Unbroken follows Michael Gates as he settles into his new life at Port Lewis. Trying to escape his past in Arizona, he's moved to this small, rainy town with his sister. It doesn’t take him long to find out that the house he rents is haunted by an actual demon, who's also a pastry chef with a soft spot for sweetness.

I love Unbroken. A lot. This book is as lighthearted as it is heavy. It’s full of funny moments but isn’t lacking touching and tender ones either. I’ve spent two weeks examining my feeling for the book, and it hasn’t changed a bit since the moment I finished reading. Safe to say, Unbroken has a place on my favorite shelf and in my heart now.

Okay, let me stop gushing and actually start reviewing!

CHARACTERS
>> Michael is a travel blogger with a love for plants and a tendency to dive headfirst into troubles. Upon moving to Port Lewis, he’s thrust into the world of witches, necromancers and magical entities, none of which he’s familiar with. Even so, that’s not the biggest problem on his plate. It’s his complicated past that he struggles with, and in this haunted house, he finds himself, as well as the chance to heal and move forward.

>> Victor is the resident demon who is bound to the house by dark magic. He doesn’t have many visitors, and his flair for dramatics only serves to scare previous renters away. Despite everything, Victor remains charming and gentle. He loves working in the kitchen, and definitely has a sweet tooth. He’s my favorite, and my only complaint is that there’s not enough of him. This is not his story, so I’m not that bothered. Still, I hope I’ll get to see more of him in the future.

>> Janice is Michael’s sister and the one who invited him to move to Port Lewis. She loves and cares for her little brother a lot, yet she doesn’t have a good relationship with him. It’s heartbreaking to see them trying and failing to mend it.

>> A few characters from Port Lewis Witches novellas also appear in this book, and their cameos are fantastic. You definitely don’t need to know about them beforehand to understand and enjoy the story, though! It’s just really exciting to see some of my faves again.

PLOT & ROMANCE
The plot takes a backseat in this book. It doesn’t matter to me; because at the very core, Unbroken is about Michael’s journey to self-acceptance, healing, and recovery. Michael has gone through a lot, and he has so much to sort out. As his relationship with Victor unfolds, so do his emotions. This journey is so intense and tough to read at times, but it also fills me with hope.

An important part of Michael’s journey progresses through sex; it’s his way to explore feelings and cope with traumas. This isn’t an easy matter to handle, but the author does so with care. As for the quality of the sex, well, it’s very good. There's on-page sex in every chapter, but it's so well-written you won’t get bored at all. Every time Michael and Victor have sex is different: sometimes it’s tender, sometimes it’s rough. But it’s all so full of heat (figuratively and literally), passion and intimacy.

The romance isn’t the most prominent element of the story; instead, it’s intertwined with every moment Michael and Victor spend together. I love them so much. Their relationship is so sweet and intimate, it makes my heart ache. They never expect to find each other, but they’re exactly what the other needs and so much more.

ATMOSPHERE & WORLDBUILDING
One of the author’s greatest strength lies in their ability to write atmosphere, and that’s to be expected in Unbroken. Even though the characters spend most of their time indoors, the readers can still sense the coastal cold, taste the salt in the air and feel the town come alive. The house itself is creepy and packed with history, and they make sure you know that.

The world of Port Lewis Witches series is finally expanded in this book. I find the magic system interesting, and I love how sensual it is, but the lack of worldbuilding in the previous novellas confuses me too often. For most parts, I don’t encounter the same problem in Unbroken. The book explains various aspects of its world clearly, especially ones involving dark magic. Nevertheless, there are still some details that I wish the book had better answers for, such as the disappearance and reappearance of Elizabeth (love her though!).

Unbroken is an excellent addition to the Port Lewis Witches universe, although it can be read as a standalone. If you like Hades/Persephone retelling, demonfucker romance, “oh my god they were roommates” situation and healing theme, you definitely would want to give this book a chance.

A sexy novella that deals with some heavy topics. I loved the paranormal tones, while I felt the plot about the magic drug was a bit wasted and the story might have benefited from showing more of it. All in all, very entertaining for romance and erotica fans, but Darkling was better for people looking for witchy stuff

I enjoyed Unbroken a lot but I was left feeling a bit dissatisfied to be honest. While things happened it felt there was no real plot or direction. The relationship happened very quickly (in both page count and story time) so the story was mostly about Victor and Michael hooking up or being cute. This is like 90 % smut and fluff. And while that's great I wished there was more port Lewis witch drama. There was a bit but it was always peripheral. All the emotional growth and character development was all done through their sexual relationship. There was so much sex. I like smut but there was so much I stopped caring and was more invested in the things that happened between the sex scenes. While Michael's relationship with his sister isn't great I found it more interesting. Victor was great, I like the trope of demons who bake, and he was nice and sweet but their relationship and interactions felt a bit repeatitive.

The Port Lewis Witch drama was actually really interesting and the ending set up a more interesting sequel which I hope gets written.

While I really enjoyed this book, there was WAY more sex than there really needed to be. It's not particularly long and I would really have liked some of the skimmed over parts to be in more detail, but with Michael as a narrator it really can't be helped. The end took a turn I wasn't expecting and made the whole thing feel like a smutty preview trailer for a coming series. I am definitely looking forward to the next book, but I do hope it has a bit more plot than this one.

3.5/5 stars

There a lot of triggers here, so please read the synopsis to make sure you're comfortable with some topics that may be involved.

Overall, I'd say that I enjoyed it, but I did feel some things to just be very excessive. Like the was so. Much. Sex. Like a lot of it. I have no problem with it whatsover *points to my erotica shelf*, but this just seemed too overshadow the story going on. As for the story, I thought it was actually an interesting take on going through the traumas and facing them by discovering new outlets. Victor was an great character to be paired with Michale, our MC, so it made for some interesting dialogue. Ending was definitely where I thought it would go, but thought it was a fitting end.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for a review.

I am not going to lie, when I read the description from this book, I was not expecting the book to be a complete m/m erotic romance... but I'm not mad about it?

While it wasn't a book I would have picked if I had read other reviews on it, to know that the was the premise, I enjoyed it.

I thought seeing the romance build between Michael and Victor was cute, I just wish there was more of that, and less of the sex if I'm being honest. I appreciate a good sex scene, and these were good, I just didn't think it needed to happen every other page.

The plot had so much potential to be more to me. I liked the idea of Michael falling in love with a witch/demon. I also liked that they helped each other deal with their inner turmoil.

It was just a lot of sex. Like A LOT of sex. So if you're really into that, you'll love it. I just thought it was excessive.

All. The. Stars.

Wow, you guys. I enjoyed this even more than I hoped for! I thought going in it’d be dark and angsty, and don’t get me wrong - it was, but it was so much more than that!

The writing was sharp, seductive, and thoroughly evocative. Brooklyn Ray managed to do in a relatively short time what so many others struggle with throughout hundreds and hundreds of pages. I was so enamored with both MCs individually and their bonds to each other. They come together very quickly(usually a no-no for me); but, it was totally believable. Their chemistry and draw to one another was undeniable.

”Michael Gates was reckless and promiscuous. He was lonely and guarded and made sure to stay unlovable. Until right then, in Victor’s bed, with blood on his lips and magic in his veins. “I belong with you,” Michael said.”

“Victor Lewellyn was demonic and haunting, magical and intimidating. But Michael wasn’t afraid of him because of that...
Michael Gates had caught feelings. And that was certainly worse.”

There are some pretty heavy tones throughout but it never gets bogged down: there’s always this lingering hopefulness throughout Victor and Michael’s interactions.

”He looked at himself for a long time. Claimed. Empowered. Unbroken. He smiled at himself for a long time too.”

Ugh, I just couldn’t get enough of them, and I really didn’t even want this story to end.

”Magic was not impossible. Neither was Victor. Neither was love.”

Trigger warnings: Self-harm, BDSM, blood and past rape.
This was a nice smutty gay/pan paranormal romance. I would have actually liked less smut and more storyline though. I found the idea of the witches, demons and other paranormal creatures in the town interesting and would have liked there to have been more of that. Though this is part of a series set in the same town so we might get more of that in the other books.
I liked the humour and the scene with Victor's familiar being introduced was hilarious! I also enjoyed the Sabrina the teenage witch reference.
Victor and Michael's relationship was sweet (if a bit insta-lovey), I loved that Victor showed Michael the care and compassion that he hadn't had from pretty much anyone else in his life (though I do get why his sister is still a bit mad at him). He always wanted to know that Michael comfortable and wanted everything that was happening between them. Also a demon who bakes? Hell yeah! Michael's inner struggle with his past and how it effected his way of thinking about sex and love seemed genuine and compelling.
If you love a gay/pan romance with lots of steamy sex scenes and a bit of a paranormal twist then this is the book for you.

This is the first book by Brooklyn Ray that I have read, but I didn't feel like I had missed anything in the other novels when I was reading this.

This novella centers around Michael Gates, a human, and Victor Lewellyn, a demon, in a relationship. Also, a whole lotta sex. Yassss, bitch!! :D For Victor to be a demon, he was so sweet to Michael which is not what I was expecting. It was a bit insta-love, though, and I'm not super into those types of novels. Alas, I did still really enjoy the relationship between them.

The side characters. Janice, Michael's sister, was kind of annoying with her "I'm going to continue to stay pissed at you for something you did a long time ago" and she needs to get over it but, like, whatever. Corey, the roommate, didn't bring anything fantastic to the story but it's fine. Not going to lie, I loved the point when Michael, Victor and Corey almost had a threesome. :D

It also has witchy elements sprinkled in but I found myself wanting more of that and maybe it is more a part of the story in other books.

All in all, I REALLY enjoyed this book. I will definitely be picking up more Brooklyn Ray books and I will for sure be re-reading this one.

Unbroken: A Port Lewis Witches Story
by Brooklyn Ray
2019
NineStar Press
5/5

Trigger Warning: cutting-blood sex & blood magic-extreme gay sex. If these things upset or trigger you, this may not appeal to you.

Michael Gates, a young, gay world traveller, has a popular travel blog and many followers. So, the rumor of Port Lewis being a haunted town only made it more interesting, and a possible story for his blog. Michael and his sister, Janice move into an old house in Port Lewis, and settle in.
Michael was not looking for a relationship when Victor first appeared in the attic, but this demon-witch-spirit intrigued him and soon began having a sexual relationship with him that develops into love.
Alot of the sex between Victor and Michael is very extreme but presented in such a positive, healthy and respectful way. The characters and the relationship between the characters-esp. Michael and his sister, Janice, is so refreshing and positive. I loved that.
I really enjoyed this bi-pan-gay romance. It had great flow, great attitude and was fun to read.
More Brooklyn Ray, please.
Thanks to NineStar Press for this e-book ARC for review.
#Unbroken #Netgalley

Another great book in the Port Lewis series!

I enjoyed Unbroken a lot.
It combines several of the strengths of the author's Darkling like the incredibly sex scenes and fascinatingly complex characters while also building on previous weaknesses, like expanding the worldbuilding and actually explaining things.

Content warnings include: sex on-page, blood play, BDSM; mentions of self harm, date-rape as part of an abusive past relationship. Content warnings can also be found at the beginning of the book!!

I adored Michael, the protagonist. I ached for and with him, his rawness drew me in completely and despite his vastly different experiences I related to him deeply.
That made experiencing his developing relationship with Victor intense and heart-wrenching and rendered me unable to put the book down, a notion supported by the extremely fast pacing of the book. If there's one thing I have to complain about, it's that I wish the book had been longer or slower, particularly in the beginning. I was, however, so charmed by the characters and the atmosphere that I didn't mind the fast development.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: but this author excells at writing sexual content. The kissing scenes alone are filled with incredibly tension and sparkling with energy, and it gets better the more intimate they characters get.
The sex scenes in Unbroken - and there's a lot of them - are a mix of sweet, intense, rough and magical, with a generous dose of kink, sometimes with and sometimes without blood.

One thing I particularly enjoyed was Michael's sibling relationship with his sister. It felt real and profound and reflected a lot of my own sibling experiences, though it got more painful towards the end as Michael faces his past.

Speaking of, his past is not pretty. I loved the way it was slowly revealed during the narrative, how Michael's dealing with his changes and the conversations about it.

I also liked the cameos of and references to more and less familiar characters from the other Port Lewis books.
Unbroken can definitely be read as a standalone as it is removed from the other books plot-wise. I would even argue it's the best introduction to the series, as a lot more things about magic are explained here, since Michael has no idea about any of it before he meets Victor. It does technically spoil the events in Darkling, but only vaguely.

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, on March 15, 2019]

Unbroken is a novella set in the Port Lewis Universe, in which Darkling and Undertow also take place. It follows Michael, a non-magical human who has recently moved to Port Lewis with his sister and no knowledge of the town’s… history.

Also, his new house is haunted by a demon. A very good-looking demon who is also great at baking.

Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like, it’s a gay erotic monster romance and I’m totally here for this (and probably no one is surprised).

One of the things I liked the most about this that I didn’t remember from the other Port Lewis novellas – because as usual, the atmosphere is great and this author knows how to write romance but I knew that already – was the humor. There’s at least one scene that made me laugh out loud, which is… more than most full-length book do even when they’re trying to be funny.

The main character of this novella had been in an abusive relationship in the past, and I liked the way this novella dealt with that, and what it said about consent. Also, the fact that part of the main character’s arc is tied to understanding that he didn’t deserve what happened to him? I really appreciated that.

However, I didn’t love the way this ended, because it features one of my least favorite romance tropes. I understand why it makes sense for the story but anything fate-related still creeps me out on many levels.

The exact day that Michael Gates moves into his new home in Port Lewis with his sister, he meets a once-witch who is bonded with a demon. His soul is tied to the demon, he’s tied to the home…and he’s intrigued and drawn to Michael. There’s a demon-witch living in the attic. I couldn’t help smiling at that one, and fortunately, the author wove in a lot of clever banter and dark comedy
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There is some remarkable character development in this story. For what is marketed as a male/male romance, it has a lot of depth as the characters explore their relationship with one another. The sex is scorching and well-written: an added plus!
In a short period of time, Michael and Victor are almost overcome by their entanglement with each other. It’s clear to Michael that it’s more than he wants, but what if it’s something that can help him to heal the past? The past… the relationship that haunts Michael. He had a relationship with Christian, a man who abused the power dynamic between them. Michael sees the failed relationship as a dark mark on him, something that shook him to the core and resulted in a trail of meaningless sexual encounters. Disappointed in himself, he was untethered and wandering without direction. But then there is Victor.

I found myself connecting with both these characters early in the novel. They are well-written, convoluted and I couldn’t help liking both.

There is dark magic at work and the ancient hierarchy of the witches becomes involved when a drug called Essence is brought to a party at Michael’s house. The tangled web of magical powers, demonic spirits, and human weaknesses reach a peak and difficult decisions loom on the horizon.

I detest spoilers in reviews, so you won’t get any from me. This is worth a read. It’s enjoyable, hot and pleasantly complex.
There are some things in this you may want to be warned about, none of it was an issue for me but consider it your trigger warning. There’s bloodplay, abuse, alluding to non-consensual sexual encounters, abuse of a power dynamic and cheating.