Official Review: Broken Circle by Amy McKinley

[lavellan]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Broken Circle" by Amy McKinley.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Liv seems to have it all; she’s a successful artist, possesses a sizeable fortune, and has a doting husband. Alex, her husband, is the perfect partner. He’s sensitive to her needs and supportive, something Liv did not experience under the watch of her high-society parents. All this changes after Liv reveals her pregnancy to him. Suddenly, Alex transforms into a man she doesn’t recognize and starts acting strangely. He suggests that they visit his mother in Venezuela, triggering a chain of events that leads to Liv questioning the nature of their relationship. The main questions begging to be answered are “What is Alex’s true identity?” and “Will Liv and Alex’s relationship survive?” All of these and more are brought forth in Amy McKinley’s novel, Broken Circle.

Broken Circle hooked me from the start. I’m a sucker for a good mystery so I found myself glued to the pages to figure out Alex’s secretive backstory. The dual nature of Alex left me curious; I wanted to see which side of him was his true self: his kind and sensitive personality he displayed with Liv or his violent demeanor that emerged around his father and brother. McKinley does a superb job of developing her characters. Liv was believable and I could see myself acting similarly in her situation. I appreciated that Liv reacted in a realistic fashion toward traumatic events. Often, authors either have female characters act maudlin or seemingly get over the situation instantaneously. This was not the case in Broken Circle. Additionally, I really enjoyed the descriptions of Venezuela. I could picture Margarita Island, the place where Alex grew up, in my mind through McKinley’s vivid depictions of the tropical scenery.

The only improvement I can think of for the novel regards the general friendliness and willingness to help shown by Liam, a kind man who aids Liv, and his friends. For the most part, the characters that helped Liv were all extraordinarily helpful and kind. It would have been nice if all the supporting characters had been developed more. However, this wasn’t a big issue for me because most of the focus was on Liv and Alex. Both of these characters were exquisitely developed and felt truly human in their virtues and vices.

Broken Circle was exceptionally edited. I only noticed two minor errors while reading the novel. One example included the use of “waivered” instead of “wavered”.

Overall, I happily rate Broken Circle 4 out of 4 stars. There was very little that I disliked about the book, and I appreciated its nearly flawless editing. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the mystery of Alex’s identity and to see if Liv would get the happy ending she deserved. I would recommend this work to readers who enjoy books with a dash of mystery and drama. Broken Circle does contain some depictions of violence; audiences who are sensitive to this sort of content may need to steer clear of it.

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Broken Circle
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Like lavellan's review? Post a comment saying so!

[pjjones6969]

This sounds like an interesting read. I rarely read romance novels but this one has piqued my interest. I'm curious to learn more about the relationship between these two characters. Thank you for your time and your great review.

[Nisha Ward]

Sounds good but not my thing right now. I'm definitely sensitive to certain things you mentioned at the moment due to outside factors, so I'm afraid I gotta pass up on what seems to be a great read.

[phills]

Broken Circle" by Amy McKinley.]
This novel unveiled some ill faith that is attached to one relationship or another, most relationship are not pronounced some coup fell in love without knowing exactly what the man needed at that particular period..
This story teaches us how important it is for us to At least understand the base of any relationship we are getting involve to
Thanks...

[TheBookNookLover]

I think this review was very well done. She gave enough information about the book to intrigue readers and make them feel confident that this would be a good book to read without giving away too much. She makes it clear that this story is believable and the characters are relatable, especially the female character Liv.

[DeejaneBatino27]

Sounds interesting! I wanted to read it. I love romance and suspense story.

[Scarlet Nicoll]

Wow! The synopsis's scruples does give credit to this read. Looking forward to it. Thank you!

[kandscreeley]

Wow! You've gotten me very curious as to why Liv's pregnancy changes everything. I'm glad this one was so well done. Thanks for introducing us to it.

[kdstrack]

You have piqued my interest about Alex's split personality. I would also like to read the descriptions of Venezuela. This is an intriguing review. Well done!

[jasmine-louise]

oh i'm intrigued! I need to read this