Far from Broken

Seasons of Invention #1

by J.K. Coi

Soldier. Spymaster. Husband.

Colonel Jasper Carlisle was defined by his work until he met his wife. When the prima ballerina swept into his life with her affection, bright laughter and graceful movements, he knew that she was the reason for his existence, and that their love would be forever.

But their world is shattered when Callie is kidnapped and brutally tortured by the foes Jasper has been hunting. Mechanical parts have replaced her legs, her hand, her eye...and possibly her heart. Though she survived, her anger at Jasper consumes her, while Jasper's guilt drives him from the woman he loves. He longs for the chance to show her their love can withstand anything...including her new clockwork parts.

As the holiday season approaches, Jasper realizes he must fight not just for his wife's love and forgiveness...but also her life, as his enemy once again attempts to tear them apart.

27,000 words

Genres: Steampunk, Romance, Steampunk Romance, Anthologies, Ebooks

92 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2011

About the author

J.K. Coi is a multi-published, award winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She makes her home in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and son and a feisty black cat who is the uncontested head of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters who leap off the page and into readers’ hearts. When not writing, she loves to paint and create beautiful things with stained glass.

Reviews

[willaful · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. As romance readers, we’re often protected from having to suffer too much vicariously. Usually our heroes and heroines are rescued just in the nick of time. This story is an exception… terrible, terrible things have happened to its heroine, and although not graphic, it’s very dark and painful to read.

Former ballerina Callie wakes up to find herself in an alien and monstrous body. A brutal attack by men searching for her spy husband left her minus her legs and an eye; now clockwork prosthetics and nanoagents have made her a bionic woman - stronger, but very different. As Callie learns to live with her new self, her husband Jasper must also learn to live with a very changed wife and with his own sense of guilt.

This was an interesting exploration of how use of the prosthetics common to a steampunk universe might play out in people’s real lives, including the fact that Callie’s surgeries leave her indebted to those who paid for it. It was a powerful story, but I thought things moved a little too fast. The depth of the horror Callie faced and the difficulty of the adjustment for both seemed larger than could be encompassed in a novella, especially with time given to a mystery subplot.

[Jenny Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this last year when it was part of A Clockwork Christmas, and it was my favorite out of the four stories in that collection. Far From Broken is a story with so much substance, emotion, and backstory that it would've made a great full-length novel. Colonel Jasper Carlisle is deeply involved in the British intelligence game, but kept that information from beautiful ballerina Calliandra when he wooed her and proposed marriage. Two years later, while Jasper was off on a mission, his enemies targeted his wife, abducting her and brutally torturing her. Suffering horrific injuries, a talented doctor reconstructed Callie, but the resulting body leaves her feeling like a monster, and her psychological injuries may never heal.

Submerged in guilt and rage, Jasper spends the months of Callie's recovery tracking down her assailants and exacting his revenge. Finally ready to face his wife, Jasper returns and discovers that she's not ready to face him. He is determined to win her back, but as the couple starts to make headway and Callie finds new strength, an enemy returns to finish the job he started.

I liked this so much that when I saw the author had written a full-length sequel that released yesterday, I did a happy dance and downloaded it. Fingers crossed it's as good as the novella!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story. I love how nothing is easy for either of the characters. Blame and fear and mixed with love and longing for the life they'd once had.

Survivor's guilt is a terrible phenomena that I think JK captured perfectly with Jasper. He would do anything to put himself in Callie's place, hating himself for not being able to protect her. Callie must deal with incredible changes, learning to love and accept the person she now is.

The love and hurt these two feel jumped off the pages for me. I was crying and cheering for them to work things out the entire time. On top of that, this is an excellent steampunk, using the world building elements to the best extent possible.

I highly recommend this one.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite story in the collection! I wish it would have been put first. Yes, there are the formulaic sex scenes toward the end, but at least I was more emotionally invested in the characters and cared about their intimate relationship. This is the first book in the Seasons of Invention Series, Broken Promises is #2. The spy premise is what hooked me and I will be reading the next story to see what becomes of Jasper and Callie. In comparison, the kick off to this series reminds me a little of Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series, but with a Steampunk edge. Readers who like Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series will likely enjoy this one too. Tension, suspense, action, romance...it does have it all.

[Anna (Bobs Her Hair) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grade: D

After reading a wonderful steampunk novella, I needed another imaginative science fiction fix. “Far From Broken” seemed to have all the right ingredients for a good book - a spy hero, evil villains, life-altering events, and emotional conflict. I even checked out this novella’s ratings. (They were high.) Unfortunately, this novella did not live up to my expectations.

The story begins with Colonel Jasper Carlisle traveling to retrieve his wife Callie from the clinic that saved her from near death. Jasper is plagued with guilt. Callie became a target because of his job in British Secret Intelligence. Even worse is that he kept her in the dark about his cloak and dagger work. It was four months ago he went on a disastrous mission to France. Barely escaping with his life he returned home learning his wife had been kidnapped. Jasper found her tortured body and took her to people who had the best chance of saving her life. Now, he hopes to earn Callie’s forgiveness and hope they find their way to happiness again.

“Far From Broken” did not lack emotion. There were feelings of betrayal, rage, loss, guilt, and love. Despite this abundance of feelings I was not able to connect with the characters. Their emotions seemed automatic to their situations. Callie wakes up and she realizes she will never dance again. She is angry. She hears her husband walking down the hall. She feels anticipation. She doesn’t talk to him. Callie loves him. I felt like a skipping stone along their emotional surface. I had little tastes here and there. I couldn’t get into Jasper or Callie’s heads. What was the driving force behind Callie’s final decision beside that it was all she knew? For losing just about everything she sure moved quickly from anger to self-disgust to acceptance. Where was her mourning period. Perhaps, it was during the four months Jasper was away.

The shining moment in this book is when Jasper returns home from his mission. His actions and emotions are vivid as he searches for his beloved wife. He’s desperate. He’s destroyed when he finds her drenched in blood. Now, I didn’t want more torture. I wanted to be engaged and connected with the characters as I did at Jasper’s desperate moment.

Will I read J.K. Coi again? Yes. Iron Seduction looks interesting. It’s Chinese erotic steampunk, so I’m open to giving this author’s writing a second chance. If my reading experience is gratifying then I’ll try the next book in the Seasons of Inventions series another try.

[Silver James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up reading great sci-fi authors like Andre Norton, Robert A. Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov. Then I grew up, turned into a reluctant adult and somehow missed out on the steampunk genre--much to my chagrin. Steampunk is one of those things that if you have to ask what it is, it probably isn't for you. That said, though, if you like sci-fi, alternative history, and adventure, you should give it a try.

Steampunk has been around for a long time but it has suddenly become a marketable trend. As such, lots of people are producing steampunk stories. A reader can tell when when an author truly loves what they are writing and when they're simply there for the market. J.K. Coi is someone who loves her work. In FAR FROM BROKEN, she has created an intriguing world with characters I want to read more about. The bad guys are bad. The good guys are good. And sometimes, it's a little hard to tell the difference. But that's a Very Good Thing! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a novella and Ms. Coi packed a huge story into a short span of words and did it brilliantly. Here's hoping that she will continue with more tales about Callie and Jasper Carlisle as they spy for Britain's War Deparment and Callie learns to adjust to the nanotechnology and iron limbs that saved her life. Here's hoping the graceful ballerina learns to dance once again!

This novella won the Short Paranormal category of the International Digital Awards and I can see why! This story is well worth the read! I'm just sorry I had it loaded to read and then life intervened before I could even start. I'll be on the lookout for any new steampunk works by Ms. Coi!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Jasper's wife Callie is captured at tortured by his enemies she suffers horrific injuries and comes close to death. Jasper is desperate to keep his wife alive and agrees to life altering surgeries to keep her with him. When Callie wakes up to discover her eye, hand and legs have been replaced by mechanical equivalents she is horrified. Once a beautiful prima ballerina she now believes she is a monster and that she will never be able to dance again, she would rather have died in the attack than live the rest of her life with a body that isn't fully hers. Jasper is wracked with guilt for failing to protect Callie in the first place and because she hates what he allowed to be done to her. Can Callie come to terms with what happened and forgive Jasper for his part in it?

Far From Broken was a surprisingly dark story and one that had me hooked from the beginning. It was easy to relate to both of the main characters, Callie had been through a terrible ordeal not only at the hands of her torturers but also in the military hospital where her body was changed dramatically without her permission. Although her mechanical limbs kept her alive she wasn't sure if it was a life worth living and it took her time to come to terms with everything that had happened. Jasper will never forgive himself for the fact that she was tortuted because of him. If he wasn't a spy she wouldn't have been in danger and he feels he should have been at home to protect her. It was easy to feel both of their emotions and I was routing for them to work things out and find a way to move forwards together. Definitely a highly recommended read.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this novella in the anthology A Clockwork Christmas. This was darkest contribution to the collection, because the steampunk elements are used to modify injured characters, almost like a member of the Borg from Star Trek. This isn’t necessarily a new element of steampunk – I love Meljean Brook’s Iron Duke series, and many of the characters in that series have prosthetics – but I found this novella to be somewhat disturbing because of the hero’s initial treatment of his wife.


Coronel Jasper Carlisle is a spy, married to prima ballerina Calliope (Callie). While he’s away from home, his wife is tortured by his enemies, and Carlisle spirits his injured wife to a military hospital, where she’s fitted with a prosthetic eye, hand, and legs. What bothered me the most about this story is that the Coronel leaves his wife alone in the hospital for the four months of her recovery, only returning later in an attempt to salvage their marriage. I liked Callie’s character, and the world building was fascinating, but I felt like Callie should have used her new iron legs to punt her husband across the room for his abandonment, and even with the romantic resolution I was a little miffed at Carlisle. 3.5 out of 5

I received this novella for review from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Jess the Romanceaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read and reviewed as part of the A Clockwork Christmas anthology; for the full review please visit The Romanceaholic.

In the end, this was by far my favorite story in the entire anthology.

While Callie’s transformation was a bit reminiscent of The Bionic Woman, that was easily brushed aside as we watched her grow over the course of the story. Of course, Jasper’s character had a lot of growing to do as well, and watching the two learn to forgive and accept each other was wonderful. The overall plot was intriguing as well, with betrayal from a close outside source, plenty of danger, and the obligation Callie now has to the military who paid for her reconstruction.

A resounding 5/5 Stars.

[Rachel-RN · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't a case of the hero (Jasper) arriving in the nick of time, but rather too late. Callie survived a horrific attack that left the broken pieces her body replaced with metal parts. She eventually comes away with it with a new sense of self. I liked that Jasper is supportive of her and lets her know he still loves her. My favorite part of the book was when Callie told Jasper, "...then I'm strong enough to be equal partner in my own marriage. We make decisions together from this point forward."
Both are heroic. I enjoyed this.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book. I would not say it was a romance however.

[Mary Lauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read but still good emotional resonance between the h/h.