Book Review – Broken World (Broken World, Book 1) by Kate L. Mary
First published, 2014
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The story follows Vivian, Axl, Angus, and several waifs and strays they find and save on their way through a plague that might mean the end of times. While stripper Vivian finds herself increasingly drawn to the stormy-eyed, golden-hearted, gun-toting redneck, Axl, his brother Angus is a sometime drooling bigot with a foul mouth and a spitting habit.
But Vivian has more important things on her mind. While the world turns to mush and the vast majority of the population has fallen to some sort of dread disease, she needs to find the daughter she gave up for adoption and save her before it’s too late.
But will Vivian find little Emily? And will the safe, secure, Nirvana-like oasis in the desert prove to be more than an illusion?
The eye for detail this writer has is extraordinary:
“A woman in her fifties stands behind the register. She wears the same uniform as the other waitresses: orange dress with short sleeves and an apron that probably used to be white. The entire thing is now splattered with food and grease, old and worn just like she is. Her hair is short and jet black, the kind of color that only comes from a bottle, and the creases on her face are so deep they’re probably just as full of grease as the walls of the diner.”
3% in, Chapter One, Broken World by Kate L. Mary
The characters practically vibrate off the page. Although I struggled a bit with Vivian – she recognises her selfishness and dislikes it as a trait but does nothing to change it – arguably, she is going through an apocalyptically awful time so, I suppose I’ll forgive her for that. And baddie Mitchell is an amazing character. Total rotter. Couldn’t bear him – he’s so well-written.
If you like your apocalypses Zombie-style, I’d happily recommend this book.
Petrina Binney - Author 