Jan 7, 2013

{Review} of Broken by A.E. Rought

Broken by A.E. Rought
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: YA Fantasy
THEME: Retelling/Romance
RECEIVED: Strange Chemistry
AUTHORS BLOG: A.E. Rought's Site

BLURB:
A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

REVIEW:
Broken is a story that goes well with it’s title, it focuses on two teens who have each lost a little part of them and find that broken piece fixed when they meet each other. I loved how Rought created this story hinting at the Frankenstein story but in the end it was its own original take.

Broken follows a broken hearted Emma Gentry, who has just lost the love of her life in a sad so called “accident. Daniel was her soul mate and she is haunted by the memories of him and the places they enjoyed together. But when she meets the new boy Alex, her heart starts to finally beat again. He seems so familiar and everything about him draws her to him. But Emma knows and feels that something isn’t right and that Alex Franks and his father are hiding something.

Emma, she is just an average girl trying to put the pieces of her life together. She isn’t miss popular, but she has friends who will back her up and support her no matter what. I liked how Rought focused on Emma’s friendships along with her family, even though the story was based on a romance. I enjoyed watching Emma grow as well; she was more timid at the beginning but growing bolder and finally speaking up for herself. Her connection with Alex is something that changes her, I loved watching them try and figure out what was happening between them.

Alex is a mystery, though I found it a bit obvious what really happened with his character and connected everything near the middle. I still enjoyed following him in his journey to discover the truth. The readers get some insight on who Alex was, his relationship with his father is a major part, but the readers can really connect with him as well.

I’ve read a lot of review about Broken, I know a lot of people are not fans of insta-love and neither am I. But the insta-love (which, I think for this story unlike most in necessary) in this plot is there for a major and I mean “MAJOR” reason, I can’t say more since it’s connected to a big part of the story.

This is a gothic romance; it has a beautiful dark tone that captivates the essence of Mary Shelly’s. It starts out a bit slow at the beginning but picks in the middle and doesn’t stop. The characters were wonderful; I really connected to all of them, even the secondary ones like Emma’s best friend who added some humor. All in all this is a much need fresh story in the Young Adult genre, with hauntingly beautiful writing by Rought whom I will now make sure to follow her work.


RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult novel that’s a beautiful gothic take on the story of Frankenstein. Fans of Brodi Ashton’s Everneath series and Lauren Kate’s Fallen series will love A.E. Rought’s Broken.

View all my reviews

5 comments:

  1. The thing is: they really need to change the blurb. There wasn't anything special for me, because the blurb already tells the whole story. The book is just a bigger version of it and that made it boring for me. I did like the creepy ending and I could live with the insta-love.

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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  2. I'm glad you enjoyed this one! I really wanted to like it more than I did, but I think like Mel said the blurb kind of sold me on a different idea and it turned out to be basically a carbon copy of it. I did enjoy the last section of the book though and the insta-love thing was forgiven given the circumstances.

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  3. New Follower! Wondering how in the world I didn't stumble upon your awesome blog earlier XD I've been going back in forth about this book but will definitely read it now!

    Kenzie @ http://www.theread-a-holic.blogspot.com/

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  4. Mel & Michelle: I totally understand, I was a bit bummed about the blurb but luckly I didnt read too much into it where it distracted me. Its hard when blurbs give away too much of the plot that it almost feels like there is no point in reading it. Thanks for the comments!!

    Cresentmoon, totally check it out I enjoy the gothic romance. But as the ladies said above try not to read too much into that blurb.

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  5. Thank so much for your review. Insta-Love doesn't bother me, I actually liked it in Alice in Zombieland. I also love dark, gothic books. You have convinced me that I must move this up the wish list.

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