I was expecting this book to be a gut-wrenching, ugly cry read — and it was not. Despite what the blurb lead me to believe going in, I found F*cking Shattered to be a lighter read than I expected. There are plenty of sad moments, but like several other reviewers, I found myself laughing at the antics between River and Jovi more often than sobbing because of the situation that Jovi was in.
When Jovi’s best friend Katie suddenly dies, she sets out to complete the “bucket list” which Katie had written for her. It is more like a list of rules to learn how to loosen up and live a little. Top of the list is “kiss a stranger” — which Jovi does, at Katie’s funeral. But when she runs into the mysterious hottie more than once after that, Jovi can’t help but wonder why, and if there’s a reason for the intense connection and attraction she and River share.
The two embark on a road trip so Jovi can complete Katie’s final wish, falling in love along the way, learning about themselves and each other. But when River drops a major bombshell on her, will Jovi find it in her heart to forgive him?
These characters are very likable, and I honestly didn’t expect the story to go the way that it did. Was I absolutely shattered by this book? No. Not in the heartbroken sense. But I did like the way the story brought two broken people together and helped them heal one another.
As a narrator, Sarah Puckett did a great job. The story is told from Jovie’s POV aside from one chapter that is River’s, but she did a great job bringing both characters to life.
I reviewed this book for Audiobook Obsession.