Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Review: Broken

BROKEN
LOST #1
Cynthia Eden
Romantic Suspense
384 pages
Avon
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Ex-SEAL and LOST founder Gabe Spencer is accustomed to the unusual in his job. But when knockout Eve Gray steps into his office, he's rattled. For the mysterious woman is a dead ringer for the heiress thought to be the latest prey of the serial killer who goes by the name Lady Killer.

When Eve awoke in an Atlanta hospital, her past was a blank slate. Then she recognized her own face in the newspaper and vowed to learn the truth. Determined to confront the nightmares hidden in her mind, she never expects to find a partner in Gabe.

As Gabe and Eve work together, their explosive attraction becomes irresistible. Gabe knows that his desire for Eve is growing too strong, bordering on a dangerous obsession, but nothing pulls him away from her. And when another Eve lookalike disappears, Gabe vows to protect Eve at all costs. While Eve may have forgotten the killer in her past, it's clear he hasn't forgotten her.


MY THOUGHTS
Broken reaches out and grabs hold from the very first page, ensuring we stumble into work the next morning bleary-eyed and mildly incoherent from lack of sleep. We can’t help but be as curious about Eve’s past as she is, a chilling prologue giving us just the barest hint of what happened to her before we meet her as a blank slate with nothing but a newspaper article to tell her who she is. Thanks to a few chapters that have us breaking away from Eve, her faulty memory, and her romance with Gabe to follow the killer as he begins his hunt once again, we find ourselves not wanting to look outside our darkened windows for fear that a face might be staring back at us.

While the relationship between Eve and Gabe develops quickly, it’s easy to grant her a bit of a pass on the intensity of her feelings given Gabe is the one person that’s made her feel safe since she got out of the hospital months ago, and a declaration of love is slow in coming (page-wise, not necessarily actual time-wise). The two of them together are all kinds of sexy, and as their relationship progresses and her case unfolds we’re also introduced to the other members of Gabe’s team, a group of men and women we can’t wait to learn more about in future books.

The mystery and horror of Eve’s past is incredibly well done, the killer’s identity easily narrowed down to a handful of people, but Ms. Eden makes it very difficult to guess who the culprit is from within that group. We point an accusing finger at one person after another before disregarding our guesses when new information (or suspicious behavior) comes to light. All in all, Broken is a heart-pounding read from beginning to end, the romance and suspense perfectly balanced so that one doesn’t outshine the other, and we reach the last page eager to find out who on Gabe’s team will be the next to be put through the emotional and physical wringer.

Rating: 4/5
 

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

28 comments:

  1. It sounds like a good and intense one. It's the first time I hear about it but well maybe. thanks for the review

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    1. You're welcome, I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

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  2. I love some mystery read! This one looks good will definitely add this to my tbr since I enjoy the whodunit part from books like this one. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jenny.

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    1. I had fun trying to guess who the killer ultimately was. I kept bouncing around:)

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  3. That cover reminds me of....the 90s?

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  4. Sounds like a book I'd love to read! Because I'm all about murder mysteries where it's difficult to guess who the killer is!!

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    1. ME TOO PILI! I like when there's a small pool of suspects too, it's fun to read into everything they do and say to see if they're the one ;-)

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  5. A chilling prologue always catches me! Romantic suspense sometimes works for me because the intense situations make the romance better. ;)

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  6. I haven't picked up a romance suspense read in a while. I really like the sound of this one, Jenny. I'll have to look it up and check it out.

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  7. I haven't read an adult M/F romance in ages, but romantic suspense I could read, especially when it's as well done as this one seems to be. Chapters from the killer's POV can be an awesome thing if the tone is right. I'm so glad it worked here.

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    1. Chapters from the killer's POV always terrify me Maja. I don't want to be in their heads at all:)

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  8. I love that this kept you up late reading Jenny, that alone lets me know that I need to read this one. :)

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  9. It sounds intense, Jenny :) I love a book who can keep me from my usual passing-out-from-exhaustion that usually happens around 1a.m. :)))

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    1. Me too Ramona! This definitely kept me chanting "one more chapter" to myself:)

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  10. The sound of this makes me want to drop my historical romances. At least for a book. o.O

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  11. I love me some romantic suspense so I am pretty excited to come across this one! Especially since I've had a couple of the author's books on my TBR for some time now.

    I am not necessarily sure how I would feel about the romance because I can be very nitpicky about insta-love but then again, it does make sense that she formed an attachment to someone who was there when no one else really was.

    I am glad you enjoyed this, Jenny!! :)

    Lovely review!

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

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    1. The declaration of love at least came later in the story. Granted, it still came only a little while after they met, but when it comes at the end of the story like that it always feels like it's been longer:)

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  12. Ha! I love and hate books like these. You know, the type that consumes you all hours of the night and way into the morning. lol.

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    1. Right? Book hangovers are brutal and awesome at the same time:)

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  13. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series Heidi. I'm intrigued by the rest of the LOST team:)

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  14. I adore a good mystery, especially when it's un-put-down-able. I haven't heard of this author before but I'm definitely adding this to my TBR at once! :)

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  15. I love romantic suspense but haven't heard of this one. Thanks for the recommendation.

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  16. This is a new one to me, and im happy to hear that the killer was not easy to fully guess. I might have to check this one out.

    But I also have to gush a bit now. I had no idea you were such a fantastically talented graphic designer! I have been following your blog for about 4 years now, and I just spent about 20 minutes looking at everything in seedlings designs and I am not even close to joking when I say that it is probably the most impressive collection of covers that I have ever seen. I absolutely love them! And a boxer mother to boot. You are kind of my favorite person at the moment.

    You are so talented Jenny!

    Michelle @ Book Briefs

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  17. I love romantic suspense, and I don't read nearly enough of them. I'm glad that the quick progression of romance made sense in the context, and that you were guessing who the killer might be. I think I'd really enjoy this! Lovely review!

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