What do you think?
Rate this book
Broken Vessels
Emma Brody’s face was once worthy of the runway. But now it’s ravaged by scars—constant reminders of the life she once lived and the mistakes she once made. Emma has settled into the quiet life of a potter, hoping to mold a new life for herself. Yet she’s still fleeing from all that she lost.The photograph in Luke Connor’s truck is growing wrinkled and faded. But the memories of his wife and sons are as vivid as ever, and so is the pain he felt after the accident that stole them away. After two years, he is still not fully healed; but with the help of his psychologists and a renewed faith in God, he’s making progress. After a chance encounter reunites these childhood friends, they begin to move forward together. But in the face of guilt, bitterness, and tragic loss, is friendship alone enough to bring healing?
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Lucie Ulrich
9 books48 followersLucie Ulrich took her time becoming a writer. Not much of a reader as a child, writing was of no interest to her--until she joined a church drama team. The desire to write a skit, and not simply act out someone else's was so strong, that once she started, she couldn't seem to stop. That first skit led to her becoming the drama team director, then eventually, the performing arts director at a small Christian school.
Lucie's first novel was penned under a tree in a field in Holland. Though her first, second, and third attempts never saw the light of day, parts of each of them became the foundation for "Broken Vessels," her first published work.
No longer involved with the performing arts, Lucie enjoys going on photo shoots with her husband, and taking long (or short) road trips. She hopes to find inspiration as she and her husband explore the four corners of the United States.
Lucie's first novel was penned under a tree in a field in Holland. Though her first, second, and third attempts never saw the light of day, parts of each of them became the foundation for "Broken Vessels," her first published work.
No longer involved with the performing arts, Lucie enjoys going on photo shoots with her husband, and taking long (or short) road trips. She hopes to find inspiration as she and her husband explore the four corners of the United States.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 26, 2012
In the book Broken Vessels, the author, Lucie Ulrich, doesn’t just give you a small glimpse of a characters life and leave you desperate with unanswered questions. She actually introduces you to a character and lets you walk along side them and see the changes that occur over several years. So when you set the book down after you finish it you have a better sense of just how their story turned out.
This story covers the lives of Emma Brody and Luke Conners. Two childhood buddies that find each other again after tragedies occur in both their lives. Together they walk the difficult road toward healing and discover a friendship that they never had before. A friendship that leads them to love.
Covering a vast assortment of issues such as abortion, betrayal, feelings of being unwanted, death and more this book allows you to see that true healing only comes from God.
In the end I’d give it and average of 4 stars. 5 stars for fitting in the genre of Christian romance and 3 stars for it’s being pretty predictable. Easy to read, it's a great book to sit in a cozy chair with hot cup of cocoa and discover the lives of two fictional characters.
This story covers the lives of Emma Brody and Luke Conners. Two childhood buddies that find each other again after tragedies occur in both their lives. Together they walk the difficult road toward healing and discover a friendship that they never had before. A friendship that leads them to love.
Covering a vast assortment of issues such as abortion, betrayal, feelings of being unwanted, death and more this book allows you to see that true healing only comes from God.
In the end I’d give it and average of 4 stars. 5 stars for fitting in the genre of Christian romance and 3 stars for it’s being pretty predictable. Easy to read, it's a great book to sit in a cozy chair with hot cup of cocoa and discover the lives of two fictional characters.
August 7, 2012
Is it over already? This book held my attention in a way that it hadn't been held in awhile. The author does an excellent job pulling you into the story. I was afraid it would be too 'perfect,' the way some Christian romance books can be. I was pleased to find that the charcters were 'real' and that there were a few messy endings as far as some of the plot lines go. Lucie Ulrich's writing is comparable to Lori Wick's.
October 18, 2015
Broken Vessels kept me reading well past my bedtime. Emma Brody and Luke Connor are complex, compelling characters. Their struggles with themselves and each other are wholly realistic and relatable. Furthermore, the secondary characters in the book are well-rounded and crucial to the plot. Neither Emma or Luke come across as perfect people. They both make mistakes and keep making them. What I liked most of all was that each character's walk with God was individual and personal. This is a five star story and just a little more editing would have earned my five star review.
May 10, 2012
I read a lot of Christian fiction. This is a novel I will revisit again and again. Lucie Ulrich has skillfully created identifible characters. The hope of love and forgiveness is throughout the story. I came to love all the characters. They became so real I found myself wanting to call Emma and check on her after she fell off the horse. I absoutely love Mac. I've found a new favorite author. I highly recommend this book!
May 10, 2012
This was absolutely great! It pulled me in right from the beginning. I identified with Emma on a number of levels....many of her struggles were mine on one level or another. Can't wait for the next book!
January 30, 2013
Book exchanged for a review~
Luke Connors is still grieving over his wife and children's deaths. He's slowly making progress in therapy with the help of brother and sister team of Dave and Christine Hartford. Leaving his therapy session stumbles upon on old friend from twelve years before Emma Garner Brody. She recently moved back to home to start fresh. Emma has a lot of emotional and physical scars that leave her wary of people's motives. The only person that seems to understand Emma is her brother Jimmy. Luke and Emma agree to be pals that support one another no matter what. Jimmy has been talking to Emma and his mother Louise and pushes Emma into speaking with her. Emma dreads talking with her mother yet can't seem to say no to Jimmy's request. Emma reluctantly agrees to spend time with her mother in her home but dreads what she knows will come next~nothing is ever good enough for her mother. Jimmy is treated like he's perfect whereas Emma is treated like the naughty child. Emma really tries to get along with their mom but she never gives an inch or otherwise. Through it all Emma has Luke's support and understanding. Luke is suddenly fighting his feelings because he doesn't want to scare Emma off. Luke sees what Jimmy cannot which is Emma is drowning in trying to measure up to their mother. Will Jimmy see Emma's side of things? Will Emma and Louise make up? What will Luke do about his feelings? Will Emma see thru all of her pain and suffering to be free? Your answers await you in Broken Vessels.
Broken Vessels is really a story about forgiveness, faith, trust, and hope between these four people. I cried thru some parts of this book because it really it home. Broken Vessels is what God uses to make a perfect whole although we may be broken it is he who completes us.
Luke Connors is still grieving over his wife and children's deaths. He's slowly making progress in therapy with the help of brother and sister team of Dave and Christine Hartford. Leaving his therapy session stumbles upon on old friend from twelve years before Emma Garner Brody. She recently moved back to home to start fresh. Emma has a lot of emotional and physical scars that leave her wary of people's motives. The only person that seems to understand Emma is her brother Jimmy. Luke and Emma agree to be pals that support one another no matter what. Jimmy has been talking to Emma and his mother Louise and pushes Emma into speaking with her. Emma dreads talking with her mother yet can't seem to say no to Jimmy's request. Emma reluctantly agrees to spend time with her mother in her home but dreads what she knows will come next~nothing is ever good enough for her mother. Jimmy is treated like he's perfect whereas Emma is treated like the naughty child. Emma really tries to get along with their mom but she never gives an inch or otherwise. Through it all Emma has Luke's support and understanding. Luke is suddenly fighting his feelings because he doesn't want to scare Emma off. Luke sees what Jimmy cannot which is Emma is drowning in trying to measure up to their mother. Will Jimmy see Emma's side of things? Will Emma and Louise make up? What will Luke do about his feelings? Will Emma see thru all of her pain and suffering to be free? Your answers await you in Broken Vessels.
Broken Vessels is really a story about forgiveness, faith, trust, and hope between these four people. I cried thru some parts of this book because it really it home. Broken Vessels is what God uses to make a perfect whole although we may be broken it is he who completes us.
July 16, 2012
To possible readers: This book is published as a Christian book and religion plays a recurring part, it is not a "preachy" book but if religion in a story bothers or turns you off, bypass this book. But if it doesn't and you like a good story about people and how they handle things, get and enjoy.
This is a story about 2 people, Luke and Emma, who have suffered losses in their life and how they have handled it. The story is mainly set in Colorado Springs where Luke and Emma grew up as friends before they drifted apart, him to college and her to a career. As luke is leaving the office of his therapist where he has been going since the loss of his wife and children to a drunk driver, he sees someone he thinks he knows. It is Emma who is also going after returning to Colorado Springs and the loss of her modeling career when a girl she thinks is a friend disfigures her after losing a modeling contract to her, with that she has also lost her husband who has left her because she is "no longer perfect". As the story progresses and Luke and Emma get to know each other better, there are problems in Emma's family. A mother who has not forgiven her for what the mother considers her past sinful life and the anger she and Emma feel towards each other.
As the book progresses the reader is left to wonder if Luke and Emma will be able to forget the past and find love, will Emma and her mother forgive each other and what is the big secret Emma is keeping from Luke?
Overall this is a good, enjoyable story about two people and how they, their friends and family handle life.
This is a story about 2 people, Luke and Emma, who have suffered losses in their life and how they have handled it. The story is mainly set in Colorado Springs where Luke and Emma grew up as friends before they drifted apart, him to college and her to a career. As luke is leaving the office of his therapist where he has been going since the loss of his wife and children to a drunk driver, he sees someone he thinks he knows. It is Emma who is also going after returning to Colorado Springs and the loss of her modeling career when a girl she thinks is a friend disfigures her after losing a modeling contract to her, with that she has also lost her husband who has left her because she is "no longer perfect". As the story progresses and Luke and Emma get to know each other better, there are problems in Emma's family. A mother who has not forgiven her for what the mother considers her past sinful life and the anger she and Emma feel towards each other.
As the book progresses the reader is left to wonder if Luke and Emma will be able to forget the past and find love, will Emma and her mother forgive each other and what is the big secret Emma is keeping from Luke?
Overall this is a good, enjoyable story about two people and how they, their friends and family handle life.
September 20, 2012
This is a Christian based romance whose overall tone was somewhat reminiscent of the television show Seventh Heaven.
Personally, I found that all of the characters pushed too hard on Emma to conform to what they wanted. That part of the plot became a serious concern to me as I watched her friends and family try and shove her into situations she wasn't comfortable with or force her to work hard to heal old wounds with others that weren't ready to reach out themselves and then blame her when things didn't get fixed properly.
There was some predictability to the story and there were times when I honestly thought that no one in their right mind would say or do the things some of the characters were saying or doing to others, but overall I enjoyed reading Broken Vessels. I can see how it would help with healing from loss or struggle or with finding a new place in the world, but I think it is best to accept it for the love story it is and move on from there.
Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review.
Personally, I found that all of the characters pushed too hard on Emma to conform to what they wanted. That part of the plot became a serious concern to me as I watched her friends and family try and shove her into situations she wasn't comfortable with or force her to work hard to heal old wounds with others that weren't ready to reach out themselves and then blame her when things didn't get fixed properly.
There was some predictability to the story and there were times when I honestly thought that no one in their right mind would say or do the things some of the characters were saying or doing to others, but overall I enjoyed reading Broken Vessels. I can see how it would help with healing from loss or struggle or with finding a new place in the world, but I think it is best to accept it for the love story it is and move on from there.
Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review.
August 17, 2012
I enjoyed reading this Christian romance novel. It's not the type of thing I normally read, but it's good to branch out. The characters were believable for the most part, and some of them, like Mac, really leapt off the page. I liked reading a book where the characters' religious beliefs played a big role in the story, as that's not something I see very often.
The problem for me was that it all felt too predictable. Maybe it's the way romances work - as I said, I don't read many of them. But once boy meets girl, it's pretty obvious that after multiple trials and tribulations and misunderstandings, they'll finally find a way to get together and be happy in the end. There just wasn't anywhere else for it to go. So I found myself getting impatient as Luke and Emma worked through all their issues. I needed more surprise, more uncertainty in the outcome.
If you love romances, you'll probably enjoy this. It's certainly got plenty of positive reviews from other readers. I think I was just the wrong reader for this book. Still, I'm glad I tried it, and hope this short review is useful for anyone thinking of reading.
The problem for me was that it all felt too predictable. Maybe it's the way romances work - as I said, I don't read many of them. But once boy meets girl, it's pretty obvious that after multiple trials and tribulations and misunderstandings, they'll finally find a way to get together and be happy in the end. There just wasn't anywhere else for it to go. So I found myself getting impatient as Luke and Emma worked through all their issues. I needed more surprise, more uncertainty in the outcome.
If you love romances, you'll probably enjoy this. It's certainly got plenty of positive reviews from other readers. I think I was just the wrong reader for this book. Still, I'm glad I tried it, and hope this short review is useful for anyone thinking of reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2012
Once childhood friends, Emma and Luke meet again while learning to deal with grief from tragedies dealt to them in very different ways. Lucy Ulrich draws you into their stories allowing you to walk alongside them sharing their heartaches, developing their friendship, learning trust, forgiveness and to love again. The characters and struggles they experience are all very identifiable, and how they are handled is realistic.
The author has a flowing style of writing and a way of telling a story that makes you want to keep reading. Published as a Christian book the style is not particularly ‘preachy’ although religion does play a big part in the story.
I found this an enjoyable, easy to read story about two people and their struggles, their friends and family, and how their lives intertwine.
The author has a flowing style of writing and a way of telling a story that makes you want to keep reading. Published as a Christian book the style is not particularly ‘preachy’ although religion does play a big part in the story.
I found this an enjoyable, easy to read story about two people and their struggles, their friends and family, and how their lives intertwine.
May 1, 2012
While I'm not a big Christian romance reader, this book was pretty good. The underlying theme is that of the universal human experience of brokenness. Our lives are broken, yet somehow by the grace of God, we are able to help each other through it.
I appreciated that this book wasn't watered down. The characters were all dealing with tough things that were sometimes hard to read about. Granted, one of the characters was a millionaire, who built her brother his own customized loft apartment, but it is still fiction after all.
I appreciated that this book wasn't watered down. The characters were all dealing with tough things that were sometimes hard to read about. Granted, one of the characters was a millionaire, who built her brother his own customized loft apartment, but it is still fiction after all.
July 14, 2012
God moves in mysterious ways ... forgive me for not remember where this came from in the Bible - God will and he also does so in this book. No matter what we've done, no matter how broken we are, He is always there and will always be waiting for us to call on Him. All things happen in God's time - and we are usually better for it - as Emma and Luke found out in this book and sometimes something we really want, but can't ever seem to get will show up when we least expect it but, maybe, need it most.
January 6, 2017
When I won a copy of Broken Vessels, I was excited to get my hands on it and devour it. I did not realize that this was considered a Christian novel, but I was pleasantly surprised. As God moved in the lives of Luke and Emma in the novel, so too is He working on things in my life. I wasn't ready to read this book two months ago when I received it; I was still hurting from my own divorce. Thankfully, God led me back to finish this book when I needed it the most. I really enjoyed a romance novel that was also God-centered. This was just the refreshing read that I needed.
May 1, 2015
Life is sometimes tough and love isn't always easy but it is or should be, patient, kind, rejoicing in truth and no recorder of wrongdoing. This well written novel with its complex believable characters reflects life in all its messiness. It is a brilliantly written story of hope and healing that does not allow romance to suddenly heal all wounds just because love happens between two people. The storyline takes place over a number of years and is the better for it. This is a novel that will grab your attention and hold it until the end. Well worth reading and recommending.
August 7, 2012
This is one of the best examples of Christian literature I have ever read. It didn't try to preach to you and the characters didn't have relationships with God that seemed impossible to live up to. Instead, it felt like you were observing real people, with real struggles who somehow managed to realize that they could move beyond their individual tragedies through the healing power of love with God supporting them behind the scenes.
January 4, 2013
I found the story line rather predictable and the characters too stereotypical. I didn't find myself relating to Emma or feeling much sympathy for her as she seemed to contrived, rather than "real". Mac was the most genuine feeling. Dialog between characters seemed devised rather than authentic...does anyone really talk like that? Running away seemed like the main theme rather than forgiveness and redemption.
April 26, 2012
Luke and Emma are two people so damaged by grief and anger that new love is an impossible dream--but with God, all things are possible. I highly recommend this poignant story of shattered dreams, painful secrets, and God's transcending grace.
August 2, 2014
This book brought balm to a hurting heart. I could so relate to Emma, As the Lord brought healing and forgiveness to Emma, I was reminded of the love and healing that only the Lord can bring. I look forward to reading more from this author..
May 17, 2012
Review to come.
July 15, 2012
Great book with a great storyline. I loved watching the characters fall in love and how they came to find forgiveness in not only each other, but members of their family.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews