Book Review: “The Broken Darkness: A Short Story Collection” By Theresa Braun

Full disclosure – I was provided an advanced reader’s copy of this book by the author or their representative but have voluntarily provided a review. All opinions are my own.

A perfectly eerie compilation of shorts

Love, Betrayal, Loss, Protection, Redemption, Revenge, and Fear. These are all themes in the different shorts that appear in The Broken Darkness collection by author Theresa Braun. Everybody has a dark side, a hidden secret or a skeleton in their closet and Braun explores these themes in this book. Released on February 13^th and also comprised of thirteen individual stories covering a wide range of places, personalities and situations Braun has created a compilation that will pull the reader in and leave them thinking. But these are not your typical horror shorts. Braun as used every day situations and seemingly normal people to illustrate that the sinister is everywhere, if you know where to look. 

From the paranormal ties of star-crossed lovers to a murdered playboy doomed to be guardian angel of the type of girl he used to love to take advantage of these are just a few of the scenarios that Braun has tackled in this compilation. As I read through, I felt that each story in itself was a complete thought, and even though they were shorts, nothing was lacking in either the writing or the execution. The Broken Darkness is the perfect book to keep on a coffee table for a quick story to pass the time or for a stormy evening of binging from cover to cover. The cover alone is gorgeous, and would be  a perfect complement for a gothic themed room.

 While the stories can be considered horror, they were more on a psychological level than a gore level. Not that there wasn’t some gore, but when it as it was less for shock effect and 100% part of the story. Some stand outs for me have got to be “The Celestial Assignment”, “Heathen”, and “Stay Tuned”. If you like your horror psychological and are craving stories that will haunt you long after reading, pick up a copy of The Broken Darkness. You will love it.