Review: Broken Beauty by Chloe Adams

From Goodreads:

**Contains graphic content and the sensitive topic of rape and its aftermath. Not intended for teens under the age of 18.**

Sometimes bad things happen to beautiful people.

When socialite party girl Mia Abbott-Renou wakes up in a garden she has little recall of the previous night -- except that she is naked...hurt...terrified. Not only has she been raped, but she knows one of her assailants: the son of a wealthy politician who happens to be her own father’s political ally.

Mia wants and needs justice. Except this privileged boy has an alibi and her father forbids her from going to the police. It’s a critical election year, one that his party might lose if his image as a doting father is soured due to Mia being labeled a lush or worse, promiscuous.

Devastated at not having the support of her family, Mia finds herself in a tug-of-war with her conscience over what to do, especially since she can’t remember exactly what happened that night. Worse, the men who attacked her have hurt several other girls, and Mia may be the key to stopping them.

Mia tries to forget, until the unthinkable happens, and she’s left reeling once again, faced with a new challenge that will force her to take more control of her life.

Originally published in October 2012 as "No Way Back" by Chloe Adams

Thank you to NetGalley  for allowing me to read this novella in exchange for an honest review.

This novella is a quick read, and focuses on Mia's point of view. Mia attended a party she wasn't supposed to be at, drank a bit much, accepted a drugged drink from a family acquaintance, and ended up getting brutally raped. The reader is drawn in immediately by Mia's circumstances, and from the party, we accompany her to the ER and experience her fear and panic at being examined. The only people she feels she can trust are the two police officers who came to her rescue, and her best friend, Ari.

Things continue to get more complicated. Her father, being a political figure with an image to uphold and an election in the near future to win, is completely absent from Mia's hospital room. Her mother is in rehab, and also unavailable to comfort Mia. Instead, Mia is stuck with a lawyer and a publicist, both of whom wish to keep this tragic event as quiet as possible. Mia believes she knows who raped her, but because she was drugged and can't remember everything clearly, her lawyer convinces her that she should not name the rapist. We follow Mia as she hides in her closet and speaks at a press conference, among other struggles to regain her life. The appeal of this book is really in how the author is able to make the reader feel that we are living Mia's life and struggles right along with her. I think that just about any reader will be able to sympathize with Mia, and upon reaching the end of this first installment of the Broken Beauty series, be eager to see what happens next. I know I am!