The Broken Lake by Shelena Shorts - Review

Most of you I am sure, if you read my blog with any regularity at all, know how much I gushed about The Pace, then I got to know Shelena a bit, and got to meet her in person, well, lets just say I have some fan love for her, as well as her book(s). She's an amazing writer, with skills that draw the reader in; almost like eating a potato chip, there's no way you could eat just one, and with Shelena's work, there's no way you can read just one, sentence, page or chapter; because before you know it, your reading the last page, it's 1 AM and you have NO idea where the time went.

I have to be honest and say that I was not sure how The Broken Lake could live up to how I felt about The Pace, honestly, I felt like The Pace was as near perfection as you could get, and most sequel's are just NOT as good, especially in series', you all know what I mean, right, the first is awesome, but the middle can get muddled down, in expanding the story – which, is a good thing, but can lead to slowness.

I, should have known I had nothing to worry about. The Broken Lake is a gentle slope up a winding and beautiful mountain, the story trickles into your heart, soul and mind like a effortless stream, it's exquisite, and in it's pacing, daring in it's plot, and beautiful it's simplicity.

While reading The Broken Lake, the simplicity of sentences like this abound; “Because you will, hands down, be the prettiest girl here.” ~Wes

This sentence right here, declares in no uncertain terms the brilliance of Shelena Shorts; she could have written words like, amazing, sexy, sultry, or even beautiful, however that's not her style, that's not who she is, or what her writing is about – her characters are simple, but not because there's no bones to them or worse no substance, but more because you can just tell that Shelena knows them inside and out, each word she chooses to use to express a thought or a feeling is chosen because it “fits” that character to a T! It's because of sentences like this that give each of the characters there substance, does that even make sense?

Now, because, at least in my mind, Shelena IS the QUEEN of cliff hanger endings, and if I try to summarize The Broken Lake I will surely spoil it, here's the synopsis via goodreads (even this is a bit of a spoiler):

In the aftermath of Sophie's ordeal, Weston will make some uncharacteristic decisions to distance himself from the past in an attempt to change the future.

But, while venturing into the improbable, the present sneaks up in a chilling way that will lead to Wes' unexpected submission. Suddenly, she find's herself watching as both his immortal secret and his own existence are threatened.

Continuously intriguing, The Broken Lake takes readers to a place where eternal bonds confront a division that is sure to leave everyone wondering whom they can trust.

Rejoining Wes' world was literally like pulling a blanket around myself, wrapping myself up and stealing away from the world, if only for a bit. I wanted to make myself slow down, because while I wanted to finish, to know what happened, I felt the same way as I did with The Pace, the story's got that “just right” feeling, and now that it's over, all I can think about doing is starting over. Yes, I know what happens but that's ok, because that honestly does not matter much, now the reason to read it would not be to find out what happens but solely to dive back into the book, greet the characters again, and to return to that content, full feeling I had while reading!

I felt breathless while reading some parts of The Broken Lake, it's so emotionally charged that, I felt like if I took a breath, the world might collapse, and somehow the book might disappear or the characters might poof, and disappear (irrational I know, no one ever said you had to be rationale!). At other times, I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the bed, at one point Wes is talking about Swiper from Dora the Explorer, the mention of which had me doubling over!

Oh, and one could not write a review about The Broken Lake with out mentioning the love story, and while I can't tell you whom Wes loves this time, I can tell you that it's equally beautiful and just as important in The Broken Lake, as it was in The Pace, maybe more so.

When I think of the most romantic things ever, I think mostly of; dancing in the rain holding the hand of the one you love, or looking up at a sky full of beautiful stars wondering if he's looking at the same stars, or even sitting in front of a cozy fire, wrapped in his arms. The Broken Lake, held all the emotions of each of these scenes, within it's grasp, and then some. It's tantalizing, beautiful, emotional, and real. Each detail planned out, each scene cleverly executed; if there's one thing, besides cliff hanger endings that Shelena has a firm grasp on it's how to love...but it's not just that, she's exquisite in her details of not only HOW, but why.

Bottom Line – The Broken Lake, is not broken, it's beautiful. It slides it's big comfy arms around you, tugging you close, whispering sweet nothings into your ear until, before you know it your finished, and you find yourself flipping back to the beginning to start all over again, tears streaming down your face, because you have NO idea how you will be able to hang on till The Iron Quill (The Pace, #3) comes out. Shelena Shorts has done it again, created an epic novel, full of real characters, and a dynamic, emotionally charged, original plot. Her writing is intoxicating, in an entirely good, well rounded way. I give The Broken Lake 5++ mushrooms, and am DIEING to read, The Iron Quill!

Reading The Broken Lake was like opening a window into this world, a window that held such beauty but also allowed me to feel like I could interact and talk to these fictional characters, it was a window that I was reluctant to close, and when I had no choice, I cried.

Buy, Borrow or Steal? BUY!!! It's out already!

The Broken Lake (The Pace Series, #2)
By: Shelena Shorts
304 Pages
Published: August 19, 2010 (officially)
Publisher: Lands Atlantic Publishing
Received via Shelena Shorts, for my honest review - THANK YOU!