Review: fabulous follow up :)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 24, 2013
Broken Prince Aubrey Rose.Review from Jeannie Zelos Book reviews.Well, I loved Me, Cinderella so was really excited to get to review the follow up. Broken Prince starts off with Brynn still living in the castle with Eliot. She's still recovering from the attack, has nightmares but Eliot has been a great back up and support to her. They're working on the Math problem too – all looks roses for the future doesn't it? Then she gets a letter from Mark about her mothers death. That was one of the reasons she came to Hungary to find out more and to visit her grave. The grave part is done but as for learning more about her murder – well that's been a dead end til now...Eliot – oh he's such a lovely man, thoughtful and caring, loves Brynn dearly but in giving her time to recover he makes her think maybe he's wishing she wasn't there. There's a huge lack of communication between them, he's wrapped up in the Math problem, she should be also but her recovery has taken precedence, and now learning more about the murder draws her further away.Mark has always been a close friend, but now he's dating someone she doesn't like and who doesn't like her, that avenue for confiding is gone, and in a strange country she's becoming more and more isolated. She ought to talk to Eliot about her fears and problems of course, that would be natural, but their relationship has been a strange and rocky journey and she's not really secure enough to do that. She's got so much on her mind,  there's the murder of her mum, the illness that's threatening her grans health, the worries over the attack and of course the work for university she needs to get done. She feels she can't offload all that on Eliot though, she  worries about being too demanding when he's under pressure from the university about his Paper, and clearly has old issues pressing on him. He worries that maybe she's decided their relationship is a mistake, regrets it, that the age gap is too much and he's upset. Instead of talking it over they both keep their fears inside and grow further apart.Then the press start dredging up old scandals, taking photos of Brynn while she's at the castle and making suggestions about Eliot's propriety, there's other secrets coming out but in dribs and drabs and of course that leads to misunderstanding, Eliot's brother Otto ( what an awful, supercilious man he is!) is in the Government at a time when its unpopular, and that rubs off on Eliot too.  After 13 years there's another murder linked to her mothers one. Everything comes to a head at once,  and Brynn's action – that made me tearful for her and for Eliot.Once again its a wonderful read, with disparate threads and actions slowly tying together to form a clearer picture. Brynn's unhappiness and insecurity shows through and I felt for her and yet, though she fears he's drawing away, its clear Eliot is still deeply in love and just trying to do what's best for her. A perfect love story, not a sexy, grand passion but a warm and sensual, enduring, slow burn romance, wrapped up in a series of slowly revealed mysteries from the past. Fabulous read and one for the keepers file!Stars: fiveARC supplied via author