Broken Spines

Some stories begin with love.

This one begins with survival.

When seventeen-year-old Lexi Hart earns a full scholarship to the prestigious Blackwood Academy, it feels impossible. Leaving behind a home filled with silence, uncertainty, and memories she'd rather forget, she arrives at one of England's most elite schools with a single suitcase, an old backpack, and enough walls to keep the entire world out.

Blackwood is everything she isn't.

Grand stone buildings.

Perfect uniforms.

Old money.

Students who've never had to worry about where their next meal is coming from.

Especially Harrison Ashford.

Captain of the rugby team. Golden boy. Six foot four. The boy everyone knows, everyone loves, and everyone assumes has the perfect life.

From the moment they meet, they can't stand each other.

She thinks he's an arrogant rich idiot.

He thinks she's the rudest girl he's ever met.

Neither of them plans on changing their mind.

But Blackwood has a way of bringing people together when they'd rather be anywhere else.

Between late nights in the library, brutal rugby matches, endless banter, unexpected friendships, and the secrets both of them are desperate to keep buried, Lexi and Harrison slowly discover that first impressions don't always tell the whole story.

Sometimes the strongest people are the ones fighting battles nobody else can see.

And sometimes the most beautiful stories begin with two people who absolutely hate each other.