Breakable

Confused who is hotter - Lucas or the narrator!!

STORY (new adult romance) - I really loved this story. Book 1, "Easy," is Jacqueline's story. This second book is from Lucas' POV. They both cover pretty much the same territory but, since this is told from Lucas' male perspective, it didn't seem repetitive. Lucas has the sexual preoccupation you might expect of a college student, but he's also very sensitive and romantic. First he's obsessed with meeting Jacqueline and then he just wants to love, protect and cherish her. And did I mention he's HOT? (swoon!)

For those who have not heard "Easy," Landon Lucas Maxfield (main character) is emotionally complicated. His happy childhood was interrupted by a horrific event when he was 13, after which time he began going by his middle name and became a partying "bad boy." This book alternates between two timelines - one about Landon, beginning immediately after that event and continuing till high school graduation. The other timeline is told by Lucas, beginning sometime during his senior year in college when he meets Jacqueline. And, yes, by the end of this book you will have answers to all the questions about Lucas that were left unanswered in "Easy."

PERFORMANCE - One of my new favorite narrators. His voice is sexy, sensitive and emotional. He does a great job with the voice of younger Landon, an old man and Landon's country-boy best friend. And when he does the emotional flashback Lucas has of the horrible event, wow! Just wow.

OVERALL - This book contains quite a bit of cursing, especially F-bombs. There's several kissy-feely scenes and some fairly explicit sex scenes as well. There's some fighting between students and also rape. It's Book 2 in the series and can stand alone, but I'd highly recommend you start with Book 1 and hear Jacqueline's story first. Recommended for females of any age who are old enough to deal with the subject matter and have an affinity for bad boys.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Unbreak my heart, Lucas!

Easy fans rejoice: Breakable is finally out! Easy is Jacqueline’s story, about a college girl with a broken heart who is reeling after an attack. She falls for her savior, Lucas, who has his own battle scars. In the second book in the Contours of the Heart series we get Lucas’ backstory. Plus, we get to see the events from Easy from Lucas’ perspective. This book answers all your burning questions about Lucas, and if you are a Lucas fan (*raises hand*) this book is for you!

Breakable is two stories in one, and Landon/Lucas are two halves of the same coin. Landon’s chapters deal with the past, up until he leaves for college. Lucas’s chapters cover the present day, including the college years and his relationship with Jacqueline. If you’ve read Easy you know that there is some terrible tragedy in Landon’s past, and hearing about it from Landon’s perspective is about as heart-wrenching as you might expect. Landon’s life unraveled in a heartbeat and that’s spelled out in all its glory. The stories hinted at from Easy are fleshed out and we see the journey that led him to be the man he is with Jacqueline.

It is so cool to get Lucas’ perspective of the events in Easy and to fill in some of the blanks about this mysterious tattooed and pierced “bad boy.” I have to say all my questions about Lucas were answered in Breakable. Some of the things I wondered about from Easy: Does Lucas have any friends (besides Francis the cat?) How did he end up at the nightclub dancing with Jacqueline? Why did he keep up the Lucas/Landon deception for so long? Why was Lucas so distant before winter break? And did Lucas know about “Operation Bad Boy Phase?” All of these questions and more are answered in Breakable.

Every Lucas/Jacqueline scene is included in Breakable, plus bonus scenes. You don’t have to read (or re-read) to Easy first because a lot of the story is covered, though it is through different eyes. I did re-listen to Easy recently though and didn’t feel like Breakable was repetitive. It was so interesting to me to see the story through Lucas’ pov, and Lucas’ voice is very distinct from Easy’s Jacqueline.

Zachary Webber performs this audiobook, and I’m familiar with his narration from Red Hill, A Beautiful Wedding, and Maybe Someday. Fun fact: Zachary is Tammara Webber’s son! So, that must have been a benefit to be able to ask mom about a characters’ accent, or pronunciation or what have you. Webber has a throaty voice that’s a good fit for Lucas. He has to go through a full range of emotions to perform Lucas/Landon’s parts. Webber does a great job of conveying Mr. Maxfield’s emotional landscape in Breakable, from his childhood years to the present day. He has a wide range of voices in his repertoire, from Lucas’ calm and cool voice, to the various girls/women in his life, and he does a mean “old man” voice. I sped up the audiobook a little because I was impatient to get through the book, though Webber’s pacing was steady and consistent throughout. I’d listen to this audiobook again.

This series is essential New Adult reading and I'm eager to see what Tammara Webber has cooked for us next.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Mr. Webber is my new favourite narrator, so sexy!!

What did you love best about Breakable?

The narrator was heaven. Lord, he could make anything sound sexy, he was that good.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Breakable?

Half way through the book, when the perspective became that of a teenage Landon. LOL

What does Zachary Webber bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

OMG……he makes the book. Is there such thing as a book boyfriend voice?

Any additional comments?

Mr. Webber, please hurry and do more books.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Sweet romance 😘

This book goes over everything we heard in book 1 (easy: contours of the heart) that happened between Lucas and Jackie all told from Jackie's POV.
Unlike easy this book is told from Lucas's POV....

This book takes us through a similar journey but this time all the secrets from Lucas's past are finally revealed.
You could probably listen to either book alone and get the basics of what happened to these two.
But I suggest listening to both so you won't miss new information.

I did enjoy this book more than the first one for two reasons...
The narrator Zackery Webber has a very sexy relaxing voice and the intimacy between the characters as told from the male POV was more detailed.

I still stand by my original review from the first book when I say, I wouldn't spend a credit but it's definitely worth listening to if it's on sale!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A little slow...

I love Tammara and her writing is very good, but this book was just kinda slow. Nothing wrong with that but by the end I was more than ready for it to be over. This is not how I usually feel when finishing one of her books.

That is all.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

What a terrific Listen.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! It's the first Tammara Webber I've ever read (and I didn't read this, I listened to it). There are some issues with the book that other more expert bloggers have mentioned but as y'all all know, I am a visceral reviewer and I go with my heart/gut. And, I could NOT stop listening to it and riding Lucas Maxfield's emotional roller coaster. As for the issues stated by some bloggers about decisions made by the main characters, I don't think that's so much a writing issue as it is trying to get inside the mind of a college aged kid. And college seniors are still kids; still not totally relationship savvy, mature or able to see life through years of experience that most of us have. I can remember making some of the stupidest decisions of my life when I was in college (and beyond, actually) so I don't fault the book for being realistic in that sense.

This book is a parallel book to Easy, the story of Jaquelyn and Lucas...how they met, how they became who they were at the end of Easy. Easy is Jacquelyn's book...Breakable is Lucas' emotionally wrenching story. And a turbulent, sad, beautiful story it is. An aside focus is awareness of assaults on women on campuses, the shame and guilt that is a aprt of that and the need to be trained in how to deal with an attacker.

To top it all off, it's read by one of my favorite narrators (who just happens to be Tammara Webber's son) Zachary Webber. He did such an amazing job as Lucas in this book...bringing to life all sides of Lucas..his pain, his rage, his guilt, his heart, his love, his struggles and his redemption.

If you want to be entertained by a really good writer, really good narrator and a very strong story, this should be on your list, for sure.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Addicted

Zachary is THE highlight of hearing this book and falling in love with Tammara's story through Landon Lucas Maxfield's eyes. When I realized that "Easy" was told through Landon's eyes, I couldn't resist. I have listened to this book a few times now and I am in love with the way it fills all of my emotions, especially the way it was told. Thank You!

Favorite POV of this story!

I have read the first book in this series which is from Jacqueline's POV but this is amazing!!!!! I love Landon Lucas Maxfield's story, It will bring you to tears and make your heart hurt but yet to watch his transformation from his troubled youth to a young man successful and making something of himself in spite of everything he had been through. I would never have guessed his past was so devastating and yet the writer did the most amazing job of telling us about Lucas. He is one of the best male characters I've ever read if not my favorite. His story is real, it can happen and is one you can relate to. I feel like I know him as if he is a real person after listening to this story and how he is with her makes so much sense and the reason he has so many jobs makes complete sense to me after this. Lucas is a great young man with a good head on his shoulders and thanks to his guardian angel, Dr. Heller, he is looking at a bright future. I can not express how much I love this side of the story. The ones I love the most are the ones where the male and female character go back and forth in the same book or like this female in one and male in another. Tammara did amazing writing.

Breakable

Amazing story. Amazing narration. Would love to see where these two end up in the future.

Loved it

The story was amazing and the narrator had a very soothing yet expressive voice. I read Easy by the same author and liked it so when I had a free credit I got this book and I'm really glad I did.