Book Review: Beautifully Broken by Sherry Soule

Title: Beautifully Broken
Author: Sherry Soule

Thirteenth daughter. Heritage witch. Demon slayer.  

They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse. 

Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. When she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan, and immediately becomes spellbound by his charms. Yet she is determined to discover the connection between them before it’s too late.  

Finally, Shiloh's met someone who is supercute and totally into her, but Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list. And Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him. Complicated much?  

It sucks to have a destiny, especially since Shiloh would rather spend her summer being a normal girl who worries about clothes and boys, not the supernatural. But she’s never been normal and the stranger things become the more her own magical senses awaken. 

With cryptic messages from a pesky wraith, she will begin to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town. 
Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance.

My Review
I went into this book not sure what to think.  I'll have to admit I was very pleasantly surprised.  First let me talk about Shiloh.  She really sold the book for me.  I liked her.  I thought she was very genuine and real.  Her reactions as all these crazy things was great!  I loved that she didn't just give up and run away.  I loved that even though she didn't really know what she was doing and she was winging it a lot, she stepped up to fight what ever was thrown at her.  How could you not like a girl like that??? I'd like have her in my corner if I ever came up against something. And the best part about her? She has no clue how completely brave she is! See! Awesome character.  Now this doesn't mean that I agree with everything Shiloh does! There were times I wanted to pull mom and yell and her to think first.  She makes mistakes along the way as she's trying to figure it all out, but what kind of book would it be if she already knew everything!  It was also neat to see her become more confident and less alone as the story progressed.

Now the plot was pretty decent.  What I really liked was how it jumped right into the scary and creepiness right from the first few pages.  The biggest of bad guys is introduced then, and this pulled me right in! There were times I wish I had more background about exactly what had happened with Shiloh, her scar and mostly her relationship with her mother.  Some of it was almost presented like it was something I should already know, so there was no need to give me the details.  I saw this mostly in the relationship with her mother.  I had a hard time figuring out if her mother had been this way towards her since she was born, or if her behavior had only started recently.  Some of it was explained as the story progressed.  This helped reveal more and more what was happening with Shiloh and the ghosts and I see why it was done - it built up some tension and heightened the mystery, but sometimes I just wanted the full story about their relationship now.  I also felt this with the story behind her scar.  What happened that caused her to get her scar was slowly revealed. I got why, but at times it confused me and I just wanted all the details! Over-all the plot held my attention well and kept me reading. I wondered how all these creatures, shadows and ghosts fit together and what they all really wanted from Shiloh. Were they all evil? How would she overcome them? Could she over come them?? Lots of questions I kept reading to find the answers to.

I liked the budding relationship between Trent and Shiloh.  It was well done.  I felt Shiloh's frustration with Trent as he seemed to be one way one second and then completely switch.  This made their relationship never completely certain.  Did Trent like her and could she trust him? Even now I think those questions are not completely answered, and I'm ok with that.  I don't like perfect little romances. The romance was important in the story, but I liked that it wasn't the only thing that drove the plot.  The shadows and Shiloh's developing powers were really doing that instead.

Final Thought: If you like a ghost story with some nasty bad guy check it out!
Best stick-with-you image: The nasty creature that shows up within the first few pages
Best for readers who: Like a ghost story
Best for ages: 14+ (mostly due to the romance between Shiloh and Trent)

For the Guys? No not really.  I don't think they'd enjoy hearing all Shiloh's thoughts although they might admire her courage too!