*REVIEW* "Fractured Steel" by T.J. Loveless

 

Reviewer: Cheryl

Rating: 5 Stars

This story is the first TJ Loveless novel I've read and I am a fan.

 

This story was very emotional to say the least. I was on a roller coaster of emotions throughout it all and loved every second.

Karen Barnes is a rancher and horse trainer. She is a retired United States Army Captain and has been dealing with her own issues after trying to return to normal life as a civilian.

One day is all it takes to turn her life upside down and for her to go back to struggling with her issues. Right when she thinks she can live a normal life a chain of events tests her. A stranger comes over to her ranch about boarding a famous horse foaled in her stables and was trained by her personally. She has the rights to the horse, Five Alarm, if the current owners ever decide to sell and for the stranger to approach her put her on high alert. From this moment forward her life is put through hell and back. She was tested beyond her limits and the only thing keeping her alive is that she is the only person that can get the horse calm. She fights back as best as she could and no matter how weak she gets, she chooses her battles wisely. She doesn't discovery the true treachery of the horrific events she was put through until she calls in trusted allies to help her out. From then on she understands everything leading up to her current circumstance is a cover up for espionage.

People she thought she trusted betray her. Her sense of trust has been demolished because she has been through it all. She rescues Five Alarm and another victim when she escapes from being kidnapped and thought she was safe. But it was only the beginning. She was being pawned left and right in a show of political power until she finally uses her own weight in the political world and asks for back up. When she finally can breathe easily and thought her ordeal was over she has to go through the emotional shackles of the mental strain she was put through. Her memories from her tour when she was in the Army merge with her memories of what she was put through just recently and test her endurance and mental capacity.

 

The issues that are mentioned in this book are very close to my heart because I have had loved ones go through them as well. I have seen the carnage memories can invoke and have felt the helplessness of not being able to take the pain away from them and instead just try to be as supportive as I possibly can. The only thing that I could possibly bring to commit to my resolve is that it will one day get better and that is also the mentality I thrust on my loved ones.

 

The meaning behind the title in my opinion is perfection. This story is about endurance, honor, survival, and being strong. We all go through life as warriors, as fighters, and being tested is what makes or breaks us. Fractured steel is the kind of story that brings to you the fight and stress that you can be put through and even though you may have scars from your experience, it makes you that much more stronger and prouder to wear your scars openly because they are a part of you. You will be riveted with this story and you will not want to put it down when you read it because I know I didn't. I was borderline obsessed with how the story would end and I'm glad it was great.

Fantastic and awesome job!

 

*ARC Received in exchange for an honest review* 

 After a bloody tour in Iraq, all Karen Barnes wants is a simple life, surrounded by horses and the mountains of Wyoming. But when a stranger tries boarding a famous horse worth millions at her stable, Karen grows suspicious that the horse has been stolen.

When her worse fears are confirmed and her life is threatened, her instinct for survival kicks in. But things are far worse than she could have even imagined when she discovers that the theft is just a coverup for espionage.

With the lives of those she cares for at stake, can she find the courage to fight one more battle, or will the violence and carnage tear her to pieces?