Book Info
Broken by Emma LunaSeries: Sins Of Our Fathers #1
Rating:
Book ratings explainedGenres: Dark Romance
Pages: 292
ASIN: B08BRJ8CRD
Published: 15/08/2020
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Purchase at: Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AU
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GRANT
For years I've lived in the shadow of my Father. Raised to obey and take over from him as the biggest crime boss in London. I was told what to do, who to be, and even who to marry, but that's where I drew the line. That's why I need Ava. She will be the perfect wife and my perfect revenge. All I need to do is break her and make her mine.
AVA
For years I have taken care of my Papa. I have given up everything to help him while he drinks and gambles away all we have. Now his life is on the line and I only have one thing left to give: me. Grant doesn't just want to marry me, he wants to change me and make me his perfect obedient wife, but that's where I draw the line. It’s then that I meet Ryder, he seems like my light in the darkness, but I'm not sure if he will be the savior I need or just another monster.
RYDER
For years I have followed the instructions of my Dad. He wanted me to join the Blakeman crime family and so I did. I'm on track to go right to the top and get everything I've ever wanted. That's when I meet Ava. The perfect girl, trapped in a dangerous world. She begs me to save her but it would mean destroying everything I've worked towards. Is she worth risking everything for? If I do save her, will she already be too broken?
Author’s Note.
This book is a dark romance featuring scenes not suitable for under 18’s. It is part of a duet and does end on a cliffhanger. There are trigger scenes that may not be suitable for some people.
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to take time out to read all the books I’ve collected but not touched in the previous year. I ended 2021 getting an early start on that one, Emma Luna‘s Broken being the first on a very long list. What can I say? There are just too many books out there that I want to read!
At the start, the book gives off major Beauty and the Beast type vibes. This amused me because the week before I was beta-ing (is that even a word?) Emma’s actual Beauty and the Beast retelling. Despite knowing that something’s not quite right, Ava agrees to marry Grant in order to save her father. But, only hours after doing so, she falls for Ryder, Grant’s security advisor and closest friend. The story could turn into an epic love triangle but instead follows a shockingly dark path.
Ava has smarts, particularly as she’s grown up on the wrong side of town. That said, she can’t entirely see through the façade Grant presents at the beginning of the story. In fact, considering how clever she can be, it takes her far too long to realise what’s happening around her. Or maybe her love for and desire to save her father from death is enough to let her denial take over? That said, there’s a huge well of strength hidden behind her “I don’t give a damn and I will not bend or be broken” attitude.
Grant is a vile excuse for a human being. He’s spoilt and more cold and calculating than the people around him could ever believe. But, at the same time, he’s strangely concerned about the state of his soul and whether, in the end, it will be redeemable. Years of abuse and manipulation by his father have skewed his notion of the values of right and wrong, so much so that he’s consumed by ideas of punishment and revenge.
My feelings on Ryder are all over the place. He gives off an “I can save the world and I’m part of a bigger plan” vibe but at the same time manages to seem weak. He continues to fail to save Ava from her impossible predicament, allowing his dedication to his job, his father, and future plans to overshadow his humanity. It makes sense when you read the final few chapters of the book, but I’m not sure that’s enough to redeem him in my eyes. We shall have to see how he behaves in the sequel.
The girl sitting in front of him is like this because of him. Not because Grant tried to break her, but because he refused to free her.
The story is incredibly painful to read at times. Grant’s every interaction with Ava is designed to break her and, in some respects, it would have been an easier read if she’d allowed him to do just that from the start. Watching a strong young woman resist his every attack, to hold her head high through his humiliations and deny him the one thing he desires above all else, only to see her shatter into a million pieces towards the end of the book is heartbreaking. When you consider that, throughout all of this, Ava is dealing with the pain of loving somebody who can never choose her or put her first, you have to wonder about the person she will come to be by the end of the duet.
Broken is a book about secrets and how destructive hiding the truth can be. I spent my time digging into the little things characters said and thought, trying to figure out what the deeper meanings were behind their actions because there’s always more than meets the eye. If you can stomach the dark content (and I know this one won’t be for everyone) then you’re in for an amazing read. I can’t wait to get my hands on the conclusion.
Why you should read Broken
- If you need a character to take your anger out on, Grant is the one for you!
- It’ll keep you second-guessing whether you read it right or if there’s something you’re not quite getting.
About Emma Luna
Emma Luna is a midwife and lecturer who lives in Cambridgeshire, UK, despite her heart still very much being Northern. She lives surrounded by her crazy family; her Mum, who is her best friend and biggest fan; her Dad who helps her remember to always laugh; her Grandparents and Brother who can never read what she writes and her long-suffering man-child Boyfriend who she couldn’t live without (but don’t tell him that!).
In her spare time, she likes to create new worlds and tell the stories of the characters that are constantly shouting in her head. She also loves falling into the worlds created by other authors and escaping for a while through reading.
When she’s not adulting or chasing her writing dream she loves dog-napping her Mums shih-tzu Hector, chilling curled up on the sofa with her Boyfriend binge-watching the latest series or movie, drinking too much diet coke (it’s her drug of choice), buying too many novelty notebooks, and completing adult colouring books as a form of relaxation. Oh and she is a massive hardcore Harry Potter geek. Ravenclaw for life!
