Broken Beauty
By Chloe Adams (Lizzy Ford)
September 22, 2013
Published by Indie Inked
New Adult, Contemporary
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**Contains graphic content and the sensitive topic of rape and its aftermath. Not intended for teens under the age of 18.**
Sometimes bad things happen to beautiful people.
When socialite party girl Mia Abbott-Renou wakes up in a garden she has little recall of the previous night -- except that she is naked...hurt...terrified. Not only has she been raped, but she knows one of her assailants: the son of a wealthy politician who happens to be her own father’s political ally.
Mia wants and needs justice. Except this privileged boy has an alibi and her father forbids her from going to the police. It’s a critical election year, one that his party might lose if his image as a doting father is soured due to Mia being labeled a lush or worse, promiscuous.
Devastated at not having the support of her family, Mia finds herself in a tug-of-war with her conscience over what to do, especially since she can’t remember exactly what happened that night. Worse, the men who attacked her have hurt several other girls, and Mia may be the key to stopping them.
Mia tries to forget, until the unthinkable happens, and she’s left reeling once again, faced with a new challenge that will force her to take more control of her life.
Originally published in October 2012 as "No Way Back" by Chloe Adams
First of all, reading about rape isn't really my cup of tea. I am in my last year as a law student and I've read my fair share of real-life rape cases. By now, I should have been used to reading such stuff but I'm not. Most of the case files I read are too graphic and disturbing, and I really can't stomach most of them, which leads me to this story.
The story is told from Mia's point of view. Basically, this book deals with the physical, mental and emotional toll that a rape victim experiences, including the social stigma that comes with actually standing up to the offender who is a well-connected person.
Story-wise, the whole novella has a steady pace. It's not that fast, but not that slow either. There were some parts that I just wanted to skip because I felt they were a little too dragging, but all in all, it was okay.
The graphic way that the story was told evokes an visceral reaction and I felt that it was effective in that aspect. It also made me feel disgust for the side characters, which tells a lot about the writer's effectiveness in portraying villains. Also, I didn't like how the rape was described, and I didn't like what was done to Mia, but it made me sympathize with the main character, so points for that.
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