The Circle Broken

The Circle #2

by K.M. Montemayor, Kat M. Montemayor

Without Charlie, Lilly can find no reason to live. She throws herself into her studies and eventually becomes a doctor. But hiding behind her career doesn't work. Despite all her efforts to forget the past, she still finds herself haunted by her memories of him.
Charlie's decision to be with Lilly has cost him his freedom and perhaps his sanity. His doctor finds his aberrant attraction to an Earthan fascinating and begins to experiment on him. The unorthodox treatment methods take a toll and Charlie finds himself questioning everything he ever believed about Lilly.
A rebel group is gaining power on Sentria. The New Way promises the people more control over their own lives. Will the people finally be able to have freedom? Is that even a possibility for a planet who has been oppressed for centuries?

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction

286 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2013

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well the love struck pair, Charlie and Lilly, have their work cut out for them in this book. They both have very difficult circumstances and issues to battle in this part of the series. It's heavy going and heart breaking at times.
I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book because of this but I'm still intrigued and keen to find out what happens next for them both.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. Book. Was. Amazing. I must thank my best friend for giving me this (thanks sis). It was an amazing graduation gift and I couldn't put it down after I opened it.

It has been a while since I read the first book, which was a bit concerning to me when trying to remember certain details. However, in the end I still got the gist of the book.

All in all, I still pity Charlie and Lillie (if I botch her name, sorry). They are torn apart for twelve years. That's an awful long time. Plus all the brainwashing and messed up "treatment" he had to go through...it was oh so messed up. It was such a shame and ended on a note that drove me nuts. All I can think is "what happens?" and "What's next?" I really can't wait to read the next book.

Conclusion

I love this book to death. I'm glad that I was given this book. It is absolutely amazing. I wanted to cry so many times while I read this book. I would give this more stars if I could. This is something that anyone who loves a good sci-fi/romance book.

[Seeing Double in Neverland · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 out of 5 stars

I loved The Circle and this sequel to that book was so great. I really can not wait for book three to see how their story will end!

[Kiss of a sniper · Rating 1 out of 5]

++ Note: This review is written by a non-native speaker, so there may be mistakes. Forgive me in advance. ++

There is no way to sugarcoat this: This book is bad.

I kept wondering whether this book was supposed to be serious. It is a cheap farce, but not in a comical way.


Did you Ms. Montemayor read what you wrote? Because honestly, this entire book I felt like you were making fun of me as a reader.




Not only the writing is terrible, the dialogs poor, but we also get a whole muddle of unnecessary sci-fi nonsense and a ton of disturbing double standards and religious preaching.



Let`s start:
Why do you have to use the word "said" in every sentence the protagonists are speaking?
Every time when there was a dialogue, there were 5 times "said" all over one page.

Throughout the whole book (215 pages) there were:

421 * "said"
178 * "asked"
116 * "looked"


Descriptions were goofy:

..Solomon nodded. He folded his hands and placed his index fingers in front of his mouth, considering her request, ...

He put his hand under his chin in thought.

..he had one hand under his chin and his fingers over his mouth Abigail recognized this as his contempt pose.

There were also too many sentences beginning with the same word (anaphora), without producing any emphasis, amplification or emotional effect. It was just lazy writing.


Characters were one-dimensional and COMPLETELY FUCKING RIDICULOUS. Hello Mary Sue & Gary Stu!

Charlie aka Silas Gray ..
(His parents named him "Charlie" after this wildroot cream hair oil ad. Do they watch Earthan TV? Is it beamed to their galaxy?)
..is brainwashed, drugged and tortured (he gets electrical stimulus conditioning while being shown images of Lilly, the Earthan girl ) He had been incarcerated for over 10 years on his planet Sentria.
And why is that? Because he fell in love with an Earthan, when he was 18...and she was 18 too (Please correct me if I`m wrong)

And that is an unforgivable crime against the Sentrian state. He is thought to be mental ill to fall in love with an Earthan.

He couldn't tell them the truth, that he was attracted to her mind.

Right.

Throughout the book we get the info dump on how intelligent and studious she is. Assertive women are depicted as sluts; They have no brains; (More on this later.)

And maybe these Sentrian aliens are abuse/ trauma immune? Because it was never mentioned that he struggled mentally after he got released...that he was scarred.

I`m still struggling to grasp why it bother this Sentrian planet when one of them fall in love with an Earthan. Because it is a "fetish"? So what ?

Sentria is in another galaxy. Sentrians didn't think Earthans had brains. They are "creatures, ...a bit more intelligent than animal primates.“ And Earthans are "lacking in the fidelity department."
But these Sentrians all seem to have human habits, human names, and human customs and look like humans.
They believe in God, go to church on Sundays (???!!!), behave according God`s will: God (if not your parents) chooses your loved One who you should marry. Women's opinions are unwelcome.
you are not allowed to defy God. So there are “forced marriages”, made legal by government/ God. Unless you are named “Eve”. Eve in this book is an evil bitch. Because her name is Eve.

With your chosen One you stay till death. After death you'll continue to live with your loved One in a paradise like imagined space. By 18 you have to be married. (There was a couple, she was 14 and married her loved One, also a teen-aged kid. After six years they have 5 kids. It was described in an idealized preachy way. I found it ghastly.)
If you happen not to find your chosen One/ or he/she died, you get a “placekeeper” (In this book it is illustrated as a women doing the household for you and the man giving her a roof over her head, food etc. Cause “poor” lonely women cannot “provide” for themselves.)

So by the end of 10 years, we learn the truth:

God put him on that mission to Earth to find Lilly. There is nothing wrong with him. She is God choice for him.

But when Sentrians are described as religious, so why was he punished from the start?
Any logic here? If there was one, author did not bother.

So, back to the Earthans being primitive:
On earth it is 1989/1990 when they send their “spies”; to spy on technology or what?
After the description of Sentrians social order etc. , the Earthans seem more modern to me, but author writes that Earthans are "still considered inferior brutes" ?? And therefore Charlie is punished for interact with one?



At 74% the author writes that "back then hostilities were great between out two planets; you couldn't even vacation on Earth.” Does this make any sense? So do Earthans know of the existence of Sentrians? Please come to a point!

Also the Sentrians call one another as “idiots”. There are!!


Sentrians depend on their PCDs (some smartphones or programmed cell death-s?)
There was a train crash. And the Sentrians didn't move out of the way of this oncoming train they saw. They just stared at their PCDs.
Because:

Having someone yelling at us to move out of the was is not enough. It is inexcusable not to insta message what to do in a crisis.

And:

They'd likely urinate on themselves if their PCD didn't tell them to go to the bathroom.

They have to put this device against their foreheads (here is a chip or what?) until a beep. So his brain and PCD were in sync with one another.

This I am told at 87%. What's the purpose of this sentence thrown at here in anyway? Throughout the book this PCD (some smartphone?) is mentioned, author not bother to explain further what it is all about.
Is this book really supposed to be genre Sci-Fi?
I mean how are they traveling to earth if the can't connect elementary with their chip without contact?
At 94% I learn that they can bent steel, and jump high as well. Good for them.


There was a whole muddle of unnecessary dialogue-nonsense, just to fill space: men talking about fishing, Lilly sitting by and listening, proud of herself not be with the girls, who spend all their “lover's money”, being not yet married to them...wtf?
Lilly = the wise and saint observer;

Lilly infantilizing other women:

...A few months ago, you were dating the front desk personnel. That caused a lot of drama and inefficiency with registration, not to mention a lot of tears. Now you've moved on to the nursing students. They're so messed up they can't even complete their clinical rotations. I find you licentious behavior disruptive to patient flow, and its adversely affecting patient care.

[...]

My ER no longer fertile dating grounds?

Am I supposed to like her?


Lilly=Liliana in this book (after the first half) is 28 , by the end near 30. She weighs not even 100 pounds (< 45 kg). She is an ugly prim needle bean, talks correctly, never drinks, hates shopping, she is the pure Mary Sue...So ideal that it tastes like diabetes. She doesn't do chick flicks. She calls herself a geek.

She never has a relationship again in these 11 years. She stays a clean, chaste virgin – because the author wants it and idealizes it throughout the book.

Although their relationship wasn't a physical one it would have been, if Charlie hadn't died hours before the wedding.

Years are passing and after 11 years she can't even be hugged and kissed (she feels nothing in another man arms, even if she finds him attractive). It's dreadful.
Idealizing chastity and sexual faithfulness to a single [and dead] man – is misogynistic.

She always felt disloyal to Charlie if she thought about other guys. Her memories of Charlie had already faded and she DIDN`T want to do anything else to diminish his presence in her life. No, Charlie was her true love. She couldn't imagine being happy with someone else.

Yeah, one can't help but vomit at all this.


We are told, no, preached down by the author, how PROUD and good it was that she was "not only unattached it appeared Charlie was the only man who ever had been in her life”

Her prude is so fuckin heroic. Applause.

Also her mother asks her to go to church and talk to god maybe it'll help (There is also many passages on how they go to church , genuflect, pray, etc....on both planets; God speaks to them through dreams, blahblah)
This woman needs a therapist, seriously, and her mom too.


So, after 10 years Charlie returns to earth and climbs through her balcony window:

Lilly: "What did you think? That I would just stop loving you because you were gone? I can't fall in love with someone else just you want me to."...

Charlie: "Why not? Your are just a fickle Earthan incapable of commitment." He wouldn't even look her in the eye. Lilly thought back to what Charlie had told her once. Sentrians had mastered the art of speaking vile things to one another in civil tones.

Really? I`m a fuckin alien myself, no wait, is this Earth here?


I thought I was punished enough, but no, I was wrong. The following is just sappy epic.

After 11 years he finally is free and returns to earth to win Lilly over. What do you think?

"There is no way he was going to show up on Lilly's doorstep with a smile and nothing else. “

What? Why not?

Watch out your face expression:

HE NEEDS A JOB, no, a "career"! And first, to VACUUM his car !!! (which he has to buy yet, a muscle car to impress the garl)

My brain hurts. This is idiotic.


He needs some cool clothing, too:
Charlie asks a clothing store clerk for help to impress Lilly, and he gets the advise to wear a Superman t-shirt:

It's all about confidence. You wear this shirt - subconsciously you` re telling the ladies that you're their hero and that you're going to rock their world. Chicks eat that shit up.

With rock their world the clerk means: “You know...., like in bedroom ."
Charlie buys 2 of the shirts.
After that the clerk again:

... Look at yourself. What does your appearance say to the opposite sex?"
Charlie looked at himself (..): khaki pants, a button-down shirt and tie, and dress shoes. (..)
“That I am responsible and stable man with a promising career who is able to provide for a potential mate? “ Charlie asked hopefully. (..)

[It is year 2000 on earth in this book]

“Wrong, “ ...Chicks look at guys like you and they think, 'Boring.' They think, 'This guy's way too corporate. He doesn't know how to have fun.“

“Here...you are going to like this. Trust me.”

Charlie came out of the dressing groom wearing jeans, a plaid funnel button down shirt tucked in over a plain white shirt and a baseball cap.

Chris un-tucked the shirt, and un-bottened it. Then he rolled the sleeves up to the elbows. Finally he turned the baseball cap backward...

“This is what the females like?..”
“Dude, you `re going to have her purring like a kitten”...

Charlie thought about it. Liliana liked cats. She had one; he remembered seeing it in her apartment. So this was probably a good thing.

Is there any sense in this?

(...)
He couldn't wait to see Liliana now. He felt ready. He had a job, a car, and an up-to-date look. What could possibly go wrong?

Are you still with me?
You know what?

Charlie is still not ready for his meeting/ date.

As I said: He needs to wash the car first, to vacuum it and put out some air freshener.



--> Earthan: You are cleaning up your car for a meeting with a girl?
Charlie nodded. “That doesn't sound like a meeting to me. It sounds more like a date.“ , Earthan told him.


Right.
There is a deep logic and philosophical thought behind all his deeds and this book anyway, you are going to vomit.



Also I was so pissed of the potrayals of women (and men) in this book. Slut shaming abound.
“bimbos”, “chica”, “babe”, “Crazy Sadie”,...
Women cannot provide for themselves, are not paid well, not specialists, have no skills the "government" needed. Mostly they are described as having children/ stay at home/ are in need of a man to change their standards of living and improve their future.
Sounds earthy to you? This all happens on this Sentrian planet,too.

Men are described as providers. Women (on Sentria and Earth) watch melodramas, and sit at home and go shopping, especially then, when they had lost their jobs (??)

This casanova / chick magnet – who Lilly finds hot/ sexy - asks her to go with him to a doctors party:
She doesn't want to.

Lilly, I can't just take anyone to this dinner. Most of the girls I know are gorgeous, sure, but there aren't a lot of neurons firing up there, " he said, pointing to his head. “What would the other doctors think if I brought Tiffany?" Tiffany was a cute girl, but very dingy.

Reluctant and without joy, she goes shopping for a dress and buys a floor length one to completely cover her legs, cause she is a bright prude girl.
Rightie!

When they arrived , Zach took Lilly around, introducing her to all the couples, Lilly could appreciate now why he didn't want one of his usual bimbos on his arm. Almost everyone in the room was a physician.

And what`s with the names? Sentrians and Earthans one. Are they from the bible?
Noah, Joshua, Moses, Judah, Jacobians, Matthias, Sharon, umrah, Abigail, David, Enoch...


This book is neither a romance, nor Sci-Fi; it is heavily religion themed.
God was everywhere in this book. Abigail (another love and career failed Sentrian woman) was banned to an island (thank god, church service is all inclusive).
She:

..had the freedom to live the way God intended with friends she trusted and loved" [=doing nothing],
they devoted themselves to fellowship and the breaking of bread and the prayers. Being with them on Patmos made fer life full and meaningful.

Kill me now.

If this meant to be what spiritual fiction is about, I`m glad this was the last I've read.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of wallowing in depression.

I like this author.....but the depression of this book two is pretty thick. The story is interesting. The revolution on sentria is depressing and realistic. The glimpse into the sentria psychiatric hospital is familiar....must all mental health institutions look like one flew over the cuckoo's nest? The sentria government seems like an unpleasant combination of far right and left ideals.

[Ayah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review:

I received an e ARC of The Circle Broken from NetGalley in exchange with an honest review.

A book were my heart was broken with every turn of page narrated by Charlie and Lilly.

I have already read the first book, The Circle, and when I saw this, I could not do anything but get it.From How the way ended in Book 1 , I knew that this was going to be a sad book. And it was.

The only reason it took me so long to finish it is that I had started it during my finals and I could not handle reading something so sad during such nerving times. So as soon as I finished my exams, I continued reading. And I read it everywhere,in the airport, in the mall,in the shop,and in the car ( no worries I was not driving) And every time I had to fight the urge to hide my tears. I never cried in public over a book !

I read 10 years of torture, pain,and ghosts of memories. I do not which is worst. To think that someone you love is dead. Or to know that someone you love thinks that you are dead, and that you would never see her again because it is wrong by the rules

By the end, there were only 20 pages left, and I was completely loosing my mind; How can everything be fixed in 20 pages? I started pacing back and forth, tossing my phone away because I am afraid of what coming next. The probabilities where infinite. Lilly could move on and fall in love with someone else, or charlie could remain a jerk for ever, or he would come to his senses to late, and all I can do is scream and shout! My sister even started laughing at me. And the ending well, let me just say that you would have enjoyed watching me reading it !

I love how Kathleen added more description in this book than the first one. It really showed up and made a great difference in reading !

There was still some things that were a bit fast paced,and that I wish we got more explanation how it happened.

I really enjoyed getting tortured by The Circle Broken and I give it 5/5 stars ( A- according to my own rating scale ! )

[Lemurkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cover is MUCH better than the one on the version I've got - beautiful!

Mine was from Netgalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'm not sure why I enjoyed this book as much as I did. The writing style is a bit dry (very much "tell", rather than "show") and there is very little conflict driving the plot, merely a series of events that happen over the 10-year span it covers, but there was just something extremely engaging with it. I wanted to read on and completed it within a couple of days.

In fact, the only real tension I experienced towards the end was when Zak had escorted Lillie into her apartment and I thought "oh great, Charlie's going to see them together, freak out and this is going to have another cliff-hanger ending which would have definitely improved the lack-of-tension but made me extremely frustrated (as well as being in almost every sitcom/romcom ever). So, I'm glad that the author broke (lame) conventions there. And, of course, Charlie's treatment and confrontation with Lilly were also quite evocative.

Overall, from a writer/editor's perspective, I can find plenty of nits to pick in this tale, but from a reader's perspective, I enjoyed it.

PS: I can't help but wonder about Abby (sorry, Abigail's) choice of cat name - how is that indicative of the rest of the story, and what role will Abigail play in book three?

[Take Me Away To A Great Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Goodreads for the giveaway of this book as soon as it came out. I agreed to give an honest review in exchange for receiving a copy of this book.

...

I loved The Circle and this sequel to that book was so great. So much happens in Charlie and Lily's life, this book spans over a lot of years. I love the emotions you feel for both of them and the small triumphs they both have at key points in the book after all the hardships and sadness they have had to endure. I really can not wait for book three to see how their story will end!!!

[Rejoice Denhere · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Enjoyable Read

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the sequel to The Circle. It had just the right mix of mystery and drama to keep me turning the pages. I don't think the story line would make much sense if you have not read the other book in the series but it would still be enjoyable. Written in clean language this book is suitable for all lovers of sci-fi, fantasy.

[Baneen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book. It was nice to see Lily grow up and learn so much. Can't wait for the next book!

[Paula Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable sequel.

I really enjoyed catching up with Charlie and Lilly and seeing how they both fared after the accident. It is a well written story with believable characters and it was lovely to see how Lilly overcame her amputation to become a doctor. It was not so nice to see what Charlie went through but he to overcame the odds. It was such an enjoyable read I downloaded number 3 straight away!

[lisa hodges · Rating 1 out of 5]

Editing please

Perhaps my copy did not load properly. This could have been a good book except it skipped forward, I returned to where I was reading then it skipped forward again. The book was spoiled for me. I am not going to buy the next book.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

*SPOILERS* If you want to be surprised, please skip this review if you haven't read "The Circle" yet. *SPOILERS*

"The Circle Broken" picks up where "The Circle" leaves off with Charlie imprisoned in a facility for the mentally ill (because of his desire for an Earthan) and Lilly in the hospital minus one of legs as a result of their capture by Sentrian leaders.
This story was such a difficult one to read. Not because it wasn't good (it was wonderful) but because of the amount of suffering endured by Charlie and Lilly over the course of their separation. You could feel Lilly's heart bleeding with the loss (or so she thought) of Charlie. I mean I cried throughout the first chapter. And, her struggle to adjust and start living her life without him was truly poignant. Charlie's suffering, while different in nature, was no less agonizing to read. His ordeal as an inmate in what amounted to a psychiatric prison and his interaction with the staff there was infuriating and frustrating and a lesson in patience. The staff (one in particular) was a very cruel overseer of Charlie's care. I really wanted vengeance against that person. The others were convinced that Charlie was unbalanced because of his infatuation with a girl from Earth and couldn't understand why his treatments weren't curing him of his mental illness. She couldn't be his "One". It wasn't possible. I was anxious for Charlie's release and hoped for a reuniting between the two lovers. I really enjoyed this scifi, young adult romance. It was suspenseful and emotional and carried you along smoothly toward the finish. While it ended on a good note, I was disappointed to discover it was not the last in the series. There should be one more to finish out the story between Charlie and Lilly. Hopefully, they will get their Happy-Ever-After. They deserve it.

received via NetGalley

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than book 1. The story flowed smoother, the dialogue worked better and the characters were more life like with developed personalities. If you enjoyed book 1 then you'll love this one. While I wasn't a fan of how much of the book they spent apart and how much times passes before they see each other again, I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt a need to just keep reading because I knew at some point they had to get back together and had to see how that all played out. I only have 2 complaints in this book. The first is again with the CDs he made for her as that technology was not commonly available in 1988. The second is because I work in the therapy world and after only one week of using the prosthesis and going to therapy she's done with the crutches...really? I mean I know therapy works and helps people with amputations learn to walk again but I've never seen anyone after one week of using a prosthesis and going to therapy be so good with it that they can wear it all day long and they don't need crutches or have to have it adjusted or something. I'm sure if I didn't work in the therapy world I wouldn't have thought anything of that brief paragraph that mentions her prosthesis/therapy but I do so I did.
Other than that this was a great continuation of a sweet story and was so much better developed than book 1!

[Christine Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

( Won this book for an honest review )

I am so thankful to have won this book. I bought the first book and fell in love with Lilly and Charlie. I had to admit, I wasn't expecting it to be a book with Aliens but it was a very pleasant surprise! I loved that there wasn't a lot of cursing and sex and these people grew to love each other for who they are, not what they are. I found myself cheering for them both through out the book and hated when it ended. I can't wait until the final book comes out. I will have to reread these ( they were that good ) when the time comes! K.M. Montemayor - you have a fantastic story!! Keep up the good work!!

[B. Truly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a roller coaster of a ride, as the story of book 2 unfolds. Lilly and Charlie are separated and there is a lot of heartache involved. From torture to cruel punishment, this story is emotional and will get a rile out of you. I found myself several times wanting to jump into the book and demand justice. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes sci-fi with a twist of dark dystopia. I can't wait to read book 3 and finally get the Complete circle.

[Jennifer Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book did not disappoint! I enjoyed learning where Charlie comes from. It was interesting to see how his government functions and how it affects his people. I admire his bravery and undying love. Both main characters continue to show great determination. Anxious to see where this determination leads them in book 3.

[Shina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book as a First-Reads. Typically this is not a book I would choose, however it kept my attention from beginning to end. It was very good and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a love story with a bit of a twist....

[Oanh · Rating 5 out of 5]

So happy to win this book! Since I first saw the reviews of this book, I knew I wanted to read this more than ever before! I ordered The Circle to read first, then I will hop onto this book. So excited!!!

Review to be revised when finished...

[Pam Germany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I can't wait to know how the story of Charlie and Lilly will end.

[Jennifer-Eve Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this through Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.