Alec Sumner is fleeing yet another broken heart. By moving to London, he hopes to find peace and a fresh start. While shopping with a friend on a busy London street, he sees his chance, embodied in a mysterious young man with soulful blue eyes and a bad leg. Eli Burke is broken in his own way, haunted by memories of his lover's murder and physically scarred from the same fatal assault. He, too, plans to run away-to Africa and a new life working with children. But when he meets Alec, his choice isn't so easy. He and Alec see the real possibility of new love and a brighter future, but they'll both have to face their fears of past pain and find a way to heal.
Broken
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More About the Author
Dawn Kimberly Johnson is an African American author and artist living in her hometown of Huntington, WV. She graduated from the Marshall University W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications and was first published in 2009 by Dreamspinner Press. She likes to write just after waking, after her characters have wandered through her subconscious, talking to one another, making love, arguing, working out their lives and how to live them, working out their loves and how to keep them.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty much acceptable,
By
This review is from: Broken (Kindle Edition)
Overall
A perfectly acceptable and enjoyable novel, it did nothing to entrance me or amaze me, although it did entertain. Strengths Pacing. Although the pace is slower, it worked for the style of story being told as the relationship develops and then faces its conflict. while not a page turner, it is enjoyable in its own right. It feels more like a lazy day with an old friend than a day out on the town. Ending. Despite feeling this book was unremarkable, I did enjoy the ending and the overall events that led up to it. It wasn't enough to leave me enraptured with the completed text, but did redeem the slow beginning. Characters. The characters were interesting and definitely struggling with themselves and the circumstances. They were both fairly likable, although Eli was more difficult to like since he made everything more complicated, even if he had a reason. Weaknesses While I really wanted to enjoy this book, it did nothing to entice me to do that. It was acceptable, maybe even good. But it took a long time to create a bond with the characters so that the beginning of the book was a little slow as the characters took the stage. It neither thrilled me or repulsed me, leaving me to finish the novel and go, "Oh" and that was that.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Broken by Dawn Kimberly Johnson,
By
This review is from: Broken (Paperback)
Broken is, as expected, a story very heavy in the angst side but not overtly dramatic. I poured my one tear or two, but basically, I think the story was more sweet than anything else, and I really enjoyed the fact that it was "physical" without being sexy. Let me explain a bit: both main characters, Eli and Alec, are very aware of each other in a physical way, the love between them is both a match of minds than bodies, and all around them there are people who are in different stage of relationships, but the novel never goes down to the details, never once there is a full sex scene, even if, more than once, the men fall asleep together (and you will have to read the book to know what I mean). So yes, the novel is physical, but it's not sexy, we and they are aware of the men and their sexuality, and so no, this is not a "sweet romance" as the old romance rules state (no sex we are English...), but it's sweet since the author manages to maintain it on a balanced level, not too much of that, not to few of this.
Eli is recovering from a trauma, his life partner was killed in a gay bashing, and 2 years after his impromptu family, the lesbian best girlf friend of his former partner, and two gay roommates they were living with, think it's time for Eli to come out from the self-imposed "widower" mourning. Ilsa in particular decides to take the matter in hand and rent the attic of the house where they are all living to Alec, an American writer and Psychology professor who is searching a place to live in London, after moving from Chicago due to another one of his "usual" heartbroken. Just from that you can understand that Alec is not exactly the classical psycho-therapist, that let me say, I sometime find boring: when a man has all the answers, I think he is not a nice character. Alec, instead, I think he is a man who learns how to understand and comfort people, since he wanted to understand his own fears and doubts. When one of his relationships fails, he moves to another city to completely change his life; it's a run from reality, but he knows it well. And I think that Alec has also some self-esteem problem, he always thinks that the relationship fails due to some fault from his side... unlikely, but the human mind works in a strange way. Anyway, when Alec meets Eli, he is the only one who understands that Eli has not the need to be pushed out from his mourning, he needs to be taken by. Eli is almost ready, he only needs to find a reason, and maybe the reason can be a new love, Alec. Obviously when you hide to Eli that Alec is a psychologist, and more he is specialized in after-trauma, well, you also understand that troubles are behind the corner. Eli and Alec are very nice characters, well developed and likeable. The story between them is nice and sweet. What probably is the best part of this novel is that they are not the only ones to be good characters. They can be the main focus of the story, but all the supporting characters around them, from the most important ones, like Ilsa, Lyle and Tony, Eli's roommates, to Casey, Mirabell, the best girl friends, to even the cameo roles like Dray, Reggie and Ray, they all have an interesting background story, they all aroused my interest and made me wonder about them, about their story and its possible evolution. Broken could be Eli and Alec's love story, but it's also a choral book where all the characters have a very important role.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful story of lost, healing and hope.,
By
This review is from: Broken (Paperback)
DKJ is a wonderful writer, her characters vividly drawn, their entwined stories grabbing you from the very beginning. This is one M/M romance which is characters, emotions and plot driven. This is a deeply stirring story of pain, healing and hope. It is a love story as much as a story of heartwarming friendship.
The 2 protagonists, Eli and Alec, easily grow on you. Eli is the victim of a terrible gay bashing which also ended the life of his lover of 5 years. The flashback is painfully gripping. Scarred physically and mentally Eli lives in constant pain, unable to move on, moaning for his dead love. Thankfully he is surrounded by caring room mates including one bigger than life bisexual chef named Ilsa, who makes it her mission to look after the 3 gay men who are her tenants as much as her close friends. The friendship among these 4 people is touching and their interaction does provide numerous light and comical moments in a plot which could be laden with too much angst. Then there is Alec, an American professor in psychology. He may be doing well in his career with a recent bestseller but not so his love life. For the third time he has fled to escape a heartache. This time the destination is London as he easily finds himself the 4th tenant in Ilsa's house but later did he realize he is part of one caring friend's plan. I enjoy the developing romance between Eli and Alex which is both convincing, moving and ultimately sweet. One step forward and two steps backwards as they slowly but surely move forward to a future together. As for the supporting characters they are all vividly drawn out. I find myself enjoying reading about them as much as the two main characters. I dislike it when a story focuses too much on supporting characters but not so in this case as the writer skillfully weaves their stories into the main ones. I find myself caring about what happens to Ilsa, really a lesbian with her heart of gold jumping form one woman to another. The temperamental artist Tony with his one night stands. The estate agent Lyle neat as a pin, in love with his childhood friend for years. Even the few pages on the members of Eli's dead partner's family are interesting. There are a few teary moments in the story as the theme is a heavy one but the interaction among all the characters with the never a dull moment dialogue gives this story one seamless flow holding me captive till the very end. Another quality release from Dreamspinnerpress,
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