Book Review: Broken by Kelley Armstrong

Anyone who remembers 'Stolen' by the same author deserves credit- it feels like an eternity since I first read and reviewed it. Since then, Kelley Armstrong has been on a roll, adding book after book to her 'Women of the Underworld' series, although the series took a departure from the original character, werewolf Elena Michaels to explore the lives of other characters such as the witch- Paige Winterbourne and Savannah's dead mother... I forgot her name. It goes without saying that, purist that I am, I did not follow the books which did not directly involve Elena. So now, four books later, here I am again, picking up the book which chronicles the welcome return of the kick-ass sole female werewolf in Armstrong's dark modern world.

Like the first two books, 'Bitten' and 'Stolen', Armstrong retains her first-person narrative, and it's good to see that Elena is as bitter and sarcastic as ever. The unusual twist this time around is that she is- wait for it!- pregnant! Considering the fact that she's supposed to be the first female werewolf since, ever, it becomes quite a bit of a problem for her. (seriously, how could they not see it coming, considering the ridiculous amount of sex they have? The werewolf pack walks around the house naked for crying out loud. How the other three or four men can control their inhibitions while Clayton Danvers, Elena's lover takes the prize is beyond me)

After dealing with rogue werewolves in the first book, and a secret government operation in the second, the third brings zombies. Yes, zombies. Looking over the list of storyline themes, you're probably thinking that the book series is a bunch of B-grade crap, which admittedly, it is in a sense. But it's good crap, if only because of Elena's sarcastic narration and 'charming' personality. Her pop-culture references are reminiscent of Buffy, to which she is often compared to by critics.

Ah, back to zombies. Yes, this book revolves around Jack the Ripper's 'From Hell' letter, and how when Clayton unwittingly strikes a mosquito with Elena's blood on the letter, a spell is triggered which opens a portal into the nether regions of Victorian London. Toronto may be looking for a new tourism boost, but 'Gateway to Hell' isn't quite the new slogan the city had in mind. As I said before- it's purely a B-movie fest, albeit sexier and wittier. Killer rats, vampires and zombies, oh my. The story has a lot of promise.

Unfortunately, in my honest opinion, it falls quite short of expectation. The lack of a solid villain could be seen as one of the story's main flaws. Most of the time, Elena and co. are dishing out punishment on random things that just come their way without explanation. It doesn't help that the story feels a bit far-fetched as well. (What is Jack The Ripper's 'From Hell' letter doing all the way in Canada, for example?) Somehow the story lacks the drive that was in 'Stolen', despite the fact that secret government operations are really a recycled plot device, namely 'stolen', pardon the pun, from the most hated Buffy the Vampire Slayer season ever to appear on TV.

Somehow, pregnancy also seems to take the fire out of our main character. And the direction Kelley Armstrong is taking her character is also questionable. Are successive stories going to be about Elena making it work as a soccer mom? A person juggling a toddler while battling the forces of darkness? While it would make for some interesting comedy, I can't help but think that the more this progresses, Elena is going to become less and less the self-absorbed, ass-kicking bitch I was first introduced to four years ago.

(sigh)

It shouldn't deter you from reading the book though. It's okay enough. I've seen worse. *cough*TheLightAges*cough*

I give it a 6 out of 10.