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Broken Beloved
They took everything from her. She'd give it all again to keep him safe.
Anna sacrificed everything to save her brother’s life. She endured endless torture. She killed. Now she wants to close her eyes and sleep forever.
Only she can’t. She’s a vampire.
There’s only one person in the world who can save her, but she’s too consumed by pain to see it.
He knows, eventually, he’ll succeed.
One day, he’ll set her free.
A brand new young adult paranormal romance series. New books publishing every few weeks. Be sure to follow N.M. Howell's author page to be notified of the next release.
Anna sacrificed everything to save her brother’s life. She endured endless torture. She killed. Now she wants to close her eyes and sleep forever.
Only she can’t. She’s a vampire.
There’s only one person in the world who can save her, but she’s too consumed by pain to see it.
He knows, eventually, he’ll succeed.
One day, he’ll set her free.
A brand new young adult paranormal romance series. New books publishing every few weeks. Be sure to follow N.M. Howell's author page to be notified of the next release.
178 pages, Paperback
Published March 11, 2017
8 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 12, 2017
Broken Beloved by N.M. Howell is one terrific fantasy/romance novel. If you love vamps, weres, and a touch of romance then this is the book for you. A wonderful book that had me tearful at times, (which I had to cry!), and smiling at others. I really enjoyed this book.
March 12, 2017
Broken Beloved opens in a baptism of fire, quite literally. The opening sequence sees an older sister, Anna, trying desperately to pull her need younger brother, Tyler, through lung choking, eye watering smoke that chases them up the stairwell that is their only path to freedom. She's struggling to carry on with one or two advantages she still holds, but which are rapidly diminishing. Her advantages could've rightly been much higher if she'd been allowed to feed, even a little more than the barest to keep her from death, but insufficient to allow her body to heal from the tortures she'd endured; and the decomposition that had begun it's path of destruction from the tips of limbs.
Her revulsion is still a reality but she would die to do what was necessary for her to accept an ending of the horrific nightmare that is her life. It is therefore no surprise that Tyler is promptly losing his battle, and is moments from a permanent death, unlike that of her first death. Malnourished and mistreated himself, Tyler's human body has not the capacity to endure what her vampiric one can. Its only her tight grip on his hand that keeps him moving as she pulls him up from the second to last floor. Wracked with the overwhelming coughing of lungs filled near to capacity by smoke billowing up from below, Tyler would hopefully curl up where he leans against the bannister, to accept the inevitable. Rightly so, he's unable to respond with more than light squeezing of their clasped hands to let her know that he's heard what she's said.
But for Anna's part on of the goal of seeing him to safety, she hasn't endured past the abominable ways her mind and body were ravished by the rogue coven, to simply allow him to give up and die. Treated in the worst ways imaginable and kept under fed, Anna struggles against the siren song of warm blood. How her vulgar instincts can be distracted at a time of imminent death escapes her comprehension, but nonetheless goes to showing how badly her body requires what is essentially a meagre amount to have otherwise been kept healthy. But as she faces incineration coming steadily from two fronts its not her condition that motivates her to achieve what is needed.
Her run of terror had begun roughly fifteen years ago when she herself was the same age as Tyler now is. In a night of orchestrated death by the coven roasting in their own juices, but never slowly enough for the horrors they'd caused, he'd been a child of only three. As dire as their situation had become since and including that night, Anna had tried to be the best older sister, even mother, as she was able with the absent resources she didn't have. There'd never been a more untenable situation as had existed for them. That Tyler is even alive and not deathly I'll is testament to the rigors she'd taken in his stead. Fate seemed hellbent on continuing it's tirades of penance in the ways that call for her constant blood and pain, but which remain unknown as to how or why they were given life. Why it didn't just exact the toll paid by her death to just end its vehemence was a daily struggle. It was only that it would involve her innocent brother in the debts should she be absent, that kept her battle going.
A bitter person would be inclined to think stuff it. To go out and purposefully earn it. If you're going to be burnt as a witch at the stake in a town centre pyre, then why not practice the craft you're accused and convicted of without trial; if for no other reason than to at least benefit from the crimes your accused and executed for. Anna should probably consider that she'll get the last laugh, for it does sort of prove that both her and the hand of penance have shortcomings. Even if she had accrued a debt, one which she has only an inkling of an idea as to how it was earnt, its not possible to learn from mistakes or to truly experience penance unless you know what it is that they're being exacted for.
The starvation used by the coven as just another in an extremely long list of tortures sapped the necessary strength that would've simply allowed to her to carry her brother to safety. In her starved condition she is barely in a better state than he has. In truth she's likely in a worse condition, but being undead meant her body didn't need to breath. Its here where the integral difference exists. The anomalous advantage that allowed their plan to be set in motion before it was too late, is that despite her young vampiric age, specific tortures had conditioned her to have abilities the other coven members lacked. They'd been kept secreted from their awareness, otherwise she'd never have had the opportunity to put them in motion. Her primary goal had long since left her own escape absent from the plan. Not that Tyler was aware, but in order to facilitate his escape it meant that she would perish like the rest of the coven. Tyler would never have gone along with it if he knew that their daytime flee to safety left her facing incineration on two fronts.
Now the door exiting after the final twelve steps, one more floor, will mean safety for her brother as long as he listens to her instruction and stays within the lines clearing his path. Only then will he be out of reach of the razor sharp claws of the rampaging lycans. Caged in their shifted forms in five-by-five feet silver cages, she'd been held in the range of their claws time and time again when the coven felt inclined for that type of humour and play. The raised scar tissue plaguing her body, never fully healed because she had never been allowed the minimum blood volume of about one litre per fortnight, is testament to what their claws are capable of. Incineration awaits her outside the final door after clearing the half-wolves no matter how she chooses to play it out: the sun still sits high in the sky, ensuring that the type of death chasing their rear is what awaits her front.
Ain't irony a poetical bitch. Finishing the digging in of it's boots without mercy, it's oftentimes bedfellow, hindsight, just loves to bask in the glorious stupidity of your past mistakes; before progressing to slap the 'dah' look from your face, leaving your ears ringing with the echoes of it's maniacal giggles. Its oh so mature love affair with the phrase 'I told you so, I told you so', et cetera. The icing on their totally shitful cake was the rampaging lycans making ascension of the stairs to escape fire and smoke, and the outside sunlight (for her) just part of the monstrous cake they had not the means to eat. At least the roasting vampires below would get their comeuppance. Against the trend of the past fifteen years, those filled with the poorest luck she had ever seen or heard of in her thirty-three years of existence, Anna and Tyler needed some good luck for a change. Tyler's continued safety relied upon the whole coven perishing in the flames she'd lit. Should conditions not prevail, which might mean that some overlooked area managed not to be consumed by the flames, then it's possible that one or more of the thirty-plus vampires could drag themselves from the wreckage. There'd be no place he could hide if that was to occur. Its one of the reasons she had kept to herself that justifies why she won't be exiting that final door. If she can survive so near to the sun then she needed to last only long enough to know there was no longer any chance that one survives.
Like a centrifuge started with the climatic speed indicative of escapees fleeing from a raging fire to maneuver between the reach of lycans doing their best to also escape said flames, Broken Beloved starts with an impressive pace that waxes and wanes but never fully stops. Just as a centrifuge requires little power to keep it rotating after it's been properly set in motion, the story's momentum similarly keeps it going in ways as varied as they are detailed. The envisaged experiences of Anna's mind and feelings as she details and describes her vampiric experiences to-date, pleasingly covers little aspects that are often overlooked or considered absent from the potentiate of vampire life. Then there's others that it recreates in unique ways. In so doing it creates new perspectives, for it also has a greater scope of what life would be like if you were to walk in the shoes of a vampire. Not the romanticism that often accompanies such stories, but instead the various aspects usually mentioned and then forgotten.
From the opening recollections to the later witness of patterned backlash of the events from in a past that seemingly can't be stopped from being relived, Broken Beloved earns it name via the gory internal war being fought. Depravities that would make the torturers of Hell proud to see them happen have painted an endless diary of scarification and outbursts of remembrance. Its here in such aspects of the novella that the story begins to escape the confines of fiction and paranormal fantasy to take on the characteristics you might see from a story that's been written using the memories of a diary by a very real person, instead of just a character, that depict a lifetime of abuse; and their first few months after they'd fought with every remaining ounce of effort to escape the relationships that caused the nightmares to begin with. Perhaps a victim of domestic and relationship abuses, where the story has chosen to outline the depravities enough to get a good picture before moving on to the aftermath. Outline mighten be the best word to use, because although the actual events are given detail which would be considered more an outline when compared to the intensive examination of the events relived in aftermath, they do nonetheless have both aspects considered. Thus they're much more than an outline.
Getting back to a fantastical fiction its possible to predict that should a prequel ever be written then it's bound to be a scathing look at the nastiest, most evil and vile examination of what might be considered as an underbelly of any respective lifestyle; that is, analogous to the underbelly styled retelling of crime syndicates. The explorations that care less for sensibilities and more for revealing sentiments. Written with a stylish manner and containing enjoyable if at times shocking content, Broken Beloved is a story of horrors episodically relived by a young woman, and of patient understanding and subtle redirection by the man who loves her, a man nearly ten times her senior. Keeping motion moving forward is the sage approach of a man whose awaited near on three centuries to encounter his fabled soul mate, as deemed by their Goddess. He had as limited choices of working through consequences of events as the victim of said horrors had in accepting them. Antecedents so despicable that they would taint and blacken your soul should you even consider what it'd be like to inflict them. And only when it finally seems like all efforts are failing is he given an alternate consideration that takes into consideration information he was lacking.
To protect the last living member of her broken family, broken by none other than the people who caused it and then went on to further steal it, a young woman did her best to ensure that any and all atrocities were hers to absorb. For fifteen years she'd been a shield for a brother who she felt she'd cursed, and whom she had lied to regarding why they were there. In an orchestrated broken wreckage that surrounded her with twisted metal, broken glass, demons masquerading as angels, and the dead bodies of her parents, the victim's impulsive answer to a question unfathomable had taken one second for each of the subsequent years of tortue to make. A choice by a naive eighteen year old girl who also saw her own broken body, one that would never have healed correctly, so she uttered such a small three letter word not ever having been capable of predicting the ramifications. Because of it she considers herself as much to blame as any other and therefore, despite her own contradictory notion of causation, reveals how noble she truly is; and the wealth of character she truly has. Now if she can find the right type of mirror, a person who'll reflect the less subjective aspects of those affairs, she might just one day be able to forgive herself for something she only thinks she caused. The fairy tale ending is reached when, or if, she comes to realise the truth: that she has nothing to be forgiven for.
Her revulsion is still a reality but she would die to do what was necessary for her to accept an ending of the horrific nightmare that is her life. It is therefore no surprise that Tyler is promptly losing his battle, and is moments from a permanent death, unlike that of her first death. Malnourished and mistreated himself, Tyler's human body has not the capacity to endure what her vampiric one can. Its only her tight grip on his hand that keeps him moving as she pulls him up from the second to last floor. Wracked with the overwhelming coughing of lungs filled near to capacity by smoke billowing up from below, Tyler would hopefully curl up where he leans against the bannister, to accept the inevitable. Rightly so, he's unable to respond with more than light squeezing of their clasped hands to let her know that he's heard what she's said.
But for Anna's part on of the goal of seeing him to safety, she hasn't endured past the abominable ways her mind and body were ravished by the rogue coven, to simply allow him to give up and die. Treated in the worst ways imaginable and kept under fed, Anna struggles against the siren song of warm blood. How her vulgar instincts can be distracted at a time of imminent death escapes her comprehension, but nonetheless goes to showing how badly her body requires what is essentially a meagre amount to have otherwise been kept healthy. But as she faces incineration coming steadily from two fronts its not her condition that motivates her to achieve what is needed.
Her run of terror had begun roughly fifteen years ago when she herself was the same age as Tyler now is. In a night of orchestrated death by the coven roasting in their own juices, but never slowly enough for the horrors they'd caused, he'd been a child of only three. As dire as their situation had become since and including that night, Anna had tried to be the best older sister, even mother, as she was able with the absent resources she didn't have. There'd never been a more untenable situation as had existed for them. That Tyler is even alive and not deathly I'll is testament to the rigors she'd taken in his stead. Fate seemed hellbent on continuing it's tirades of penance in the ways that call for her constant blood and pain, but which remain unknown as to how or why they were given life. Why it didn't just exact the toll paid by her death to just end its vehemence was a daily struggle. It was only that it would involve her innocent brother in the debts should she be absent, that kept her battle going.
A bitter person would be inclined to think stuff it. To go out and purposefully earn it. If you're going to be burnt as a witch at the stake in a town centre pyre, then why not practice the craft you're accused and convicted of without trial; if for no other reason than to at least benefit from the crimes your accused and executed for. Anna should probably consider that she'll get the last laugh, for it does sort of prove that both her and the hand of penance have shortcomings. Even if she had accrued a debt, one which she has only an inkling of an idea as to how it was earnt, its not possible to learn from mistakes or to truly experience penance unless you know what it is that they're being exacted for.
The starvation used by the coven as just another in an extremely long list of tortures sapped the necessary strength that would've simply allowed to her to carry her brother to safety. In her starved condition she is barely in a better state than he has. In truth she's likely in a worse condition, but being undead meant her body didn't need to breath. Its here where the integral difference exists. The anomalous advantage that allowed their plan to be set in motion before it was too late, is that despite her young vampiric age, specific tortures had conditioned her to have abilities the other coven members lacked. They'd been kept secreted from their awareness, otherwise she'd never have had the opportunity to put them in motion. Her primary goal had long since left her own escape absent from the plan. Not that Tyler was aware, but in order to facilitate his escape it meant that she would perish like the rest of the coven. Tyler would never have gone along with it if he knew that their daytime flee to safety left her facing incineration on two fronts.
Now the door exiting after the final twelve steps, one more floor, will mean safety for her brother as long as he listens to her instruction and stays within the lines clearing his path. Only then will he be out of reach of the razor sharp claws of the rampaging lycans. Caged in their shifted forms in five-by-five feet silver cages, she'd been held in the range of their claws time and time again when the coven felt inclined for that type of humour and play. The raised scar tissue plaguing her body, never fully healed because she had never been allowed the minimum blood volume of about one litre per fortnight, is testament to what their claws are capable of. Incineration awaits her outside the final door after clearing the half-wolves no matter how she chooses to play it out: the sun still sits high in the sky, ensuring that the type of death chasing their rear is what awaits her front.
Ain't irony a poetical bitch. Finishing the digging in of it's boots without mercy, it's oftentimes bedfellow, hindsight, just loves to bask in the glorious stupidity of your past mistakes; before progressing to slap the 'dah' look from your face, leaving your ears ringing with the echoes of it's maniacal giggles. Its oh so mature love affair with the phrase 'I told you so, I told you so', et cetera. The icing on their totally shitful cake was the rampaging lycans making ascension of the stairs to escape fire and smoke, and the outside sunlight (for her) just part of the monstrous cake they had not the means to eat. At least the roasting vampires below would get their comeuppance. Against the trend of the past fifteen years, those filled with the poorest luck she had ever seen or heard of in her thirty-three years of existence, Anna and Tyler needed some good luck for a change. Tyler's continued safety relied upon the whole coven perishing in the flames she'd lit. Should conditions not prevail, which might mean that some overlooked area managed not to be consumed by the flames, then it's possible that one or more of the thirty-plus vampires could drag themselves from the wreckage. There'd be no place he could hide if that was to occur. Its one of the reasons she had kept to herself that justifies why she won't be exiting that final door. If she can survive so near to the sun then she needed to last only long enough to know there was no longer any chance that one survives.
Like a centrifuge started with the climatic speed indicative of escapees fleeing from a raging fire to maneuver between the reach of lycans doing their best to also escape said flames, Broken Beloved starts with an impressive pace that waxes and wanes but never fully stops. Just as a centrifuge requires little power to keep it rotating after it's been properly set in motion, the story's momentum similarly keeps it going in ways as varied as they are detailed. The envisaged experiences of Anna's mind and feelings as she details and describes her vampiric experiences to-date, pleasingly covers little aspects that are often overlooked or considered absent from the potentiate of vampire life. Then there's others that it recreates in unique ways. In so doing it creates new perspectives, for it also has a greater scope of what life would be like if you were to walk in the shoes of a vampire. Not the romanticism that often accompanies such stories, but instead the various aspects usually mentioned and then forgotten.
From the opening recollections to the later witness of patterned backlash of the events from in a past that seemingly can't be stopped from being relived, Broken Beloved earns it name via the gory internal war being fought. Depravities that would make the torturers of Hell proud to see them happen have painted an endless diary of scarification and outbursts of remembrance. Its here in such aspects of the novella that the story begins to escape the confines of fiction and paranormal fantasy to take on the characteristics you might see from a story that's been written using the memories of a diary by a very real person, instead of just a character, that depict a lifetime of abuse; and their first few months after they'd fought with every remaining ounce of effort to escape the relationships that caused the nightmares to begin with. Perhaps a victim of domestic and relationship abuses, where the story has chosen to outline the depravities enough to get a good picture before moving on to the aftermath. Outline mighten be the best word to use, because although the actual events are given detail which would be considered more an outline when compared to the intensive examination of the events relived in aftermath, they do nonetheless have both aspects considered. Thus they're much more than an outline.
Getting back to a fantastical fiction its possible to predict that should a prequel ever be written then it's bound to be a scathing look at the nastiest, most evil and vile examination of what might be considered as an underbelly of any respective lifestyle; that is, analogous to the underbelly styled retelling of crime syndicates. The explorations that care less for sensibilities and more for revealing sentiments. Written with a stylish manner and containing enjoyable if at times shocking content, Broken Beloved is a story of horrors episodically relived by a young woman, and of patient understanding and subtle redirection by the man who loves her, a man nearly ten times her senior. Keeping motion moving forward is the sage approach of a man whose awaited near on three centuries to encounter his fabled soul mate, as deemed by their Goddess. He had as limited choices of working through consequences of events as the victim of said horrors had in accepting them. Antecedents so despicable that they would taint and blacken your soul should you even consider what it'd be like to inflict them. And only when it finally seems like all efforts are failing is he given an alternate consideration that takes into consideration information he was lacking.
To protect the last living member of her broken family, broken by none other than the people who caused it and then went on to further steal it, a young woman did her best to ensure that any and all atrocities were hers to absorb. For fifteen years she'd been a shield for a brother who she felt she'd cursed, and whom she had lied to regarding why they were there. In an orchestrated broken wreckage that surrounded her with twisted metal, broken glass, demons masquerading as angels, and the dead bodies of her parents, the victim's impulsive answer to a question unfathomable had taken one second for each of the subsequent years of tortue to make. A choice by a naive eighteen year old girl who also saw her own broken body, one that would never have healed correctly, so she uttered such a small three letter word not ever having been capable of predicting the ramifications. Because of it she considers herself as much to blame as any other and therefore, despite her own contradictory notion of causation, reveals how noble she truly is; and the wealth of character she truly has. Now if she can find the right type of mirror, a person who'll reflect the less subjective aspects of those affairs, she might just one day be able to forgive herself for something she only thinks she caused. The fairy tale ending is reached when, or if, she comes to realise the truth: that she has nothing to be forgiven for.
March 14, 2017
Not your normal vampire book
This was definitely not your normal vampire book! It was soooo different. Ms Howell has quite an imagination writing a vampire book this different. Anna, being a vampire, was not your so called "normal" vampire. She had a strength of character and a love for her human brother that she would sacrifice what ever she had to in order to help him grow up to not be a vampire. She also showed emotional and physical weaknesses that supposedly no normal vampire would have, hence the word "Broken" in the title. After leaving her brother in good hands ( or I should say "paws") she was literally thrown into an underground vampire world that was amazingly depicted unlike any other world vampire or otherwise. I highly recommend reading this book for all those who love reading vampire stories and even those of you who may not as this will be a nice surprise for all of you.
This was definitely not your normal vampire book! It was soooo different. Ms Howell has quite an imagination writing a vampire book this different. Anna, being a vampire, was not your so called "normal" vampire. She had a strength of character and a love for her human brother that she would sacrifice what ever she had to in order to help him grow up to not be a vampire. She also showed emotional and physical weaknesses that supposedly no normal vampire would have, hence the word "Broken" in the title. After leaving her brother in good hands ( or I should say "paws") she was literally thrown into an underground vampire world that was amazingly depicted unlike any other world vampire or otherwise. I highly recommend reading this book for all those who love reading vampire stories and even those of you who may not as this will be a nice surprise for all of you.
March 14, 2017
Vampires, Lycans, and Faries Oh My!
What does a vampire and a Lycan have in common? Absolutely nothing, but that doesn't stop them from helping each other. Anna, a tortured vamp and her all too human fragile brother Tyler are trying to outrun the fire that licks at their heels. Driven purely by the need to escape the coven that has held them as prisoners for 15 years, they keep moving above ground. Making their way out, Anna warns Tyler to not look at the cages that hold the tortured lycans captured by the vampires. Drawn to a human that's stuck in one the cages, in one movement Tyler seals the fate of his sister and himself. In one quick swipe the super strong human grabs Tyler by the neck and he forces Anna to make a decision that will forever change all of their lives. Read the book to find out what happens and how faries can calm even the blood thirsty dwellers.
What does a vampire and a Lycan have in common? Absolutely nothing, but that doesn't stop them from helping each other. Anna, a tortured vamp and her all too human fragile brother Tyler are trying to outrun the fire that licks at their heels. Driven purely by the need to escape the coven that has held them as prisoners for 15 years, they keep moving above ground. Making their way out, Anna warns Tyler to not look at the cages that hold the tortured lycans captured by the vampires. Drawn to a human that's stuck in one the cages, in one movement Tyler seals the fate of his sister and himself. In one quick swipe the super strong human grabs Tyler by the neck and he forces Anna to make a decision that will forever change all of their lives. Read the book to find out what happens and how faries can calm even the blood thirsty dwellers.
March 17, 2017
I had so much hope for this story from the blurb and the cover. The idea behind the storyline is a good one - Vampire saves herself & human brother from years of torture and captivity and then goes on to find herself, however the telling of the story falls short in my opinion. The book is all surface and does not go in depth into any characters so I was not invested in any of them. Anna starts as this kick ass vampire who defeats hers captors to save her human brother but when she is finally in a safe place she turns into a weak whiny psychotic self centered wench. I don't know why Wren puts up with her crap. i would have liked to know more about Wren and the Vampire City. The ending was abrupt in my opinion as well. The Author has tons of potential and I have no doubt the next book will be better.
March 15, 2017
This is a unique twist to the traditional vampire tales. These are civilized vampires with soul. Anna starts strong as a kick-ass vamp who has seen her role as sole protector of her human brother. Anna meets and is swept away by her Beloved, her soul mate, but can her bond overcome the torment she suffered in her past?
I loved meeting the over-muscled, foul mouthed, snarky lycan with a malicious glint in his eye, and lightening fast reflexes.
I really enjoyed this book. Descriptive passages are short and delightfully perceptive. Insights into the vampire mind and lycans' motives along with their mutual laws help fill in the setting and background.
I loved meeting the over-muscled, foul mouthed, snarky lycan with a malicious glint in his eye, and lightening fast reflexes.
I really enjoyed this book. Descriptive passages are short and delightfully perceptive. Insights into the vampire mind and lycans' motives along with their mutual laws help fill in the setting and background.
March 14, 2017
Interesting take on vampires
Without giving the entire plot away as some of the other reviewers did, this is a good story of a tortured young female who only desires to protect her young human brother. Read it and discover how her inner strength prevails (or not)...
Without giving the entire plot away as some of the other reviewers did, this is a good story of a tortured young female who only desires to protect her young human brother. Read it and discover how her inner strength prevails (or not)...
August 9, 2017
What a book, could not put it down, wanting to know what was going to
Happen next. I love vampire books and this is a good book to read, I
Won't spoil but I hope you enjoy as much as I did.
Happen next. I love vampire books and this is a good book to read, I
Won't spoil but I hope you enjoy as much as I did.
March 26, 2020
I'm torn on this. It was different, which is good, but I'm not sure I really cared for it. It just ended too and I'm not sure there will even be a second book. I searched online but see nothing.
March 13, 2017
WARNING SPOILERS
I loved this book and am now on tenterhooks for the next book in the series.
I read this book in 24 hrs, you could say I de lured considering I have small children too contend with, exile t tone burning g the midnight oil!!!
Escaping an unbelievably cruel way of life, tortured for years, freeing a mortal enemy and leaving your brother behind is going to leave emotional scars as deep as the horrific physical ones that Anna has endured, leaving your brother behind, we join Anna who finds her beloved and leave her to embark on her new life with Wren.
This was very much a scene setting first book, I loved the idea of the world that as yet I believe we have only seen a glimpse of.
The chapters being set in the first person of whoever the chapter was about allowed you to gain a bond with whoever the chapter was about giving you a full insight into the character leaving you feeling as if you know them. The few peripheral characters we are introduced to has left me longing for more and to know their story too.
If you love urban fantasy, vampires, lycans and the world of the fae you will love this, I would see it being aimed at young adult to older readers (I'm 37) , I cabtvre ommend this highly enough!!!!
I loved this book and am now on tenterhooks for the next book in the series.
I read this book in 24 hrs, you could say I de lured considering I have small children too contend with, exile t tone burning g the midnight oil!!!
Escaping an unbelievably cruel way of life, tortured for years, freeing a mortal enemy and leaving your brother behind is going to leave emotional scars as deep as the horrific physical ones that Anna has endured, leaving your brother behind, we join Anna who finds her beloved and leave her to embark on her new life with Wren.
This was very much a scene setting first book, I loved the idea of the world that as yet I believe we have only seen a glimpse of.
The chapters being set in the first person of whoever the chapter was about allowed you to gain a bond with whoever the chapter was about giving you a full insight into the character leaving you feeling as if you know them. The few peripheral characters we are introduced to has left me longing for more and to know their story too.
If you love urban fantasy, vampires, lycans and the world of the fae you will love this, I would see it being aimed at young adult to older readers (I'm 37) , I cabtvre ommend this highly enough!!!!
March 14, 2017
Expanding my horizons
I am so far out of my comfort genre with this book it is not even funny. Because it was sent to me as an arc I had an obligation to read it in the hopes that the next one would be more in line with my go to type of read, but I couldn't help but become invested with the characters as I read and as I turned the pages I found myself reading because I wanted to. Who new I would end up enjoying reading a vampire fantasy romance type series? Not me, but because there was far more going on than just the vampires and romance to draw me in, I am now looking forward to the next installment of a series I might have let myself miss out on in the past. I recommend this series to anyone even if you're not sure this sub genre is for you, because you will almost definitely find you like it and then you too will have opened up a whole world of fantasy you might have missed out on too. I think you'll be glad you gave it a try. Very good read. Great job by this author!
I am so far out of my comfort genre with this book it is not even funny. Because it was sent to me as an arc I had an obligation to read it in the hopes that the next one would be more in line with my go to type of read, but I couldn't help but become invested with the characters as I read and as I turned the pages I found myself reading because I wanted to. Who new I would end up enjoying reading a vampire fantasy romance type series? Not me, but because there was far more going on than just the vampires and romance to draw me in, I am now looking forward to the next installment of a series I might have let myself miss out on in the past. I recommend this series to anyone even if you're not sure this sub genre is for you, because you will almost definitely find you like it and then you too will have opened up a whole world of fantasy you might have missed out on too. I think you'll be glad you gave it a try. Very good read. Great job by this author!
March 17, 2017
The story draws you in from page one!
I was drawn in to the story from the beginning by Anna's strong will for survival; not for hers but for her brothers. Being a vampire, she is willing to die in the flames of the burning home of her coven or burn to ask in the hot sun to make sure Taylor was free and survived. True badass! On top of that, she helps free an enemy to all vampires, a Lucan.
I am pulled deeper into the storyline as a chain of events begins in Anna's life-size ones she never knew were possible to exist. She know of loss to well, pain ( physical and emotional). Now she is learning of of new ones- love being one them. Anna being his his Beloved, Wren will do anything to make sure she survived.
I voluntarily reviewed this ARC copy of this book.
I was drawn in to the story from the beginning by Anna's strong will for survival; not for hers but for her brothers. Being a vampire, she is willing to die in the flames of the burning home of her coven or burn to ask in the hot sun to make sure Taylor was free and survived. True badass! On top of that, she helps free an enemy to all vampires, a Lucan.
I am pulled deeper into the storyline as a chain of events begins in Anna's life-size ones she never knew were possible to exist. She know of loss to well, pain ( physical and emotional). Now she is learning of of new ones- love being one them. Anna being his his Beloved, Wren will do anything to make sure she survived.
I voluntarily reviewed this ARC copy of this book.
March 12, 2017
What a great first book to a new series. The world building was incredible with a unique twist to life as a vampire.
Anna has learned to be tough as nails, but yet is she broken beyond repair? Wren, he’s been around a long time and has finally found his “Beloved”, but can he reach past the black horror of her memories? I can’t wait for MORE!! I feel like that lady in the commercial that stands in front of the store window saying “open, open, open” only I’m saying “more, more, more”.
I had two issues; one, I was slightly confused when there was a flip between “rage episodes” and “sexual encounters”. One minute Anna’s flipping out on Wren and the next they are kissing…….only there's a time span of weeks between the two. Had to reread that section to figure it out. Two, the book ended abruptly. I am assuming it’s a cliffhanger….I hope, if not then the story is unfinished.
Despite my two issues I think this book was well written and can’t wait for more!!!
Anna has learned to be tough as nails, but yet is she broken beyond repair? Wren, he’s been around a long time and has finally found his “Beloved”, but can he reach past the black horror of her memories? I can’t wait for MORE!! I feel like that lady in the commercial that stands in front of the store window saying “open, open, open” only I’m saying “more, more, more”.
I had two issues; one, I was slightly confused when there was a flip between “rage episodes” and “sexual encounters”. One minute Anna’s flipping out on Wren and the next they are kissing…….only there's a time span of weeks between the two. Had to reread that section to figure it out. Two, the book ended abruptly. I am assuming it’s a cliffhanger….I hope, if not then the story is unfinished.
Despite my two issues I think this book was well written and can’t wait for more!!!
March 16, 2017
Broken Beloved
While this was an interesting book with decent writing, I had to take off stars because it just ends so abruptly. The characters aren't bad but they need to be flushed out a bit more. I can understand that Anna needs to find herself after everything she's been through but I know almost nothing about Wren. The story, itself, feels very incomplete. You kind of jump into the action and then, when you feel like things are starting to come together, it ends. The premise is interesting, I just wanted more detail.
While this was an interesting book with decent writing, I had to take off stars because it just ends so abruptly. The characters aren't bad but they need to be flushed out a bit more. I can understand that Anna needs to find herself after everything she's been through but I know almost nothing about Wren. The story, itself, feels very incomplete. You kind of jump into the action and then, when you feel like things are starting to come together, it ends. The premise is interesting, I just wanted more detail.
March 13, 2017
Broken Beloved is a heartfelt and vividly written book. I enjoyed N.M. Howell's take on Vampires. The idea that Vampires have souls is unique and makes for a fantastic read. There were a couple of time where I nearly cried, some that I found myself screaming at the pages (like you might do when watching a movie when you know something is about to happen or you want t choke the character.), and others where I laughed until I cried. Broken Beloved had me on the edge of my seat from page one!!! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book ofthis series. I highly recommend purchasing and reading this book.
March 14, 2017
Emotional
It was hard at first to wrap my head around this being a young adult book considering she is technically 33 but with all that she has endured I can see that her mindset in some ways still has her at 18. My opinion this book is too short. I really enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading. Anna is both strong and fragile and it was interesting to see all sides. I look forward to more of Anna and Wren's story.
It was hard at first to wrap my head around this being a young adult book considering she is technically 33 but with all that she has endured I can see that her mindset in some ways still has her at 18. My opinion this book is too short. I really enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading. Anna is both strong and fragile and it was interesting to see all sides. I look forward to more of Anna and Wren's story.
March 13, 2017
N. M. Howell has taken the vampire genre in a bit of a different direction with Broken Beloved. Her storytelling ability is evident as she introduces Anna, a young vampire who has literally done everything possible to protect her younger brother. From an elaborate vampire city to a lycan who willing helps Anna, the book moves quickly to an ending that will leave the reader anxiously awaiting the next chapter. Howell has the beginnings of another wonderful series.
March 13, 2017
I hadn't picked up a Vampire book for a while, it seamed everyone I read was the same as the last one. I had read a few books from this author and really liked her writing so I decided to give this one a try. The minute I started reading I was hooked. The story line was so different I couldn't put the book down and ended reading the entire book in one evening. I can't wait for the next book.
March 13, 2017
Fantastic Book. hard to put once I started it.
March 12, 2017
This is a intense, dark, emotional paranormal read. I absolutely enjoyed it.
Anna is a young vampire who did what she had to do to save her younger brother at the risk of her own life. Wren is her beloved she meets when she literally get dumped into a new civilized vampire city by the lycon Blake who dishes her a serious dose of tough love. He's a serious badass! This copy given in exchange for an honest review.
Anna is a young vampire who did what she had to do to save her younger brother at the risk of her own life. Wren is her beloved she meets when she literally get dumped into a new civilized vampire city by the lycon Blake who dishes her a serious dose of tough love. He's a serious badass! This copy given in exchange for an honest review.
March 15, 2017
I received a copy from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.
I have mixed feelings on this book. On one hand, it has some interesting characters. On the other hand, it suffers from inconsistent tone and lack of focus. On the gripping hand, it's meant for young adults. It could be I'm just not its target audience.
The first issue is the tone shift. Anna goes from horrific torture for years to trying to negotiate survival to a seemingly perfect city of vampires where she meets her soulmate in less than a day after learning of the concept. And once she meets Wren, the world pretty much contracts to just them. I didn't find the book difficult to finish, but it also didn't leave much of an impression on me. I was glad that Anna was appropriately traumatized by her experience, and wasn't "healed by love" but it left the focus so tight on the two characters that it leaves the reader a bit isolated.
I did work from an early review copy of the book and haven't had a chance to do more than a spot check for changes made. I will try to get a reread in shortly.
Merged review:
Inconsistent tone, but not horrible
I received a copy from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.
I have mixed feelings on this book. On one hand, it has some interesting characters. On the other hand, it suffers from inconsistent tone and lack of focus. On the gripping hand, it's meant for young adults. It could be I'm just not its target audience.
The first issue is the tone shift. Anna goes from horrific torture for years to trying to negotiate survival to a seemingly perfect city of vampires where she meets her soulmate in less than a day after learning of the concept. And once she meets Wren, the world pretty much contracts to just them. I didn't find the book difficult to finish, but it also didn't leave much of an impression on me. I was glad that Anna was appropriately traumatized by her experience, and wasn't "healed by love" but it left the focus so tight on the two characters that it leaves the reader a bit isolated.
I did work from an early review copy of the book and haven't had a chance to do more than a spot check for changes made. I will try to get a reread in shortly.
I have mixed feelings on this book. On one hand, it has some interesting characters. On the other hand, it suffers from inconsistent tone and lack of focus. On the gripping hand, it's meant for young adults. It could be I'm just not its target audience.
The first issue is the tone shift. Anna goes from horrific torture for years to trying to negotiate survival to a seemingly perfect city of vampires where she meets her soulmate in less than a day after learning of the concept. And once she meets Wren, the world pretty much contracts to just them. I didn't find the book difficult to finish, but it also didn't leave much of an impression on me. I was glad that Anna was appropriately traumatized by her experience, and wasn't "healed by love" but it left the focus so tight on the two characters that it leaves the reader a bit isolated.
I did work from an early review copy of the book and haven't had a chance to do more than a spot check for changes made. I will try to get a reread in shortly.
Merged review:
Inconsistent tone, but not horrible
I received a copy from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.
I have mixed feelings on this book. On one hand, it has some interesting characters. On the other hand, it suffers from inconsistent tone and lack of focus. On the gripping hand, it's meant for young adults. It could be I'm just not its target audience.
The first issue is the tone shift. Anna goes from horrific torture for years to trying to negotiate survival to a seemingly perfect city of vampires where she meets her soulmate in less than a day after learning of the concept. And once she meets Wren, the world pretty much contracts to just them. I didn't find the book difficult to finish, but it also didn't leave much of an impression on me. I was glad that Anna was appropriately traumatized by her experience, and wasn't "healed by love" but it left the focus so tight on the two characters that it leaves the reader a bit isolated.
I did work from an early review copy of the book and haven't had a chance to do more than a spot check for changes made. I will try to get a reread in shortly.
March 13, 2017
Anna is a vampire, turned when she was 15 years old and in the throes of dying in a car accident that killed both her parents. Her maker was the leader of a renegade pack of vampires, he was a sadist and enjoyed torturing and terrorising Anna and keeping her with just enough food so she didn't lose any limbs but not enough to give her strength to heal.
The book begins when she sets fire to the coven during the day and uses the last of her strength to escape, taking her brother with her.
It is a completely different take on vampire lore, and a good one at that, When Anna finds herself safe and cared for is when her mind starts to shatter and she becomes agoraphobic and aggressive. The story is as much about Anna's mind and personality as it is about anything else.
It is well worth reading and I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out .
The book begins when she sets fire to the coven during the day and uses the last of her strength to escape, taking her brother with her.
It is a completely different take on vampire lore, and a good one at that, When Anna finds herself safe and cared for is when her mind starts to shatter and she becomes agoraphobic and aggressive. The story is as much about Anna's mind and personality as it is about anything else.
It is well worth reading and I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out .
June 1, 2017
Paranormal genre is my favorite. So glad to find this author. I love vampires! This book wasn't the same old vampire story. This book had a great storyline that I couldn't put it down. Absolutely loved it!
Merged review:
I loved this book! I love anything fantasy/paranormal! I love vampires, werewolves and romance! This book had me from start to finish! If you enjoy this type of genre, I encourage you to check this book out! You won't regret it.
Merged review:
I loved this book! I love anything fantasy/paranormal! I love vampires, werewolves and romance! This book had me from start to finish! If you enjoy this type of genre, I encourage you to check this book out! You won't regret it.
May 17, 2017
Good novel, a strong sister who you can't help but cheer on. Learning that all isn't bad and that she can be loved, makes for a great story.
March 31, 2017
Anna, turned to a vampire by a rogue coven, when her only other choice would have been death. For fifteen years she survived tortures of unimaginable horror to save her baby brother. Then she escapes, rescuing her brother from becoming like her. She meets a Lycan who helps her find a new coven and gives her brother a chance to live a real life. She meets Wren, her soul mate, her beloved, but she is so broken by her experiences that she doesn't know how to heal, and Wren has no idea how to help her. This story is so well written that you'll feel Anna's pain with her. You'll feel Wren's love and desire and helplessness in how to help Anna. I can't wait for the next book. Will we finally see just how tough Anna really is? Will she finally realize she's not broken from all those years of abuse, but stronger for it? You'll love reading this book, and then yearn for the next one. You'll start reading this book and won't be able to stop till the very last word.
March 31, 2017
A vampire tale, bringing the bloodz beasts into totally different light.
Anna was turned and tortured by a rogue coven, which shaped her early years as a vampire. Fueled by pain and protectiveness of her younger brother, she turns into a badass warrior and sets them free together with a snarky, sarcastic mountain of muscles called Blake, the lycan. But the enormous pressure and stress breaks her soul and the fierce warrior with strong will, amazing determination and loving heart is buried deep beneath shattered pieces of a fragile doll. Entering the vampire city of Quebec turns her life upside down, and finding a mate who utterly loves her should help the healing process. But the scars on Anna's heart are deep, and her lapses into the past make her always a violent, grieving mess. The process of learning how to live and enjoy her immortal life seems a mission impossible, but Wren is determined to help her at all costs.
Very nice and unique picturing of vampires as gentle, humanly beings with complex soul and sharp mind. The world setup is great, and the short but vivid descriptions are enough to attract the reader and not bore him to death. I also very much liked the characters. Anna is very interesting heroine, conflicted and seemingly with a split personality, but her struggles are only natural and what I believe, temporary. I am looking forward to Wren's effort to bring the true, strong Anna back. I also want to know more of him, see other layers of his personality other that rebellion against mother and sweet, nearly submissive love for his mate.
Fast paced read, very emotional and dramatic, with just the right amount of suspense. Maybe add a little more action, and I will be fully satisfied. Nice read.
Anna was turned and tortured by a rogue coven, which shaped her early years as a vampire. Fueled by pain and protectiveness of her younger brother, she turns into a badass warrior and sets them free together with a snarky, sarcastic mountain of muscles called Blake, the lycan. But the enormous pressure and stress breaks her soul and the fierce warrior with strong will, amazing determination and loving heart is buried deep beneath shattered pieces of a fragile doll. Entering the vampire city of Quebec turns her life upside down, and finding a mate who utterly loves her should help the healing process. But the scars on Anna's heart are deep, and her lapses into the past make her always a violent, grieving mess. The process of learning how to live and enjoy her immortal life seems a mission impossible, but Wren is determined to help her at all costs.
Very nice and unique picturing of vampires as gentle, humanly beings with complex soul and sharp mind. The world setup is great, and the short but vivid descriptions are enough to attract the reader and not bore him to death. I also very much liked the characters. Anna is very interesting heroine, conflicted and seemingly with a split personality, but her struggles are only natural and what I believe, temporary. I am looking forward to Wren's effort to bring the true, strong Anna back. I also want to know more of him, see other layers of his personality other that rebellion against mother and sweet, nearly submissive love for his mate.
Fast paced read, very emotional and dramatic, with just the right amount of suspense. Maybe add a little more action, and I will be fully satisfied. Nice read.
April 4, 2017
Truly amazing!
I was captivated by this book from the first to last page. Anna's love and devotion for her brother is heartwarming. Can't wait to read another book from this series. Highly recommended!
I was captivated by this book from the first to last page. Anna's love and devotion for her brother is heartwarming. Can't wait to read another book from this series. Highly recommended!
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