I’m not much of a fan of books featuring the ‘plucky girl reporter’, but I have to tell you…I loved this!

Honestly, I loved everything about this. I loved our main character. I loved her caliente new cop frenemy. And I loved the story.

This is a chilling and suspenseful story set against a background of Cuban culture mixed with weird Florida and I couldn’t get enough of it. I didn’t want to stop reading.

This was my first book from the author and I’ll be reading more and more from her in the future!

*ARC via Publisher

All the Broken Girls by Linda Hurtado Bond has a perfectly solid premise and drew me into the storyline quickly. However, it just was not for me. My biggest problem was with the dialogue. It didn't ring true or natural to me. I also didn't think the emotions or reactions rang true. For example, early on the main character is comforting a child victim because she feels a kinship to her, and the next second she's coldly interviewing her. Then she pinballs back to empathy and caring for the child, and then starts pushing her for story details again. It all felt very artificial. Because it seemed contrived, I just couldn't bring myself to care about the protagonist one way or the other. She didn't feel like a real person, just a trope. I really wanted to like this book, but instead it just felt like a chore to read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this book. Mari was such a great character. This is the first book I have read by this author and it definitely won’t be my last !!!

All The Broken Girls - Linda Hurtado Bond. This just wasn't my cup of tea. I couldn't identify with the heroine (I honestly didn't like her) and the dialogue felt a little stilted. It was interesting learning about Afro-Caribbean religious views and the Tampa area, but overall it wasn't enough to keep me engaged in the book.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the audience the author is writing for, so I'm not surprised by my lukewarm reaction.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

In All The Broken Girls, Linda Hurtado Bond has weaved together a suspense-filled thriller. A serial killer is loose in Tampa and crime reporter Mari Alvarez is fixed, not only on reporting the murders, but solving them. She has found a clue….one that dates back ten years to her own mother’s unsolved murder. As a matter of fact, all these new murders seem to have something in common. A very interesting plot, vivid descriptions, and interesting characters make this page turner a very good read. The many twists and turns kept me in my seat until the very last page. Well done!

This was the first book I’ve read in this series. Fortunately it is a stand alone. Parts of it were really excellent, fast reading and gripping. Unfortunately there were other parts that, to me, were slow and written very simplistically. The plot deals with current and cold murders, a TV reporter who is, during this period, on the edge professionally and Tampa homicide officers. It also goes into Santeria and it’s followers in the Cuban American community. Thanks to Net Galley and Entangled Publishing for an ARC for an honest review.

In “All the Broken Girls,” Mari Alvarez, formerly a crime reporter for a local news station in Tampa, Florida, sees the victim of a crime near her neighborhood which reminds her of her own mother’s murder ten years ago. In the current crime, the mother of two daughters was gunned down on her doorstep and lies posed on the doorstep next to a broken doll, with one eye shut and covered with a gold coin featuring a crown. As several more murders occur near the West Tampa community, a pattern begins to emerge. Each victim was guilty of a crime that went unpunished.

To add to the tension, Mari has been removed from her crime beat position because her story about a city councilmen being a serial killer caused the news station to be sued. She also has a stalker dressed in a black hoody that keeps showing up at crime scenes and leaving her clues. With the help of Tony Garcia, the homicide detective on the cases, Mari tries to solve the murders and hopefully solve the mystery of her own mother’s death.

I enjoy reading books about other cultures and this book didn’t disappoint in that respect, as it featured Santeria, a Cuban religion, as well as Cuban cuisine. Moreover, the relationship between Mari and her grandmother was very touching, and the burgeoning romance between Mari and Tony added some romance to the story. The plot itself was interesting in its focus on a serial killer, a mysterious stalker, and the main character’s own trauma as the daughter who found her mother’s bloody body. However, prose is also an important aspect in a book for me, and the writing style in this book did not appeal to me. Specifically, it featured short sentences, including repetitive use of dialog with incomplete sentences. This is one of my pet peeves, so my opinion might not reflect that of other readers. The book will appeal to those who like a good murder mystery featuring a main character with a tragic history.

(Note: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own).

All the Broken Girls by Linda Hurtado Bond was a fabulous read! It is a tale of Marisol, a tenacious crime reporter, on the heels of a serial killer with a possible connection to her own mother’s murder, years before. Mari meets her match in Detective Garcia, who she encounters at the scene of a gruesome crime in her own neighborhood. Not only does this story keep you on the edge of your seat with page turning action, it also enlightens you on Cuban-American culture offering a glimpse into the intricacies of Santeria and Brujeria. Linda expertly weaves together family ties, culture, justice, human connection and love. I loved it!!!

✨Book review✨
All The Broken Girls
By Linda Hurtado Bond

I just couldn’t get into this book! I tried so hard and the main character was just so flat for me. I felt like I had to read certain sections of this book over and over again, just to get what was going on.

I found the book so frustrating, perhaps it just wasn’t for me, but the dialogue felt forced, and the entire thing was a struggle. I kept waiting for it to shock me, and that never happened sadly!

August 23rd is when you can grab this one

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Thanks to @netgalley and @entangled_publishing for sending me this e arc for review, in exchange for my honest opinion.

#bookstagrammers #bookreview #bookinfluencer #netgalleyreads #netgalley #allthebrokengirls #3stars #books #earcreader #arc #kindlepaperwhite

This book was great, the characters were well developed. The plot was interesting. Highly recommend it.

Always felt like I was missing something. Mari is a crime reporter who has arrived back to work after a suspension and is put on a probation of sorts where she is to no longer work on the crime beat in order to stay out of trouble. But her first assignment back, she ends up stumbling upon a dead body – one that mysteriously has ties to her mother’s murder, and thus starts Mari’s plan to defy her boss’s orders and work the story in secret in an attempt to not only find the killer that has turned into a serial killer, but also potentially solve her mother’s murder as well. I enjoyed the plot, but it felt like I was missing something from the beginning of the book, mainly a backstory for Mari and what happened leading up to her suspension as well as her mother’s murder. While both are addressed later in the book, it would’ve helped me as a new reader to get that information at the beginning. I couldn’t believe how the book ended, because it felt like there were a lot of loose ends and things not resolved, so I’m hoping there will be another book to give closure.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I loved this one . The setting I loved and the background reflecting Cuban culture. I also learned a lot about Santeria. It was fast paced and just good overall.

I really enjoyed this book. I was hooked from page 1. It was one of those books you just can't put down.

Absolutely enjoyed this book! Lots of suspense that kept me hooked. Can’t wait for more from Linda Bond! Will post review upon release

I started this book and the writing was so good that I couldn't put it down. Mari helps Detective Garcia find a serial killer that lurks in her neighborhood. The mystery of who the serial killer ties to the murder of her own mother. Lots of mystery and a budding romance. This was a very good book. Looking forward to reading more books in the future by this author!

Mari Alvarez is a crime reporter. She’s recently back from a suspension after a story was leaked about a suspected serial killer who she named as a prominent community figure. Now he’s filed a lawsuit.
On the way to her first assignment back, a body is found. A woman has been gunned down at her home in West Tampa. Mari is upset by the similarities to her own mothers murder 10 years ago that remains unsolved. Coincidence or something else?
Detective Garcia is assigned to the homicide and cold case defective Hanks also gets involved because the victim is related to a past homicide. Soon another body shows up with similar circumstances. And the killer seems to be targeting Mari by taunting her. Will she be able to help solve this case before someone else is killed?

This is my first book by this author and I loved it. I really liked the dynamic between Mari and Garcia. I can’t wait for the next book in the series that is sure to come.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for the copy of All The Broken Girls.
Wow this was a great book! The elements of Santeria that were woven into the story were intriguing and informative. I loved Mari and was drawn into the story from the beginning. I hope Mari, Tony, and Orlando come back for a sequel because now I am fully invested in them. I don’t usually love books written in the first person, but Mari had such a great voice and I loved her point of view. This was a new author for me, but if this book is any indication, I will read her previous books and every one in the future!

I honestly could not put this book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I liked the characters and would love to see another book after this one. The book kept me guessing as to who the criminal mastermind was and really drew me into the story. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book! It hooked me from the very first chapter, and kept me hooked the entire time!

Tampa author Linda Hurtado Bond digs deep into Tampa's Cuban American culture in All the Broken Girls, with emphasis on three areas: food, family, and faith. Food is essential to understanding the Cuban culture and Bond zeroes in on the pot of rice or beans always simmering on the back of the stoves in Cuban neighborhoods. Bond mirrors Ace Atkins, also with a Florida background, who details food in his Ranger series set in Mississippi. Family drives All the Broken Girls with mothers who are murdered and the children who witness the killings. Mari Alvarez, local TV investigative reporter, is determined to uncover if local gang members are responsible for numerous deaths over the past ten years, including her mother's. Faith is crucial to the plot with Mari's grandmother belief in old school Afro-Cuban Santeria religious practices based on intentions. Readers learn about Santeria and how its practice is still evident in modern Cuban America culture. Bond writes a good story steeped in superstition and gang-related crime. It is a must-read for Tampeno book clubs and readers who enjoy thrillers. An essential purchase for FL public libraries.