Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Fractured Hymns
AUTHOR: A. M. Arthur
PUBLISHER: Briggs-King Books
LENGTH: 228 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 24, 2016
BLURB:
Still firmly in the closet at the age of thirty, Ethaniel Shockley is content leading a solitary—if lonely—life working on a construction crew with fellow military vets. After a tragic worksite accident leaves two of his friends dead, Ethaniel returns to his family home to recuperate from a spiral leg fracture and severe Post Concussive Syndrome. He may be lucky to be alive, but he hates the independence he’s lost.
Matthew “Angel” Garrett has worked at Shockley Stables for three years, content to muck stalls and polish saddles, and to be as unnoticeable as possible. Except for weekly church outings, he avoids going into town so he doesn’t see The Look. The Look that says “I know you went to prison for killing a man.”
A chance conversation with Ethaniel gives Angel hope that maybe he can have a friendship with the gorgeous Shockley sibling he’s crushed on for years. But the more time they spend indulging in their shared love of music, the clearer it becomes that they both want more. Ethaniel sees a kindred spirit in Angel, whose soul just as fractured from his time in prison as Ethaniel’s is from war. But Angel has another, deeper secret that haunts him—one he’s positive will destroy this new song with Ethaniel before it’s even written.
REVIEW:
I always enjoy books from this author. They always have some angst, and usually have characters that are broken somehow, but still trying to move forward. Fractured Hymns fits those basic descriptors of the author’s other books. But in my opinion, these might be two of the most broken of the author’s characters.
When the story starts out we meet Ethan Shockley. Ethan is a military veteran who leads a solitary lonely life, working by day with his friends who are also military vets on a construction crew. I’ll admit I didn’t read the blurb before I read the book, because I never do, so I was totally shocked that the two friends were killed off in the first couple pages of the book. Not a spoiler since it is right in the blurb, but I didn’t read it so didn’t expect it.
Then Ethan, whose full first name is Ethaniel is forced to return to his family’s horse farm in rural Delaware. He is broken. He is suffering from survivor’s guilt, he has a severe leg fracture which causes him constant pain and he has a condition caused by a concussion that makes it almost impossible for him to keep food down. He can also only read or be on a computer for a few minutes without suffering a massive head ache. So in a nutshell…can’t walk, can’t eat, can’t read, suffers from massive headaches, and throws up regularly. What a life, huh? Oh, and that isn’t even mentioning his severe PTSD.
Angel Garrett has been living and working on Ethaniel’s family’s farm for three years, ever since Ethaniel’s mother hired him on the spot when he stumbled into their church one Sunday morning from the half-way house he was living at after getting out of prison. Angel stutters badly and avoids human interaction because of the judgement in people’s eyes who know about him going to jail for killing someone…no matter how justified the killing was.
I enjoyed getting to know these men, and the gradual increase in the interaction between them. That part of the story was great. I kind of had an issue with Ethaniel’s older brother Daniel though and the lack of help the family and the community seemed to provide him for his anger issues. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like him either, but it seemed like everyone knew something was wrong, but no one did anything.
Then there was the ending. Not the very ending, but the majority of the last chapter, which made me teary eyed. Yes, there was a happy event in the very end there somewhere, but I didn’t like the last chapter/one year later. At all.
That said, I’m still going to recommend the book. It wasn’t anywhere near my favorite book from this author. I would have to say that I liked it, but didn’t love it. There were some parts that didn’t work for me, but I love this author’s stories and I worked past them. I think without the events in the last chapter which hit way too close to home for me personally, I would have rated the book higher…but if you leave me weepy, especially in the middle of my monthly chemo week…I have to subtract a little bit. 🙁
RATING: 
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