"No matter how much I wish it was another way, the world is always going to be filled with the ignorant. The only thing I can do is rise above it." (Isaac Crawford)
I'm a character-driven reader and Melyssa Winchester's books appeal to the side of me that enjoys seeing characters grow and develop while experiencing tons of feels in the process. Her books might have flaws in terms of storytelling and editorially with typos and grammar errors, but it doesn't matter, because I always get two things from her books, heartwrenching and heartwarming emotions.
Unbroken revolves around Isaac, who we were introduced to in All My Heart and Ryder, who we were introduced to in Hear and Now. When Ryder starts failing his classes and gets suspended from the football team, Dillon introduces him to Isaac, a tutor, so that he can start pushing up his grades. It's an interaction that starts off with attraction and chemistry and turns into a full-blown relationship.
Ryder and Isaac's relationship obviously doesn't remain perfect and they have a bunch of internal and external issues that they have to face such as grief, survivor's guilt, homophobia and bullying. I feel that all of these issues are done well and handled realistically without being too heavy handed.
Melyssa Winchester creates characters with disabilities and instead of making them seem stereotypically weak and dependent, they are much stronger than able-bodied people and 'macho men'. This is something that I appreciate. Isaac is now one of my favourite characters in the Count On Me series universe. He is so perceptive and smart, and he doesn't back down from anything. No matter how hard Ryder tries to push him away, he is always there for him. Ryder, on the other hand, is an absolute mess. He uses alcohol and women to forget his very real grief and guilt. When he meets Isaac and starts to fall for him, he realises that he needs to change his ways.
"Things don't have to be the same. Sometimes when things change, you can change with them." (Ryder Kane)
Unfortunately, his past catches up to him and he ends up doing some very stupid things. But just like I understood where Kayden and Dillon were coming from in their respective books, I knew exactly where Ryder was coming from and I could understand and sympathise with what he was going through.
Two people, Isaac and Ryder, who are not much on their own, become an extremely adorable couple. Isaac doesn't speak and because of this, he is able to pick up on Ryder's body language and emotions pretty easily and they are both able to cut through all the guardedness and walls that they have and deal with the core of their relationship. Honestly, that's what I love about this series. The characters cut through all the bull and possible miscommunications and deals with the main issues in their relationship, becoming stronger and sticking together through the ups and the downs.
In Unbroken, the characters are realistic, the trails that they face heartwrenching and the relationships that they have are absolutely adorable.
"The untouched created the unbroken." (Isaac Crawford)