A
Broken Ring: Part one of the ‘Ride to Liberty’ Trilogy,
by C. L. Cappetta, is hard to classify. In part, it seems to be a thriller with
psychological overtones, as it traces the tumultuous life of Lydia Castle, from
precocious 15-year-old to adulthood, in part, a semi-erotic romance novel with
a hint of bloody violence thrown in.
An interesting tale, it has more ups and downs than
the Rebel Yell roller coaster at King’s Dominion Park in Virginia. Lydia has a
problem with men, starting with Mike Webberly, who is obsessed with her and
rapes her before she turns 16, and then vows that he will kill her before he’ll
let anyone else have her. From Mike, Lydia moves from man to man, but the
reader senses that she’s looking more for ‘herself’ than a relationship with
someone else.
It would be easier to follow, perhaps, if there were
fewer characters, or maybe that’s what makes it interesting. I know that I
found it interesting, despite being utterly confused trying to keep track of
the characters that seemed to march in formation across the pages.
I also found it difficult until very near the end to
get a read on Lydia herself – and, even then I was left guessing; did she
actually make that journey from abuse to empowerment? Maybe she did, and maybe
she didn’t. Not a bad read, but I can only give it three stars.
It's been interesting to watch Claire's book open up opportunities for her to be an advocate against domestic violence.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that she did an excellent job in that regard.
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