Broken Skies by Theresa Kay

"Thirty years ago, civilization collapsed. Few survived.
Ten years ago, the aliens arrived…and stayed.
One year ago, I killed two men and went a little crazy.
Today, the aliens took my brother and I will do anything to get him back." 

Until recently, the E’rikon have remained segregated in their city and ignored the few humans who have tried to engage them, that was until now... They have taken Jax’s brother. After the aliens have taken him she finds that she wasn't the only one left behind. One of the aliens was also left.  Coming to some sort of an agreement, they decide to work together to get her into the alien's city. That seems like it would be the hardest part of their journey... it's not. In this world where alien and human are at odds, the connection forming between the two could have major consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets a chain of events in motion which threatens everyone one earth. 

We were fortunate to be asked by Theresa Kay to give this book a try in exchange for an honest review. Below we are going to post both of our views on Broken Skies. 

Angela's Review

All I knew about Broken Skies was that it was being compared to The Lux Series a lot... If you know anything at all about me you know that The Lux Series is my favorite series. And yeah it is very comparable, but too me it was more like The Lux Series, The Dustlands Trilogy, Taken, Alienated, and The 5th Wave had some kind of crazy sex party and during which a baby was formed and that baby turned out to be Broken Skies. Yeah it's that insane. On top of all of that I am a known Alien obsessed freak so I have very high standards when it comes to alien books... All that being said... I LOVED THIS BOOK! I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.

Starting off with the characters. Jax is this fiery strong willed sassy redhead that you will love. Her loyalty and determination are absolutely amazing. Her character growth is off the charts! She is strong; yet weak at the beginning, but by the ends transforms into the leading lady that you wanted and you'll be standing behind. Her attitude is much like mine aka very sarcastic, and made it very easy for me to connect with her. Lir... OH LIR... I loved him. The second he appeared and was described I knew I was in love. Normally it's the characters I have to worry about falling in insta-love, nope this time it was me. whoosh, SWOON. Even when I hated  him I loved him. The relationship between the two is what really makes this story, and I have no complaints about that. Their relationship is an emotional roller-coaster that I want to ride on another 50 times. They don't have insta-love just insta-like and it was to cute for words. I like how their relationship builds, what it becomes, and how it is left at the end. At one point when they are in the Alien city and things happen with Lir (can't say what because spoils) that I seriously screamed....

It's just so good. The sub characters like her twin brother Jace, her family friend Flint, and Lir's cousin Rym were all strong and well rounded. I especially liked Rym. Pretty sure if some kind of side story or novella was written from his point of view I would eat that junk right up. The next thing I loved about Broken Skies was the world building. It wasn't anything over the top. It was just enough to get it's point across and then left it so you could fill in the rest yourself, and I loved that. Their journey never feels forced or rushed, another plus side too this story. With strong characters, and a strong story you think that is all I would really have to say about this book but its not... My favorite thing about Broken Skies is that Theresa has given us something new to the alien genre!!! AND THANK YOU!!! She gave us a new spin on what aliens look like. Their hair color was brillz, their eyes amaze, but the fact that they have these scales on their backs leading into their hair line was something that I thought at first hear was going to be odd... NO LOVED IT!!!!! Never thought a man with scales could sound sexy, but I loved being wrong about that.... And I know I've said this before as well but I don't care Imma say it again... I DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE IF ALIENS DO COME HUMANS AND ALIENS COULDN'T BE TOGETHER!!!!! I seriously love them that much. And who are we kidding I know we all hope aliens come and that they look like Lir, Daemon Black, and Evan Walker. BEAM ME UP HOTTIES!!!! AM I RIGHT?!?!

The plot is fast paced and constant, leaving you with a "never a dull moment" feeling. The story starts small and just keeps building up and up until the ending leaves you breathless. No it didn't per say leave on a cliffhanger but just about as close as you can get too one. Action packed, no emotion left un-felt, and super suspenseful... Too me the ending was left at the perfect moment.

 I can not wait to read book two in this series, and hope that Theresa will bless us with more chances to read her work... Theresa Kay was born to write. She might be an "under known" author right now, but I have no doubt that that will end soon. 

10/10 Stars 
-Angela

Leah's Review

I'm not as big of an alien fanatic as Angela, but I do love some romantic action packed alien stories. When Theresa contacted us and described this as a post-apocalyptic scifi novel that is like Lux.... Well, SOLD.

I was sucked into the book as soon as I started reading. You find out early on that Jax is pretty damaged as far as emotions and people skills go. Something really awful happened to her which pretty much changed her life and now she relies on her brother to keep her together. Once her bro is taken away by some aliens, she kicks it into high gear and sets out to find him. Problem is that one of the aliens got left behind and is now with her. He also just happens to be a super handsome, sarcastic, and charming alien named Lir (seriously, who knew a dude with a line of scales on his back could be hot... don't knock it until you read it!!).  The thing that I love about Jax is that she knows she is broken. She knows that what happened to her really screwed her up, but it doesn't stop her at any point in the book from being a complete BA. She reminds me of Katniss from The Hunger Games where she channels her hurt and pain into doing what she has to do for her loved ones. I think she is a killer leading lady.

The majority of the book follows Lir and Jax on their misadventures through the woods trying to make it back to the alien city where Jax's brother is supposedly being kept. A lot of stuff happens along the way that brings them together... then apart... then together... You get the picture. Basically they spend two weeks together hiking through the woods and almost dying several times and accidentally fall in love with each other. They have to learn to depend on each other and trust each other, but EVERY TIME things seem to be going good for them, something else happens. It was so frustrating!! It was also sort of awesome at the same time because there isn't a whole lot of insta-love going on and you have to stay on your toes to keep up with all the action. But when it happens, BAM YOU LOVE IT. Oh, and I just love Lir. I love how he could be Daemon Black's handsome witty cousin. They could get together and be sarcastic and makes girls drop their underwear all over Earth.

There are some pretty major plot twists that happen. Like, I had NO idea and was completely thrown off my game because I had no idea where the book was going to go. In short, this book was amaze-balls. I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time because I had no clue where Theresa was going to take the ending. My favorite part of the book is when Lir and Jax actually get to the alien city and the time they spend inside of it. My only complaint with the book is that I wish that there would have been a little less time in their woodsy adventure and more time focused on them once they got in the city. THAT ENDING THO. Holy bananas. Talk about a cliffhanger. I seriously need book two NOW because everything ended right when you are on the edge of your seat and have NO idea where your allegiances lie.

If you are an alien lover or just a fan of scifi in general, this is definitely a book you want to pick up. It reminded me a lot of Lux, The 5th Wave, and Alienated, which btw all happen to be my favorite alien books.

5/5 stars
-Leah