Arsen

A Broken Love Story

By: Mia Asher

Narrated by: Mackenzie Cartwright, Roger Wayne

Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

One glance was all it took... I'm a cheater. I'm a liar. My whole life is a mess. I love a man. No, I love two men... I think. One makes love to me. The other sets me on fire. One is my rock. The other is my kryptonite. I'm broken, lost, and disgusted with myself. But I can't stop. This is my story. My broken love story.

Contains mature themes.

©2013 Mia Asher (P)2015 Tantor

Wow

This story just pulls at your heart. I was going to stop listening in the middle because I hated Kathy so much but at the same time I couldn’t stop. I needed to know what was next. The author makes you feel the peoples pain, happiness sadness just like if you were there. Someone will always be hurt when 3 are involved.

LOVING TWO MEN

I loved this read. the story line was absolutely perfect and I couldn't put the book down. loved all three characters. My heart broke for Ben... I even cried. this story ended well. I loved it all. man this story had me in all the feels!!!

IT'S RAW, IT'S HEARTBREAKING & VERY ADDICTIVE TOO

Be prepared because this tragic love story is full of heartache, regrets and pain. It tells the story of Cathy and Ben's perfect marriage and deep love they have for each other and this is also told in flashbacks of how they first met and fell in love. But slowly, after four miscarriages, the hurt and broken dreams becomes too much for Cathy and all that is left is a cold empty shell where her heart once beat. She wanted to numb the pain and escape her thoughts and her marriage and the only way she could do that was by cheating on her loving husband with Arsen.

Arsen is a gorgeous womanising blonde sex God but he changes his ways for Cathy then they have an all consuming obsessive affair and, at night, Cathy would return to her handsome loving husband's bed and she felt cheap, worthless and confused. But the lies became too much, jealousies flared and emotions became raw as the day came when she knew she had to walk away from one of the two men she loved and the dilemma and decision broke hearts and shattered souls. However, the heartbreak doesn't end there because further news will destroy and devastate but it also gives hope too and the return of bitter-sweet dreams.

This is a very emotional hard hitting love story that's about the effect miscarriages has on a woman whose only mental coping mechanism to block the pain out is to succumb to the sexual charms of a younger man who is already a shoulder to cry on rather than in her husband's waiting arms. Cathy has a lot of agonising decisions to make and, although I disagreed with the choice she ultimately made, I've never had a miscarriage (let alone four) so I cannot judge her or testify to the frame of mind that finally tipped her over the top.... and sadly the consequences were devastating.

But I do know this was a riveting heartbreaking listen that was very well written and had me pausing because I couldn't stand the pain that was coming next, then pausing because I wanted to savour and prolong the end and pausing before the eventual HEA ending. However, I wasn't prepared for even more heartache in the Epilogue. Told mainly from Cathy's POV but there are a few chapters when we get to share Ben and Arsen's feelings. Narrator was ok but I thought the male voices could have been better.

Worth a credit? If you think you can handle an amazing and brilliantly written controversial love triangle with lots of drama, sex, tender passion filled pleas and broken promises as three people's heart's are torn apart and the destruction that's left in it's wake then YES you'll find it, as I did, creditworthy. But it's not a listen that'll leave you with a happy feeling because lives were shattered, years were lost and someone had to walk away.

Love triangle

A woman willing to sacrifice everything perfect to make one dream a reality. All it took was one crack to fracture the perfect marriage. She was a hollow, angry, and scared woman who became lost into temptation. Her sanity hung by a thread. He held onto the forever love he promised her while he watched her slowly slip away.

Narrators:
Roger Wayne was the voice of Arsen. In my head I envisioned Arsen sounding uniquely different. Roger read the scenes as they were written, yet the performance wasn’t quite what I needed.
MacKenzie Cartwright was the voice of Cathy. Cathy too read the scenes just as they written. Her performance was great, but not what I heard in my head when I read the words of Cathy’s character.
I know it’s got to be difficult and challenging to find performers who can bring magic to the epic story created. Maybe these are the voices Mia envisioned, but it’s not who I envisioned. I still love this epic love triangle of cheating and despair. I’m glad I got to revisit this experience with the audiobook.

Overall:
Alternating between the past and the present building the relationship between Ben and Cathy while simultaneously building the relationship with Arsen and Cathy was amazing. This was a smooth transition of information giving the reader just enough backstory to convince the reader how much love was built between Ben and Cathy.
Although, I can’t help but have a love/hate relationship with Cathy’s character. Her life seemed so good in many ways. Ben was a wet dream come true. Arsen was the naughty bad boy that had my body panting and drooling for more. I suppose Cathy’s character was written this way intentionally. If it was then bravo! to Mia for achieving that love/hate relationship with the reader.

This was a Sexually driven story with cheating. It wasn’t raunchy sex, but nonetheless there were some sexually explicit scenes. Arsen was cocky, confident, and driven sexually. The man was a wet dream god.
I would’ve liked something more from Arsen other than sex. He seemed to be defined by his great sexcapades with women.

Mia took a different approach at cheating that isn’t touched upon very often. Usually individuals cheat because they’ve fallen out of love. Not in this case. Cathy is in love with her husband and continues with the facade of the happily married couple. Yet, she craves a different touch. In this case, it’s Cathy who has fallen out of love with herself. She no longer believes in herself to fulfill her role as Ben’s wife, yet without explaining it to her husband she throws caution to the wind and gives in to temptation. Arsen becomes her drug of choice to drown her empty soul into for the duration of their affair. He was everything she needed in that pivotal moment. While Ben was the reminder of how she failed as a woman.

It was difficult viewing Cathy as a vessel for these two men. It seemed the only thing these guys possessed was her body.

I’m speechless. Mia laid out all of my concerns leaving me with nothing but confusion. It’s an intoxicating forbidden love triangle of ownership. Mia toyed with my emotions.
I don’t have a hold on love the way these characters do, so I’m not understanding that type of madness.
Mia was blatantly honest. It’s raw and painful to read at times. She crossed that moral line so many times my heart was about to explode.

Loved!

I'm a huge fan of this book, and the audio did not disappoint. Thank you Mia. I will be wading through book hangover for days. Again. :)

Talk about real life

I loved this book. However the ending was not what I expected. I was rather disappointed but I guess it depends if your team Ben or team Arsen. I'm on Team Ben for sure and I was hoping to get more of his point of view. But after finishing the book I decided it was a good way to close that side of all their lives

OMG Heartbreaking!!!!

OK seriously this has me absolutely heartbroken! The epilogue, why oh why did he have to turn out to be good after all, I could deal better with someone as the AHole, waaaa😭😭. This is a total tear jerker all the way through!

LOVE THE FIRE!!

I have read this book now for the fourth time and decided to listen to it on audio. Loved it wven more. the book finds its way into my soul and I cry, laugh, get mad and sad, and feel so many emotions. I love Mia Asher, I wish she would come out with another book soon!!!

Amazing!!!!

Get this book now!!! The story line is so real and full of angst... tough to read sometimes, but totally worth it.

Book pissed me off the whole time.

The best part of the book was the last two chapters.
If you’re going through a breakup this will be decent. If you have been cheated on do not read/listen to this.