Broken Paperback – September 3, 2012

I flew through this book. The relationship between the main characters was full of joy, pain and scorching chemistry. I wish there was a sequel.

Dark premise, good story, happy ending!

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.Rating: 5/10PROS:- There's enough unpleasantness in the early stages of the book that I doubted the author's ability to bring things to a satisfactory (for me, that means happy) close. But I was pleased with the conclusion.- For readers who like sex, there's a decent amount of it here, and it's pretty descriptive.- (Disclaimer: I'm not sure whether this is a pro or a con.) Eben's inability to pronounce Xiu's name properly sort of made me think of Eben as an idiot, which I'm not sure is a positive character trait in a romantic hero. However, the simple-mindedness with which Eben views the world is also kind of refreshing at times. He is an interesting mix of naïve and tough.CONS:- The story incorporates one romance cliché after another: hurt character igniting passionate protective instinct in the other, immediate attraction, erotic dreams that begin soon after they meet, situation in which the guys want each other but simply cannot be together because Fate is cruel, etc.- The dialogue sometimes sounds forced because the characters are saying things that people in that situation wouldn't really say. I got the impression that the author was trying to convey details about time, place, background, etc. using dialogue when the characters would already know all of that information and probably wouldn't talk about it.- Freely's phrasing is odd at times. I couldn't figure out whether she was attempting flowery descriptions and just went overboard or she didn't have a solid grip on the English language. Examples: "Xiu took a moment to run his hands over the muscles bunched there like boulders at the foot of a hillside"; "Shoe [pounded] Eben with relentless majesty."Overall comments: I like the premise here, and I really wanted to like the story. I didn't hate it, but I didn't end up particularly liking it either. The story relies too heavily on cliché for my liking, and it takes a lot of depth in a story to make me believe in a romance between men who are 21 and 20 years old. This one simply didn't do it for me. I started skimming about 40 percent in.

A death bed promise to his mother cemented Eben Flannery's ties to mobster brother Nicky Flannery. Eben evolved into the muscle while Nicky became the brains of their organization. The one and only secret Eben kept from Nicky was for self preservation. Eben knew that being gay was not allowed.Able to keep his secret for years Eben is sorely tested when Nicky expands and buys a male prostitute from Hong Kong. Song Xiu gave up his dreams of becoming a doctor when he was forced into drug addiction and prostitution. For Xiu, being sent to America only means that the clients aren't Asian.Problems arise when Eben and Xiu must conceal their slow dance of mutual seduction. They know that any involvement is forbidden, yet they cannot stop their hearts from falling in love. When Nicky finds out all hell breaks loose. To save each other they must part, but how will they live without their heart?Broken draws readers into a tale of passion and drama where the suspense never ends. Eben isn't a brilliant man, but he is much smarter than anyone gives him credit for, yet he's trapped in the only world he knows. Xiu is in effect the catalyst for change in the lives of the Flannery brothers because Eben has found something, someone to stand up for. Emotionally demanding, Broken delves deep into the choices a person makes and the consequences of those actions. Very intense and exciting.Reviewed by LisaFor Joyfully Reviewed

So far this is the only book by Jessica Freely that I have read. And you are in for a treat. I just recently got into reading MM books and have found that they have some of the best plots that I have read in a long time. The main characters, Eben and Xiu are not perfect men, they remind me a lot of Batman in the way that they are the antihero, they are flawed in a way that most character hero's aren't. Sex, drugs, and the mob are just part of the plot but these lead the MC's on a long journey that ends up with having moved past pain and betrayal, death and grief to love and happiness and fulfillment. I loved this book and am looking forward to reading more by this author.

This book is very well written and has a great story line. The characters are all bad guys by the standard definition but some of them you have to love. If you thought gangsters and drug addicted rent boys couldn't be loveable, read this book.The suspense just about drove me nuts; the events kept increasing in horror and my hopes for a happy ending kept dwindling but about the time I decided it was hopeless, there came my happy ending. As crazy as it may sound, the ending was just a little too happy but I wouldn't have it any other way.A good value with 4290 kindle locations