samanthajore's review against another edition
3.0
this started as a 4 star read but the ending drama and plot line made me not interested anymore. i kinda just skimmed it past 50%
allisonbree's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Last night, I woke up at about 2:33am. And I was wide awake. It felt like I’d just slept a full 8 hours. After lots of tossing and turning, I decided to start reading a book. Eventually, I found Breaker by Harloe Rae, and began reading.
For a while now I’ve been building up a list of book titles that I find through ads on Facebook and Instagram, because, well, I’m a sucker. What can I say? Sometimes it’s nice to read a book that you know is going to end happily. Sometimes, you just want to read an overly cheesy story. If the writing is decent, the story doesn’t have to be some crazy elaborate thing. The characters are the reason you keep turning the pages.
Before even adding Breaker to my Kindle app, I knew this was going to be a story about friends (or ex-friends) becoming lovers, and would have a happy ending. What I was not expecting, was the depth of the characters’ relationship. It’s what kept me up the rest of the night- I was so sucked in that I couldn’t put it down… until my alarm went off.
Sutton Olsen was 7 years old when her brother’s best friend, Grady Bowen, asked her to tell him one of her ‘happy somethings.’ They had a friendship based on supporting each other, telling each other what moments or ideas in life made them happy, or hopeful. Each chapter begins with one of these happy somethings listed, regardless of how painful the events of each chapter may be. That alone, keeps the book light and enjoyable to read.
Read my full review, with spoilers, on my blog.
https://thenutmegdiaries.com/entertainment/breaker-harloe-rae/
For a while now I’ve been building up a list of book titles that I find through ads on Facebook and Instagram, because, well, I’m a sucker. What can I say? Sometimes it’s nice to read a book that you know is going to end happily. Sometimes, you just want to read an overly cheesy story. If the writing is decent, the story doesn’t have to be some crazy elaborate thing. The characters are the reason you keep turning the pages.
Before even adding Breaker to my Kindle app, I knew this was going to be a story about friends (or ex-friends) becoming lovers, and would have a happy ending. What I was not expecting, was the depth of the characters’ relationship. It’s what kept me up the rest of the night- I was so sucked in that I couldn’t put it down… until my alarm went off.
Sutton Olsen was 7 years old when her brother’s best friend, Grady Bowen, asked her to tell him one of her ‘happy somethings.’ They had a friendship based on supporting each other, telling each other what moments or ideas in life made them happy, or hopeful. Each chapter begins with one of these happy somethings listed, regardless of how painful the events of each chapter may be. That alone, keeps the book light and enjoyable to read.
Read my full review, with spoilers, on my blog.
https://thenutmegdiaries.com/entertainment/breaker-harloe-rae/
booknerd624's review against another edition
5.0
Tell me something good
There is just something about the broken pieces of Grady that pull you in. Sutton and Grady's love story is swoon worthy. Grady's character just shows that you can't judge someone by what you see or what others say.
There is just something about the broken pieces of Grady that pull you in. Sutton and Grady's love story is swoon worthy. Grady's character just shows that you can't judge someone by what you see or what others say.
syndi3's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
When I pick up this book,and listem to about 2% of the beginning, I thought about forbidden romamce with angst. After finishing this book, what I got is a flat romance.
There arw some plot that can be developed into more tragedy, but Miss Rae prefers to keep it simple. The climax is resolved really quickly without drama.
The chemistry between Sutton and Gray somehow fall flat in the middle. Overall I still enjoy the book OK. It is more like vanilla romance for me.
There arw some plot that can be developed into more tragedy, but Miss Rae prefers to keep it simple. The climax is resolved really quickly without drama.
The chemistry between Sutton and Gray somehow fall flat in the middle. Overall I still enjoy the book OK. It is more like vanilla romance for me.
suey_library's review against another edition
3.0
Well you guys know I love me some Sibling/Best Friend Romances and this is definitely no exception – when I saw the synopsis for a troubled dynamic of a brooding male lead and an innocent female love interest who happens to be the little sister of the best friend, yes please and thank you! Sign me up.
Speaking of the little sister, Sutton was interesting. I enjoyed her innocent, sweetly naive personality, though at many points did unfortunately seemed awkward and many angles, honestly forced. But nonetheless, she was easy to like from the readers perspective. She was very forgiving, kind and just down right adorable; though this normally is something I cannot connect with, which in fact I couldn’t really connect with Sutton, I still couldn’t help but appreciate her perspective. It was nice. Then we have Grady. Grady was the typical brooding, troubled piece of man meat that we see so often in these genres, oh how I love it! He was conflicted with both being worthy for human interactions, more importantly accepting the attention from Sutton, but also realizing that he was worth something in general. He came from a troubled background, this conveyed throughout on how he treated himself, Sutton and others around him. I will admit though my only issue, before getting to the romance itself was that Grady had this troubling past and though I felt there were bases covered on what to expect from how he reacted to some interactions, but honestly, I would have liked more background of his situation. I felt it was really skimmed, creating kind of a plot hole on his entire dynamic.
In term of the gushingly delicious romance, I did enjoy a lot of Grady and Sutton. At the beginning, Sutton was younger and was saving herself for Grady, which I feel is always a great romance angle for these types of tropes, it always gives a special tension to their sexual chemistry. But honestly, I really loved how Sutton and Grady reconnected years later – swoon me more please and thank you! They had a very sweet, caring, very understanding emotional connection, and obviously the passion was delicious, that is a given, especially considering the years of their separation. I will admit though, when it did come to the point of them really crossing the line between friendship to romantic entanglement, there was a smidge of lack luster for me. Personally, after all the push and pull between these two characters I felt like Grady really caved into the romance more than flowing together. At one point it was as if they were playing cat and mouse then boom, I am in love – don’t get me wrong, I am all for insta-anything, but this was definitely a huge build up to almost mediocre derail. Really wished the connection that was so adamant had stayed in tack as they crossed that line…
Probably my biggest irk, really the main thing aside from the small mention in the romance development was the constant hits towards Grady from the town. I mean, I get the added drama factor which played into his bad boy, troubled background, but it was almost too much, too overwhelming towards the plot. There was main specific development that honestly bothered me to the point I wanted to throw the book – it was extremely misplaced, horribly misplaced and not very well written. I understood the drama, I liked it, but it could have been differently executed.
Overall, exciting read; it was quick, enjoyable, very entertaining on the drama regardless of how I felt with how random some of it was, it was still stimulating, and fun read overall. I really enjoyed the romance between Grady and Sutton. They had a very passionate relationship, one that was obviously years in the making, so there was some great tension, and tension is always what sends me in a tizzy. Aside from some of my other personal pet peeves again, I thought it was a good read. I am going to have to check out more Harloe Rae in the future.
*** Received an Advanced Readers Copy through GiveMeBooksPR for blog tour in exchange for honest review***
Speaking of the little sister, Sutton was interesting. I enjoyed her innocent, sweetly naive personality, though at many points did unfortunately seemed awkward and many angles, honestly forced. But nonetheless, she was easy to like from the readers perspective. She was very forgiving, kind and just down right adorable; though this normally is something I cannot connect with, which in fact I couldn’t really connect with Sutton, I still couldn’t help but appreciate her perspective. It was nice. Then we have Grady. Grady was the typical brooding, troubled piece of man meat that we see so often in these genres, oh how I love it! He was conflicted with both being worthy for human interactions, more importantly accepting the attention from Sutton, but also realizing that he was worth something in general. He came from a troubled background, this conveyed throughout on how he treated himself, Sutton and others around him. I will admit though my only issue, before getting to the romance itself was that Grady had this troubling past and though I felt there were bases covered on what to expect from how he reacted to some interactions, but honestly, I would have liked more background of his situation. I felt it was really skimmed, creating kind of a plot hole on his entire dynamic.
In term of the gushingly delicious romance, I did enjoy a lot of Grady and Sutton. At the beginning, Sutton was younger and was saving herself for Grady, which I feel is always a great romance angle for these types of tropes, it always gives a special tension to their sexual chemistry. But honestly, I really loved how Sutton and Grady reconnected years later – swoon me more please and thank you! They had a very sweet, caring, very understanding emotional connection, and obviously the passion was delicious, that is a given, especially considering the years of their separation. I will admit though, when it did come to the point of them really crossing the line between friendship to romantic entanglement, there was a smidge of lack luster for me. Personally, after all the push and pull between these two characters I felt like Grady really caved into the romance more than flowing together. At one point it was as if they were playing cat and mouse then boom, I am in love – don’t get me wrong, I am all for insta-anything, but this was definitely a huge build up to almost mediocre derail. Really wished the connection that was so adamant had stayed in tack as they crossed that line…
Probably my biggest irk, really the main thing aside from the small mention in the romance development was the constant hits towards Grady from the town. I mean, I get the added drama factor which played into his bad boy, troubled background, but it was almost too much, too overwhelming towards the plot. There was main specific development that honestly bothered me to the point I wanted to throw the book – it was extremely misplaced, horribly misplaced and not very well written. I understood the drama, I liked it, but it could have been differently executed.
Overall, exciting read; it was quick, enjoyable, very entertaining on the drama regardless of how I felt with how random some of it was, it was still stimulating, and fun read overall. I really enjoyed the romance between Grady and Sutton. They had a very passionate relationship, one that was obviously years in the making, so there was some great tension, and tension is always what sends me in a tizzy. Aside from some of my other personal pet peeves again, I thought it was a good read. I am going to have to check out more Harloe Rae in the future.
*** Received an Advanced Readers Copy through GiveMeBooksPR for blog tour in exchange for honest review***
ssrosepetal's review against another edition
4.0
Every once in awhile I need a book that is full of feelings but lite on the angst. This book fit that perfectly. Sutton has been in love with Grady since the moment she met him at the age of 7. He was the kid who needed happy thoughts to get through his days. I'm not sure how horrible his childhood was but I can take a guess from listening to his struggles. And honestly I don't know if I'd want to know. Sutton was the sweet innocent savor that he always needed, it's no wonder he fell in love with her. Unfortunately he kept trying to push her away. Sutton had different ideas though and made sure she fought for what she wanted. Honestly I adored this book. It kept me turning the page, wanting to know and feel more. I will admit the book seemed a little rushed but I don't think it took away from anything. These two have loved each other long enough they deserved their happiness. I'm sure Grady's accident helped put things into better perspective for him as well. I also have to add that I loved Sutton's unwavering commitment to Grady. He needed her to fight for him. He needed her strength to prove that he was right where he belonged, surrounded by people who loved him. This was my first Harloe Rae book and I don't think it will be my last.
macole22's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
booksiflove's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastic story by Harloe Rae!
Awesome brother’s-best-friend story! I really liked the characters, and especially the Happy little somethings! Great idea!!
This story gripped me, and when you think okay that’s it, the story takes a turn you didn’t expect!
Totally recommend this book to you!!!
Awesome brother’s-best-friend story! I really liked the characters, and especially the Happy little somethings! Great idea!!
This story gripped me, and when you think okay that’s it, the story takes a turn you didn’t expect!
Totally recommend this book to you!!!
bookaddictreviews's review against another edition
5.0
Breaker had all the feels, seriously. This book. I have no words. This was full of so many Happy Somethings.
Sutton has had a crush on her older brother’s best friend for forever. Grady is a broken man, he is guarded. Sutton is the girl who he thinks he too good for him, he doesn’t want to ruin her. Sutton doesn’t believe this. She sees Grady for who he really his and she wants him more than anything.
Sutton and Grady’s journey was not an easy one. They both had struggles and walls they needed to overcome but when they finally give in. It is so hard not to fall in love with them. It is heartbreaking, it is emotional and it is absolutely beautiful. Their journey is completely worth the wait.
Breaker is one book that has left me in a major book hangover. I know it is one that I will continue to think about in the future.
Breaker is worth a million Happy Somethings.
Sutton has had a crush on her older brother’s best friend for forever. Grady is a broken man, he is guarded. Sutton is the girl who he thinks he too good for him, he doesn’t want to ruin her. Sutton doesn’t believe this. She sees Grady for who he really his and she wants him more than anything.
Sutton and Grady’s journey was not an easy one. They both had struggles and walls they needed to overcome but when they finally give in. It is so hard not to fall in love with them. It is heartbreaking, it is emotional and it is absolutely beautiful. Their journey is completely worth the wait.
Breaker is one book that has left me in a major book hangover. I know it is one that I will continue to think about in the future.
Breaker is worth a million Happy Somethings.
thebookishren's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my gosh.
If this wasn't the sweetest, steamiest, swooniest romance I've ever read. EVER.
I freaking LOVED Grady and and Sutton. LOVED.
I can't even form the words. You just need to read this one. Right. Now.
If this wasn't the sweetest, steamiest, swooniest romance I've ever read. EVER.
I freaking LOVED Grady and and Sutton. LOVED.
I can't even form the words. You just need to read this one. Right. Now.