Book Review - Broken Aro by Jen Wylie

I'm happy to be sharing another book review this week! To start off, I'll give you a rundown of what the ratings mean to me when I assign them.

My ratings will be as follows:
1 star     *             =             I don’t recommend this book. Save your time.
2 star     **           =             I disliked more about it than I liked.
3 star     ***         =         There were definitely things I liked as well as things I didn’t. I might                                                                                              recommend this book to the right person.
4 star     ****       =            I liked it! I would recommend it!
5 star     *****     =            I loved it so much that I will want a copy of my own. I will probably reread it (if I ever have                                             the time for rereading.)

Click cover to view on Amazon.com

* * *  I give Broken Aro by Jen Wylie 3 stars!
I liked Aro from the start but I was initially a bit worried that this would be one of those books where the main character knows how to fight so she’d spend the entire narrative doing unrealistic things like besting groups of five or six trained soldiers. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
When it seemed a romantic interest was forming (perhaps more than one), I worried that this would be one of those books where the heroine becomes concerned with nothing but her hormones while the rest of the plot fails. Again, I was worried for no reason.
 
Aro is a resourceful girl but she knows when she needs help and is not too stubborn to accept it. The group of men and supernatural creatures who become her family are a colorful cast and she lets them take care of her when needed while taking care of them in whatever ways she can.
 
Aro is a snarky character who displays a good balance of kindness and wariness and although she is flawed (and a teenager) she is a character that is worthy of being followed around for an entire novel. (Probably all four. I intend to find out.)
 
What I Liked:

• I am one of those readers who usually sees a plot twist coming a mile away. Not so this time. I was shocked to learn a new detail about one of my favorite characters in the last quarter of the book. That alone makes me love it.
• Aro is no Mary Sue. There is justification for her knowledge base and she keeps learning, keeps striving to be better throughout.
• As expected, Aro experiences a number of things that leave her “broken.” One event in particular causes her to spiral. Although I thought that the event that caused this downslide was a bit stereotypical (note: stereotypical, not unrealistic), her reaction to it is one of the best I’ve read in fiction. It derails her and causes her to act out – to suffer. I’m so glad the author addressed this and in fact made it a cornerstone of the narrative.
• There’s enough love story here to give my gut that good “elevator” rush and leave me wanting to know more, but it’s not the only thing on Aro’s mind and she’s the first to admit that she doesn’t understand or know what to do with these feelings. Many 15-16 years olds would know what to do with those feelings but Aro’s background of growing up in a military family with seven older brothers and no mother makes this fit her character well.

 
What I Didn’t Like:

• It seems I can’t pick up a book anymore without finding a bunch of spelling and grammatical errors. In this book, I mainly saw substituted words (ex. projected instead of protected). I had a hard time deciding whether to give this book three or four stars and the errors tipped the scale. Many readers wouldn’t even notice the mistakes, but I caught them, so I’m calling them out.
• I wasn’t crazy about the prologue. I received a review copy of the book in exchange for my honest review and after reading just the prologue, I was worried I’d picked a dull book that I’d be forced to give a poor rating. But the first chapter turned me around almost immediately. This is one of those times when I understand the oft-offered advice that writers should start in the action - with the first chapter.
• Lastly, I feel like this is one of those series that leaves a lot of the development and growth for further books. I’m eager to read those next books because I enjoyed this one and I want to see where the story goes. But some of the plot points seemed a bit weak because this installment seemed to be essentially an introduction to the characters and the premise.

 
Would I Recommend This and to Whom:

• I would definitely recommend this book to fans of YA Fantasy. This book is driven by the development of characters, so don’t look for detailed world building. There’s just enough to put you into the story and make you want to stay. The creature creation is interesting and promises to be more interesting in future installments. Another of my favorite things about Broken Aro is that the author doesn’t either idealize or overdo the battle descriptions - they are honest without being overly gory which I felt was perfect for the tone of the book.

 
Favorite Quotes:

• “Wither me!”
• “Go rot!” (I love Aro’s attitude.)
• When bad things happened and you finally opened your eyes it was always dark wasn’t it? Because otherwise when you woke up you wouldn’t be scared, not right away, not until you remembered. Yet in darkness nothing else could be seen but memories of what had happened, it didn’t matter if you opened your eyes or kept them squeezed closed.
• He must have gotten knocked in the head, too. “Brave? I’m not brave. I’m just surviving… and trying not to get caught.”
• “Keep my rock warm.”
• Prince: “Time for bed.”

          Aro: eyes wide in mock astonishment. “You found me a bed?”
          Prince: swatted her lightly upside the head
 
It’s not the perfect novel, but it’s a fun, engaging read. Enjoy Broken Aro and let me know if you’re as excited as I am to see what Jen Wylie does with her talent in future.