Thursday, July 25, 2013

**Blog Tour & Giveaway ~ Nearly Broken ~ Devon Ashley**


Hi y'all and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Nearly Broken by Devon Ashley. My stop includes my review and a giveaway.

This tour is presented by YA Bound Book Tours. To follow along with all the participating blogs, click here.


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Nearly Broken
by Devon Ashley
Release Date: 06/04/13
New Adult Romantic Suspense / Realistic Fiction
Recommended for 17+ for mature and disturbing situations, language and sexual content.

Summary from Goodreads:
We’d both gone missing at one point, but Claire had one thing I didn’t. Someone to notice. So why was I the one still here and she the one still gone?

Nineteen year old Megan Smith has spent the past year working in a small town diner in the middle of nowhere. Life is quiet, simple, safe. Then comes the news that her look-a-like has gone missing.

Claire.

Still damaged both physically and mentally, Megan's not looking to be noticed. Wherever she goes from here, it's a road she needs to take alone. But when Nickolas Ellis takes the job as the new nightshift cook, it scares her how easily her defenses crumble down, down, down for him. But there are secrets she can't bear to share with just anyone, unspeakable acts that continue to haunt, and when the similarities of Claire’s abduction couples with the fear of an unwanted visitor in town, the urge to run before it all happens again intensifies, threatening the only happiness Megan's ever found.






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My Review

Amazing, disturbing, heartbreaking, yet hopeful...all words to describe this book! Nearly Broken deals with a subject that's difficult to wrap my brain around. It discusses the horrors suffered by the victims of abduction and their families. And it does so through a well written story woven around a true survivor!

Megan Smith is a survivor. She's brave, strong, resilient. The one thing about her that was her saving grace and her downfall is her spirit. She refused to be broken. I'm rather in awe. I know she didn't escape her experience without damage but she escaped. And it was awe inspiring.

The emotional suffering Claire's family has endured since she went missing is unfathomable. Her sister, Thea, has worked tirelessly to keep Claire's abduction relevant. Thea has suffered more acutely because of a secret she's been carrying since the day Claire went missing. Claire's family has never given up hope that she'd be found. This love and support is something Megan sorely missed. 

And Nick...well, I can't say a whole lot about Nick without being spoiler-y. He does evoke a lot of feelings from Megan. Feelings that scare Megan since she's worked so hard to be as invisible as possible. The intensity between Nick and Megan is powerful. He wants to be Megan's rock. He wants to protect Megan and save her from her demons. But Nick has demons of his own.

One issue I had initially with Nearly Broken is that fact Megan seems so normal after her abduction experience. I didn't believe that time healed all wounds. And Megan had wounds, both physical and mental. I'm not saying she was 'normal' normal. But I was surprised by her ability to interact with humans at all. Then came the last quarter of this story and I understood. It became clear to me that Megan wasn't healed - she was functional. I think Megan's most defining characteristic is her unbreakable spirit. 


It's hard to say everything I want to say about Nearly Broken without giving away pieces of the story. And that would be a travesty. Ms. Ashley kept me guessing, biting my nails, and sweating as my adrenaline was pumping like crazy. I felt like I'd been through the wringer when I was done. I think the writing is excellent and the story was well paced. Ms. Ashley created lots of suspense and evoked tons of emotion. And this is just the first book in this series. The next book can't be released soon enough. 



**I received an ecopy of this book from the author, as part of the tour, in exchange for an honest review.

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Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway



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About Devon


Devon Ashley was born in Huntington Beach but has spent most of her life residing in Texas. She spends a great deal of her time taking care of her husband and son but always seems to find time to write, knit and create unique decorative pieces. She particularly likes to write Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.

Interesting Fact: Devon Ashley shares her birthday with her favorite author, Jane Austen.


5 comments:

  1. I love when a book can keep you guessing and I also love the emotional ones. I am going to have to check this book out. Great review

    Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives

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    1. I don't think you'll be disappointed in this one, Teresa! Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. Fantastic review! I love how you pointed out that Megan is functional, not healed. That's a really great point. I'm so happy you loved Nearly Broken!

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    1. Thanks, Andrea! I really, really loved this book! It's my first from Ms. Ashley, but it definitely won't be my last. Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. Wow, what an amazing topic. So neat to see you get to learn about the people that were left at home and the survivor as well. Excellent review! Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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