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. (Which then led to me trying to figure out how to set up the kindle app on my phone, and use Amazon Prime Reading.) Most of the titles in my list of books to read were included with Kindle Unlimited, not Prime Reading. Eventually, I found Breaker, by Harloe Rae, on the service 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.
My Initial Expectations
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.
Reactions
There will be some mild spoilers in this section. If you’d like to avoid them, you can skip ahead to ‘Final Thoughts.’
I did read a few reviews prior to starting mine, and there were some critiques that I wanted to respond to. I see a lot of reviews claiming the book is ‘boring,’ or ‘flat.’ However, I would call it simple. It’s a simple love story. There’s no crazy crime ring, dark secret, or anything else. Despite that, you do see the characters both evolve over the 300 pages. Grady, closed off as he is, brings Sutton to meet his drug-addicted mother, and she is there when he takes his mother off of life support. To me, just because a book is simple, it does not mean that it has no real plot. And sometimes, we just need something simple so that we can escape from the reality of the world we live in.
However, I do have one ‘critique.’ Grady has his accident on page 76, and around page 90 he and Sutton lay their feelings out on the table. It just seemed a bit fast. Not counting the epilogue, the book is 302 pages long. The rest of the pacing was good, but I would have liked so see more memories of their childhood in the first half of the book.
They have a long history, but we don’t know much of it. What led Sutton to describe the details of their future home as some of her happy somethings? Sutton’s parents and brother know about her feelings, and know how Grady feels. But how did they learn this? And, what happened during the four years they spent apart while Sutton was at college? Or, what about Grady’s father? What happened there?
Final Thoughts on Breaker
Overall, I liked the book. Was it my all-time-favorite book ever? No. But, clearly I liked it considering I chose reading 300 pages of a book instead of going to sleep.
If you’re looking for a story with a happy ending but aren’t in the mood for a Disney film, Breaker is a great option. This is my first book I’ve read from Harloe Rae, and I will definitely be checking out more of her books soon. What do you recommend?
Have you read Breaker? What did you think of it? Let me know your thoughts and book recommendations in the comments below!
You can borrow, purchase, and learn more about Breaker at this link Or, find other books written by Harloe Rae below.
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I’ve not heard of this before, but it sounds like a lovely read. I find reading at night so dangerous as it always makes me fall asleep later because I can’t put the book down haha!xx
Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/
I agree- reading at night is a risk! It either helps me fall asleep or I end up staying awake reading for hours instead of sleeping. Thanks for reading!