Broken Things audiobook

4.5 stars for me. I found Broken Things to be a unique book-slightly disturbing but a good read. Main characters Brynn, Mia and Owen were all accused of a horrific crime when they were younger-the killing of their friend Summer. Summer was left in a field and stabbed multiple times. There wasn’t enough evidence to charge anyone but the three remained ostracized from the local community. Fast forward 5 years later and these now teens set out to clear their names and find out the truth of what happened the day Summer was killed. Broken Things is very well-written and I enjoyed all the characters in the book. I would recommended this to fans that like mysteries and darker theme books. Though labeled YA, I’d say more older teens and adults due to the graphic nature of the book (my opinion only).

Actual rating: 3.5Thank you Harper Collins for sending a review copy in exchange for an honest reviewTrigger Warning: Murder, abuse, animal abuse, pedophilia, self harm and violence.The moment I read the synopsis I knew I had to read this book. Mystery has never been one of my usual genres but I figured this one was definitely worth a try.The way the first chapter started hooked me in immediately. I was intrigued by the plot and excited to start guessing who the real murderer was. The story was told from two perspective: Brynn and Mia. Both were Summer Marks best friends. We alternate between the two most of the time. There were chapters in between with quotes from The Way Into Lovelorn.Brynn was a favorite. She was funny (her points of view were the funniest in my opinion) She admitted to the mistakes that she made even if she didn't voice them out loud. She had flaws but so does every character. Mia was a lot more quiet and didn't really say much to most people. She stood up when something wrong was done or said so that’s one thing. Both girls had their own things to deal with in this story. I liked getting to know how different they both were from each other.The story was really easy to get into. I was interested from the beginning until the end. I played detective and kept keeping a mental profile of all the characters trying to guess who the murderer really was. The guessed who really killed Summer early on in the book but kept it aside. At some point I was 100% sure I was right. Turns out I actually was. I felt like guessing the killer really dimmed the magic of the story for me a little bit.Overall, the story was really enjoyable. It was different than most of the book I’ve read. I really enjoyed the writing too. Would definitely recommend the book to those who love a good mystery.|| Blog || Instagram ||

"Before we were the Monsters of Brickhouse Lane… we were just girls." 4.5 Broken Things is a standalone YA thriller with multiple perspective. Five years after their best friend was murdered, people still believe Brynn and Mia were the ones who did it, even though the cops couldn’t prove it. The three girls were obssessed with a fantasy novel called The Way Into Lovelorn and it turns out Summer was killed in a similar way to a Lovelorn ritual. Now, they are trying to get by, but the past won’t give them much room to move on when some new informations on what happened back then turns up.I really enjoyed this book. I listened to it mostly in audiobook and it was very engaging. To be honest that was a surprise because when I first heard of this book I had zero intention of reading it. That is, until I heard the premise and went like “wow that actually sounds right up my alley”. I had never read anything by Lauren Oliver, but this one made me look more optimistically at her other books.Like in Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, this book had bits and pieces from both The Way Into Lovelorn and from Return to Lovelorn – a self-insert fanfic the girls wrote as a sequel to the original book – inbetween chapters. Personally, I loved that, and I felt it gave the story a nice and almost fantastical touch. The whole obssession with Lovelorn also reminded me of the same feeling with the world of Fillory in The Magicians (the tv show, I haven’t read the books yet). "In books, secret worlds are accessible by doors or keys or other physical objects. But Lovelorn was not such a world, and appeared at whim and only when it felt like it, with a subtle change like the slow shifting of afternoon to evening." I liked the main characters, it was interesting seeing how people’s judment and harassment over the murder affected their lives. Brynn was more hot tempered and her way of dealing with things was to fake being an addict in order to stay freely in rehab so she wouldn’t have to handle her family or outside society (oh and she’s a lesbian). Meanwhile, Mia barely leaves her house, where she lives with a mother with serious compulsive hoarding issues (like in that reality tv show Hoarders where people can’t get rid of ANYTHING, including piles of garbage). She is a shy girl who’s now homeschooled due to the haressment she suffered and shares a tutor with her only friend, a girl named Abby who is a popular fat omnisexual beautystagrammer.Also, Summer was basically Alison DiLaurentis from Pretty Little Liars, but a poor and “lives with a foster family” version. You know the type, pretty, manipulative, the queen bee who is both loved and hated by people at the same time – including her friends.Even though I enjoyed the book, as usual, the murderer reveal didn’t really surprise me. I honestly am used to that by now, but I still can’t tell if every murder mystery I read is somewhat predictable or if I should just become a detective already. But it’s okay, this book still gave me that “don’t want to put it down” feeling and that’s all I could ask for at this point. Also, I’d like to point out that this book switches between the perspectives of Brynn and Mia and that can get a bit confusing in the audiobook because there are three narrators – one that reads the Lovelorn stuff between the chapters, one that narrates only Brynn's chapters, and one for only Mia's -, so it’s just one person doing the voices in each chapter, and both narrators read the characters differently.This was a good experience for me, and I hope it is for you too in case you decide to pick it up. I'll be more open to Lauren Oliver's future books from now on, although I don't particularly feel like reading her older books.Blog review | Twitter | Instagram

There is a dark beauty to Lauren Oliver's writing that gets me every time- Broken Things is a melancholy, beautifully plotted tale of friendship and murder.An obsession with a book that had no ending leads 3 friends down a dangerous path. One dies, the others are assumed guilty, years later they come together once more to try and discover the truth..I love the way the author digs deep into her characters, peeling back the layers with huge insight. The mystery elements are clever and emotional, for once I did not fully predict the outcome.Tense, atmospheric, often a little creepy, Broken Things was a wonderful if a little heart breaking read and I definitely recommend it.

That ending!! Wow. I have the impression that I held my breath for the second half of the book, and that I can finally breathe. Wow.Many thanks to HarperCollins Canada for my early copy! ❤️

THE GOOD:* you all know I’m trash for thrillers/murder-mysteries, so it was virtually impossible from the get go for me to not like this lolol* this book toyed with my mind SO much - I kept asking myself whether there was indeed something supernatural happening or was I losing my mind* and honestly, what better way is there for you to know a book is good: “is it making me question my life, sanity and choices? yes. PERFECT, I’M SOLD”* huge props to Lauren Oliver for crafting this so beautifully, the writing was mesmerising and the story itself kept me on the edge of my seat* honestly, the thing I’m taking away from here is that friendships can make and break you at the same time; also maybe don’t wander into huge, menacing forests willingly and habitually, because Narnia ain’t out there* I resonated a lot with the way the main characters imagined their fantasy world, because I did that as well as a kid, and this is something that a lot of readers will see themselves in* it’s disturbing, so just bear that in mind and maybe don’t read it while alone in the house, with only your judgy sarcastic inner self to keep you company* to sum it up: stabby murder, make believe world, forests and friendships, mixed with a dose of “omg wtf is happening”THE BAD:* honestly, I was too caught up in this to notice anything bad so pls don’t hold it against me lolSpecial mentions: trigger warnings for graphic violence, pedophilia, animal abuse, homophobic slurs (always challenged though)Favourite quotes:“That’s the problem with lies. They aren’t solid. They melt, and seep, and leak into the truth. And sooner or later, everything’s just a muddle.” “The problem with fairy tales isn’t that they don’t exist. It’s that they do exist, but only for some people.” “It is a strange phrase, ‘falling in love,’” said one of the princesses in the tower. Tears stood out on her cheeks, and even these were pretty, reflecting the blue sky above her. “It sounds like something you do accidentally, by yourself. But isn’t someone else always to blame? They should call it strangling in love. Walloped in love. Knocked-out-of-nowhere in love.” ★★★★★ To everyone who got this far, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! Also, feel free to share your thoughts, comment or tell me anything :)

This book is more than just a murder case, more than just solving a mystery. It is very beautifully written, atmospheric, almost magical, mysterious, suspenseful, eerie but also moving all at the same time. I have almost forgotten Ms. Lauren Oliver's extraordinary talent in writing which was what I really fell for when I read her Before I Fall. She definitely has the ability to make these familiar, almost stereotypical characters into something very refreshing and new. She honestly knows how to flesh out each of her characters to convince me that they’re more than just fiction, that they could be real. I love how it has a fantastical element because of this fantasy book (which ended mid-sentence) these three girls were obsessed with when they were younger. It’s creepy how the events in the story as they overlap with the events in the fanfiction the girls wrote seem to actually happen to them and that’s one puzzling and unique mystery to solve.This is a very gripping, interesting read that hooked me up from the very first line “Five years ago, when I had just turned thirteen, I killed my best friend.” up to the very last part of the book which ironically also ended mid-sentence. It's kind of genius!

Once again Oliver manages to create something unlike anything else that I've ever experienced. A flawless blend of fantasy mixed with realism, with just the right amount of mystery thrown in that will leave readers turning the pages and guessing what will happen next.With characters that are flawed, imperfect, and most of the time, not very lovable but still manage to capture you interest by being both intriguing and fascinating.Truly a book fans will love and those looking for something both unique and entertaining are sure to enjoy. *ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Broken Things follows Mia and Brynn, who, five years ago, were accused of murdering their best friend, Summer, in the woods. Now, on the 5th anniversary of her death, a seemingly insignificant discovery brings the two estranged friends back together in order to find the answer to a question that has always been on their minds: who really killed Summer Marks? “Before we were the Monsters of Brickhouse Lane—before everyone from Connecticut to California knew us by that tagline, and blogs ran pictures of our faces, and searching our names led to sites that crashed from all the traffic—we were just girls, and there were only two of us.” This was a really, really fun book for me. I loved everything about it, the writing, the characters, the mystery. I knew even before the book came out that I was going to like it because I love all of Lauren Oliver’s books and she is literally an auto-buy author for me at this point. “Words mean different things to different people, at different times, in different places.” The writing in this book was beautiful. But am I surprised? No. One of the reasons that Lauren Oliver is my favourite author is because the way she writes is beautiful. This woman is crazy talented. It never fails to amaze me just how lyrical her writing is. In fact, reading this book made me realise just how much I missed reading her books. “She didn’t realize how much depends on what you’re remembered for. Sometimes, it’s so much better to be forgotten.” The characters were also a strong aspect of this book. I really liked Mia and Brynn but I think I liked Mia a little more. Her personality was just super relatable and oh my god, I shipped her and Owen so bad. Their relationship just felt so raw and real but so awkward at the same time. I’m so happy with the way their whole arc was handled and the way their story ended. This book is also quite diverse in that we have a gay protagonist and a pansexual character as well who has a diverse body type. Summer reminded me of Alison from the Pretty Little Liars series and I drew so many parallels between the two but they were also different in that Summer wasn’t a total psychopath. I think it’s a major strength of an author to be able to make you feel something for a character who was dead before the events of the book even take place. Although Summer wasn’t the nicest person, I did also feel sorry for her. She seemed like such a lost soul and didn’t deserve the ending she got. “The problem with fairy tales isn't that they don't exist. It's that they do exist, but only for some people.” The slow-burning mystery was one of my favourite aspects of this book. I didn’t see the reveal coming. In fact, all along, I thought it was actually Wade who killed Summer. There were just something about him that felt a little off to me and even though there were certain things about him that proved my theory wrong, I just couldn’t shake off my suspicion. But I’m so surprised I didn’t see the reveal coming because looking back, it was pretty obvious from the clues that were given. But I really, really loved the way the author ended the book. It felt real and true and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling when I turned the last page. “And here’s the thing: I don’t know what it means, or where it will lead, or whether it will lead anywhere. But I kiss him anyway. Because if not, then” Overall, Broken Things, just like every other Lauren Oliver book I’ve read, was really enjoyable and just proved to me yet again why this author is one of my favourites. I will read anything she writes. Always. Because if not, then

Broken Things is a bit good. It started well. The first page had me hooked but the last 5 chapters was underwhelming.

(originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com )I want to say thank you to Edelweiss for providing me with an eARC of this novel!Horrorpalooza has officially begun!!! As you all know, the month of October is where I try to do all horror/upsetting thriller, all the time, and kicking off with the new Lauren Oliver is a great way to begin! Lauren Oliver has written some pretty stellar YA novels in multiple genres, but I think that her mind bending thrillers are her best. I especially liked the book “Vanishing Girls”, a book about two sisters with lots of problems. So when I saw that she had a new book coming out called “Broken Things”, I was intrigued, and when the plot sounded like it was inspired by the Slender Man Stabbing I had to have it. Oliver has always done a good job of making creepy atmospheres as well as creating damaged but interesting protagonists, so I had pretty high hopes for this book. And the good news is that “Broken Things” is another strong showing from Oliver.This story is told through two perspectives in two different timelines. The first perspective is Brynn, the sardonic sarcastic girl of the friend group. After they were never charged with Summer’s murder, she left town, and has been in a seemingly fragile mental state, hopping in and out of rehab. The other is Mia, the quieter, kinder one of the group, who never left town but had her life be torn apart by her mother’s mental illness and the rumors that always plagued her. Both girls are very different characters, but Oliver does a good job of writing both of them and making their motivations known and understood. While Brynn’s story was the one that I liked the best of the two, I felt that Mia had the most character growth, so there was something to really enjoy through both POVs. Brynn and Mia are also equally complex, as Brynn was potentially in love with Summer back when she was alive, and Mia had a crush on Summer’s then boyfriend, turned fellow suspect. Their romantic entanglements, however, are not the main focus of their storylines, as the big relationship is the one between the two of them as they learn to trust each other again. I greatly enjoyed seeing them try to bridge that gap, especially since there might have been problems even before Summer died. And through their perspectives I felt like I got a good look into what Summer was like, and that she was just as well rounded as they were in spite of the fact that she didn’t have much in terms of her own perspectives.The timelines are in the present, and what happened leading up to Summer’s death from the time they met her until the night that she died. Both timelines and both perspectives slowly and carefully lay out all of the pieces of the puzzle, and Oliver reveals them at her own pace in their own due time. While we knew everything that was going on in these character’s minds, and the various clues that each of them had, the two timelines and two perspectives made it so that we got to watch them bring it all together. It rarely felt like it was lagging or dragging as Brynn and Mia tackle the mystery, both of Summer’s death and also what Summer was actually like outside of being painted as a symbol of purity taken before her time. While I did guess a couple of things before their reveals, overall there were plenty of gasp worthy moments that took be by surprise. The journey of getting to the solution was lots of fun, with a lot of twisted and dark moments that made for a tense and eerie atmosphere.I also liked the glimpses we got into the fantasy world of Lovelorn. Like the Slender Man Stabbing, the girls in question had become obsessed with a fantasy world that they believed, to a point, was real. While it may have been easy to just make up a slapdash version of Slender Man for this story, Oliver made a whole new world that had some unique elements. While it wasn’t the focus, we got enough tastes of this fantasy world that I felt like I knew it almost as well as Brynn, Mia, and Summer did. If Lauren Oliver wanted to write a couple of Lovelorn books, I would probably read them, and that’s coming from me, whose tastes in fantasy are VERY particular.“Broken Things” is another tantalizing and thrilling book by Lauren Oliver, and she continues to show that there can be some well done crossovers between age groups when it comes to thrillers. Adults and teens alike will enjoy “Broken Things”.

This story will definitely bring to mind the Slender Man case. It's creepy, alluring, and heartbreaking all at once and begs the question, "How far will some people go to escape into a fantasy world?" There are so many things I like about this book. The Way Into Lovelorn was a story within the story, and I enjoyed reading it. The girls shaped themselves around these characters and became so immersed in their storytelling, the unthinkable happened. Sometimes escapism is more rewarding than reality, but at what cost? I was also invested in the tragic aftermath that became Mia and Brynn's lives. They were broken, stigmatized by society and still haunted by not knowing what really happened to Summer that day. I found it all to be beautifully and hauntingly done. For me, it was a YA combination of The Wicked Girls and You Let Me In. If you're a fan of those books or interested in the Slender Man case, give this one a read.

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight 3.5*I have some quite polarized thoughts about this book. Quite a bit of it I loved. Because it's Lauren Oliver and she's fabulous and I generally love all the things she writes. But then there were a few things that irked me. Like, a lot. Obviously, the only way to handle such a situation is a good stuff versus bad stuff, right? Right. The Stuff I Liked: •Oh goodness, the writing. As always, Lauren Oliver knocks it out of the damn park. It's so quotable, so lovely, really. And so very easy to devour. I read almost the whole thing in one day, and it is not a short book by any means. •I loved how real the characters seemed. Even when they were being awful. Perhaps especially when they were being awful. These girls were pretty judgmental in general, but the way they were written made them also seem incredibly realistic. Because honestly, who among us hasn't passed judgment on another person? It was almost like showing that not-so-nice side of people, but it's an inner dialogue we've all had at one point or another- even if it's uncomfortable to admit. •The mystery was definitely consuming! The girls had such a rough time of things after the death of Summer- they were vilified by pretty much everyone (because obviously the world will eat up a story in which the best friends are suspects) and haven't had much success moving on. I liked that their friendship, especially their relationship moving forward, was explored so in depth. But also, I wanted to know who the real murderer was, because of course! •There's just a lot of commentary on messed up societal crap. Like how Brynn has to legitimately fake drug use just to get mental health help paid for. How disgustingly invested strangers are in the lives of teenage girls. And it goes on- those are early things that aren't spoilers, but trust that the book makes a lot of awesome points in that regard. •It was just plain old entertaining and engaging. This is hard to put into words of course, but the book was just enjoyable. The Stuff I Didn't: The fat shaming. •I'll tell you upfront, there are a lot of unpleasant things that happen in this book. I mean, it's about a young girl's murder, so. But the fat shaming was really unnecessary and didn't make sense in the story. The "fat" character was a friend of one of the main characters, and she was apparently "obese" at 180 pounds. And it is stated that she is normal height, too. But she has "thyroid problems and prediabetes". What now!? This isn't the only time her weight is mentioned in an unflattering light, it just happens to be the one I have saved. Anyway, it made me stabby- especially because I can imagine a teen reading this and thinking "but wait- I am 180 pounds so does that mean I am grossly overweight?" and okay, don't young women have enough problems? And if it had anything to do with the story, or was resolved in any way, I'd probably have been less stabby, but it wasn't, so here we are. •The ending underwhelmed me. I mean, I am glad it did have an ending! (Especially since I am still so worked up over Requiem.) I just felt that it was kind of anticlimactic for a book that had been so engaging up until that point. Bottom Line: Definitely enjoyed reading it, would have probably been close to five stars if I'd liked the ending better. Still a solid book, one I am glad to have read!

As a longtime fan of Lauren Oliver, I was very excited for her latest thriller, Broken Things. This book is very mysterious as it blends fantasy and reality. The main characters are realistic, and the writing style is so suspenseful. This is the perfect read to curl up with this fall.Full review on The Candid Cover