Tillie ColeA Thousand Broken Pieces (Boy Kisses, 2)

A Thousand Broken Pieces by Tillie Cole is a gut-wrenching yet beautifully written story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. This book is not for the faint of heart, as it deals with heavy themes of trauma, guilt, and healing. However, Cole's masterful storytelling and character development make it an unforgettable read.The plot follows the journey of a young woman, Piper, who has endured unimaginable pain and loss. Her life is shattered, and her path toward healing is messy, emotional, and real. She crosses paths with a troubled man, Ryke, whose own painful past makes him just as broken as she is. Their connection is intense and raw, filled with moments of tenderness amid the storm of their personal demons.What truly stands out in A Thousand Broken Pieces is the way Cole handles sensitive topics with such empathy and honesty. The emotional depth of the characters is overwhelming – you can't help but feel every ounce of pain, fear, and hope they experience. The author does an exceptional job of exploring their psychological and emotional journeys, which makes their eventual growth and healing feel authentic.The romance in this book is slow-burn and complicated, filled with moments of both sweetness and heartache. It's not a simple love story, but rather a portrayal of two people coming together and learning to trust, heal, and love again. Ryke is a deeply flawed but incredibly compelling character, and his relationship with Piper is a perfect example of how love can be a force for healing, even when the scars run deep.While this book is heavy, it’s also filled with hope and resilience. There’s a sense of redemption that threads through the story, making it more than just a story of pain. The characters evolve in a way that feels natural and earned, making the ending both satisfying and emotional.If you're looking for a book that will make you feel deeply, A Thousand Broken Pieces is for you. It’s heartbreaking, yes, but it’s also beautiful, redemptive, and incredibly moving. Tillie Cole's ability to craft complex characters and tackle tough topics with such care makes this a must-read. Highly recommend for fans of emotional romance with plenty of depth and heart.

I read A Thousand Boy Kisses nearly 9 years ago now and still to this day, I recommend it if you want an emotional book that will make you cry. I haven't been able to go back and reread it, but I know the feelings it evoked in me then. That's why it took me a bit to be ready for the next book in the series. I knew Tillie Cole was going to bring the feelings and I had to prepare myself.A Thousand Broken Pieces is a story of grief and loss and how the person(s) left behind processes the death of a loved one. Sometimes to the extent that you feel as if you can never be happy again. This is Savannah's story, 4 years after the death of her older sister Poppy (the FMC of the first book). She hasn't handled her sister's death well in the years that have passed and her parents decide to send her on a trip with a therapy group that is for grieving people as sort of a last ditch effort. While there, she meets Cael, a young man who has recently lost his older brother and is in complete darkness. He's angry and has pretty much given up what his life used to look like. But these two broken souls find one another and help each other in each step of their grieving process.A loved one's death wasn't a one-time thing that you had to endure. It was an endless cycle. A cruel Groundhog Day that burned away at your heart and soul until there was nothing left but scorched flesh where they once had been.I knew going into this book that it was going to be an emotional ride. I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't expect for it to be so gut wrenching yet so very healing at once. If you're someone that has experienced grief, you will recognize aspects of yourself within this story, but you will also find peace and love within it too. Because as much as this story was a journey of grief, it was also about finding love and a soulmate. Someone who saw your broken pieces and wanted to help you feel whole.Savannah and Cael were two broken pieces, but I really liked seeing these two opposites find each other on their therapy trip and the way they connected not only to help one other, but to the other characters that were on the trip as well. The way Cole took us on a journey to all the different places across the world to see beauty and healing and how each culture dealt with death and grief was important to the characters overall arc. It was painful and beautiful all at the same time."That that which is broken, once repaired, can be more beautiful than it was before."It is important to have read the first book in this series to understand what Savannah had already gone through when it came to losing Poppy and also herself. Rune and Poppy's story was heavy, but it was a huge piece of Savannah and how she comes full circle in her grief journey. To still include pieces of Poppy throughout Savannah's journey helped tie in both stories to one another, but I think reading both books is needed. And while this book is heavy and emotional and deals with some difficult topics within grief, we still are left with a sense of peace at the end of this journey. I loved seeing Cael and Savannah experience it together, no matter how hard the whole process was.