Reviews

Break It Up by E.M. Tippetts

joliendelandsheer's review

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3.0

Originally at The Fictional Reader

*I received this book for review via Goodreads First Reads*

At first, I couldn’t decide whether to give this book 3 stars or 3.5. I settled on 3.5 because I did overall enjoy it, there were just some aspects of the book that prevented me from giving it more.

As far as the story goes, I must admit I was engrossed by it. I started this book in the early evening and finished it before going to bed. A girl who gets to tour with a hot boy band, who wouldn’t want to be in her place? Sometimes in romance novels, the plot can be quite unbelievable. To the point that when you’re reading it, you’re thinking: “Does this ever happen to someone at all?” And even though this may be just as unlikely to happen, the writing made me feel as if it could.

Now, let’s talk about Kyra, the main character. Kyra is the main reason for the 3.5 star rating. In the first quarter to half of the book, she was just so negative about herself. Okay, every person has doubts about themselves or aspects of their character that they don’t like. But for Kyra, it was taken to a whole new level. Because of things she has done in the past, Kyra feels like she is a bad person. But more than that, it’s like she rejects anything positive in her life, because she would not be “deserving of it”. During the story her character developed a lot, which is definitely a positive aspect. But still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that no one should have such a degrading look of themselves.

As for the love story, this book has both the positive and the negative version of it. On one end, there’s a case of instalove. Yes. The “I have never actually spoken to you but I love you”. No. You can’t love someone without knowing them. But on the other end, there’s a developing friendship that grows into love. That is the part I loved to read the most: how they get to know each other and discover not only each other’s good traits but also the bad.

If you are curious to pick this book up after reading this review, I would definitely say to do so! I enjoyed reading it. It has a fun and engrossing plot and there’s a lot of character development going on, which is always fun to read. I didn’t know what to expect going into it and that is probably the reason why the negative self-image and instalove-part irked me. But if you are aware of these going in, you might even enjoy it even more than I did!

Note: Seeing as Goodreads doesn’t allow half-star ratings, it’s marked as a 3 star-read. But I do give it 3.5 stars.

fictionalkate's review

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4.0

Kyra used to be the girl with the bad reputation. A reputation she may have earned but she’s trying to redeem herself for her past mistakes. When she gets to meet with the somewhat reclusive but very famous band, Triple Cross, Kyra is a little star struck – and she has met her fair share of A-List celebrities. But Zach Wechsler is different. He’s even better than in Kyra’s fantasies. Can Kyra manage to keep her past a secret and have a chance with the clean cut pop sensation or will things between Kyra and Zach be over before they even cot a chance to began?

If you’ve read Someone Else’s Fairytale or Nobody’s Damsel by Emily Mah Tippetts, Kyra would be familiar to you. Break it Up is a spinoff focusing on Jason’s niece, Kyra. She’s not the wild child she was but rather maturing into a respectable member of society. Kyra owns her own mistakes but is trying to leave it in the past and make something of her future. She’s an interesting character. I liked that she didn’t judge others for their actions because she’d been there, done that and it wasn’t her place remark on how they choose to live their lives. Her relationships with her family was great to read about. Whilst this book can be read as a standalone I thought it was interesting to see Kyra’s perception of characters that I had grown to love before from Chloe’s story.

I thought that Triple Cross were fun. Somewhere between One Direction and the Jonas Brothers, they’re three young men who are in the middle of flux. Their mom-ager (mother manager) was recently cut loose and now they’re having to fend for themselves for the first time in their lives. Zach is the ultimate dream boy… and Kyra isn’t immune from his charm. But I found him to be a little immature and he read very young. A little too young for the world wise Kyra. I would have liked him more had he taken a little more responsibility for what was happening to him and his band rather than just hoping something would magically solve all their problems. Romance wise – Kyra and Zach’s chemistry was lovely. They compliment each other so well and I was rooting for them from the start.

It was great to be back in the world EM Tippetts has created. Her characters are three-dimensional – each with their own flaws which makes them that much more relatable and enjoyable to read about. She writes fantastic New Adult novels that are interesting and clean. I enjoyed reading this book and loved that it is a complete story – with no nasty cliffhangers!

meganmreads's review

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5.0

I loved Break It Up. Seriously, E.M. Tippetts is one of the few people who can make me care about the lives of people who deal with celebrities. Possibly because she writes about who they really are inside and treats them like real people with slightly different conflicts. I love Chloe and Jason from Someone Else’s Fairytale and Kyra was a favorite character in those books, so I was excited to read her own story.

Kyra had a rough past, but she was getting a lot better, thanks in large part to Chloe, if you’ve read the Someone Else’s Fairytale series. She was offered a unique opportunity to meet one of her favorite bands and somehow, the gorgeous band member she fangirled over instantly connected with her. The catch? Somehow he caught an innocent vibe from her and she was terrified to tell him the truth. While you don’t need to have read the Someone Else’s Fairytale series, if you have, you know just how detrimental the media can be to the lives of the famous. Kyra was well aware of her own past and what the media can do, as they’ve attempted to ruin her uncle’s marriage numerous times.

I loved the conflict because I felt like it was real. Kyra had understandable fears. I liked the way she grew into herself and understood the workings of fame and manipulation and tabloids. She was smart and her advice and insight was helpful to Zach and part of the foundation of their friendship. Plus, Kyra was trying to move on from her past demons, but her situation with a high profile band member had her looking over her shoulder, waiting for her past to catch up to her.

E.M. Tippetts is a wonderful author who writes warm and insightful characters. I connect with them and feel like I really understand them, even though their lives are so alien to me. Her romances are wholesome and are the kind that really emphasize the importance of love, respect, and honesty without being too wholesome. Sex, reputations, substance abuse, and race aren’t subjects that are glossed over or ignored. I love the idea that a story can be full of emotion, life lessons that are worth teaching, and the wholesome attitude I love without being preachy and too innocent and E.M Tippetts pulls off these romances flawlessly.

Chloe and Jason from Someone Else’s Fairytale are one of my favorite contemporary couples, but Kyra and Zach’s story wormed its way into my heart, too. I definitely recommend Break It Up!

wanderlustdamsel's review

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1.0

Poor writing and below average plot. The story had lot of potential but fails horribly to match up to it.

_tabae's review

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4.0

Ich mochte schon die anderen “Nicht mein Märchen“ Teile sehr gern, und während diese durch Chloe den Krimi Anteil haben, war dieser Band wieder mehr Jugendbuch und Lovestory. Aber das hat überhaupt nichts ausgemacht! Man hatte die Möglichkeit Kyra näher kennenzulernen, von der man zuvor eher am Rande etwas mitbekommen hat.
Sehr nett zu lesen und die Geschichte einer starken jungen Frau.

berry_bookish's review against another edition

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3.0

Why, wHy, WhY did you take him back Kyra?!

breecreative's review

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4.0

**review originally posted on Coffee Bean Bookshelf**

I will say that I was happily right about how much I would like this book! This was just what I wanted to read…a sweet little romance with an interesting and different plot. The romance wasn’t in my face that much, either, which was a change of pace

I immediately like Kyra’s character – she was a little bit self-depreciating, but strong in many ways because she was smart enough to see the mistakes of her past. I had a little bit of a hard time trying to figure out her family connections, they were mentioned a few times but I would forget and then get confused. It makes more sense now that I realize that there are two other books dealing with her family, though this is not a part of a series. By the end, I had it mostly figured out, though, and loved her family for who they were, and how they came together for her when she needed them.

Zach was truly a breath of fresh air – a good kid, with a squeaky clean image – not a bad boy, not a reformed bad boy, or a boy with an attitude. Ben and Logan were not really the focus of the story, but I definitely liked Logan a lot more than Ben, who was downright rude and rebellious.

For some reason I like stories revolving about the music and entertainment industries, and this was a new twist on that theme. This boy band has changed managers and are ready to shed their “good boy” image, they’re on tour *and* to top it all off, they are having a documentary made about the band. What I loved most was that it all felt real and not haphazardly thrown together – the connections, fights and emotions displayed all rang true. While many other books in this genre focus on the music scene, Break It Up went another direction, and was more about the people involved and the conflict that goes along with that.

I didn’t see the major conflict coming the way that it did. I probably should have, it was a long time coming throughout the book, but I had hopes that Kyra would be able to pull it off and everything would be very happily-ever-after. It didn’t quite work out that way, but enough that I was still quite happy with the ending.

If you’re in the mood for a New Adult novel that isn’t heavy on the romance and a refreshing change from the norm, you should definitely check it out. I will warn you, though, that it’s still for a mature audience – while there are no graphic scenes, the story doesn’t shy away from the subject of sex. I think I will be reading the novels about Kyra’s aunt and uncle soon, and will be watching for more stories by this author!

kate2440's review

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4.0

I have read a few of E.M. Tippetts books from this series and I have enjoyed everyone of them so when I was asked if I wanted to review this one I jumped at the chance and I'm glad I did as it was just as good as the others.

I love the colours used in this cover but I would have liked it to have matched the others in the series a bit more even though this can be read as a stand alone it is still in the same world so it would have been better to match.

At the minute I am really into books that involve the celebrity world and this one was no different. Whilst reading this I kept changing my mind on if I was absolutely loving it to only just liking it. I loved that the relationship between Zach and Kyra was a slow one and with no real feelings announced throughout the book but you could get a feeling that there was something between them. It was great that we got a glimpse of Jason and Chloe making me want to revisit their story. I kind of liked the ending with things cleared up but also other things that could be found out in the coming books.

Most of these characters I loved and some I did warm to. Kyra was a great female character that grew up a lot throughout this book and before as she was classed as the 'bad girl' but she learned from her past mistakes. She just didn't always see her good qualities. I started liking Zach at the beginning as he was a sweet guy who wasn't into all the stereotypes that surround boybands. He did have a few moments when I felt he looked down at Kyra because of her past and didn't see her for how she was today. It surprised me that I actually liked Ben and even though he had his awful moments I couldn't help but think there was more to his character. I would love to see Ben have his own book.

Overall another good book from E.M. Tippetts and I'm looking forward to continue on with this particular series.

mauraho's review against another edition

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4.0

Original-Rezension: The emotional life of books

Meine Meinung:

Mittlerweile kann ich mich, glaube ich, wirklich zu den Fans der „Nicht mein Märchen“ - Reihe zählen. Vier Bücher der Reihe habe ich bereits gelesen und immer haben sie mir sehr gut gefallen. So auch „Break it Up“.

Im Gegenzug zu „A Safe Space“ hat „Break it Up“ wirklich etwas mit den ersten beiden Teilen der Reihe zu tun. Das liegt natürlich hauptsächlich daran, dass Kyra die Protagonistin dieses Buchs ist und sie bereits in den vorherigen Bänden eine Rolle gespielt hat. Dies finde ich wirklich schön, denn mir hat die Welt, in der „Nicht mein Märchen“ gespielt hat, sehr gut gefallen und jetzt wieder ein bisschen darin hineinschnuppern zu können, war wirklich schön, wenn es auch nur sorgsam gesäte Momente waren.
Mit Kyra allerdings hatte ich so meine Problemchen. Denn im Gegensatz zu allen anderen Charakteren hat sie sich manchmal einfach nur unrealistisch verhalten. Wer bitteschön bettelt darum, etwas verboten zu bekommen? Auch die Szene, wo sie das erste Mal auf Zach trifft, finde ich auch etwas überspitzt und unrealistisch dargestellt.
Das ist wirklich schade, denn was ich an den Büchern von E.M. Tippetts immer so toll gefunden habe, ist, dass sie durch und durch realistisch sind, auch wenn sie mit Themen wie Stars, Hollywood usw. bespickt sind. Das soll jetzt aber nicht heißen, dass das komplette Buch unrealistisch ist, nur eben Kyra ist, meines Erachtens, eben nicht immer ganz so realistisch und nachvollziehbar. Nichtsdestotrotz ist Kyra immer noch ein sympathische Protagonistin, mit der man gut mitfiebern kann und die man einfach mit all ihren Fehlern ins Herz schließt.
Dass die Charaktere eben nicht immer perfekt sind, finde ich bei „Break it Up“ auch sehr gut. Wenn man die Band Triple Cross betrachtet, wirken die Jungs natürlich auf den ersten Blick total perfekt, halt wie Boygroups immer so wirken – bis sie irgendwann auseinanderbrechen, aber das ist ein anderes Thema. Schon beim ersten Treffen mit den Jungs wird klar, dass sie eben auch nur Menschen sind, mit unterschiedlichen Charaktereigenschaften, und nicht dieser Stereotyp Boygroup-Sänger.
Wie bei den anderen Bänden dieser Reihe, schafft es die Autorin auch bei „Break it Up“ den Leser zu fesseln. Dazu trägt auch ihr angenehm lesbarer Schreibstil bei. Schnell hatte ich ihr Buch durchgelesen und wollte danach eigentlich gar nicht mehr aus der Geschichte auftauchen.
Da war es umso unangenehmer, dass das Buch, meiner Meinung nach, etwas zu abrupt endet. Ein paar Seiten mehr, um die Geschichte ordentlich abzurunden, hätten sicherlich nicht geschadet, so kriegt man das Ende eben nur auf den Tisch geknallt und weiß erst einmal nicht wirklich etwas damit anzufangen.

Mein Fazit:

Auch wenn mich „Break it Up“ nicht ganz so begeistern konnte wie seine Vorgänger, was vor allem an der Protagonistin Kyra lag, die sich manchmal etwas unrealistisch verhält, hat es mir trotzdem wieder sehr gut gefallen. Man fühlt sich in der Geschichte wie Zuhause, hat wirklich viel Spaß beim Lesen und fiebert mit den Protagonisten mit.
Wer also vorher noch nichts von der Reihe gehört hat oder zumindest noch kein Buch davon gelesen hat, sollte das schleunigst ändern. Ihr werdet es nicht bereuen!
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