She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be starts off with eight-year old Jack at the cemetery, where he briefly meets a mysterious young girl named Stella. From then on, he can't get her out of his head, but it'll be another year before he sees her again, at the exact same place. In a separate storyline, Detective Brier is investigating a homicide where the victim's body is burned completely, but his clothes are perfectly intact. He can't make heads or tails of it, but a year later, another body shows up, dead in the same way. In the third storyline, Subject "D" is deemed dangerous and kept in a lab, forced to grow up without human interactions.
There were so many things to enjoy about this story. The premise was fascinating, and it set up for an unusual and different story. I was constantly wondering exactly what was going on in each of these separate storylines, and how they all tie together. It was definitely a meaty book, one that took its time in setting things up and revealing its secrets. It was also action-packed, filled with many thrilling moments.
Still, for me, this story didn't quite reach the level of awesomeness that so many other readers experienced. One reason is that this book is extremely long at 760 pages. It's hard to sustain enough momentum throughout that sort of page length, and this story definitely feels that way. Yes, there was a lot of action, but much of it didn't really go anywhere and could easily have been cut out. The last 250 pages felt like one long climax and resolution, with one octane-fueled action sequence after another, going on and on. After reading all of it, it sort of meshed into one big lump, and I can barely recall what specifically happened.
The other reason I didn't connect more with this story is that Jack's motivations are really hard to understand. He supposedly saw Stella for like a minute when they were both young, and fell completely infatuated with her. Based on this minute, he knew they were meant to be together forever, at the tender age of eight. Then he goes on to do crazy things just to see her, and he carries this obsession with him into adulthood. It's the most insta-love story I have ever read, even including YA books. Since Jack's motivations underpins the entire story, it comes across as too forced and superficial to me.
This book has been on my to-read list for so long, ever since I read and loved Dracul and wanted to check out more by J.D. Barker. And I'm glad I finally got to it. Even though it wasn't as amazing as I hoped, it still entertained me and I had great fun following along in this crazy story.
Readaroo Rating: 3 stars
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