Review: Readers will develop an emotional connection with Mia's character and her story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 23, 2013
The bruises will heal, but I'll never be able to forget what happened.FYI: Broken Beauty by Chloe Adams is the same story as No Way Back (Mia's Way #1) by Chloe Adams, but it has been refined. What do I mean that it has been refined? Chloe Adams takes a different approach for the rape scene in Broken Beauty. We don't get the whole rape scene as we did in No Way Back. Other than that I believe that it's the same as No Way Back.Broken Beauty by Chloe Adams contains the sensitive topic of rape and how the main character, Mia, deals with it afterward.This isn't some political game! This is my life!Mia is the daughter of a politician, and she ends up being raped by two men at a party. I felt so bad for Mia's character, because she is young and she has no support from her own family. Since her father is a politician, and one of the men who rapped her is the son of one of her father's politician friends, her father doesn't want Mia to say who rapped her. So Mia has to deal with the aftermath of being rapped both physically and mentally without the support of her own father. I HATED Mia's father. How could he do that to her? The first time I the older version of Mia's story, No Way Back, I thought she was being a little annoying. But the second time reading her story, Broken Beauty, I didn't find her character to be annoying. What I interpreted as annoying was actually Mia's frustration that there wasn't any justice being done. Mia's character doesn't change much from beginning to end. But her way of thinking of what is right and what is wrong does start to change slowly.He's the kind of person I've never had in my life.Dom is the cop that finds Mia in the rape scene. Mia develops a strong connection with him, because his presence makes her feel safe and protected. I felt that Dom gave Mia the support she needed from her own family. He listened to what Mia had to say, and he gave her his full attention. So yes, I did love Dom's character because he is easily lovable. We don't really get a lot of Dom scenes in Broken Beauty as we did in No Way Back, because this is a novella.I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to think about it.I am just going to address the rape scene difference between No Way Back and Broken Beauty, because I loved the way Chloe Adams integrated it in Broken Beauty. The only difference between the rape scene is that in Broken Beauty, Mia has flash backs of her rape. In No Way Back the rape scene is in the first chapter of the book, and it was intense. In Broken Beauty, Mia has only remembered a few parts of the rape, but they are not as vivid as the rape in No Way Back. So far this is how Chloe Adams has redefined the story, and I love it. Why? Because I just felt that the rape happening in the first chapter of No Way Back was so intense that the rest of the story felt like it was lacking something.All my bruises are gone, and I look...normal. But even without the bruises, I'm not me yet.I can understand why some people might have issues reading Broken Beauty, because rape is a sensitive topic and isn't often addressed in books. But Chloe Adams knows how to integrate this topic in a way that readers will develop an emotional connection with Mia's character and her story. I do plan on reading the rest of the novellas, because I want to see in what other way Chloe Adams has redefined Mia's story :). Also, the ending is a cliff-hanger for those that haven't read No Way Back. Great way to end the first novella Chloe Adams :D!~Kassie @ Kassie's Book Thoughts