Book Review: Shattered Emotions by Carrie Ann Ryan

Title: Shattered Emotions
Series: Redwood Pack, Book 5
Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy provided by author
Published: June 18, 2013 by Fated Desires Publishing, LLC

Maddox Jamenson is the Omega of the Redwood Pack, the one burdened by emotions stronger than his own. He's spent his entire life shrouded in the secrets of his "gift" and the price he has to pay to keep it, yet the cost just escalated. He's known a mate could be in the cards for him, but he can't have what he wants. Not when the battles he has yet to fight could destroy her.

Ellie Reyes was the Central's princess, the daughter of the most hated Alpha of all time, yet not prized. No, she's spent her life as the toy of her brother's sadistic torture and has endured a pain that no one else should have to even contemplate. Though when she's rescued, the one person who could help her, her mate, turns his back on her for reasons unknown to her. As each day passes, the strength that everyone sees in her dwindles to a point that there may be no coming back from.

When the Centrals find a new way to attack, leaving Ellie's only protection a mate that she doesn’t think wants her, they’ll both have to overcome their fears and fight for something stronger than their pain. The war isn't over and new players are coming that will decide the outcome. Maddox and Ellie's connection will be tested even as their fragile bond is only newly forming.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: Enjoyable addition to the series though I had a little issue with how the heroine’s past abuse was nearly ignored in the romance development.

The Set Up: Maddox is the Omega for the Redwood werewolf pack, the wolf who is the emotional stabilizer, and he immediately recognizes broken Ellie could be his mate if he allows it. Ellie was tortured by her brother and his pack her entire life and Maddox’s rejection of her as his mate nearly breaks her when her brother couldn’t. But now the Redwood pack is under attack again and Ellie is the target. Maddox needs to protect Ellie and in doing so may give into their mating.

Why I Read this Book: I’ve enjoyed this series and awaited Maddox’s story.

What I Liked: I liked the leads here. Ellie survived torture for sixty years and is now learning how to live free with the Redwood werewolf pack. She’s a lovely combination of strength and vulnerability that I really rooted for. This is perfectly illustrated when Maddox says unintentional things to hurt Ellie and she acknowledges it to herself and then calls Maddox on it. In turn, Maddox is a bit stubborn (hello, it IS romance!) but he’s always done his duty to the pack and this spills over into doing what he thinks is right for Ellie in not asking her to share in his life’s pain. The romance development between Maddox and Ellie is enjoyable as Ellie forces Maddox to see her as a good partner. Her strength is shown here as she fights for Maddox, sometimes even against his stubborn nature. When Maddox does commit to the relationship he does so with the same passion he used to fight against the mating and this made for a good romance.

What I Also Liked: This series has a story arc that the Redwood pack are under attack by the Central pack, led by Ellie’s evil brother and his demon lover. This is certainly action packed as it as the Centrals constantly attacking the Redwoods. It also allows the leads from the previous books to be involved in the story which I enjoy as a little revisit on characters I liked.  I think there will be at least two more books as there are two more siblings needing to find their mates so the series story arc should end soon. I can’t wait for these villains’ demise!

What I Didn’t Like: I don’t think quite enough attention was given to Ellie’s past abuse. It’s acknowledged but then it’s dealt with simply by having Ellie say it’s over and she doesn’t want it to ruin her current life. I think if an author has an abuse survivor then she owes it the character and readers to explore how that will affect a romantic relationship. I wanted a bit more complexity with this issue of surviving abuse than I got here. To be fair, the sexual intimacy was more gentle than in other books so maybe that was the nod to the heroine’s abuse but it just wasn’t enough for me. 

IMO: Series fans will absolutely enjoy Maddox story as I did. Some may not even mind the less than stellar exploration of the heroine’s abuse survival that I had issue with.

J9’s Rating: