Broken Aro; The Broken Ones - Book 1 by Jen Wylie

Separated from her brothers while attempting to escape when slavers attack their town, Aro wakes to find herself in chains in the hold of a slave ship surrounded by men. Her brothers' plan to disguise her as a young man seems to have succeeded. One of the prisoners, a young man named Kei, offers a bond of friendship and protection, Fey magic that will tie them together forever.

Befriended by six of the men in the hold with her, they struggle to survive when the ship founders and sinks in a storm. One man dies before making it to shore. The remaining survivors gather head out to put as much distance from the sea as possible. The slavers that didn't perish aren't giving up and pursue the group. The friends find a place in town to stay, not having any plans past winter. Avery and Aro both come down with the sickness that has hit so many others.

A book that begins with a dragon thousands of years old soaring in the sky can't possibly go wrong. When that dragon can take human form things just get better. Wylie has all my favorite elements in her story: Fey, Elves, Were, and a prophecy to figure out. I found this to be an easy and captivating book to read. Her characters are fun and easy to connect with. I enjoyed my visit to the worldscape she created so much that I keep sneaking in a few lines of the sequel when I should simply finish this review. Well written, well edited. A 5-star introduction to this world. I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The Amazon link will automatically redirect you to your local Amazon website. At the time this review was posted, Barnes & Noble was only offering print versions of this book.