Broken (Women of the Otherworld, Book 6) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Kelley Armstrong (Author)
Key Phrases: knockback spell, bowler hatted man, Kelley Armstrong, Jack the Ripper, Anita Barrington (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In this thrilling new novel from the author of Industrial Magic, a pregnant werewolf may have unwittingly unleashed Jack the Ripper on twenty-first-century—and become his next target.

Ever since she discovered she’s pregnant, Elena Michaels has been on edge. After all, she’s never heard of another living female werewolf, let alone one who’s given birth. But thankfully, her expertise is needed to retrieve a stolen letter allegedly written by Jack the Ripper. As a distraction, the job seems simple enough—only the letter contains a portal to Victorian London’s underworld, which Elena inadvertently triggers—unleashing a vicious killer and a pair of zombie thugs.

Now Elena must find a way to seal the portal before the unwelcome visitors get what they’re looking for—which, for some unknown reason, is Elena.

About the Author
Kelley Armstrong lives in rural Ontario with her husband, three children and far too many pets. She is the author of a new crime series, the Women of the Otherworld series and an upcoming young adult trilogy, The Darkest Power.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (April 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553588184
• ISBN-13: 978-0553588187
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 3.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,575 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #39 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Dark Fantasy
  #52 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Urban
  #75 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > United States

• This is item 6 in The Women of the Otherworld Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not her best-but anything with Elena is sure to be good, May 11, 2006

By	Lilly Flora "by Lilo Drandoff" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I was super excited for this book to come out-I even ordered it a year in advance. I've loved the Woman of the Otherworld series from the get go, although I have never read another horror novel. This book is about my favorite of the narrators, Elena, the only female werewolf.

Centered around her first (and difficult, seeing as both parents were werewolves) pregnancy this book is the story of what a mess Elena got into because she was bored. There was this letter that a half demon wanted her pack to steal so he could sell it. But somehow the letter contained a time cell, a little piece of Victorian England that pops out in modern Toronto. Including such fun things as zombies, cholera and possibly jack the ripper.

So what will the pack do? Well, naturally they try to fix it. Only to find out that the zombies want something specific-Elena. As usual her narrative and sarcastic observations are the best part of the book, especially since this one is not as sex-scene heavy as those previously written. There are a whole lot of chase scenes though, with lots of fighting. Add in a lesbian vampire thief with the hots for Elena, Jamie Vegas the necromancer with the hots for Jeremy, the pack Alfa, and a sorcerer who doctors the poor and presto! Another wonderful book by Kelley Armstrong.

This isn't the best of the series (I'd call that one Bitten) or the scariest (for me-Industrial Magic) or the most action packed (Haunted.) But it is another very good, if not great, novel from Kelley Armstrong. I strongly recommend this book to fans of her series and encourage new readers to start at the beginning. [...]

If this is the last of Elena's books, as some reviewers mention, it makes me quite sad. But with this author I am sure there are more, and maybe better, things to come.

As always with this author-I'll read this book again and again, so five stars.

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great Women of the Otherworld book..., May 3, 2006

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I have read all of the Women of the Otherworld books and had enjoyed them all. I loved the first two books about Elena Michaels, the only living female werewolf on the planet, and was thrilled to know that she is back in Broken. Elena Michaels has settled into a stable life after her awful experience as a prisoner at an experimental compound (Stolen). But things get confusing for her after she discovers she's pregnant. She has more than just the average pregnancy angst; she is downright terrified that her change to werewolf form might harm the baby. And there is also the question over whether or not the baby will be a werewolf or not. As if there weren't enough problems, she receives an impromptu phone call from demon Xavier with a very strange request. He wants her to steal a letter that was supposedly written by Jack the Ripper. The assignment seems simple enough, except that the letter has a portal to Victorian London that unleashes zombies, former human beings that had been used as a ritual sacrifice. Now all of those creepy crawlies are on the loose in Toronto and Elena, Clay and Jeremy have to do whatever is possible to catch them and close the portal for good. They especially have to do this because the zombies are for some reason after Elena. There are various twists throughout the novel.

I am not as into paranormal/fantasy novels as I used to be, but there are certain authors of the aforementioned genre that will forever be on my must-read list, and Kelley Armstrong is one of them. This is another enthralling installment of the Women of the Otherworld series and I was entertained from beginning to end. This novel contains the paranormal and horror aspects combined with action, humor and romance that I've come to expect from this wonderful series. Elena is as tough as ever, Clay is antisocial as usual and Jeremy is enjoyable as the taciturn, sensible alpha werewolf. The novel also brings back our favorite characters from previous books, like Paige, Lucas, Xavier and Jaime Vargas. There are some new characters here as well. I get a real kick out of the characters, especially Jaime and Xavier. And I of course LOVE the witty dialogue. The dialogue has always been one of the biggest highlights in these novels and the bantering here is as fun as it was in the previous novels. As for the plot, the whole Jack the Ripper letter and portal thing was quite interesting. I admit, however, that this isn't my favorite storyline in this series. There have been so many fictional accounts on Jack the Ripper that I wish Armstrong had come up with something different. I very much enjoyed the subplot centered on a pregnant Elena though. It was an excellent source of conflict for her, for she doesn't know what to expect once she gives birth, being the only female werewolf alive and all. It gave her a sensitivity that she hadn't shown in previous books. She has always been tough and tomboyish, but I have a feeling that motherhood will change that. I also have a feeling this will be the last we'll read of her as a main character in the series and I'm disappointed with that. I do hope that we'll read a novel about Cassandra the vampire or Jaime the necromancer. I especially want one about Cassandra. She is such an interesting character and I want to read more about her and Aaron. The vampires in this series sound quite unique. Anyway, Broken is another awesome offering in this enthralling series. Kelley Armstrong is still one of the best fantasy authors I have read. She remains on my must-read list and I look forward to reading her next book in the series.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pick it up, put it down..., June 16, 2006

By	Wooddavis (California) - See all my reviews

I must admit I'm a little confused by the reviews of this book. Most everyone agrees that it is "not one of her best", or "a little tired", or a "redundant plot line", yet everyone gives it 4 to 5 stars. Huh?

For me, I'd pick the book up, read a few chapters, get bored, and put it down. Read some books by other authors, then pick up Broken again. I finally finished it, but it definitely took determined perseverance, not an overwhelming interest to do so.

Evidently the new buzz word among popular fantasy authors is "hell portal". I can name six authors who are now using this contrivance in their newest books. First a rush of vampires, then were-animals, witches (black white and gray), fairies, dragons, now portals to Hell. Is everyone (at least the same six authors) getting together by chance? Or, are the publishers giving their bestselling authors the subject line of their next book to increase sales? Is there no one out there with an original idea? Inquiring minds want to know.

I loved Bitten and Stolen, but this book was a serious departure from those rather clever plots. This was slow moving, had "Groundhog Day" repetition (I lost count on how many times they killed the same zombies-and quit caring), and I became as bored with Elena's pregnancy as she was. The villain was obvious, yet the heroes didn't figure it out until he literally tapped them on the shoulder and said "hey there". Even childbirth at the end was staid and anticlimactic.

Hopefully now the entire wolf pack will stay at home and live happily every after. It's time for the rest of us to move on to yet another author with a mysterious "hell portal", which of course we will all read and shower with four or five stars.