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The Shape of My Scar
Some wounds don't bleed-they burn, they bind, they remember.
Thane survived the fire once. Not the kind that scars skin, but the kind that brands the soul. He and his brothers-fire-forged, trauma-bonded, and unbreakable-escaped a childhood no one should endure, only to build an empire on secrets and violence.
Then came her.
She is a whisper from his past wrapped in barbed wire and silence. She's part of the enemy network he's infiltrating-caged, watched and broken. Or so she seems. But nothing about her adds up. Her touch is familiar, her eyes haunted by memories only he should carry.
She flinches at all the right moments. Says things she shouldn't know. And when she looks at him, it's like she's asking for help... or warning him to run.
In a world where masks are stitched on with fear, Thane starts to wonder if he's the one being played. What is real and what is not?
And as the mission spirals out of control, one question rises like smoke through flame-
What if the thing he's been searching for was right there in front of him, just hidden behind a scar shaped exactly like his own?
Thane survived the fire once. Not the kind that scars skin, but the kind that brands the soul. He and his brothers-fire-forged, trauma-bonded, and unbreakable-escaped a childhood no one should endure, only to build an empire on secrets and violence.
Then came her.
She is a whisper from his past wrapped in barbed wire and silence. She's part of the enemy network he's infiltrating-caged, watched and broken. Or so she seems. But nothing about her adds up. Her touch is familiar, her eyes haunted by memories only he should carry.
She flinches at all the right moments. Says things she shouldn't know. And when she looks at him, it's like she's asking for help... or warning him to run.
In a world where masks are stitched on with fear, Thane starts to wonder if he's the one being played. What is real and what is not?
And as the mission spirals out of control, one question rises like smoke through flame-
What if the thing he's been searching for was right there in front of him, just hidden behind a scar shaped exactly like his own?
- GenresDark Romance
274 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 19, 2025
28 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 19, 2025
Beautiful and Gritty
Raegan, you did it again! The gut-wrenching hell that Faolan and the Horseman went thru was rough but led them into the life they live, taking down the bad guys. When Talon realized that he found his Dorothy, it turned his life upside down in the best of ways. The heartbreak and longing was real, and I felt the pain and love in my soul. I loved the dark, the grit and the love of them finding there way back to each other's lives.
Raegan, you did it again! The gut-wrenching hell that Faolan and the Horseman went thru was rough but led them into the life they live, taking down the bad guys. When Talon realized that he found his Dorothy, it turned his life upside down in the best of ways. The heartbreak and longing was real, and I felt the pain and love in my soul. I loved the dark, the grit and the love of them finding there way back to each other's lives.
September 23, 2025
I wanted to love this book. I was hooked after reading a bit on Wattpad. I also loved this authors other books. I went into this thinking I was going to love the whole thing and with such high hopes. It didn’t really work for me in the end. The whole thing was confusing and just really didn’t flow smoothly for me. I sat here trying to figure it out but it just never clicked into place for me. Idk. It was just weird.
September 22, 2025
Please do yourself a favor and give this story a chance. Do not be scared off by the child trafficking subject matter. Yes that is a heavy subject to weave in story where there is also romance, but Raegan approaches it with the care she does with all her stories.
SOME SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST 20 PERCENT OF THE BOOK, BUT JUST THE FACTS!
The story starts in the past…Faolan, our heroine has been placed in a foster home apart from her two brothers when she was 9….she trusts an older boy in the foster home, who brings her to a child trafficking ring. She is kept in seclusion in a dirty room. She is taken out of the room when her kidnappers “need” her. Raegan gives us just enough information to break our hearts, but she doesn’t give us the disturbing details. We don’t need her to show us the depraved acts, because I am pretty sure we all know what goes on. Our imaginations, can make it so much worse. While there, she hears noise from next door. It is then we are introduced to the rest of our main characters….Maro, Zel, Lirian, and our hero, 11 year old Thane. They are also held captive, and abused. Faolan tells them her name is Dorothy. She has a couple of books and starts to read to them. She also has books memorized and tells them those as well. They share stories through the hole in the wall. They form a close bond all of them, but especially Thane and his Dory! One day she is able to steal some keys to help the boys escape. They do, and try to rescue her, but her room has a digital lock. They promise to come back for her. Shortly after their rescue, the compound is on fire and a little girl’s body is found. However, none of the boys forget her and they keep looking for her. The book then fast forwards 20 years(about the 20% mark)
This my friends is where I will leave my review. There are some twists and turns that happen in the story. I want to assure you that although there is still some painful moments in the rest of the book, there are also triumphs and love. These 5 children/adults carry with them invisible scars that affect their life choices. It would not be surprising if they turned to drugs or crime given their tragic circumstances. However, they turn their tragedies from the past into helping those in the present. Sometimes their methods of dealing with the evil doers may be seen as morally grey? However, the people they deal with deserve their final destinations. Thane and Faolan are reunited. The bond from their childhood is still there. I am not trying to lessen the very real consequences of children who are kidnapped and used in nefarious ways, in fact I felt this story made me think more about it. It made those children more real for me, and not just a nightly news clip that is sandwiched between what the Kardashians are doing. I know many do not survive, others that do fall into despair, but in the end the book gave me hope for those who are able to overcome and thrive. I am hoping, and based on the excerpt at the end of the book that we will get a story for all of the characters. Thank you to the author’s artistry in creating a love story among the devastation.
SOME SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST 20 PERCENT OF THE BOOK, BUT JUST THE FACTS!
The story starts in the past…Faolan, our heroine has been placed in a foster home apart from her two brothers when she was 9….she trusts an older boy in the foster home, who brings her to a child trafficking ring. She is kept in seclusion in a dirty room. She is taken out of the room when her kidnappers “need” her. Raegan gives us just enough information to break our hearts, but she doesn’t give us the disturbing details. We don’t need her to show us the depraved acts, because I am pretty sure we all know what goes on. Our imaginations, can make it so much worse. While there, she hears noise from next door. It is then we are introduced to the rest of our main characters….Maro, Zel, Lirian, and our hero, 11 year old Thane. They are also held captive, and abused. Faolan tells them her name is Dorothy. She has a couple of books and starts to read to them. She also has books memorized and tells them those as well. They share stories through the hole in the wall. They form a close bond all of them, but especially Thane and his Dory! One day she is able to steal some keys to help the boys escape. They do, and try to rescue her, but her room has a digital lock. They promise to come back for her. Shortly after their rescue, the compound is on fire and a little girl’s body is found. However, none of the boys forget her and they keep looking for her. The book then fast forwards 20 years(about the 20% mark)
This my friends is where I will leave my review. There are some twists and turns that happen in the story. I want to assure you that although there is still some painful moments in the rest of the book, there are also triumphs and love. These 5 children/adults carry with them invisible scars that affect their life choices. It would not be surprising if they turned to drugs or crime given their tragic circumstances. However, they turn their tragedies from the past into helping those in the present. Sometimes their methods of dealing with the evil doers may be seen as morally grey? However, the people they deal with deserve their final destinations. Thane and Faolan are reunited. The bond from their childhood is still there. I am not trying to lessen the very real consequences of children who are kidnapped and used in nefarious ways, in fact I felt this story made me think more about it. It made those children more real for me, and not just a nightly news clip that is sandwiched between what the Kardashians are doing. I know many do not survive, others that do fall into despair, but in the end the book gave me hope for those who are able to overcome and thrive. I am hoping, and based on the excerpt at the end of the book that we will get a story for all of the characters. Thank you to the author’s artistry in creating a love story among the devastation.
September 28, 2025
Wow… just, wow.
This is an insanely good start to The Unbroken series. Ms. Salander has written an amazing and compelling novel that couples romance with a sort of police procedural.
Faolon is nine years old when she is abducted and trafficked. Thane is eleven. He, along with several other boys, has also been abducted and trafficked. So obviously there’s a lot of trauma for all of them. Anyway, she tells him that her name is Dorothy, as in Oz. She manages to get the door key, gives it to Thane, and the boys escape. They can’t get her out because she’s behind a steel door with a key pad, and they of course don’t know the code. They find police but by the time they can identify the place they escaped from, the place is in flames.
Twenty years later…
KU read, but this is a keeper. I need to buy the series, and hopefully it will be published soon.
This is an insanely good start to The Unbroken series. Ms. Salander has written an amazing and compelling novel that couples romance with a sort of police procedural.
Faolon is nine years old when she is abducted and trafficked. Thane is eleven. He, along with several other boys, has also been abducted and trafficked. So obviously there’s a lot of trauma for all of them. Anyway, she tells him that her name is Dorothy, as in Oz. She manages to get the door key, gives it to Thane, and the boys escape. They can’t get her out because she’s behind a steel door with a key pad, and they of course don’t know the code. They find police but by the time they can identify the place they escaped from, the place is in flames.
Twenty years later…
KU read, but this is a keeper. I need to buy the series, and hopefully it will be published soon.
November 8, 2025
3.5 stars
The subject matter in this story makes it a hard read. I loved the tattoo Thane had on his chest. This group was so used to being other people, I think they forgot who they were. I was disappointed when told the scene from the school. I felt with how hard he looked for her, he would have recognized her. The little twist at the end was a surprise. Overall I liked it.
The subject matter in this story makes it a hard read. I loved the tattoo Thane had on his chest. This group was so used to being other people, I think they forgot who they were. I was disappointed when told the scene from the school. I felt with how hard he looked for her, he would have recognized her. The little twist at the end was a surprise. Overall I liked it.
September 21, 2025
Not what I was expecting but thoroughly enjoyable all the same. This author’s creative work just keeps getting better and better. A dramatic and soulful end to Thane and Faolan’s happiness and a wonderful background and setup for the upcoming stories of the rest of the Horsemen. Can’t wait! 🤩
January 21, 2026
Another great story
This was so awesome, I couldn't stop reading it once I started. I can't wait for Lirian story and I hope Zel and Maro get one too....poor nurse done caught the eye of a sexy nut job...Zel sounds sexy 😍😍😍😍😍 onto your next stories
This was so awesome, I couldn't stop reading it once I started. I can't wait for Lirian story and I hope Zel and Maro get one too....poor nurse done caught the eye of a sexy nut job...Zel sounds sexy 😍😍😍😍😍 onto your next stories
September 23, 2025
All the Feels
Horror, romance, terrifying and ending in happiness. How children are broken and how they healed. Evil is out there and gets overcome.
Horror, romance, terrifying and ending in happiness. How children are broken and how they healed. Evil is out there and gets overcome.
October 7, 2025
Seemed well written but it was way too dark for me.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews