter. Never again would she give her heart or her trust to a man. Mason loves living in Sutter Lake. He is VP of Halo, a security company, working alongside Cain from the previous book. The employees of Halo volunteer regularly and that is how Mason first saw Anna. The pull to her, the attraction, was instant. But it was also evident that Anna held everyone at a distance. That he would have to take his time with her if he wanted any hope at all getting to know her better. Once again tragedy strikes Anna’s family, and she is left reeling and fighting for all she has left. Except this time Anna is going to have to accept help and that help comes in the form of Mason and her friends. But what happens when it’s all over? While things between Anna and Mason last? Will they make it through all that is to come?

4.5/5⭐️

I loved Anna's redemption story. Meeting her in Kennedy and Cain's book, I hoped we would learn more about this woman with a huge heart. As per usual, I have questions...

During the trial, I know that the Foley's had "character witnesses"... who was on Anna and Mason's side as witnesses?

•Detective Markum would have been a good one. Not that they needed it in the end, but it would have helped the story. Walker had mentioned reaching out, nothing else. He could have let the court know that her parents refused to "bail her out" or they didn't come to see her.

•Did the Las Vegas PD do any investigating as to why Chelsea was in Vegas.. where she was prior, etc...

•Why were the parents at the Hoover Dam? Did they know Chelsea was in LV?

•Why would the Foley's lawyer even entertain having Chelsea's ex as a witness knowing he had signed over his rights?

•Juliette.. god I hated her. I feel like she maybe had some sort of mental illness. And that should have/could have been addressed especially since their dad comitted murder/suicide and attempted murder x2. Even in the end when she was all of a sudden nice, I still didn't care for her. As nice as Anna was to her and as many chances as Mason gave her, she's just a big no for me.

There are probably other things that I am forgetting, but overall, it was a great story.

This was a really wonderful series!! Each book was great!! I so enjoyed Mason and Anna's love story!!! If you have not read this author before I HIGHLY recommend this series!! Love the small town community!! Catherine this is the third series I have read of yours and loved them all!! Please keep on writing and I will DEFINITELY keep on reading!!👍😁😁💕

Prior to reading this series, I’d been totally burnt out on reading for several months. Nothing could quite grab my attention. Then I stumbled across The Sutter Lake Series… and I was hooked! I read the whole thing within a 2 week span. These books are incredible. The character development is great, the plot lines are captivating. I don’t have 1 bad thing to say about any of them! There are a few explicit scenes in each book—not many, one or two max—that’s not my cup of tea so I just skipped those pages and I didn’t feel like I really missed out on anything important by doing that. 10/10 recommended!

Anna is the director of Hope House, a community center and shelter. Mason has moved to Sutter Lake to become Caine's new VP. Through that job, Mason has volunteered for 2 years with at the Hope House. Anna has a lot of trauma in her past that makes her hold herself apart, especially when she's attracted to someone. When her sister, Chelsea, dies unexpectedly, Anna is desperate to make sure her abusive father doesn't get custody of the young niece and nephew Chelsea had left in her care. Due to her history, Anna is afraid she'll lose them, and Mason offers to marry her to get custody and protect the children. The suspense aspect is clever and keeps you guessing. The romance is the central story, but the conflict keeps you engaged. This is an interesting and very unique motivation for a marriage of convenience that develops into something more. You're rooting for both of them. It's nice to see glimpses of the characters from the previous books and see their heas continue. This will go into my read again pile. The entire series will.

This book was different from the rest of the Sutter Lake series. It focused heavily on the couple and while the previous couples were all secondary characters, there was less focus on the Cole family.

Mason and Anna both carry heavy baggage from their pasts. Mason has been trying to get through Anna’s walls but it’s not until tragedy strikes that her walls crumble. Mason steps up for Anna and his trust in her never waivers.

Anna and Mason’s marriage starts out as a marriage of convenience, forged with the shared desire to keep her niece and nephew safe. It quickly evolved as Anna grew to trust Mason and then love Mason. Their relationship wasn’t always easy, but they supported each other in every way they could.

Anna was a strong female lead. She had endured more than any one person should and still dedicated herself to helping others. I loved that she didn’t just accept Mason’s proposal, she gave it thought first. Mason was her perfect match. He was patient and kind and never pushed Anna. He was so good with Justin and Layla. He really pulled their family together.

This was the perfect end to this series. The whole series was a bit of a rollercoaster, but there was so much heart in each book.