Review: Broken (by Izzibella Beau)

Ayma Kuntz has been cursed with a rather unfortunate name, one that has haunted her through middle and high school years. Her overly controlling mother and absent father certainly don't make her life any easier. Her small group of friends are her only real support system, and what they can do is limited because Ayma doesn't let them see much of what really goes on in her life.

The beginning of this novel had a rough start for me. There was a lot of exposition that "told" the reader what was happening, and the teenage voice was almost too realistic in the beginning, where it almost felt like  stream of consciousness writing. However, after the initial introduction, I felt like the voice became stronger and I was able to get into Ayma's head a little better and experience the story with her rather than just watch it from the sidelines.

While some of the characters seem stereotypical at first, Beau does a good job of fleshing them out as the story progresses and making them come alive. Ayma is a very broken young woman who is struggling to pull her life together and survive some rather traumatic experiences, but Colton is just as strong of a character with his own demons to face. Even with a bit of a slow start, I found myself really enjoying the characters and being eager to know what was going to happen next in this story.

There is a good deal of profanity in the book, so it's not for younger readers. There are also several sex scenes, although they weren't overly descriptive and focused more on the emotional aspects. I would limit this recommendation to older teens and adults.

You can fin Broken Book 1 in the Assumption Series on Amazon.