Margie’s Book Review – Fractured: The Sins of a Father (Fractured Series Book 2) by Zarah Lynn

Fractured: The Sins of a Father (A Cheating Romance Aftermath) (Fractured Series Book 2) by Zarah Lynn <—- AND HERE IT IS!! MARGIE’S EPIC REVIEW of book #2 and it is the longest review she’s ever sent me. In fact the longest anyone has ever sent me, and it is INTENSE!!

I mean… I think she loved the first two in this trilogy so much that she highlights SO MUCH of it here, and analyzes all sorts of aspects of the book including where questions get answered and so much more.

So tread carefully as you read below. But if you TOO are looking for a full blown analysis and have questions and just want to read what someone else thought, then look no further. It’s all here!!

She says:

New Betrayal Series…Angst Level 10

Fractured: The Sins of a Father (Book 2 of 3 in the Fractured Series) just released 2-11-26.

Well well well… the FMC has received an incriminating photo and big trouble awaits the MMC when he arrives home from his San Jose work trip with the OW. Book 2 in the series dives right into the betrayal, cheating and lying that started in Book 1 and it’s awesome. You definitely have to read Fractured: The Choices He Made before you read this book (see prior review Book 1).

Book 2 is possibly more angsty and lots of unanswered questions are answered. Happy reading!

The main themes are:

The FMC greets the returning cheater with evidence of his betrayal that her best friend, the computer genius, helped her collect…a giant binder full of texts, photos (including really incriminating ones from San Jose), location history, credit card details, the Plan B pill receipt, the anal lube receipt, gift receipts and the MMC’s stinky perfume laced lipstick stained shirt.

The MMC grovels to no effect. The FMC tells him their son is fully aware of the betrayal and is very angry…their son heard the MMC ordering flowers and chocolates for the OW. She kicks the MMC out, changes the locks, and begins divorce proceedings. She also posts about the affair on her public blog. She talks to both kids about the divorce. (Note: The author includes the FMC’s infidelity blog in full with real-life stories generously shared by the author’s Wattpad readers and Instagram followers.)

The MMC moves to a hotel determined to reclaim the FMC…he stupidly thinks she just needs time to get over the infidelity.

The MMC asks his company’s Human Resources group to reassign the OW to another department. He tells the OW about her reassignment, and she smiles ands tells him she’ll be waiting.

The OW isn’t worried about the reassignment. With the FMC out of the way, the MMC won’t be able to ignore what’s been right in front of him all along.

The MMC drops by the house unannounced to talk with the FMC and to get her to take down the incriminating blog…he’s locked out of the house and is furious. He has a very ugly conversation with his angry son at the front door. The FMC’s best friend, who’s been at the house for moral support, reads the MMC the riot act and prevents him from coming inside.

The MMC is back the next day to take his kids out to dinner…it’s exceedingly uncomfortable, particularly since his son has seen some of the incriminating documents and photos. The MMC and FMC have a very uncomfortable short chat, including what’s going to happen at Thanksgiving. There will be no more big family and friends gatherings at their home. She’s going to her parents with the kids…he’s not invited.

BE ADVISED…LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD

It’s Thanksgiving. The OW shows up scantily clad at the MMC’s hotel room. He’s not aroused. He informs her it’s over and that he’s gotten her a job at a friend’s company. BUT SURPRISE…the OW is pregnant (10 weeks) and it’s the MMC’s.

From Book 1…

Remember when the condom broke, supposedly the only time they had unprotected sex, and the MMC forced the OW to take a Plan B pill. The OW tells him she was nauseous and threw it up. And then she says something really cryptic…she claims that she was already pregnant that day the condom broke and who knows what that pill could’ve done to their baby…everyone knows condoms aren’t 100% effective…a paternity test will prove it’s his. Hmmm…She was already pregnant?

Too bad for the MMC. He can’t fire the OW based on legal ramifications given her current condition and everything that happened beforehand.

After the Thanksgiving holiday, the OW leaves a sonogram on the MMC’s desk. He tells her to get an abortion…that he’ll never be the father to her child. He offers her money…it was all just sex, not love. She refuses all of his demands. The MMC knows his wife will never forgive him for this. The same day he’s served with the divorce papers.

The MMC immediately storms over to the house to plead his case…the FMC’s response is epic. The MMC tries gaslighting, blames the victim, grovels, but to no avail. The FMC reminds him of his list of sin and in particular that he’s still lying. The divorce papers represent the consequences of his bad choices…not mistakes…he lied and broke all of his vows that he wrote himself.

What’s the most cringe worthy, clueless thing he says to the FMC? Why do you keep rehashing these things? We’ll never move on or fix our marriage if that’s all you focus on. Her response? Our marriage wasn’t broken. You broke it. She recommends that he should read her blog. Just wait until she finds out the OW is pregnant. Eeeek.

More trouble for the MMC. His infidelity has hit social media via an anonymous user and it’s brutal…the post/article has gone viral and could ruin his company. And who released the information? Why the OW of course.

The FMC learns about the gossipy post/article by being bombarded by paparazzi. She’s rescued by the handsome man she met the previous summer in the Hamptons…a trip her husband missed because he was off with the OW.

The FMC has bumped into the handsome stranger several times since their initial encounter, driving the MMC crazy with unwarranted jealousy. There’s genuine attraction between the FMC and the new man (NM). He shows her the post/article so she can protect herself. The post/article is nauseatingly OW centric. The NM helps her get home…she’s wants to get there before the kids have seen it…but it’s too late. They’ve seen it, are really upset, and realize their father is a liar.

The MMC is facing big problems at work, including shareholders and board members calling for damage control. The OW denies all knowledge of the post. She tells him it could be worse if anyone finds out about the pregnancy. It’s their little secret for now.

What the MMC is worried about the most is his family seeing the post/article. And as we know they’ve already seen it.

The MMC rushes over to his house. He promises to get it taken down, but someone has already done it and the damage has already happened…both kids have seen it. He’s back to gaslighting…he tells the FMC it was a bunch of lies. She disagrees…the major points in the post/article were true. Given how much trouble he’s in, the MMC inexplicably tells her the OW is pregnant with his child. The FMC tells him it’s his responsibility to let the kids know, which never happens. The son finds out accidentally by overhearing a conversation between his mom and her father…another devastating blow.

The FMC is worried about the kids. The daughter has a meltdown about the post/article…her brother was angry before all this happened. And now the pregnancy they’re going to find out about. The FMC tells her soon to be ex-husband that she won’t tell the kids about the pregnancy yet, but he has to tell them after the Christmas holidays…they’re going away with her folks.

The public reaction to the post/article is extremely negative with regard to the OW, which she ignores…those people are just jealous. She’s told her family (aunt, uncle, cousin) that she has no idea what happened…she’d never embarrass them like that. But she needs money.
Her uncle, who is the OW’s enabler, wants her promise that she didn’t know who the MMC was when she got the job (remember from

Book 1 —> the strange way she looked at the FMC’s father?). She swears she didn’t until it was too late…she’d already fallen in love. The uncle seems to really care for her…he gives her money and will keep paying for her apartment. There are hints that something traumatic happened in the OW’s life.

The FMC spends Christmas at a cabin with her parents and kids. The MMC visits, but the kids either refuse to see him or are present but don’t talk with him. The FMC tells the MMC the only reason she’s taking to him is because of the kids…if they hadn’t had kids, she’d never talk to him again.

It’s a new year. The kids still won’t talk to their father…the MMC’s company is in havoc…the divorce is proceeding. The MMC refuses to see or interact with the OW. She’s been temporarily suspended for slapping a coworker.

The Father’s Affair. There’s an ugly pointless confrontation with the FMC staged by the OW with the goal of somehow getting the MMC back by insulting the FM. And then the OW drops a bomb. The FMC’s father had an affair with the OW’s mother when the OW was 11. The mother was the widow of an abusive husband…the affair, which lasted a year, was loving and like having a real father for the OW…the FMC’s father left to return to his wife…her mother was devastated and committed suicide.

The FMC accuses the OW of having an affair with her husband for revenge…the OW admits that was the genesis of the affair, but she really loves the MMC.

We learn the OW is very devious…she’s strategically had affairs with other married men and she’s never regretted the fallout. Her original plan in the FMC’s case was to seduce the MMC, get the proof, and send everything (texts, pictures, videos) to the FMC along with the photos of the FMC’s father with the OW’s mother, so the FMC could see exactly what kind of men both her father and her husband really were…to see the FMC’s father’s family collapse. The OW keeps antagonizing the FMC to no avail and gets kicked out. Nevertheless the OW is certain (delusional) that the MMC will choose her and the baby.

The FMC confronts her parents…she believes they’re lying and downplaying what happened with the OW’s mother. It’s a very unpleasant divisive conversation and the FMC devastated by her parents’ responses. She contacts the MMC to tell him about the OW’s visit and grand plan of retribution.

The MMC’s Confrontation. —> The MMC heads to the OW’s apartment for a showdown on why and how she deliberately targeted him. It’s brutal. He accuses her of infiltrating his company, playing with innocent people’s lives (including his wife and kids), all because of something the FMC’s father did over a decade ago. He tells her it’s only a matter of time before the company’s legal team ties everything back to her. She’s still claiming she did it all for love…men like him will always have affairs with younger, prettier, better women. He accuses her of being a resentful, delusional woman who uses her body to take what she could never earn. She reiterates that she loves him and in the next breath accuses him of hypocrisy…he craved the sex and being in control. He has to internally admit that’s true. He tells the OW he doesn’t want the baby…it’s an unwanted reminder of how far he’s fallen. He threatens her if she ever shows up at his company again…if she contacts him, if she approaches his family.

The OW is devastated. He’s gone. She miscarriages and due to complications undergoes a hysterectomy…no more pregnancies for her. She calls the MMC to tell him she lost their baby…his response? Thank f**k and he hangs up.

We learn the OW has a method to make the MMC’s condoms less effective by keeping them someplace warm…it was her way of making sure she wouldn’t lose him by getting pregnant (so that’s why she was already pregnant before the Plan B pill debacle). Note: I had to look this condom claim up and it’s true. Per a Boston University 2024 article, heat breaks down the latex, making it brittle, weak, and much more likely to tear or break during use.

Parental Confrontation. The FMC’s parents are trying to contact her…she tells them not to bother unless they’re prepared to tell the truth. Her mother comes over and tells the FMC about her father’s affair…that it was hurtful but meaningless, and made them stronger. It wasn’t worth telling anyone about the affair after it was over. Her mom survived it and the FMC can survive her husband’s affair too. Her mother is worried because the FMC’s father is suffering due to the distance between daughter and father.

The FMC is stunned… her mother, who went through the exact same thing, doesn’t ever want to learn about the complete facts about her husband’s affair. She has discouraged the FMC’s divorce to the point that the two of them are now always arguing…the FMC is infuriated that everyone around her keeps using ‘love’ as a way to romanticize the most selfish choices and unthinkable betrayals by the men in their lives. It’s easier for her mother to forgive her father because she never had all the facts. Because she never saw the evidence lined up—timestamped and damning—the way the FMC has. The FMC gives up trying to make her family understand her pain and actions…everyone wants to believe the lies they tell themselves…they’ve elected to choose comfort over truth.

Work Confrontation. The OW shows up at the MMC’s company and demands to see him and is denied entry. She announces to everyone present that the MMC doesn’t have the decency to check to see if she’s still alive after she lost their baby. The company rumor mill goes wild.

The Father’s Confrontation. The OW is confronted by the FMC’s father…whoa it’s gutting. He’s cruel…he tells the OW he doesn’t remember her and barely remembers her mother, the OW’s mother was a paid whore, he never promised her anything, he never had any intention of leaving his wife, the OW is following in her mother’s footsteps.

The Arrest. The OW is arrested for wire fraud, theft of trade secrets, and insider trading. Evidence is collected at her apartment, including her phone, her laptop, and a stack of files. The FMC’s best friend is responsible for uncovering her crimes…deals that slipped through the company’s fingers, the acquisitions that mysteriously collapsed, the competitors that somehow arrived first…all caused by the OW who profited from the sabotage. The FMC’s best friend also showed the MMC how much the OW paid to have the post/article published and where the money came from.

The MMC tells the FMC about the OW’s miscarriage, that she’s gone from the company, and there’s nothing more to worry about. The FMC doesn’t believe him. The son is relieved about the miscarriage…the OW would have been a terrible mother…the MMC won’t get to ruin another child’s life. Both kids are in therapy.

The OW’s cousin visits the FMC to tell her more about the OW’s history, including affairs with married men. The cousin brings a box containing the OW’s belongings that the cousin thinks the FMC should see. The cousin also says the FMC’s father has had more than one affair.

The box has photos of her father, not wearing his wedding ring, holding the young OW’s hand and kissing the OW’s mom. There are incriminating documents…the younger OW’s homework with encouraging side notes from the FMC’s father and an essay about how much the OW admires the FMC’s father. The box also contains the gifts given to her by the FMC’s father.

The FMC repacks the box, keeping the essay separate for herself. She brings the box to her parents house. She demands that her father open the box…it’s a timeline of his affair…she warns him that he has to face what his selfish choices did to a child and to the FMC’s family. Her mother grabs the box and empties the contents into the garbage without even looking.

The FMC accuses her father of having other affairs. He argues they were mistakes. The FMC is incensed…she emphatically states these were choices he made just like her cheating husband…not mistakes. She cuts her parents off…she doesn’t want to hear from them anymore…they can’t contact the kids. She tells them that she will never understand how both of them tried to manipulate her into forgiving the MMC….how they’re both still lying even after everything that has come to light.

The MMC, who is the founder and president of the company, is asked to voluntarily step down by the board based on the personal scandal, the company’s ruined reputation, and his mistress’s corporate espionage. He signs the paperwork.
It’s the FMC’s birthday, which her kids happily celebrate with her. She receives a surprise present from the NM…a beautiful pen and leather diary.

The FMC and MMC sign the uncontested divorce papers and settlements. Before it’s completed, the MMC grovels one more time to not proceed…the FMC shuts him down…it’s done. The MMC is devastated. The FMC starts therapy. After her first session she calls the NM…it feels like the start of something new.

Note: There’s a third book coming…no release date yet, but a preview at the end of Book 2.

The author’s Amazon page has this tantalizing statement: “By the end of the heroine’s journey, she will find her happily ever after with a true hero… not the zero who chooses to cross every possible point of no return.”

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