OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Broken Cadence" by Ami Violet.]

Sometimes a book makes such a profound impact on you that it's hard to even talk about. On rare occasion a book causes you to dwell on it long after you have closed the pages. Broken Cadence by Ami Violet is one such book.

Delaney has suffered a lot in her young life, and now she has a ghost in her head. Her psychiatrist thinks that she's only imaging him, but she knows it's much more than that. Delaney, now 18, decides a fresh start is in order. So, she stars filming a documentary in order to enter a competition for a scholarship. Will this documentary finally rid her of the ghost that haunts her?

While this story does have a supernatural element to it, it is not your usual ghost story. There is also a Christian element to this story, but by no means would I consider it Christian fiction. It's a book that is extremely hard to classify and deserves its own unique category. It is thought-provoking, mysterious and emotional.

The book is told from the third person perspective; we mostly follow Delaney. This really helps the reader to see the struggles that she faces, and to identify with her as a person. At times you want to cry with her and other times you just want to shake her. You might even have to put the book aside because it feels altogether too real.

The most interesting and unique part of this story is the documentary aspect. The author is not content to just tell us about it. She actually writes the documentary as a screen play in the novel. This allows these scenes to come to life as if on a television screen. This is a technique that I have not seen before in a novel and puts it on a completely different playing field from other such books.

As for the themes in this book, it's important to note that there are mature themes dealt with throughout. However, the author reveals these in such a way that the reader has to put the pieces together. The adult themes are never actually detailed; but following along with Delaney, the reader is still able to feel the effects of what has occurred. This, I believe, lends the book to be read by a wider audience. I applaud the masterful craftsmanship this took to leave out the details and yet still enable the reader to feel the emotions of the characters.

The only drawback to this novel was the smattering of grammatical errors that I found throughout. While these were nothing extremely distracting, the author did like to substitute passed for past quite often as well as a few other homophones. There were just enough errors to make me think that this was not professionally edited.

Broken Cadence starts out in such a mysterious fashion that you are left with no choice but to continue reading. The emotions of the characters jump out from the pages causing the reader to become impassioned. However, due to the grammatical errors, I cannot rate this novel any higher than 3 out of 4 stars. Nevertheless, the grammatical errors are not enough to turn anyone away from this book. I would highly recommend it to all who enjoy a good psychological thriller as that's the category into which this book most closely falls. If ghosts, spirituality or mature themes turn you off, this may not be the best book for you to pick up. For my part, Broken Cadence was a novel I won't soon forget.

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Broken Cadence
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Like kandscreeley's review? Post a comment saying so!

I feel you! From the start of your review I guessed that you will definitely put this book under the psychological thriller genre. I too get that lingering haunting feeling about this book through your review. This fascinates me. Physiological thriller's are sometimes mentally twisting and bewitching reads. Thank you for your review!

Sahani Nimandra wrote: ↑26 Apr 2018, 09:05 I feel you! From the start of your review I guessed that you will definitely put this book under the psychological thriller genre. I too get that lingering haunting feeling about this book through your review. This fascinates me. Physiological thriller's are sometimes mentally twisting and bewitching reads. Thank you for your review!

Thanks for reading and commenting. Haunting is a good word to use for books like these. It was great, though!

MsTri wrote: ↑26 Apr 2018, 09:39 I saw this on the list of books to review, but wasn't quiiite convinced; thanks to your outstanding review, I think I may give this a try, provided I can find the time (what with my own books to read for review). I'm especially curious as to what the "Christian aspect" is, and I also like the idea that it's partly written like a screenplay; I adore when authors do something new... Thanks again for the introduction!

It was definitely kind of unusual in regards to the Christian aspect, but I don't want to give too much away. So, you'll have to find out for yourself! As for the screenplay, I though it was a fabulous addition. I really enjoyed that part. Thanks!

OK - you have all made this book sound irresistible. It definitely goes on my 'Want to Read' shelf.

teacherjh wrote: ↑26 Apr 2018, 11:27 OK - you have all made this book sound irresistible. It definitely goes on my 'Want to Read' shelf.

I really hope you enjoy it!

kandscreeley wrote: ↑24 Apr 2018, 13:42 The most interesting and unique part of this story is the documentary aspect. The author is not content to just tell us about it. She actually writes the documentary as a screen play in the novel. This allows these scenes to come to life as if on a television screen. This is a technique that I have not seen before in a novel and puts it on a completely different playing field from other such books.

This sounds absolutely fascinating - and also quite exciting. I'm very tempted - but, oh dear, that 'want to read' shelf is getting heavier and heavier.

This sounds like a fascinating read! With so much going on, I can see why you said the reader has no choice but to keep reading. It's rare to find a book that leaves such an impact. Once sudden, we see the necessity of editing, which can truly make or break a book. Thanks for a great review!

Libs_Books wrote: ↑26 Apr 2018, 15:01

kandscreeley wrote: ↑24 Apr 2018, 13:42 The most interesting and unique part of this story is the documentary aspect. The author is not content to just tell us about it. She actually writes the documentary as a screen play in the novel. This allows these scenes to come to life as if on a television screen. This is a technique that I have not seen before in a novel and puts it on a completely different playing field from other such books.

This sounds absolutely fascinating - and also quite exciting. I'm very tempted - but, oh dear, that 'want to read' shelf is getting heavier and heavier.

I COMPLETELY understand! My to read shelf has already crashed! Thanks for commenting, though!

SABRADLEY wrote: ↑26 Apr 2018, 15:39 This sounds like a fascinating read! With so much going on, I can see why you said the reader has no choice but to keep reading. It's rare to find a book that leaves such an impact. Once sudden, we see the necessity of editing, which can truly make or break a book. Thanks for a great review!

Definitely! Although, I don't want you to get the wrong impression about the book. The editing wasn't really THAT bad. Just enough to be noticed. Thanks!

I've always been an avid reader of psychological thrillers. But the fact that this feels too real and makes you want to put the book aside due to the impact it has on you gets me a bit doubtful if this would be the right book for me.

Loved the review!

I really like psychological thrillers and you make this book sound like it would be a great read. I'm definitely considering reading this book after your review. I'm especially intrigued with the documentary aspect and that part being written as a screenplay. I also like when authors try new things like that. It's too bad about all the grammatical errors because otherwise this book seems perfect. Thanks a lot for your informative review.

Samy Lax wrote: ↑26 Apr 2018, 23:03 I've always been an avid reader of psychological thrillers. But the fact that this feels too real and makes you want to put the book aside due to the impact it has on you gets me a bit doubtful if this would be the right book for me.

Loved the review!

Thanks! It's odd, though. I felt a bond to the characters, but it's still enough "out there" that it's not too disturbing. You might want to give it a try. Thanks for your kind comments!

Julehart1 wrote: ↑27 Apr 2018, 02:44 I really like psychological thrillers and you make this book sound like it would be a great read. I'm definitely considering reading this book after your review. I'm especially intrigued with the documentary aspect and that part being written as a screenplay. I also like when authors try new things like that. It's too bad about all the grammatical errors because otherwise this book seems perfect. Thanks a lot for your informative review.

There were enough errors that I couldn't give it a full rating, but not so many that it became overly distracting. Don't let that keep you from reading this one! Thanks for commenting.