I get so excited when an author I love and respect releases a first in a brand new series! And King did not disappoint with this one! The world building is vast and vibrant, the characters are fleshed out and fully realized, and the taste of mythology, fantasy, and a little smattering of steampunk had me hooked from the first chapter. The exotic setting pokes your curiosity and lures you to continue reading. I love how real King's characters feel to me, they're real and flawed and unapologetic. Waiting for their reactions to the situations they encounter is like watching amazing tv in your head. It was hard to set this book down and choose to be a responsible adult! If you enjoy upbeat, faster paced fantasy like Pirates of the Caribbean, Daughter of a Pirate King, and Immortal Plunder... this is the perfect read for you!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own. I loved this book so much I had to have the hardcover!

~Spoiler-free review~
Before getting into the real book review, I just want to clarify what my standards for books are, cause, yeah, you need to know. Kk? Ok.

It’s pretty simple. I want to honor Him with everything I read. In simpler words, I strive not to read anything that I would not be proud to tell Jesus to face to face off. I don’t do books with explicit or graphic sex scenes, dark magic, cussing, horror/terror, LGBT characters, etc. In essence, I try to guide my reading standards to what I’ve been taught in my church and from my personal relationship with God and His word. This doesn’t mean I don’t read non- Christian books! I believe there are many CLEAN books out there to be discovered and as many of you know, that’s why I created The Official Indie Readalong. Ok now that we have that clear let’s get back to the review.

This book had soooo much potential! I have to be honest and say I didn’t finish it because… you’ll see. Anyways, the first chapter of the book is SO good! That was what made me even say I was in love with the book before I even finished reading 10% of it. The prologue of the book starts with a description of how the world was created by a goddess and the ”creator”, mythical gods the people worshiped…ok, I guess I can view it as a greek mythology book, keep reading…But then a scene was the main character, Everley, has a flashback to some things an evil guy does, implying that he abused her sister. Then there are gore references and scenes of prostitute women and their line of work. The author want’s to make it seem as something ”that was done back in those days” but it was utterly unnecessary. Men are cruel and insensitive, and they try to take advantage of women. That’s the negative stuff — quite a bit. But the good is that the plot was AMAZING. I really wished I could keep on reading and see where this adventure would take Everleyl, but my brain just couldn’t handle any more of those things.

Emily R. King’s new novel Before the Broken Star is a fantastic read for YA fantasy fans. It’s main character Everley is a fierce adventurer who has her mind set on her goal, which is to take revenge for her families brutal murders. I loved her determination and how far she goes for what she wants. This story takes you on an amazing journey across the sea to a faraway land, that most people doesn’t even believe exists! The characters have an array of different personalities, which is realistic to real life situations. Emily is a wonderful writer and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves YA fantasy.

The story grew boring the more I kept reading. There was too much description and not enough showing. I couldn’t picture the characters at all, while the world building did nothing to move the plot along. I didn’t care enough about the main character to feel anything towards her or why she even needed to seek vengeance. I felt that the author could work on trying to show more in her writing than describing every single detail.

The main character, Everley, witnessed atrocious sights as a child and spends years plotting to put the past to rest. In a world that often seemed like a human world, with the exception of a few mythical/magical elements, Everley and her supporting cast have hidden, ulterior motives that are gradually revealed in a well-paced plot. The overall character development was often predictable or lacking, but there were some great moments of dialogue. I didn’t love the book, but I really enjoyed it, and I would read the next instalment in the series.

Feedback
Take everything you think this book is going to be an immediately get rid of it. I thought this book was going to be one thing but got completely the opposite, and loved every bit of it. First, I am obsessed with King’s writing. The voices bled through the pages and each one is so unique. There is so much feeling in each word that is provided truly giving a whole picture of how this world is. The other thing I really enjoyed was how she blended in their beliefs. The stories told throughout the book were perfectly placed. Each one gave a little better feel for how their world was created but not in a long overdrawn way. Then there were the twists that I really did not see coming! One of the best things about this is King didn’t make you wonder. One minute the story is going one way and then out of nowhere a bombshell is dropped without any warning. This truly makes the story fly and makes me genuinely interested on what’s going to happen next. While there was a certain event I didn’t like in the ending I’m sure it will be remedied in the next book because it was already almost done.
The characters fit perfectly within this story. Everley is the main character that is followed throughout the whole story who had lost her whole family. Luckily, her uncle found her and installed a clock heart in order for her to live. While this is such an important part of the story, I like how it’s really never a huge focus but just always subtly there in the background. There were so many other factors that Everley needed to concentrate on but it was always there. After encounting Markham, revenge is the only thing on Everley’s mind. Everley’s revenge story was done fantastically. The main thing I like about this is that it’s based off of her childhood memory. I like this because it makes Everley’s revenge long and awaiting but also makes her question her memories. As children, we imagine things differently and does Everley remember everything the right way? Even though she knows deep down that she must extract her revenge she is still smart enough to think of other consequences as well. I think a lot of people are going to mistake Everley’s character as this nonsensical character who’s only thought is revenge but she really isn’t. I think that’s what makes her character truly unique. Sure, she does some actions that aren’t the best because she is so set in her revenge way but at the same time she let’s people in. This shows that she really isn’t a monster, even if she thinks she is. I’m excited to continue her journey.

Final Thoughts
Overall, Before the Broken Star by Emily R. King is a fantastic adventure. The story was so much more than I was expecting. All of the twists and revelations were so fantastic without being alluded to at all. Along with a grealy paced story, Everley’s character perfectly fit this world. I really enjoyed digging deep into her personality and seeing beyond what is actually written. These characters really give such a depth that is often missed or misinterpreted but truly shows the talent that is written behind them. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a badass heroine who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

I haven't read any of this author's books, but I've been meaning to. I actually chose this as my Amazon First Reads, and then I ended up receiving an ARC for this as well.

So, here we are.

Honestly, I didn't particularly like this one as much as I thought. The summary sounded good, but to be honest the summary didn't catch my eye much either. I went into this with pretty much a neutral expectation. I wasn't expecting anything amazing or expecting to hate it. In the end, my thoughts are pretty much the same. I thought it was alright, but it just didn't fully reach my and get me interested in the story.

I thought the flow of the story was pretty simple and clean. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary or something so cliche. It was just...average. Characters developed pretty well, but there's definitely a lot more room for improvement, which I assume will happen in the next books. I didn't get attached to any of the characters though, not even Everyley.

Honestly, if you love the summary, go ahead and give it a shot. If you hate the summary, just give this one a pass. If you aren't exactly sure how you feel about the summary, maybe waiting for a library hold or a kindle sale may work out better. or even go to the bookstore and read a couple chapters. I think the blurb will really tell on how you may enjoy this book.

ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was in the mood for fantasy and this author had been recommended by a friend . Telling the story of Everley is like taking the reader on a journey as we are introduced to a young woman who clearly has issues and limitations. For starters she’s living a lie and hiding who she really is then there’s the fact that Everley nearly died as a child and now depends on a clockwork heart to keep her breathing ! Now you would think that’s enough to contend with but no Everley wants revenge on the cruel man who slaughtered her entire family and finally finds a way to catch up to him. As with all good stories though the task requires sacrifice and for Everley that means willingly becoming a convict and then being transported to a cursed island.
I loved the beginning of this book and found myself immediately having sympathy for Everley. She knows that Killian is on the island but has no idea exactly what else she will encounter there and for the reader it was always going to be a magical tale and the author does not disappoint. Yet the sea journey was perhaps my favourite part of this story as the female convicts find themselves being married off and naturally Everley has not one suiter but two ! Her husband and any possible romance sadly seemed neglected and if I’m blunt just didn’t really go anywhere. However the reunion with Killian was designed to confuse the reader and it was done in such a way to elicit sympathy but you just know in this topsy turvy scenario that time will yet again throw more revelations into the mix. That right there is a feature of this story as Time ( yes here it deserves a capital) is a theme running throughout and even if you have serious questions about Everleys heart you cannot fail to be impressed by everything else the author throws in. Magic, mythical creatures and just ordinary greedy humans feature here with a story that is set to continue and luckily there not too long to wait.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Overall Before the Broken Star was ok, but not great. It was simple (to put it plainly). The premise for the book sounded amazing but the entire execution fell well short. Initially I really enjoyed the world building, however past the half way mark the plot, characters, motivations and my understanding of it all start to fall apart. The writing itself is very good and easy to read, but it was the content that really let the story down in my opinion. I seem to be one of the few out there that did not really enjoy this book.

World Building
Initially we are set up as a reader to enter magical world with magical creatures. There is mythology, steampunk and a kingdom ruled by a Queen. We follow our main character Everley, who is on a quest for revenge after the murder of her family. She herself is almost killed in the same attack but was saved by a clockwork heart that keeps her alive.

As someone who in real life deals with human anatomy on a daily basis, I found the clockwork heart extremely hard to swallow. In two different scenes it is described as 'not knowing how it works, it just does'. Ummmm.... I understand the basic shape of a clock time piece and I do not think it could seperate oxygenated blood from deoxygenated blood, but whatever. Let's believe it for fantasy's sake. I'm just not sure how clock hands would physically pump blood around the body without valves, musculature and all sorts of other supporting structures. <b>All the other characters in this book appear to adhere to normal anatomy and physics, yet having a clock instead of a heart means you can still live??</b>. I don't know...

Characters
Characters in this book lacked any type of complexity and they felt so shallow to me. Their motivations, emotions and relationships were superficial. I could not connect to ANY of them. They did not interact well with each other and towards the end of the book the characters seemed completely different to who they were at the start.

Romance
Initially the shy and subtle romance building between Everley and her beau was really nice to read, but again, it did not continue into the second half of the book. It was almost like the characters suddenly regarded each other as robots without emotion. They didn't communicate, the romantic moments seemed stiff and awkward and just didn't inspire any happiness in me.

Story
At the start we had clear motives and a clear direction for the story to take and then it all started to break down. It got more and more confusing and so unrealistic, even for a fantasy! By the end I was just rolling my eyes. It became jumbled, hard to follow and just had too many things happening at once. It was almost like the characters depth got sacrificed for everything in mythology and fantasy you could think of being rolled into one.

To summarise:
If you like fantasies and can believe almost anything, this book is for you. For me it would be something I read to fill in time if I didn't have anything else on hand. It wasn't something I enjoyed a lot but I can see how many people would enjoy it.

I wasn't sure I would like this book at first but it was strangely addictive. I'm a sucker for a revenge storyline. Things got a bit weird in the middle but the end was very high paced. I'm glad I won't have to wait long for book 2.

i found this story weirdly entertaining. I loved the weirdness with Everley's heart. With how this world is put together. With the ruthless things that happens. The cursed island was built up beautifully and I found the idea of it really exciting. I also really enjoyed Everley as a MC.

I'm including no spoilers in this one because it is really something you gotta read for yourself - but all in all, I enjoyed it a lot and there was a certain ruthlessness to this book which I had not anticipated.

This novel was a good read to a new series by Ms. King. There are many plot twists and true most have ulterior motives. Time is a theme in this novel, where past and present collide. Everley Donovan seeks revenge for the murder of her family. She has waited for Killian Markham to make his appearance, for he almost succeeded is killing her too, if not for her uncle. She gets herself on a ship, but nothing goes as planned. She gets married, not exactly by choice either. However, Jamison does care for Everley. Myths become truths when Everley discovers the reason for Markham’s journey and the role she plays in it and her own family’s role. She is determined and will get help from unlikely sources. Only she can stop the evil that is coming. I am looking forward to the next novel in the series!

**Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **

As the only family member left alive, kept that way by the clock work heart her uncle used in place of her ruined one, Everly dreams of revenge. When the man who murdered her family, the most respected soldier in the queen's army, reappears in her life, Everly know this may be her only chance for justice and answers. Even if it means being sent to a mysterious penal colony as a criminal, never to see her old life or uncle again.

Gawd, I love Jamison so much. He may not be the main character, but he is my favorite character- and it is not 100% due to his dreaminess (ok maybe like 85% due to his dreaminess). He is seriously the most perfect guy- trustworthy, honorable, understanding- and I wanted Everly to just throw herself at him and let him take care of her- but that is not the type of person Everly is or what this book is about. This was very much a slow burn relationship (almost enemies to lovers vibe) that was not the main focus of the book, but man does Emily know how to do romance. there were so many moments that just hurt my heart for them and I have high hopes for a happily ever after...somewhere down the way.

Romance, or rather my hopes for more romance, aside, the magic in the world was so fascinating. There were so many moving parts that Emily expertly wove together in cool new ways I never saw coming. We have a girl who is kept alive by a clock, wonderfully crafted mythology (...or is it mythology...) about immortality and Father Time, dangerous creatures such a a large whale beast, a witch who lures people in, and an island that nobody really knows anything about. And let's not forget about the undying love between a prince and his princess- and a cute little pixy who does not like to be called Blue. The ideas seemed to be independent, but through a magic that is purely Emily's writing style, the story came together to create something wonderful that I desperately need more of.

The ending was action packed and surprising, I am so glad that this is just the first book in a trilogy because I feel like Everly has so much more exploring/revenging left to take on and I am so excited to get to be part of the adventure.

There are so many reviews for this already, I can't add any value with a review other than to recommend it for fans of sorcery fantasy.

I really appreciate the complimentary copy for review!!

Everley Donovan's heart was stolen from her. Literally. With a clock heart ticking away her borrowed time, Everley is willing to do whatever it takes to take the life of the man who took her heart.

5 Reasons Why You Should Read Before the Broken Star
After I finished this book, I had a lot of feelings. There's just so much to love about this book and I want to TALK! Or just shove this book in your face. Anyhow, here is why you should read this amazing book:

1. Everley Donovan is...honestly everything I could have hoped for in a female protagonist. She is fierce, capable, decisive. She is compassionate and fair. She is willing to look at two sides of a coin without freaking out. She sticks to her values. She knows what she wants and will do whatever she can for it. I don't normally like revenge stories--I often find the protagonists in such stories to be cold, distant, and emotionless. Not Everley. (...okay, she is a little cold toward other people, and for good reason!) She never felt distant to me as a reader, and she is certainly full of emotion, though she tries to hide it in order to save her clockwork heart. Because of that, I really felt connected to her. I shared in her frustrations, her suffering, her love, her surprise, her confusion, and her victories.

I think my favorite part about her is she's not perfect. She has her flaws. She makes mistakes. And I really love her for all of them. Honestly, if Everley Donovan showed up on my front door and told me she was going to take me to the otherworlds, I would do it.

2. Jamison Callahan. Ahh, the man who has a heart of gold and intentions of a saint...but is also incredibly frustrating sometimes. Which makes him the perfect love interest for Everley. The romance between them is a slow, slow, slow burn, but there is so much chemistry. Plus, Jamison is such a fantastic, complex character all on his own. His goals and motivations don't revolve around Everley (and hers don't revolve around him btw!), but they complement each other so well.

3. The twisty twisty plot. If you think you have an idea of what's going to happen in this book I'll be the first to tell you... You are Dead. Wrong. Seriously. Going into the first few chapters, I thought I had a good idea of some of the major plot points. But then things happened that completely knocked those ideas away. This happened again and again. By the time I reached the middle, I stopped trying to guess, and I just enjoyed the ride. The tension is ratcheted up every single chapter, every single scene. I kept asking, "How can it possibly get any worse?" Then crap, it got worse. Then I asked, "How are they going to get out of this?" ...well, I'm not going to give anything away.

4. The masterful world building. When Emily R. King drops you into this world of Otherworlds, you will not want to get out. You will want to explore all of the seven worlds...and then explore them again. Every detail comes alive, from Everley's clockwork heart to Dagger Island and its gate to the Everwoods. The politics, while not emphasized in this book, are complex but not complicated, and I have a feeling they will play a much bigger role in the next books.
And the myths. Emily R. King weaves her mythology, the stories and fairy tales that come along with this world, in so seamlessly. Maybe someday she will publish a novella with all of the stories she has come up with for this series (please please please!)

5. Markham is so complexly evil. If I haven't convinced you yet, maybe this will? Markham is an awful, awful villain, in a really good way. There are so many facets of him. I'm not going to say much else because I don't want to spoil anything, but this is a well written villain.

Before the Broken Star blew me away and Evie stole my heart. What an incredible high fantasy novel. The characters are so complex and flawed, the plot is exciting and unpredictable, and the world building is lush and thrilling. I could not put this down, and I will likely read it again soon. If you love high fantasy, you will love this book.

**Disclaimer: I applied for this book on NetGalley but while I was waiting to be approved, I purchased a copy and read it. I was still granted approval on NetGalley and I loved this book so I wanted to share my opinions.**

Title Before the Broken Star

Author Emily R. King

Description from Amazon

Everley Donovan is living on borrowed time. The lone survivor of her family’s unexplained assassination, she was saved by an ingeniously crafted clockwork heart. But the time she was given won’t last forever. Now, every tick-tock reminds her how fragile her existence is and hastens her quest to expose Killian Markham, the navy admiral who shattered her world and left her for dead. But Everley’s hunt for justice will be a long and hard-won voyage.

Her journey takes her to a penal colony on a cursed isle, where she will be married off and charged to build the new world. It is here, and beyond, that hidden realms hide, treasures are unearthed, her family secrets are buried, and young love will test the strength of her makeshift heart. When Everley discovers Markham may not be who he seems, her pursuit for truth is bound to his redemption, her tragic history, and her astonishing destiny.

Initial Thoughts

I fully admit that this was a Bookstagram influenced purchase. The cover and under the dust jacket binding of this book are so beautiful. I had to have this one on my shelf (regardless of the contents).

Favorite Quotes (this book had two)

“Could you become a monster to destroy one?”

— Page 24

This quote is so essential to Everley’s journey. She constantly finds herself straddling the line between wanting to slay monsters and becoming one herself. This book has her question her motivations so often and it feels so authentic. I feel like I’m always reading books about characters who never doubt themselves (please see Kammani from Gravemaidens).

“This was not a day for forward progress. Some days push us ahead into better times, while others pull us back so far nothing can reverse the damage. Those are the days that redefine our future for the worst. Those are the days where I despise time the most.”

— Page 102

I love the writing in this book. Emily R. King has a real way with words. Special shout out to the fact that she is using first person narration. It’s very difficult to make a young, naive, headstrong main character sound so wise.

Cover Art

I love this cover 😍. The colors are so pretty (blue and purple, so up my alley). And, the clock covered in thorns is so interesting. There is so much symbolism and meaning behind it. As a special bonus, under the dust jacket is even more beautiful. It’s like a beautiful combination of tie dye and outer space. I love it so much I almost want to display the book without the dust jacket (I know, crazy right?).

Series Value

This book sets the trilogy nicely. We have several fun characters to work with, there is a master plot beyond just the first book, and there are several other unexplored worlds mentioned throughout the story. I am definitely eagerly awaiting the next installment coming in August 2019.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

Once again, I find myself missing the romance factor. Jamison was so perfect for Everley and the slow burn of their love is literally killing me. Although it is perfectly written, my impatience forces me to criticize it for not moving faster.

Final Thoughts

Since this book was purchased entirely for its outer beauty, I did judge this book by its cover. I enjoyed the story and characters so much and I have already preordered the next volume (I don’t even care what the cover looks like 😉).

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommendations for Further Reading

Daughter of the Pirate King and Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller – although Before the Broken Star is not a tale of pirates, a large portion of it takes place on the sea and travelling. Also, Alosa and Riden remind me so much of Everley and Jamison.
Everless and Evermore by Sara Holland – I think these books are similar to Before the Broken Star because of the time element. Everley constantly worries about living on borrowed time and not knowing when her time will run out. The setting of Everless has an interesting take on life, immortality, and the idea of borrowed time.
Dark Breaks the Dawn and Bright Burns the Night by Sara B. Larson – this is another story with an interesting concept of time. Also, there are strong parallels between the plot through elements such as romance, curses, and family legacies.

Well, Emily did it again and I enjoyed reading Before the Broken Star so much. Everley is one of my favorite characters now. She was stubborn and fierce and she annoyed me on more than one occasion. That's the mark of a good character that I'm invested in. Stubborn people are always annoying and never do what you want them to do but they usually do the right thing. Everley was relatable and the way she treated the people she cared about was amazing. She never wavered in her feelings and her path forward stayed true. I loved Jamison so much. He was the perfect love interest and I loved how slowly his and Everley's relationship blossomed. It was natural and not forced at all. I enjoyed Quinn, Claret, Laverick, and Vevina. I liked how sassy, funny, and strong the women were in this book. Emily is great at making strong female characters that form sisterhoods and support each other and fight for each other.

Markham and Harlow were the perfect villains and annoyed me to no end. Markham and Harlow's callousness and selfishness was astounding. They did not care about anyone but themselves and were willing to sacrifice whatever they had to in order to get what they wanted. I really did hope Harlow would find her end somehow during most of the book and Markham too. The other minor characters were all well done as well and filled out the story.

I cannot wait to see what is next for Everley and Jamison and the rest of their friends. I am excited to see what book 2 brings!

My goodness I was so excited to find this book I loved the authors other series and when I got to this one I was kind of scared because I haven’t had the best of luck with books in I think its first person. With the I this and I that. But this one worked out so well. I should have never doubted King’s ability to pull me into a story. This one was no different than her Hundredth Queen series it pulled me in from the very first pages and I could not put it down. I stayed up way later than I should to read and finish this amazing story and I don’t regret it at all.

This world that King has created is just amazing and something that I didn’t see coming. I know there was another book out a few years ago that dealt with people having clockwork hearts but where that one was slow and bogged down this one was light, easy to read and understand, and so full of amazing steampunkyness that I just can’t tell you how much I loved this story.

As a retelling of a gender swap Pinocchio I think the author did an amazing job. I don’t know if that’s what she was going for but it totally screamed it. I loved how this one unfolded and as I said I couldn’t put it down!

The characters in this one were just fantastic!! I loved Everley and how she dealt with the aftermath of losing her family. Her story of avenging her families death reminded me of the Princess Bride with the one guy looking for the 5 fingered man. It really broke my heart with the flash back early with how she lost her family and became the way she is. A lot of flashbacks don’t work well but this one did volumes to move the story along as well as to make you truly feel for the what she has gone through. I really love that she didn’t know things right out. I liked that through this story she learned to fight etc. It was nice to have a character that had to work for what she wanted and just didn’t know at the start of the story. Other characters fill out the story and make it one of the best that I have read this year. One other thing that I would like to mention in this one is that I loved that the story didn’t totally focus on the romance between Jamison.

The other thing this book has going for it in the character department are some freaking kick butt women! I could see some novellas with other characters coming out of this one and that would make my little heart happy!!

This rare combo of Mythos, Magic, historical fantasy with a splash of science fiction was just one that I didn’t see coming but I should have never doubted. I fell for the characters head first and I can not wait for the next installment!!

Opening line:

"In the beginning, there was not time, and no man or beast walked the world."

So many different stories going on in this story! Clockwork heart, lost prince, sleeping prince, Oz-like forest, wicked witch, wooden soldiers, Father Time, pirates, and fairy dust. Such a different take on so many fairy tales.

Everyley Donovan watched her family be slaughtered. She alone survived, just barely. When she woke, her clock master uncle had given her a new heart--a clockwork heart. Bent on revenge, she finds herself in trouble with the law and sailing toward a penal colony. What will she find there? Lots of imagination and characters.

But on the island, just like this whole story, the nothing is ever how is seems. Thanks to Ms. King's amazing writing, Everley is a strong, flawed lead, her world is bright and dark, and her friends fight for her.

The story begins like a train pulling out of the station; slow enough that the reader can get to know the train and watch the scenery. But soon, the train, the story, picks up steam. Exciting vistas are around every corner and it's hard to pull away from the window. Pretty soon, the train has picked up so much steam and there's no way this train is stopping until it pulls into the station, until the very end of the book. But once I stopped, I was ready to get back on and go on another fantasy trip conducted by Emily King.


Thanks to netgalley for the early read!

I really enjoyed this book! It's a fantastic mix of both pirates and adventure and magic and fantasy. I know the author doesn't want it to be described as Steampunk because she doesn't want people to be disappointed. However, I thought it was the perfect mix of steampunk and high fantasy and mythos. This book isn't even out yet and I'm itching for book 2!