prettylittlewriter

 I was lucky enough to receive We Are Broken by independent author Paul Coffey after winning a giveaway he held on Instagram.

He is such a lovely man, and I was thrilled to receive my signed copy a couple of months back! 

My partner decided to read it first, as he's a big war era fan, he loves to watch all the movies but has never read any books with reference to it.

Synopsis

'Charlie Hobbs survived the Great War, but not without a price. Severely wounded, he's left with a terrible facial disfigurement, which makes him feel embarrassed to go out. Hobbs has a tin mask created as a replica of his previous face, to wear to hide his disfigurement, so he can go through life without feeling like a sideshow. 
But he soon finds out that it isn't just the war that creates monsters, there are some that were already that way; those that can't escape their demons.'

My partner devoured this book in a couple of days at the beginning of this month, and now I have also squeezed it in as my very last book of June!

Paul has a brilliant way with words. The description of the wounds these men have, along with some terrifying dreams that the character of Freddy suffers from, really create a sense of fragility and torment.  

Hobbs is a very likable character, you feel so incredibly sorry for him and what he has suffered through, and the trauma that he ends up dealing with throughout this book due to other characters, it really pulls on your heartstrings. 
I also loved the characters of Thirza, Mary and Solomon, and was very surprised with THAT twist. 

Being someone that doesn't really enjoy war films that much, or documentaries about it as they are very harrowing to watch, I was very happy with just how much I enjoyed this novel.

Without giving anything else away as you would just have to read the book, I would highly recommend, and it was a heart-breaking, lovely novel about friendship, family and getting through trauma. 

4/5 stars

(Thank you again Paul for sending me a copy!)