When Heather’s search for her daughter’s lost Wolfie are unsuccessful she is running out of options so she decides to post her plea on social media with the hope that it will bear some results. She wasn’t prepared for the sexy yet cold man that appeared at her door to turn her life upside down.

Even though its been years since Sebastian’s family passed away and the grief and guilt he feels make it seem like it was only yesterday. When he finds a well used Wolfie he can’t resist picking it up and bringing it back to his office. What started out as a way of appeasing his mother has started to be come complicated.

Both Sebastian and Heather have painful pasts which affect their current relationships but with the advice of her friends and his family they help heal each other.

Brilliant. Loved this book and a fab start to a new series. Totally recommend this and all of her books to read

I love stories about families and their mysteries! This is the first book in a series. The Corisi family has secrets and nine year old Judy is relentless in her determination to uncover the truth.

In the meantime, a young single mom has a dilemma. Ava her four year old daughter accidentally let go of her stuffed "Wolfie" and he flew out the car window. Now, no matter how much she has retraced their steps, she cannot find him. Ava is adopted and Wolfie is her dear companion. Without him all Ava wants to do is cry. What is a mother to do? Well, placing an ad on social media is one way to enlist the help of friends and try to retrieve this stolen treasure.

Sebastian Romano is the head of his family grocery business. An empire for sure. Losing his wife and daughter in accident five years ago still has him withdrawn from the world in general. Business is the only language he speaks now. Finding a derelict stuffed toy while he is surveying a piece of land he wants to buy brings back memories of his lost family. Little does he know this toy is his link to changes he never imagined.

This is an endearing and tender story of love, loss, and hope. The meaning of family and the support our love ones provide makes this one of the dearest stories I have read this year.

I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Thanks to the author for sharing a copy with me.

Well, I’m definitely in the minority here, but this didn’t work for me. This is a new to me author and I thought this would be a good start since this is the first book in the series. Unfortunately, I was lost immediately. There were so many characters mentioned in the first chapter, and I had absolutely no idea who they were. It sounds like they may be from other series? Then, the book starts to get into Heather and Sebastian, who were never mentioned in the first chapter. I made it to 20% hoping I could find out what was going on, and unfortunately, I didn’t get answers. And ultimately, I did not connect with the characters enough to continue. The writing was good so maybe it’s just my frame of mind. But, for me, it didn’t work and I chose not to continue for those reasons.

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to dive into the Corisi family again. I love all things Dominic Corisi. At first, I felt like Judy’s part of this story was confusing and too separate. But, once I understood where things were going, I loved that side part of the story. Sebastian and Heather have an incredible journey to love. I adored Heather and Ava. The way they became a family was so heartwarming, and their relationship was so sweet and funny. I loved that Heather did her best every day to be a good parent, but she recognized that she wasn’t perfect. Sebastian was a broken man, for sure. I felt his pain and grief. It was palpable. It made him come across as a major a$$hole, but underneath all that, he was a good person. The way Heather and Sebastian meet was so unique and sweet. Their attraction was evident from the start, and I enjoyed their back-n-forth. It took them awhile to figure things out with each other, and it was fun ride getting there. I am very excited for Judy’s quest to find more of the Corisi family. I think it will be a bumpy road, but worth it.

The broken one is a lovely romance, Sebastian lost his wife and unborn child five years ago and has been grief stricken becoming a cold driven man. Single mum Heather has an adopted daughter who has lost her beloved cuddly toy. Sebastian ends up on their doorstep having found ‘Woolfie’ so starts a beautiful sparky relationship.
Gradually we see Sebastian learning to love and live again and emerging as a really wonderful family man.
There’s a small side story within the book which I’m sure is going to lead into a brilliant series involving Sebastian’s Italian family.
My thanks to net galley and publisher Montlake for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

****The Broken One is book one in Ruth Cardello’s new series on the Corsi Billionaires. As the story begins Dominic Corsi’s 9 year old daughter is researching her family tree. Readers then are introduced to this book’s main characters, single mom Heather, her adorable adopted daughter, Ava, Ava’s favorite toy Woofie, and Woofie’s rescuer, Sebastian Romano. Sebastian has closed off his emotions since his wife and unborn child were killed five years ago. Heather hasn’t had a date since she became the caregiver for her deceased bestie’s child. Woofie brings these two together. Readers should enjoy their interactions. The story is filled with humor, angst, and passion as any fan of Ms. Cardello knows. When the story ends Judy still is searching... and readers will be searching for the next book in hopes of a revelation.

When you can't escape your past you embrace it. Welcome the fact that you can't change but you can open up your heart and let you family and love in.

Ruth opened the doors and released some skeletons. She has a knack for bringing back my favorites and make us remember why we became fans. Dominic created a mini me. She is truly her daddies child and just want to bring a smile to his face.

What an introduction to what will sure have us at the edge of our seat. More secrets that I am not even ready for.

This was a really cute story with likeable characters, I'm a sucker for single parents and this one did not disappoint!.

Ruth Cardello has new Series the Corisi Billionaire. The book introduce us the family link to Dominic Corisi. The first book is Sebastian's story.
Sebastian's story was one of struggle, family, and love. Sebastian suffer great loss which lead him to struggle to find his way back to the person he once was. Sebastian was not even sure that could happen. That is when Heather and Ava enter his life. Heather is an amazing character with her strength and love for Ava. To make the book even better you enter Ava sweet and loving.

I felt so much with this story. You feel for Sebastian and his struggle. You see how brave Heather is. When the two come together it perfect love. Together they awesome.


Sebastian and Heather were a great story to start the new series!! Five star read.

“The broken man and the single mom, 4 stars”



Heather is a single mom trying to do the best she can for her little girl who has already lost so much. When her daughter loses her precious stuffed wolf, she does what any mom would do, makes a post on the internet asking for help finding lost wolfie. What she didn’t expect was for Sebastian to knock on her door. But when he does, she can’t help but want him, the only problem though is she has no time for a guy who doesn’t have it together. Will he be able to pull himself together in time or will he lose out on a chance at happiness with Heather and her daughter?

Sebastian once had it all only to have it all taken away. He threw himself into his job and never came up. When he stumbles upon a stuffed wolf, he wants nothing to do with it. But he had encouragement from his mother and like any good Italian boy he listens to her. What he didn’t expect was to want Heather and her daughter. The question is will be get it together before they walk away?

I liked The Broken One. I was pulled in from the start. Heather and Sebastian balanced each other well and I wanted them to have a happily ever after. I want to know more about Sebastian’s family and who they will love. The only thing I didn’t like is I wanted to know more about Judy which is probably going to be in the background throughout the rest of the story until the truth comes out. I just wanted more clues leading into it to give me some sort of idea to run on, that’s just me though.

I think if you take a chance on The Broken One you will enjoy it.

Plot-4/5

Characters-4/5

Heat-4/5

Writing style-4/5

Overall-4/5

Started out so confused but by the end got so invested! The bulk of the story revolves around Heather, a single mom to her adopted daughter, and how losing her stuffed animal brings Heather to meet a man named Sebastian. Heather is used to doing everything on her own as a single mother, and when her daughter loses her prized possession – a stuffed animal wolf – she posts on social media hoping that someone will find and return it. When Sebastian finds said stuffed animal, it takes him back to a dark place as it reminds him of a tragic event in his life, but through the powers of fate, his mother sees the post and makes him return it to it’s rightful owner, Heather. The relationship between Heather and Sebastian is like a train wreck – it seems that neither of them can say the right things at the right time and they both continue to dance around each other while going back and forth on taking things the wrong way. Intertwined with this story is a few chapters focusing on Judy, a nine year old girl who is researching her family history for school and refuses to give up on finding out the background of her father. While these chapters don’t really make sense in the bulk of the storyline, at the end, they make perfect sense and it’s that connection that got me hooked and highly anticipating the next book in this series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Yes, yes, yes! Another new to me author! A new person to stalk!

This is the first book by this author that I have read and I am going to be looking for more!

This story of Sebastian and Heather is fantastic!

A lost stuffed animal and destiny at it's finest.  This story is heartbreaking, it's hopeful and with a dash of humor, it's going to give you all the feels!

I loved the bit of mystery with the alternate POV's, it's making me crave more from this series.

Heather is smart, independent and a bit quirky, just what I like in a heroine.  She is a single mom and she takes her job very seriously.  I admired how she spoke her mind, and wouldn't put up with any bad behavior from Sebastian.

Sebastian is a scarred fella.  He has been dealt with heartbreak of an unimaginable level and has tried to make his way forward the best way he can.  His family is trying to help him, but he needs the love of a good woman.

The mystery is intriguing and kept me guessing, I can't wait to find out more clues in the next stories in this series.

Now I can honestly say this can be read as a standalone because I have never read Ms. Cardello's stories before and this story grabbed me from the get-go and didn't let me go until the end and I want more!

I really like this author. Each book that I read from this author is better and better. From the story to the chemistry, she pulls me in every time.

Ruth Cardello revisits her original Billionaires as her new spin-off series begins with The Broken One. Long lost family of her original heart breaker Dominic Corisi are now on the scene and Sebastian & Heather add some spicy-hot chemistry to the mix. This book has just the right amount of humor, awesome characters that will make you want to keep coming back for more and a story that make the pages fly by. I didn't want the story to end so I'm glad there will be more to come.

Heather's flirting skills need a little work, “full disclosure, I ditched my underwear in the trash.” He gave me an odd look..." Sebastian really has no shame, “have you ever effed on a desk?” he asked, standing." I liked this book, I liked Sebastian.

Awesome beginning to a new series!! I LOVE children in romances and it was great meeting Judy, Grace, Ava, Charlotte, Tyler & Kevin. All were a great contribution to the story. Sebastian had me wanting to hug him at times and I was swooning at other times. Heather is such a great character I wanted to be like her. She is a strong, independent woman trying to make it as a single mother. I loved her outlook on life and her positive attitude and confidence even when she wasn’t sure of herself. This story was, heartbreaking, exciting, sweet and funny. I LOL’d quite a few times throughout.

I haven't read any of this author's books, but the publisher sent out an email that included this book and the synopsis sounded interesting, so I decided to review the book! I also knew that this book is sort of connected to a few other series' from this author, but you can read it as a standalone! After reading this book, I can say that I enjoyed it! I have to be honest and say that the very first chapter did completely confuse me and then it wasn't resolved in this book, so I'm still slightly confused lol! I thought that it was going to make sense as the plot developed, but it didn't! The plot also developed at a nice pace and it only took me a few sittings to read! There was also plenty of romance, which allowed for quite a few seriously hot scenes between the two main characters! The characters were also amazing and made this book even better! Heather was the main female character, and in this book I admired her a lot because she adopted her daughter to help her friend and it was a big decision! She also worked hard and had her own business! Heather did confuse me a little in this book though because one minute she was very shy and reserved and then she did something quite big and unexpected! This made her a bit of a difficult character for me to work out sometimes! Sebastian was the main male character and love interest of Heather! I felt for Sebastian because he had been through a very tough time and had lost two people that meant the world to him! This explained a lot about the way Sebastian was in this book! He focused a lot on work and didn't want anything to do with a relationship! Heather changed Sebastian a lot and she opened his eyes to love and a family! Sebastian did change in this book, but his changes were positive! I loved that this book was written from both Heather and Sebastian's point of view! I wasn't sure if it was going to be written from dual point of view, but the synopsis does give the impression that it's going to be! I'm really happy that it was written from both characters point of views because it helped me understand their situations more and connect with them! It allowed for more things to happen in the plot as well, especially as Heather and Sebastian spent time apart and were going through their own things! This book was also written in third person, which I wasn't expecting! I normally prefer a book to be written in first person, but I actually enjoyed this book being written in third person and I was able to connect with the characters! I now can't wait to read the next book in this series! I know that it's going to be a standalone book and focus on new characters! The male character did make a few appearances in this book, so I can't wait to read his story! I know that it releases in January next year, which isn't that long of a wait lol! I'll definitely be reading it once it releases! The cover for this book is also absolutely perfect for it! I love it a lot and it suits the feel of the book! It would draw me to the book as well and the cover model is a good description of Sebastian!

Before I start I want to mention I am a big fan of the authors work. I loved the Andrade series and the Legacy series and the Westerley's and Barringtons. This story is connected to Dominic Corisi who is married to Abby and they now have a daughter, Judy. Judy is 9 and makes a family tree and its a failure for her teacher and so she brings in Althea to help her find out what she is missing. Supposedly a brother or family member related to her father. To be honest I did not really understand this part of the story very well. It sorta is a mystery and it will be interwoven into the story as this series progresses. My lack of undertsanding what they are looking for did not impact my enjoyment of this book.

This story is about billionaire developer Sebastian Romano, he is a sad character. He lost his family 5 years before in a terrible accident and even when the book starts he is a miserable fellow and not past the tradegy.

Heather has a 4 year old daughter that she has adopted when her best friend died giving birth. The daughter loses her pet wolf which is the only thing she has from her first mother and so Heather takes to social media to try and find it.

Seb finds it and his family makes him return it and that starts Heather and S's interactions. Was it love at first sight...NOPE. Is it jerk at first site..YES. This is a complicated story about two very lonely people and who both want a family but don't know how to make it happen.

If you read this book expect Sebastien to be a HUGE jerk...HUGE. But he is also a man who has loved deep and so he is also a wonderful man but in a lot of pain. Heather is pretty darned wonderful. Her heart is full and she is so giving and kind hearted.

The mystery in this book is how is Althea and Judy connected the characters and we get a hint in the story which I am not spoiling. I would not say this was a fun and sweet story. It is very intense with very intense characters. But it is writtend very well and I did enjoy getting to know the characters.

This is a great story. It's a new series start for Ruth Cardello with cameos of the Corisi family. It starts with the Judy Corisi trying to perfect a surprise for her dad Dominic. Then it cuts away to Sabastian and Heather. Heather's daughter has lost her beloved stuffed wolf Wolfie. Sabastian happens upon it in a parking lot and intends to throw it away. His mother sees it in his office, she had seen the story of Wolfie on the internet and makes Sabastian return it in person. Sabastian is still mourning the death of his wife and son and has no intentions besides delivering it and walking away. Well, you'll just have to read it to find out what happens. I loved this story. It grabbed me and held me until I finished. It can be read as a stand-alone but you'd be missing some of the backstories. I highly recommend this book. It's awesome