Review: Broken

Broken by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Broken is the sixth book in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series, and it is yet another example of why Kelley Armstrong managed to work her way onto my favourite author list in no time at all. As with all her books I have read, this one kept me gripped throughout – I loved the characters, I enjoyed the storyline, and I cannot wait for more.

In Bitten, the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series, we were introduced to Elena. I quickly fell in love with the werewolves, having so much fun with the characters and the storyline surrounding them. In Stolen, we got more Elena – we also got an introduction to the rest of the world, taking us beyond the werewolves and introducing us to the other supernatural creatures. In Dime Store Magic I was disappointed by the change of perspective, fearful I would not enjoy Paige – only to be surprised when I enjoyed her more than Elena. I was overjoyed when Industrial Magic also followed Paige, taking us even deeper into the witch arc. Haunted disappointed me somewhat, though, as I was not a fan of Eve – I’m not sure what it was, but it was my least favourite of the series thus far. I was glad to find out Broken would not be following Eve, and that we would be returning to Elena – I would have preferred a return to Paige (I’m aware it’s an unpopular opinion, but I really do enjoy her character), but Elena was still a better option than Eve.

In all honesty, Broken worked to remind me just how much I enjoyed Elena. It turns out I was selling her short, failing to remember just how much I enjoyed her as a character. Elena is so much fun to follow, and the werewolves make things even more enjoyable. I’d forgotten just how much I enjoyed all of the characters, everyone adding a little something that leaves you loving them. I’m glad we went back to Elena in this one, allowing me to remember how much I like her stories.

The story itself grabbed me from the moment I read the synopsis. I love Jack the Ripper stories, and I knew this one would be something completely different to my norm (especially with how it’s usually crime thrillers I read when picking up a Jack the Ripper book). Whilst I found the mystery element of this story to be predictable from very early on, I did enjoy how it was a different kind of Jack the Ripper story to what I know and what I had expected – I may have been able to work things out, but I was given an interesting tale.

I also feel as though the events in this book have added quite a bit for the rest of the series – at least, I hope so. Elena’s role as a female werewolf surrounded by males of the species has been highlighted endlessly throughout the series, and with this book focusing upon Elena’s pregnancy, I can only imagine what is to come in the future books following on from this new detail. My fingers are crossed for lots of drama.

I’m also really excited for book seven, No Humans Involved, as I came to enjoy Jamie even more in this book. Since she appeared in the series, I’ve been enjoying her character – with her playing a slightly larger role in this book, I found myself excited to see how her story plays out.

Yet again, I cannot wait to grab the next book in the series. I really do need to work on picking them up sooner, rather than going a while between each book – these are very much binge read books, a series you can power through.

View all my reviews