Book 6 of the Women of the Otherworld series, and the third book featuring Elena as protagonist, but the first book featuring a pregnant protagonist!
(And if you felt that book five, Haunted, lacked the spice we expect from this series—rest assured, book six brings it back!)
It’s the second book I’ve read this year featuring a pregnant protagonist, and I confess, it’s not my favourite storyline, but Kelley Armstrong writes captivating narratives that steal my attention (and my sleep!).
This was a 4* read for me personally (and all my reviews are personal). The score is partly reduced by the unease I felt reading a pregnancy narrative, but brought back up for the fun action scenes and Elena’s brilliant sass.
Pregnancy
I watched Alien (through my fingers) for the first time this year, and it certainly struck a chord. If you somehow missed it before now, then all you need to know is that Alien is a space horror with the fear of rape and pregnancy at the core of its storytelling.
So you can imagine I groaned on learning that Broken was going down that route.
Don’t misunderstand me—The Women of the Otherworld series touches on key moments of womanhood, and of course, pregnancy is one of those. This book existing in this series is relevant and important.
However, while Elena’s maternal instincts felt very real to me, the ease of her pregnancy seemed very supernatural. In some ways, it truly was a magical pregnancy, with Elena getting to skip a few months of discomfort due to her werewolf DNA.
I can only wonder how Elena’s epic lack of typical pregnancy struggles come across to the readers who have tried to incubate a fetus—I wouldn’t know. I can only say it read quite fantastical and easy to me, who has only ever heard horror stories and near-death experiences from my close relatives.
Aside from the personal take on the pregnancy subplot (or cubplot, if I’m allowed a pun), I’m interested to see how the Pack family expansion influences the politics of the Otherworld.
Plot
Now, this book was certainly a page turner, but I’m not entirely sure why… because the true villain turning out to be Hull could not have been more obvious to me.
I guess I was very invested in Elena’s success? Enough to ignore my immediate and complete belief that Hull was 1) a sorceror, and 2) the bad guy, shortly following his appearance in the plot.
I can only say that I’m hoping that I haven’t read too many K.A. books and am now simply recognising the formula… but on the other hand, if I’m still this invested in the characters, then maybe it’s OK?
The Zombies
The central threat of this book has to be the zombies. Thankfully, unlike our werewolf heroes, they’re not increasing their numbers by biting or procreation.
The threat of a zombie book typically centers on a fear of the horde, but in Broken, there are only two zombies.
Instead of the horde, Armstrong focuses on the horror of rot and disease—and on that front, two zombies was more than enough. I thought this was a good antithesis to Elena’s pregnancy. Unceasing death vs the miracle of new life. I think it works well.
Summary
I doubt this book will rank as one of my favourites from the WotO universe, but it was still a great read that moves the supernatural world forward.
I’ve already bought the sequel, No Humans Involved, and look forward to delivering the review to my readers soon!
Interested in my takes on other Women of the Otherworld novels? Check out my Kelley Armstrong reviews for the full, up-to-date range!
