Book Review - Broken Promise by Jen Wylie

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.)
 
* * *  I give Broken Promise by Jen Wylie 3 stars! 
Broken Promise is my favorite of the three books released so far in this series. It was close to getting four stars. (More detail on that later.) Jen Wylie continues to wow me with plots I can’t predict, snappy pacing, and a story simultaneously simple and thought-provoking. I can’t wait for Broken Kei.

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What I Liked:

• Aro and Prince’s romance continued despite the fact they were never together throughout the entire book. They visited one another in magic dreams and sent messages through other elves. Yet, I feel more confident about their love than ever. Their ongoing devotion to one another against great odds means their romance has progressed from infatuation and lust into a realistic, challenging true love.
• Aro has grown as a fighter through her devoted practice of the art.
• Aro experiences doubts about her humanity. All the loss and violence she’s experienced have begun to take their toll and she questions her motives and the person she is becoming when faced with an option to be vengeful or merciful. This young character is becoming an adult before the reader’s eyes and I love it.
• The concept of the elves sharing visions of what they’ve seen.
• Garen! He was such the voice of reason; understanding and allowing Aro time to mourn that others weren’t willing to give.

 
What I Didn’t Like:

• I have complimented Jen Wylie’s pacing. However, in trying to be sparing with the descriptions it is sometimes hard to feel fully immersed in the action. I sometimes felt the characters were like actors in front a green screen before the effects had been added.
• Grammar and spelling errors! Small things like a character’s name having a couple reversed letters and larger things like “poor” instead of “pour.” In the case of a novel that is succinct and quick-paced, errors stand out even more. My hope is they will be corrected in future editions because they were the only factor keeping this book from getting four stars.
• There was one dangling plot line – the Were king. Nothing about it was resolved at the close of the book. However, given Wylie’s style of ending the books fairly abruptly in anticipation of the next, it’s not surprising. Readers understand by now that this is a series and I doubt this cliffhanger was too much bother to anyone who has stuck around for three books.

 
Would I Recommend This and to Whom:
Again, fans of YA Fantasy with a strong romantic subplot.

Favorite Quotes:

• Tugging her cloak tighter, as if it were made of courage, she closed her eyes.
• “Ask him,” the Elf snarled, jerking on her hair. “To save you.”

            …
          She gave her audience a bloody grin. “I don’t… need… saving.” She cracked her head into the Elf’s face.

• “…is it a crime to love?”

          “No,” Baelan answered softly. “But it is a weakness, and you have now become his.”

• What they thought didn’t matter. What did was how Prince reacted to it. Perhaps he was the one not strong enough if he wouldn’t fight for her.