Review: Broken Beauty
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 20, 2013
I was captivated by the content in this novella right off! Mia was innocent and beautiful -- full of life wanting to live for the moment as every other high school kid. Of course not all kids have two trust funds to dive into when they want to go to the mall and shop for a new "season." Her BFF was Ari (her polar opposite). She was always dressed in the best Abercrombie clothes and attended all the right fundraisers and circuit parties that went with being a rich kid...Mia's father is in politics, and the novella focuses on his election year -- likewise everything in the Renou family centered on this fact. Mia's mother has her own problems. She speaks out against her husband's views, embarrassing him at a party, and earns a long extended stay at a spa/rehab until the election results come in.Another indication that she comes from tons of money: Mia's full name is Mia Abbott-Renou, and it's interesting how everyone that works for her father is family, no outsiders.Ari and Mia do everything together!Ari is the daughter of her daddy's biggest contributor, so she is very acceptable to the FAMILY. They do everything together, like procuring fake IDs so they can drink at the circuit parties. Until that one night...when Mia doesn't attend the fundraiser with Ari and instead goes to the party alone.Mia attends a party alone.This is a gritty one. The story takes a darker turn, and it's not for the faint of heart. The summary lets you know that there's rape in the book, so it's expected when it does come, but it's still gut-wrenching. For a novella, this story packs a hellva punch! My biggest complaint is that it should have been a stand-alone novel, not several long novellas.Ford/Adams writes this series from personal experience. I can't even begin to imagine the pain, anger, and sorrow that was her constant companion throughout this novella. I am thankful to all writers who take on such difficult subjects and then allow themselves to be guided by awesome publishers who have the challenging job of editing such personal emotion. For this reason alone I will read all of this series. I'm invested for the long run.