It would take time. Time to destroy who she used to be… time for all her hope to die… time to truly make her a thing.But he would.Anthony took Beth to remake her into the perfect toy for his customers. Mindless, obedient, a broken thing without complications.But Beth is strong.She refuses to break, refuses to let Anthony erase her… even if that means losing in the end.
Breaking Beth (The Beth Series, #1)
By jenniferbene
“But as much as she said she wanted to die – she would survive.
He would make sure of that.”
This story took my breath away; it is dark, it is has horrific, torturous scenes. The evil cruelty of Marcus, the uncaring curiosity of Anthony, versus the will of Beth, who refuses to break. And yet, in her note at the end, Ms Bene leaves us hope for Beth, that no matter what she has endured, we will see her again, in another way. This author writes in a way that conveys the characters’ emotions, and you can feel the core grit of Beth even as she loses her figurative grip. It took me awhile to read this book. It’s one of those stories that sits with you but I am glad I finished it, as hard as it was. For readers of the very dark, trigger warnings galore.
I received a coy of this book from the publisher/author to review.
It would take time. Time to destroy who she used to be…time for all her hope to die…time to truly make her a thing. But he would. Anthony took Bet to remake her into the perfect toy for his customers. Mindless, obedient, a broken thing without complications. But Beth is strong. She refuses to break, refuses to let Anthony erase her…even if that mean losing in the end.
In the beginning of this book Jennifer Bene has left a letter that tells you that this book is dark and different from anything she has ever written. It also says that if you have read the Thalia Series you will have a greater appreciation for this book and it will spoil a few surprises in Book 1. I am one of those that have not read the Thalia Series but now I want to go back and read it. I can say that I didn’t feel like I was missing anything but again I’ve not read that first book so I am sure there are things I didn’t get that I would have had I read that book first. However I love anything Jennifer Bene writes and there was no way I wasn’t reading this. You guys need to buckle up because it is dark. It is about Anthony who along with is brother train and sale slaves and they have taken Beth. Marcus wants to be the one to talk with Beth first and train her a little but Anthony refuses. They both have different styles of how they train someone and where Marcus is cruel he seems not as violent and dark as Anthony. Beth has got to be one of the strongest women in the book world. That poor girl. My heart broke about every chapter and she just refused to be broken. She is not going to let the word Master fall out of her mouth no matter what. You have to read and find out what happens but just be prepared. I read this book in a sitting and didn’t want to put it down at all. It was so good and I thought emotional and heart breaking and just a great book from a dark author. This is not a romance I will tell you that. Do not expect a happily ever after out of this book.
I was nervous about reading this story because I don’t like Anthony but OMG I really hate him now! My heart broke for Beth. Jennifer Bene is such a fabulous author. I love all of her books!
I can’t say I love this one, by that I mean I didn’t feel any happy emotions AT ALL!!
BUT…….I was compelled to finish it, it was one of those books you cannot put down, you’re afraid to take your eyes from the page and you double check all the locks on your doors. Made me paranoid and on edge but still couldn’t put it down.
My only comfort is knowing, hoping, that Beth will have a future that I can feel happy emotions about in the next book, please!
And no, I still am not a huge dark reader, but this sucked me right in, like a dark hole on my bookshelf.
And now I need to go read a happy paranormal MM book to lighten my day!!
I first read this novel when it was part of the Win the Dark Wins anthology, and it was one of four stories in that novel that I really enjoyed. As dark and twisted as this story is, I actually enjoyed it more as a stand-alone novel this time, because it works so well as a separate story not colored by reading it in conjunction with the other fantastic stories that were in that anthology.
Breaking Beth is very, very dark and intense novel, and though there are some very disturbing scenes within the story, the real impact here comes far more from the author’s descriptions of the mental aspects of what is taking place within the context of both of the main characters. These insights are by far more powerful and impacting than any of the physical descriptions of the acts related. That is not to say that the physical descriptions are ‘light’, or trivial. They aren’t. They are brutal and disturbing, and this novel is not for the faint of heart. For me, however, it is stories of this style that really get under my skin, and tend to stick with me for a good while. This is certainly true in Breaking Beth. The insight into the cold, emotionless, clinical, brutal way in which Anthony approaches breaking Beth is just chilling, gut wrenching, and at the same time so incredibly fascinating that you find yourself ‘wanting’ to stop, but you don’t. For every explanation Anthony puts forward for why his methods are right and will achieve success you are drawn a bit further into his screwed up mind and world. No less so than for every moment of despair followed by resolution to continue to fight that Beth gives to the reader grips you and makes you follow along to see who will win.
And who does? Well, you’ll have to read the novel to find out, but word of warning; there is no HEA here. Nor a HFN. There is just… an end. Nothing more.
In conversations with other readers about this novel (going back to when it first came out) I found that there were scenes (one in particular which has now become referred to by many as The Cheese Girl scene) that are reminiscent of similar sections of some rather popular movies of recent years. The Cheese Girl scene (where the main antagonist is speaking to a store clerk at a cheese counter) is eerily reminiscent of the Chigurh / gas station attendant scene in No Country For Old Men. It is also evocative of the Col. Landa with the French farmer in Inglorious Basterds. The implied threat to the innocent clerk at the counter taking place while the character talks with his brother over the phone is far more intense than anything that could have been conveyed by describing any actions he may have wished to perform in detail. The malevolence of the character is increased exponentially by the lack of gory details, rather than decreased by it. Bear in mind that the character the antagonist is engaging with in this scene is a minor, secondary character; this is only increased several-fold when actually dealing with the main protagonist character of the story! The protagonist is very, very strong woman, so much so that it becomes almost unbearable to read what she allows herself to endure. Beth is a woman of iron will that you cannot help but admire as she pushes back against what Anthony is demanding of her. However, at the same time, you want to scream at her to give in and put to an end to what she is enduring because she is clearly being pushed to the brink of madness. You want her to just give in, if only to prevent what ultimately happens from occurring. In that light, by the end of the story you are left with the sketch of a mentally brutal, downright sadistically evil psychopath so vividly drawn, and one who embodies the concept of what Hannarh Arendt called “the banality of evil” so well, that your actual hatred for the antagonist character of the story is unrelenting. As he brings Beth to the climax of the story, you desperately want to see the antagonist get his just due. Which makes what actually happens even more disturbing, powerful, and impacting.
This is not an easy novel to read, but I don’t think that was the author’s intention. Nor is this a novel intentionally meant to titillate or be ‘sexy’. It is a raw, brutal story about a psychopath coming up against a woman who stands with every fiber of her being against being ‘broken’, and the result is a story that is a powerful as it is bleak. Not one that I think I can truthfully say “enjoy.”
we were first introduced to Beth in Jennifer Bene’s Thalia series. i have always wanted to read her story ever since then….there is truth to the words “be careful what you wish for!” lol! this was such a dark and twisted story. my heart ached and bleed for her and what she went through. beth is one character who deserves a happy ending….i hope she gets it one day!
Soul-crushing and captivating…Wow! I read this as part of an anthology and reread it to refresh my memory for the review. And yes, it was equally disturbing the second time through. And it was equally captivating in a dark, quicksand sucking you in way. For some reason, I could not stop reading, like the victims in a horror movie that go in the basement to investigate the noises. I just couldn’t help myself. I read in one sitting and can’t wait to take the next journey with Beth. Readers beware and take the warnings seriously. But if you love to explore the delicious darkness that resides in the soulless, this is for you. Flawless writing brings the darkness to life and to take residence in your imagination. I guarantee you will be sleeping with the light on and looking over your shoulder if you are out in the dark.
One thing I love about dark reads are because there’s always lights at then of the tunnel.
But for Beth… It’s not.
Not even a flicker of hope to be save.
Dead would be a gift. But he won’t give her that.
Captived and tortured in body and soul, there’s no light for Beth
This book have all those trigger warning. It’s pitch black and not a romance. If you have read Ms. Bene’s books before and think Thalia series are crazy dark, you are so wrong. Beth would tell you the real dark story.
Be brave before you read it. But I promise if you do read it, there’s no turning back from the dark world
Looking for that dark book that’s never ending well you found it. It gives you shivers and makes you not want to stop reading well I couldn’t. It’s like a horror movie come to life but worse. Hate to say I loved it but then again nope I won’t say that cause I love it. How far can someone break you? Read this book with a open mind but how far can you handle the darkness? 5/5 stars
If you have read The Thalia series you will have met Anthony and there is also a mention of a girl who was trained by him. This is their story. There is no happy ending, no hero coming to the rescue. It is a very dark and very intense story, but sooo good..
This is about a battle of two wills. Anthony wants to break Beth and uses everything in his power to do so. Beth doesn’t want to bend for him. Who will win?
The story is told from both their voices. Anthony is a psychopath and uses just his logic, almost like a robot. We see Beth’s emotional journey, we experience the horrors Anthony puts her through.
It also gives a glimpse into the relationship between Anthony and Marcus and it made we feel sorry for him. Marcus never stood a chance.
This is one hell of a book.
Jennifer Bene is one of my favorite authors and OMG…. I can’t even write a review about how dark this story is if I want this review to get published… LOL. All I can say… this book is NOT for readers just coming into the world of dark romance and horror. It WILL push your boundaries. It WILL make you uncomfortable. It will make you squirm in your seat while you read it… And you WILL LOVE every word of it!
Having met Beth in The Thalia Series, I needed to learn her story. It doesn’t feel right to say I loved or enjoyed this book because it was so dark. I will say this book profoundly affected me as I witnessed Beth’s strength and Anthony’s sadistic, depraved, psychotic mind. There is nothing intrinsically good in the story itself, but it is so masterfully written it will leave an imprint on my mind for a long time to come. I’m still trying to wrap my head around things as Jennifer Bene has left me pretty much speechless and looking forward to finding out what happens to Beth next.
Gut wrenchingly good!
Breaking Beth – Jennifer Bene
Stolen from her own life and trained to be a submissive sex slave Beth fights with everything she has not to give in and become the “thing” they tell her she is. They being brothers Marcus and Anthony. To say one is a kinder monster than the other is hard to believe but if Marcus is the “lighter” brother there is no depth to the darkness of Anthony, he is a black hole of evil. A battle of wills ensues between Beth and Anthony as to who will win control. When you get to the ending you will have to decide who the ultimate victor was. Or were there any real winners in this dark twisted sadistic power struggle.
Talk about disturbing, dark, steamy, crazy, intense and intrigue all rolled in one. This book was all that and then some. This book remind you to lock the door and recheck it again before walking away. I could not stop reading. It was THAT good.
This is not your boy meets girl and falls in love and lives HEA. Oh NO, not by a long shot. The story is very intense and wraps you in then spits you out. The darkness envelopes you and you wonder how can anyone survive this. Well you don’t. Anthony will make sure of that with Beth. In the end of this book Beth is beyond broken. What will happen next for Beth? My imagination cannot fathom. Eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. (Biting my nails down to the quick)
This. This is some dark messed-up shit. Stay away if rape, abuse and torture of the heroine would trigger you. For those of you as depraved as me – welcome!
I’m going to start by letting you know that this story was previously published in the ‘When The Dark Wins’ anthology, and is unchanged from that version.
We first heard about Beth from conversations between Marcus and Anthony, in Security Binds Her. We also know from later books in that series there is somewhat of a positive uplift in her story. Knowing that made this much easier to read, even though it doesn’t end happily or nicely in any way, shape or form. Remember it is DARK! There is no light at the end of this tunnel, at least not yet.
You will love Beth, you will want to marry her and have her children, regardless of your gender or sexuality. You will hate Anthony with a passion, and Marcus only a little less. In fact Anthony is pretty damn scary, his lack of soul was so incredibly well portrayed. He is evil beyond comprehension, so remove from any humanity that he doesn’t fully understand why his actions with Beth aren’t working.
I absolutely LOVED this story and am so excited to know that we will be getting more of Beth’s story later this year. I will be one clicking that as soon as it’s available.
I had to read this in one sitting, not because I was enjoying it, no-one could, but because I had to find out what happened. Beth is one of the strongest characters I have read. I thought Thalia was amazing, but compared to Beth she was normal. Of course she had Marcus as her trainer and as we saw, his methods are very different to Anthony’s. I know things like this happen all the time all over the world, but reading such a powerful book brings it into sharp perspective and I am not sure who is worse, the kidnappers or the deviants that buy ‘trained’ girls.
There is no redemption in this book, but having read Thalia I know there is still hope.
This is Beths and Anthonys story and wow you will never forget it, Anthony is a sadistic psychopath with absolutely no remorse for anything and he is cruel with no feelings and Beth goes through things you could not even imagine and left with no choice but to endure whats being done I was so proud of her for being so strong. This story is very descriptive and I liked how we got closer to Anthony to look inside his mind and he always delivers you with shock and leaving your mouth hanging open saying what the heck just happened. The writing is beyond amazing and once you start theres no way of stopping.
Anthony is determined to break Beth. His sadistic mind knows no bounds when it comes to what he wants to do to her, but does she break?There are pretty much no lines drawn here, other than how far Beth is willing to bend before she breaks. Anthony has no soul…there’s not much he’s not willing to do in order to mold Beth into the perfect puppet. A truly cringe-worthy read!