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Fractured #1

Fractured

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How do you learn to remember when you have forced yourself to forget?

How do you learn to trust when those who were meant to protect you failed?

Catering assistant, Kara Petersen, leads a quiet, monotonous life until one fateful phone call changes everything…

The sparks fly when Kara meets handsome, enigmatic, Sloan Foster. Dominant in the boardroom and successful in the bedroom, he always gets what he wants - and he wants her.

Captivated by his charm and aloof confidence, Kara is drawn to him in a way she has never been to anyone before. Aware something isn’t quite right, and against her better judgement, she concedes his intense allure is too strong to resist and their innocent fling swiftly develops into something she could never have imagined.

But in this outwardly perfect world of wealth and glamour, all that glitters isn’t gold. And as the mystery behind the man begins to slowly unravel, so does her life.

Now, with her heart and trust on the line, Kara is learning more about herself than she ever thought possible, from a man who seemingly knows more than he should. And the memories she forced herself to forget, are the ones she now desperately needs to remember.

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2014

500 people are currently reading
1033 people want to read

About the author

Elle Charles

8 books67 followers
Elle was born and raised in Yorkshire, England, where she still resides.

A self-confessed daydreamer, she loves to create strong, sexy and diverse characters, cocooned in opulent yet realistic settings that draw the reader in with every twist and turn until the very last page.

A voracious reader for as long as she can remember, she is never without her beloved Kindle. When she is not absorbed in the newest release or a trusted classic, she can often be found huddled over her laptop, tapping away new ideas and plots for forthcoming works.

Elle can be contacted on:

elle.charlesauthor@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elle.charles / @elle.charles

Twitter:
@ellecharles

Website:
www.ellecharles.com

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5 stars
556 (45%)
4 stars
322 (26%)
3 stars
202 (16%)
2 stars
80 (6%)
1 star
57 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews131 followers
Want to read
June 2, 2018
💝FREE on iBooks today (6/2/2018)!💝

This is a newly re-edited edition of the novel (28 June 2016)

Kara Petersen’s life is virtually non-existent. Haunted by memories of the past, and events she cannot accurately remember, she is living half a life inside a world she has purposely created to shield herself from pain.

She is invisible, until one fateful night changes everything - she meets the handsome, enigmatic and very mysterious, Sloan Foster.

Successful, powerful and knowing exactly what he wants, she is inexplicably drawn to him.

Tired of fighting against the foreign emotions he has invoked inside her, she takes a fortuitous leap of faith. Conceding his temptation is too strong to resist, she falls deeper into his world of seduction, wealth and power.

Against her own better judgement, and recognising something isn’t quite right in this rich playboy’s domain, Kara is learning more about herself than she ever thought possible, from a man who seemingly knows more than he should.

A dark, engaging and provocative read that will stay with you long after you put it down.
Profile Image for Pamela .
1,438 reviews77 followers
March 16, 2015


2.5 stars

Unfortunately, "Fractured" was not a winner with me. I will give the author credit as it's a well-written story which includes an array of interesting and complex characters. She's also created a lot of heat and passion between the two protagonists, Kara and Sloane. But the actual story? I've read the same formulaic story many times over.

- You have your two damaged souls.
- She's poor, he's obscenely filthy rich.
- He wants her, desires her, claims her. She wants nothing to do with him.
- He buys her pretty things that are very expensive. She becomes irate telling him she doesn't want him for his money. He knows but still wants to buy her things like clothes, jewellery, and a car.
- He likes to have total control. She is determined to not let him control her.
- They have sex. Lots of sex, some of it mildly erotic.
- He loves her. She loves him. They keep it to themselves.
- She pulls away, he brings her back; she pulls away, he brings her back; she pulls away, he brings her back. You get the idea.
- She doesn't feel deserving of this beautiful, sexy, gorgeous man that every woman who sees him hungers for.
- She feels her past will split them up.
- They both have secrets. She wants to know his. He refuses. He wants to know hers. She says no. He says trust me. She says yes.
- She gives him her heart.
- He makes sure she has security detail 24/7 as there's a threat against.
- Tells her she can't go anywhere by herself, to tell him where she goes.
- One day Kara leaves without her guard, and doesn't call Sloane. Low and behold, she get's in trouble. Luckily she's saved but given a stern lecture that includes some yelling, and then they have sex.

*Insert angst that is not only boring and mundane, it's a total cliché.

- Sloane is told tales about Kara from a person who continuously lies, takes drugs, prostitutes herself out, and would do anything to hurt Kara. Guess what? He believes the drugged out prostitute. Doesn't even give Kara a chance to defend herself. He kicks her out of the house and tells her to get out of his life. She tells him he's wrong, that he destroyed the one thing she gave him and no one else, her heart.
- She leaves.
- Later, he realizes he was lied to.

If you haven't already guessed, the story continues with book 2, "Tormented." To read or not to read? That I leave up to you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for EroticaAfterDark (Lilith).
2,780 reviews957 followers
August 26, 2015
1.5 stars rounded up for the attempt.

DNF



Okay, I haven't finished the book but I still feel obligated to write a review. Stopping at 41% I still believe to anticipate what will happen, because .

I'm giving this one two stars, because it started so good, the writing style is decent, even though too wordy now and then and in the epilogue just not fitting for a young teen. Plus, it's probably just the right book for people who love tormented souls that want to insta-hump each other and fall in insta-love without knowing anything important about each other. And yes, of course, she's the poor, tormented girl, he's the tormented, possessive millionaire, which she is too stupid to find out for herself.

I quit this book because it didn't keep its promise being a credible, authentic story about an abused woman overcoming her fears and torment to find true love, who is sensible, understanding and patient.

It's not. She just decides that her horny hunger for him is enough to throw all her caution and worry down the drain and he - who probably already knows about her - just fucking forces her to come with him and 'seduces' her. WTF.



I guess this book was intended to be a dramatic romance build around erotica. For me the sex scenes were clinical, some lines were just laughable or absolute mood killers, for me.

Long story short, if you are writing about a rape victim, you should know exactly what you're writing about. In my eyes Kara's thoughts were more authentic than her actions, it just didn't fit.

If you don't care about authenticity and just want another drama/romance with erotica and a rich guy who comes and sweeps the lady off her feet. This book is for you.

1.5 star rating

disclaimer
Profile Image for Heather Hatfield.
4 reviews
May 1, 2017
I really wanted to like this book. Told myself to keep going and that maybe the tone would change so that the man, Sloan, was not just sounding completely manipulative and abusive to the main character. she repeatedly told him no. I get the point was they are two damaged people and were supposed to bring out thr best in each other or whatnot, but I could only get 20% through before it was too much. The way it is written is great aside from perpetuating rape culture.
Profile Image for Linda.
90 reviews4 followers
March 6, 2015
I have to say this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. The book itself has lots of twists and the plot although predictable in places is still really good. The characters are well written and although at times the main female lead Kara, needs a good shaking in order for her to listen to sense, the story really is very good. I have read books this good in this genre' but not for quite a while, and this was a refreshing find. It deals with dark matter, abuse at it's worse, rape and other dark subjects, it's angst at it's best. As i always say it won't be to every ones taste, but if you don't like books like this then don't read it, but for me it was definitely a great find and a good read, i purchased the second book straight away ;-)
Profile Image for Wendy Livingstone.
20k reviews257 followers
June 16, 2019
This is the first book in a new series from this author. Kara and Sloan are total opposites and both broken. This is a well written story which is an emotional roller coaster ride throughout, and is dark, mysterious, with a tad angst, which all lead to a riveting read. This does end in a cliff-hanger, and I look forward to reading more in this series.
Profile Image for Bleumoon.
252 reviews8 followers
March 13, 2015
I loved this book! I found it very hard to put down. I loved all the little mysteries and trying to figure things out along the way! The characters were well written. And I liked the story... I had a bit of a crash when Kara started being unreasonable demanding something and getting mad and hurt when she got it? But if Sloan pushed her she got just as mad... He couldn't win no matter what. Seems like toward the last third of the book things started falling apart, Kara who has all these fears going to meet the cause alone (I partly get this), Sloan's behavior, which would have been understandable if it had been consistent, at the end was way over-kill... and then we had the cliffhanger - if you read any of my reviews you know how I hate the cliffhangers - but even that couldn't make me take away a single star. I read for entertainment and this book entertained me and kept me thinking about it even when I wasn't reading. I will be buying book 2 and 2.5! Elle Charles has a new fan!
Profile Image for Tiffany Readz.
2,020 reviews52 followers
June 19, 2019
Not for Me

While I understand an author trying to check all of the emotional boxes for the reader, this was too much of a mish mash for me. The book almost read as two different stories as it went along. We are introduced to our female lead character in the worst situation possible and then are expected to forget that first chapter as she got older. She started out with "invisible walls" for protection and just like that, they are knocked down by a rich, handsome man. All of her built up resolve gone in a flash and she's instantly at his beck and call.

There is a lot going on in this book besides the male and female leads. We have the parents, the roommates and co-workers as well, to convolute things even more. Don't even get me started on the parents. Yuck. They were worthless and it really made no sense that they were still in this girls life.

We don't always connect with a book and that happens to be the situation with me and this one. There was quite a bit of story, but nothing that pulled me in and kept me there.

Reviewed for Renee Entress's Blog.
19 reviews
November 8, 2016
Not a easy read...but worth it..

I'm not going to go into details of the story and spoil it for future readers... but this is the first book I have read by this Author and I will be reading many more on the future. This series is about living through intense hardship and abuse and finally finding the freedom nd happiness that you deserve, I will admit that sometimes during this book I thought about stopping but I'm so glad I continued as this book really takes you on a roller coaster of emotions.. I love that this book is centered in England as so many writers always have there stories set in America.. this series get really gritting about coming from a broken home and dealing with the after effects and struggling through life... I would really encourage people to read this series as it gets better and better as the story goes on.. I loved it and cant wait to get reading the rest of the series..
Profile Image for Jessica.
1,078 reviews44 followers
July 18, 2019
1 Lifeless-Star ☆
Jesus, the first chapter broke me! My heart was in pieces and I didn’t know what to do. On the day of her birthday, her parents lock her in her room with crazy men who rape her. Mind you this is not the first time. What the F#%K!?!?!

And then every chapter after that seemed to be from a different book. The first chapter had betrayal and pain. And then I felt like I got on a train to nowhere. Just coasting... I had to give up 40% into the story.

Kara’s friend is stupid and worthless. Her way of being does not seem related to how she grew up being tortured, beaten and raped by random men. She’s assertive and in control... until she sees a man and she goes crazy. Except of course for Sloan... really? That’s just plain silly.
Profile Image for Jo Conway.
101 reviews7 followers
June 26, 2014
Oh wow...I'm not even sure where to start!!!!
For me the beginning was a little slow but I have a 5 chapter rule & I'm so glad I do as I was gripped by chapter 3!!!!
I couldn't put it down, I constantly needed to know what was going to happen next & what it was that everyone is really hiding!!
I was so sucked in that I could just feel something was about to happen & bam it does & it's the cliff hanger or all cliff hangers too......I am salivating to get my hands on book two....don't leave us hanging too long we need to know what's next!!!!!!!
Profile Image for Brandy Roberts.
2,082 reviews62 followers
June 17, 2019
I'm very conflicted on how to feel about this book some things I loved and other things just drew me off of the story . Fractured is book one of the series and it can't be read as a standalone it's a continuation . I was really into the story but something happened to were I was just annoyed with the characters especially the heroine how they would react to things . Overall thus was a good book and i'll be giving book two a chance .
Profile Image for Kristine Cluney.
157 reviews
May 15, 2015
Omg this is amazing

Dark story line but fabulous story. Kara has had a life that no one can believe but through it all there is strength hope never give up attitude that keeps you gripped. Don't pass this up
31 reviews
October 22, 2018
I gave up on this only a couple of chapters in, and deleted it from my Kindle. The writing was so bad - clunky and with so many errors - and it was all so trite and ham-fisted. Won't be returning to this trilogy.
Profile Image for Rebecca Bilcliff.
45 reviews6 followers
September 24, 2015
omg I really enjoyed this. so many unanswered questions and I need answers like now! waiting for next book is going to kill me.
Profile Image for Sarah Stein.
Author 55 books518 followers
November 1, 2022
There’s a lot going on in the first part of this series. Kara’s been abused her whole young life. She realizes even family can’t be trusted. She finally runs away, and when she’s caught scavenging by Marie, she’s taken in and cared for. As an adult, she learns to be independent and be less trusting. She meets Sloan and feels like she’s known him forever. Unfortunately, things aren’t cut and dry for Kara and Sloan. I’m unsure what happened close to the end of the book because Sloan pushed her away and leaves her hanging. I’m hoping the second book will reveal some information about why.
Profile Image for Jennifer Pierson.
11.7k reviews188 followers
June 19, 2019
Kara has a nightmare past that through her inner monologue & her actions show that she never got over fully, and while I understand that, it still makes no sense that no one, like her aunt, made her get any help. So she's going along in live when her roommate who is on drugs pulls something, gets herself in trouble, and Kara is called. This is when she comes face to face with the uber rich Sloan, who decides he wants to make her his immediately. She turns him down, which doesn't happen to him, and he chases her until she can't say no, over & over again, making for a push & pull journey that drove me insane. Like she was always think she wasn't good enough for him, so she was a big flight risk. He would bring her back, despite her running. It also doesn't help that there's some kind of threat stalking her, so there's some twist that kept my heart pounding like it was going to come out of my chest. Of course there's drama coming from every direction, as Sloan is doing everything he can to find out who is stalking her, but he's keeping secrets as well, and we all know that secrets don't make friends. Of course what he's hiding isn't even close to begin revealed. However, he really pissed me off big time, so it will be interesting to see how Elle Carles fixes the mess because I'm not sure how he can be redeemed at this point especially after that brutal cliffy ending that has me dying inside as I hang off the side of the cliff! Anyway that's all from me, and now it's up to you! HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Profile Image for Amy  Crull.
2,438 reviews38 followers
June 21, 2019
This book..so many feels I've felt while reading this. Mostly anger, confusion and happy at times. Kara has had a messed up life. I mean she was raped on her birthday.. Her dad is a piece of crap, he gets himself in trouble and she's the only one he comes to. He has this hold on her that she can't shake. Despite the mental and physical abuse, Kara does well for herself. She has people who care for her and want to succeed but her roommate is in some deep and very bad situations. She honestly isn't my favorite person.
My issue is Sloan, he comes on strong like really strong. He's also wishy washy at times. He tells he loves her and she's only his.. Then he turns the table on her and starts calling her horrible names. With her issues, I would have thought he woul butd have been a red flag but it wasn't. I will give him props in the bedroom. He knows how to treat a lady.. My kindle was smokin with certain scenes between them. This book contains plot twists that will make your head spin. I will read the next 2 books to find out how this all plays out for them.
Profile Image for Ashley Estep The Art of Reading .
788 reviews36 followers
June 20, 2019
This is my first book from Elle Charles and also the first book in the Fractured series.

I loved the suspense, and the twist and turns that kept coming. The book was intriguing and kept me needing more.

Kara is a broken main character, and she has every right to be broken. The horrific things that have happen to her are beyond heartbreaking and they were absolutely soul hurting to read about. Sloan is Kara's opposite in every way. Opposites attract but it doesn't mean it will make easy for you.

I gave it four stars because I felt like it could have had a little more angst to it. But the plot twist kept me turning the page.

I can't wait to see what she does for book two.

Profile Image for Laura Q..
19 reviews1 follower
December 28, 2019
I’m not sure this ever saw an editor prior to publication as the grammatical errors are so frequent it feels unfinished.
As for the content: it is deplorable: a story about a woman who has been through abuse and gets dragged into an abusive relationship disguised as some kind of romance. I hated the depiction of the protagonist’s deep-rooted post traumatic symptoms just vanishing because of a man she finds attractive.
The writing and content both remind me of the Twilight books and not in a good way. We are given no description of the male love interest beyond that he is stunning, perfect and sexy.
Profile Image for Lara.
27 reviews
May 15, 2020
This book/series did my absolute head in. I don’t often give up on books but by book 2 I was skimming pages and gave up on the third book entirely.
Kara is exasperating beyond words, I just didn’t get the flow of the series at all and didn’t connect with the characters, I’m quite sure I spent most of my time shouting at my screen with utter frustration - not because it’s riveting, it’s predictable and didn’t excite me one bit.

On paper the plot should work but it just doesn’t. Up and down, up and down, just repetitive situations with the same outcome - Kara running away and landing herself in a worse situation.
Profile Image for Magwan.
680 reviews6 followers
July 21, 2021
Haunting past

Beautifully written emotional turmoil. It covers very strong subject matter and deals with every aspect of child abuse, abuse of women and drugs. It's about a woman who is trying to overcome her past, who doesn't like to be touched and is just getting by. She meets someone and he makes her reevaluate her controlled life.
Definitely a page turner and very sad. It's frustrating because you want her to have a happy ending but she's battling inner demons, she doesn't trust easily and slone is challenging her and triggering her past which she is trying to forget.
It's a promising start and I'm sure will become an emotional rollercoaster ride.
1 review
May 16, 2024
Not a bad storyline, although there seemed to be “the same old same as” thing happening with the on-again, off-again relationship. I would have liked to see Kara take more control over the relationship, and that rankled a bit. However, my main gripe was not only the grammar, but also I felt as though the author was sitting with a Thesaurus beside her as she was writing, looking for a “big” word to substitute for what she wanted to say. Seriously, just say it, because the words didn’t work, were inappropriate and showed ignorance of the meaning of the words substituted. I had to laugh when I read that Sloan “elongated” against her “core”. That could only be attributed to a Thesaurus moment. Apart from that, the erotica content was swoon-worthy although, at times I had to re-read some confusing parts. A reader should never have to re-read a section to understand what has been written. To be fair, this only occurred a couple of times. I downloaded the second book, but not sure if I could finish it though because of the Thesaurus moments and the story reiterating the same content over and over.
Profile Image for Cassandra.
774 reviews
October 16, 2025
I very much have enjoyed this book. Sure, it felt like it was going nowhere a few times, and there has been a lot of repetition,  but not too terrible.  There were a few things that don't make any sense, though.


What the heck was she thinking when meeting her dad alone? What was so important that she not only had to go, but had to go alone? That was just dumb, especially since she knows she is being followed.


I don't understand Sloan, either. He knows what Sam is, yet he still believes her about Kara, amd throws her out. That makes no sense. And shy hasn't Marie clarified things for her?

Then, the whole scene at the club, what was that about? He threw her out, not the other way around. 


I am definitely moving on to the next book for sure. I would recommend this book, too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for A.BookNerd.Bookseller&Bibliophile.Blog.
2,787 reviews107 followers
June 19, 2019
I am very conflicted about how I feel about this book. I really liked some aspects but I didn't like other aspects.

The topic of this book is really heavy. I knew this going into it so I expected some pages to be harder to get through than others. I underestimated just how difficult some of the scenes would be.

The author's writing style helped me to get through this book. I am glad that I was able to finish the book because it was interesting. However, in the end, it was just okay for me.

Reviewed by: Brianne M.
576 reviews6 followers
July 7, 2022
A good story

I enjoyed this story of a girl who was leant out to men by her father, to pay his bills, and the trauma she suffered for years as a result of that.
However, I did not enjoy the writing style of Elle Charles at all! Almost every sentence was littered with inappropriate words as if she had swallowed a dictionary and was spewing the result out in an effort to impress.
While the story caught my attention, I would not want to read any more unless she finds a good editor to weed out the verbal excesses.
Profile Image for Brianna.
71 reviews1 follower
November 13, 2022
DNF for me
Couldn’t finish

Got a third of the way and just couldn’t continue on. Too many outlandish descriptive words. Lots of heavy breathing is described which makes me believe the male MC is a loud mouth breather.

The relationship between the male & female MC doesn’t make sense and moves very quickly, especially for the female MC who we are made to believe is very emotionally/physically traumatized.

It’s a good plot but the relationship & verbiage really throws me off and I can’t get into it.
10 reviews
July 5, 2019
Love it love it lovr

I've read some amazing books but have been reading slot of rubbish recently dressed as something good. So I wasn't expecting alot. This book is great!!! Interesting characters, good heat, very descriptive writing...some parts touched my heart enough forms to post on FB. Elle should be very proud of the book and her talent - just about to download the series. Love it !!
610 reviews
February 26, 2021
I finished it but only because i skimmed most of the repetitive sex scenes and a lot of the dreary self analysis.
The book started with a degree of promise but once Kara got involved with Sloan I lost all sympathy and respect for her. She flip flopped around and ignored all hints that he was a control freak, happy to take on trust his odd behaviour.
I certainly won't be tempted to purchase more by this author.
76 reviews
September 16, 2022
A well written novel that ends on a cliffhanger. The darkness that Kara has fought comes to claim her. Yet , I believe that her inner strength will come through. Sloan needs a lot more growth in his character arc, which I'm sure he will get. He is also a well developed character with the flaw common to so many men that he is always right.
I enjoyed this so much that I stayed up late and binge read the last half.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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