Every Broken Thing

Far from Ruined, Book 1

By: Nikole Knight

Narrated by: Nick Newport

Two strangers whose paths should never have crossed. One traumatic encounter that brings them together.

After high school senior Silas Brigs is rescued from an attempted assault, he finds himself indebted to a blond stranger. But he wants nothing to do with the calm, quiet Ben Adams. The California diver reminds Silas too much of what brought them together in the first place, an event he just wants to forget. Yet no matter how hard Silas tries to distance himself, the closer the two inevitably gravitate.

With Silas's attacker lurking in the shadows combined with Ben's mysterious history, their blossoming friendship seems doomed to failure. Both are haunted by their shattered pasts, but can they learn to face their demons together? Because, no matter how much Silas wants to resist, they're exactly what the other needs. Even if they don't know it, yet.

Trigger Warnings: On-screen, semi-graphic attempted sexual assault, aftermath and trauma of assault, homophobia (including but not limited to: bullying, dialogue, insults/slurs, physical abuse/assault, etc.), mentions of past parental abandonment and abuse, and underage substance use, including alcohol and marijuana.

©2019 Covey Publishing LLC, Nikole Knight (P)2024 Nikole Knight

Excellent listen

Really enjoyed this new one from Nikole Knight! It was well written and quite immersive. This was a new narrator for me and I quite liked him! Will definitely be listening to him in the future.

Ben & Silas!!

I'm going to be completely honest and say I didn't read the blurb going into this book. I love this author so it was an automatic yes for me. So having said that, I wasn't completely prepared for the HFN (ish) situation. But I love getting to know Silas and Ben and their friends. There are a few surprises I wasn't expecting and also some content that may be difficult for some readers. I am ready for the next book to come out and can't wait to see what happens next.

Not very compelling

I read this series and remembered being mildly satisfied with book one. I bought it in audio because books 2 and three were much better. I’m hoping that is the case in the audio version as well. Frankly, I should know better. Everything that I don’t like about YA is evident here: obnoxious high schoolers who love to get drunk and act sort of moronic. Not sure that I will move onto the next book. This just isn’t working for me. It could just be my taste.

A True COMING OF AGE STORY!!!

Loved this story! The opening was awesome, but it became ominous immediately and you'd better read the trigger warnings, cuz it's a doozy! I really loved how REAL this story was. The characters could have been right out of my (or any) high school, and the fact that this is just book 1 of the series kind of left me hanging at the end. But, the fact that the HEA is coming is wonderful, as we are left with an HFN, which is kinda how high school is, right?

slow burn and full of feels

This is the first book in a trilogy. I listened to the audiobook and think that the narrator, Nick Newport, did a great job in bringing the characters and the events to life. His narration helped the characters feel real.

Overall, this was a good book, though I think that maybe it's not a book for me. there were just a few things that didn't make sense with in the book and too many hard to handle feelings. It's also a slow burn an the ending just kind of leaves the story open to a "maybe someday." At the same time the characters were interesting, a lot happens that kept my attention, the teenagers felt like real teens, and that can be difficult to write.

Angsty Slow-Burn Teen Romance

Learning to cope in the wake of trauma is at the core of ‘Every Broken Thing’. After being rescued by Ben from a brutal attack, Silas wants nothing more than to forget it ever happened. Patient, soft-hearted Ben begins a slow breaking down of Silas’ brash and antagonistic walls in order to offer Silas emotional support. Angsty, at times funny, this book tells the first half of an ever-so-slow-burn of romance between two damaged teens.

I can only assume, based on Book 1, that this is a duet story. ‘Every Broken Thing’ features Silas’ POV–which ends in an abrupt cliffhanger–and an epilogue giving readers the barest glimpse into Ben’s tragic past. It appears the story won’t have its HEA until the end of Book 2, which will most likely be Ben’s POV. I look forward to it.

Nick Newport’s narration is somewhat overdramatic, but it makes sense give the age of the main characters. He does a wonderful job conveying the differences in Silas and Ben’s personalities.

Great story and characters

This one grabbed me immediately and I'm now bingeing the entire series. I loved the slow burn between Ben and Silas and all the secrets that are being revealed and still to be revealed. The attacker plot line is creepier than I expected and I can wait to see how this resolves itself. Nick Newport did a great job bringing the characters to life and capturing Silas' reservations about getting involved with Ben.

A Heavy Story!

This audiobook was interesting. It is told primarily in the first person perspective told by main character Silas. The story started off heavy in the sense that I definitely felt all the emotions really quickly. I wasn’t expecting the heavy content to hit me that fast. For some listeners there may be triggers. Despite the dark content of this book hearing the banter between Silas and Ben was fun! Their friendship grew beautifully throughout the story. As this story is in the young adult genre there wasn’t much intimate moments, but nevertheless it was enjoyable. The narrator of this story did a great job with the characters, I may listen to him again in the future.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this audiobook.

Ben & Silas

I'm rounding this up from 3.5. I enjoyed the overall story but there were a few things in this story that didn't work well for me. I did enjoy the narration by Nick Newport very much though.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

My heart 💔

4.5 ⭐️

Ughhhh my heart is completely broken for these babes! 💔 Ben and Silas absolutely destroyed me and the book just ended with me absolutely gutted! I’m desperate to start the rest of the series to see these two boys get the happiness they so so deserve.

Silas’s prickly exterior to protect himself had me laughing one minute at his quips, and then cringing for him just moments later. All I wanted was to wrap him in a blanket and spoil him rotten, the poor babe! And Ben! I KNEW what was going to happen with his story but hearing it was just heart wrenching. I actually had to speed up the audio in the last two chapters because I was so distressed…if I’d been reading with my eyes I would’ve been speed reading like a mofo 😅

If it wasn’t 1 in the morning I’d be starting the next book right now because goodness, I am so invested in this story and this slow burn! 😭