Alexander Gentlemen has spent fifteen years with the collar on, beaten into submission, tortured beyond anything a human mind can survive. He’s fractured around the edges when his brothers finally save him. With the help of ‘One Nut’ Nigel, the collar is removed. He’s starting to remember the faces of those he’s killed and fighting the urge to murder everyone around him. But the one who put that clockwork device on him is still on the loose. With the help of Nigel, he tries to be integrated into a society he no longer understands.
Can he control himself long enough to get his revenge? Will Nigel be his savior or will Alexander embrace his darker side?
I’m really bummed seeing this series end. I’m not ready to let this world go much less these characters. James is a master of world building and it’s hard to believe this is his first dabble into steampunk. He always gives just the right amount of detail and a lot of information comes through organically relying on showing with minimal telling. That’s a tough balance with any story and especially ones in sci-fi and the AU genres and it’s something that James does with ease.
There are three installments in The Gentlemen Brothers series and each book focuses on one of the three brothers that were torn apart when they were kids. So we’ve met Joshua and Logan, both of which are really likable heroes who have fought hard for their happiness. In Broken we get Alexander’s story. What little we know so far about Alexander is not great and it’s already hard to feel sympathy for him and we don’t even know him yet.
BUT, there’s way more to his story and he’s had it the hardest of all the brothers. The time he spent between being kidnapped and being rescued is heartbreaking. Once the collar that kept him compliant is removed (kudos to Nigel for figuring it out, and more on Nigel in a minute) he can begin to figure out what life he missed out on in those between years and reconcile the acts he committed while under control of the Queen.
Alexander missed out on pretty much all the information he’d need during his formative years to be a fully functional adult. He can kill a man with his pinky, but he’s not entirely sure when to keep his pants on. I liked reading about him navigating his way through his days while coming to terms with his memories. It was in turn, sad, enlightening, charming and funny.
During this time he was assigned Nigel to have him figure his shit out and he helped Nigel too, but it was mostly the former. We first me Nigel in Logan’s book, Sex, Emergency Exits and Plan B’s and I immediately had a warm fuzzy for the shy, soft-spoken scientist. I REALLY wanted Nigel to get some lovin’ and when I found out he was getting paired up with Alexander I wasn’t sure how I felt about the two of them. It totally worked though and it probably worked out so well because Nigel had such a logical mind and big heart. The two of them together had a lot of chemistry but it was more subtle then some of the other characters and that was perfectly balance for these two.
One more time, I really don’t want this to end. Everything gets answered and wrapped up, not too neatly though, which is good, but I still want more. I love the world James built I’ll definitely be rereading the series.
Oh, and before I forget, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE COVER? Dayum. That is all.
For more information on Broken, Collared and Ready for Revenge, and the whole Gentlemen Brothers series, check it out on Goodreads.
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