My Review of Broken Ties

After reading Book One and Two of the Mentalist Series by Kenechi Udogu, I got my hands on the prequel, released May 13th 2014 and rather enjoyed myself.

"There was nothing unusual about the night everything changed. No flashing lights in the sky, no searing fire in my belly; no sign whatsoever to suggest the shift which was to come…Nora Brice did strange things to me. Strange and awful things…" 

Paul Colt has a problem, and it is not one most teenage boys face. Yes, he likes a girl; one he’s pretty certain he’ll do foolish things for, given the chance. But he can’t go after her, or any other girl for that matter. That’s what he gets for being an Averter; forced to toe the line for the propagation of the collective. He knows some rules are okay to trifle with, and there are some which should never be broken. The gravest of them all? 

Don’t fall in love. 

Ever. 

This is the story of how Paul breaks that rule. 

This prequel novella to the Mentalist Series can be read before or after Aversion, Book One of The Mentalist Series.

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Officially you don’t have to read Aversion or Sentient before reading Broken Ties but it does help for some background information. Aversion and Sentient are centered around Gemma, the daughter of Paul and Nora, and so Broken Ties followed Paul and Nora when they first come together as a couple in this short, sweet story with the feel of an epic romance. People are against them, their love is overpowering, they make crazy decisions just to be with each other. It’s pretty epic. Of course I tend to roll my eyes at “epic romances” but knowing where their love takes them later, and why their love is so strong makes this story unique.

In terms of writing, I found the characters inconsistent; their thoughts and actions didn’t always reflect teenagers in love and several times I simply looked on in confusion and horror at how creepy Paul was sometimes when he was thinking about Nora.

Okay that part was consistent.

But still creepy.

I said as much in my Random Notes While Reading:

• "He was the first guy who made me wants to jump on a desk and declare my smothering feelings to the world, like some crazy chick in one of those soppy teen 80s movies."
• Wait, doesn't this take place in the 80s or early 90s?
• Is she British? She uses a lot of UK lingo
• The whole conversation is make me uncomfortable in a somewhat creepy way
• Of course
• Honey, you're expositioning again
• This is so random
• Yeah, there's no other reason for a guy you're interested in to wear cologne
• I know why kissing Nora Brice was a good idea
• I'm sorry but no normal teenage boy says "savage heat" with a straight face
• Your description of the kiss kind of creeps me out
• This is all just very grown up - the language, the thought process in their situation
• You're telling us things we already know definitively from the previous books
• You are such a creeper, Paul. All that thigh talk
• *Hums* "Kiss On My List"
• You're making it way too complicated
• The "lingering scent of teenage boy" is not something even teenage boys want on their clothes
• Keep it in your pants, Paul, please
• You are for sure the epic romance that tried not to be an epic romance

Overall, it was enjoyable, sweet, and definitely worth a read if you like the series.