If I Made The Movie Soundtrack of... BROKEN

So, my second trial blogpost in this idea over making a movie soundtrack for a book I like. Today, it's Broken by AE Rought. My first was Night School by CJ Daugherty (not read/listen to that blogpost? Here you go and I hope you're enjoy the music).

Anyway, Broken. When I beta-read Tainted (the sequel to Broken) and a few other odds and ends, I would always send music back with my edits (mainly Delta Goodrem). So, when I thought of this idea (I blame Patrick Ness!), this book was a very natural choice for me.

Unlike Night School, where I struggled till I realised to go for the characters and what would be on their iPods, I knew the theme I wanted for Broken. The theme of forboding, grief and heartbreak. Of course, I want nice, hopeful songs (and they can be new exclusive songs), but I wanted something much darker with Broken. And once I got going on this list, the music style changed but I still went for songs which had a dark undertone.

Now, I chatted to AE Rought on Twitter and Pinterest and we have exchanged music (we have very similar tastes) so I won't go too in depth and give you a LONG list so am only going to show a few songs. If I showed you the long list the author and I created, you would be VERY AFRAID!

So, yes... here we go! I hope you like these songs choices...


"SECRET SMILE" by Semisonic
When I read this book, this was the song that stuck in my head (and my old iPod) and I still think this song is very important to this book. You can't escape a classic. But I do think the tone of this song fits very neatly with the themes and tones of the story...


"JUST BE" by Paloma Faith
An odd choice - it's a love song. So why have it here? Well, I think this would be perfect for two reasons. First, it could be Emma and Daniel's song - every couple has a "song". And second, after the events with what happened with Daniel, this love song takes a heartbreaking turn. I could easily see a scene when Emma listen to this song and lost it emotionally.


"ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS" by Paloma Faith
I think the title said it all, really. No really, it does. Plus, I think in this song, Paloma Faith nails heartbreak perfectly...


"IMMORTAL" by Marina and the Diamonds
I love Marina and the Diamonds. I'm not going to bother hiding it as I think you guys know that. But I think this song is perfect for Broken. It's that foreboding that I love so much!


"FEEL ME" by Mecca Kalani
Ok, this is a curveball! Really, it is! I randomly pinned on Pinterest this song to AE Rought, thinking she'll like it. But I got such a strong reaction from her, I felt I had to pop this on the list. It has my main rule of foreboding, but there is a sexy edge to it as well. Plus, this singer has a wonderful voice, doesn't she?


"YOURS" by Ella Henderson
I wanted something really emotional. Something that, when placed in the movie, could make people cry but, placed again in another scene, is romantic. And after hearing/seeing this on radio/TV (Hollyoaks?), I found this song and I think it'll fit perfectly with both the story and Emma's emotional story...


"FOR YOU" by Angus and Julia Stone
I love my weird emotional songs. And with this song, I sense the first verse and the instrumental (this starts around three and a half minute mark) could be really powerful to reflect the emotion that Emma feels throughout the course of the story.

So, yes. I have weird music choice for this soundtrack if this book was made into a movie. But what do you think? Do you agree with the song choices? Or do you think you have a perfect song that I need to listen to (I love discovering new - well, new to me - music!).

The next (and final blogpost in this trial) will be A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness...

GoodRead - Tainted

I have been holding out writing this review. I know most book blogger pals have been getting ARCs and NetGalley editions a few weeks ago. But I read Tainted before then. You see, I was one of Tainted's beta-readers. Which, basically means, I read it with some other people and we, not only read the story, but see if we can see any mistakes. And I think/fear, out of all the beta-readers, I was probably the worst. When I read a chapter and sent it back to AE Rought, I would ALWAYS have something in red. Whether that was a grammar, a question, a comment of "I like this paragraph" or basically stating "If you kill this character off, I will never forgive you".

So, why am I telling you this: Well, I am reviewing this book from what I read while beta-reading earlier in the year. So, while I am pretty certain the big events in the book have stayed the same, you will have to forgive me if I make a mistake. (Plus, I want a real book version of Tainted so it goes with Broken.)

Alex Franks believe that the madness and horror he and his girlfriend, Emma, faced in Broken is over. He hopes that he could try and live a normal life. Have a girlfriend, have friends, have a life, have the dark secrets of what his father did to him and countless others. Shame he's ex, the criminally brilliant (yet criminally unhinged) Hailey Westmore, doesn't want to let Alex go and is determined to get him back. 

And then something shocking happens that changes everything... 

Ok, I really enjoyed this book. If I didn't, I don't think AE Rought would have asked me to beta-read this. But I enjoyed the changes AE Rought made with this book. While Broken was told from Emma's point of her, Tainted is told from Alex's point of view. While Emma was trying to find out what was going on with Alex in Broken, Alex knew most of the dark secrets in Tainted and, because of this, the reader instantly knows that something's not quite right with this book and when things really hit the fan, Alex and the readers were on the same level with "What the heck!"

I wanna talk one big thing. Very early on within the book, there is about 5 chapters that I read with me going "No. No! NoNoNoNo! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!". It really shocked me as I didn't see these chapters coming so I have to praise AE Rought for not only pulling the twist off but suddenly making the book unpredictable, unsafe and addictive. I had to know what happened next once I got over the shock of these chapters. 

I have only two small negatives and they both come from the ending. AE Rought knows this and has explained why both of these happen. Both of which I get, I do. But one of these negatives is the fate of a character that I loved and the other... well... I can sense some of you guys getting really angry over it. If you've read Cassandra Clare's City of Glass, it's very similar to something that happens in that (and that's all I'm going to say). 

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the fact that this was an re-imagining of two classics (one I was told as The Mysterious Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and the other is a guess on my part) and I kinda want a sequel, even though I am pretty certain this is a duology (don't hold me to this), and me sending little hints that I want a re-imagining of Phantom of the Opera isn't gonna happen (if it is, that would rock!). But I really enjoy AE Rought's writing and I can't wait to see what she writes next. 

GoodRead - Broken

I have to admit something. I don't like classic retellings. I'm sorry, but I don't. I usually hear those words and run for the hills, screaming. If it's a retelling from a different character's point of view or a sequel/prequel, then I can take it. But a retelling... no. Sorry, but no.

After reading Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley for my book blogger pal, Emma from Book Angel Booktopia (not read the review? Are you sure you want to read it? ... fine, here's the link), I decided to stay away from all retellings for a while. And I have a few of these in my To Read pile. So, when Amanda from Strange Chemistry emailed and asked if I would be interested in reading an ARC of Broken, I was unsure, but replied saying I was intrigued.

And so, I got the book and when my other half (aka PIW) said I should read this out of the 3 ARCs I have to read before January, I risked it.

After the shocking death of her boyfriend, Emma isn't coping. Six months has passed and she's just as broken now, as she was when Daniel died in her arms. She can't seem to move on. She walked the local cemetery, knowing full well that his body isn't there. When she tries to move on, she meets newcomer Alex Franks. She's intrigued over their instant connection, as if she's known him all her life. He's strangely familiar, from the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks to the way his eyes looks so much like Daniel. And Emma's beginning to live again. Live and fall in love again. But, all the while, a small voice in her head is telling Emma that there is something very, very wrong with Alex Franks...

Now, as I say, this is a classic retelling. Of Frankenstein. But this didn't feel like a retelling. With most retellings, it feels like you had to read the original before the retelling to "get" the story, but with Broken, that feeling didn't come... It was relief. I think we all know the outline of Frankenstein, but it was great not to feel like "You MUST read Mary Shelley before you read this!".

I really liked this book. Yes, I have some teething problems. Ok, let's get them out of the way first. Chapter 1. Yes, the first chapter. I read it and, after finishing it, I went "Huh?" and reread the last page to make sense of it. Was Emma having some kind of mental breakdown in this chapter? My brain couldn't understand it. It took several chapters before I went "Oh! Now I get it now...!". My second issue isn't the author's fault, it's the publisher. I've said this once before (with Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey, if I remember correctly) but here we go again: publishers, DON'T REVEAL TOO MUCH ON YOUR BLURBS! There's info and clues on the blurb which aren't talked/discovered till the last quarter of the book.

Rant over. Now the positive.

This book is slow. I know some of you guys will go "No! No, don't like slow reads" but here, the book's slow pace works. We get this gothic feeling because of it. We get the feeling of foreboding that something's not right with Alex, but we don't know whether to trust this as Emma is still grieving over Daniel. And because of the pace, you take your time to know the characters. Some are more instant than others (for example, Alex's father and Josh...) but it feels rare to have a YA book recently that takes its time with the story and with the answers to questions you ask in the early chapters (though I know some of you will go "The ending felt rushed"... I disagree on this).

Also, the book is very clever. At the start of the book, some of you will go "Oh. They have a connection and they only just met. Twilight, anyone?" but when you get to the end of the book, you go "Oh! OH! That's why! How did I not see that?!" And it has moments of genuine creepiness. Both of these (and oh, Alex and Emma...) will make you turn the pages, speeding forwards towards... now that would be telling.

I know some of you guys won't like this. I get that. But I like this. A lot. I am now very intrigued over what AE Rought will write next for Strange Chemistry...

Book Trailer for AE Rought's BROKEN

Earlier today, the author AE Rought unveiled a book trailer for her new YA novel, Broken. 



Do you like? I adore the music! I will be reviewing this next week (Thursday, me thinks), but for those of you wanting more info, here is what the publisher, Strange Chemistry, has to say about it...

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetary and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she’s intrigued despite herself. He’s an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely…familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel’s. The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there’s something very wrong with Alex Franks...