Review: Breaking Away (Breaking #2) by Juliana Haygert

Breaking Away (Breaking #2) by Juliana Haygert

Publication Date: June 10th, 2014

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Gifted

Read: March 28th to April 9th, 2015

Goodreads

 

 

 

~Summary~

 

All Beatriz "Bia" Fernandes wants is to prove herself--to her family and friends--though it's hard to prove anything with an overbearing father and three famous polo-playing older brothers. After her acceptance into college results in a heated family argument, the Brazilian girl leaves everything behind to find her own American dream.

College life away from home is perfect until the people she believes to be her friends turn on her. With lies and rumors threatening to suffocate her, Bia turns to her only freedom. Riding.

But one thing gets in the way of her escape. Garrett Blackwell and his bad cowboy attitude. Working at the ranch is his obligation, bugging Bia is his newfound hobby. His thick skin and easy grin don't hide what Bia already knows--this misunderstood and lonely cowboy fights his own demons. Brushing horses' coats and mucking out stalls shouldn't be this sexy, and it isn't long before he becomes a part of her distraction.

However, escaping won't solve her problems, and it's up to Bia to break down the fences around her and prove her strength--not to her family and friends, but to herself ... and for Garrett. Because standing on her own doesn't have to mean standing alone.

Companion novel of Breaking Free. Can be read as a standalone. Genre: NA contemporary romance. Warning: strong language, bullying, sex scenes.

 

 

~My Thoughts~

 

Breaking Away, formally known as Breaking Fences, had me turning page after page! Though I don't feel it was as strong as the first one, Breaking Free, but it was still endearing. Mrs. Haygert has created yet another wonderful tale!

 

Bia feels it's time to finally go her own way and continue her dream of becoming a veterinarian. Choosing to go to a school in Colorado, all alone Bia soon finds out it isn't how she dreamt it would be. The students become taken by this Brazilian woman. Being hated by the women and loved on by the men, Bia is used to this kind of reaction so as time goes on she hopes for things to die down. Sadly, she ended up with the wrong roommate. Her roommate is part of a sorority and the moment I read it was rush week, I knew all hell was going to break loose.Thankfully Bia is a smart woman and turns them down but that doesn't mean they don't try to change her mind, including other sororities trying to swoop in too. Her roommate gets jealous fast at how much attention Bia is getting but she isn't the one truly out for Bia.

 

Enter Audrey, the head of the sorority Bia's roommate is in, notices her ex is a little too entranced by Bia so she uses the Brazilian stereotype to her advantage. However, it backfires and Bia stands up for herself like the strong headed woman she is. But sadly this leads Audrey to spread some rumors. I really love how this series has dealt with two types of bullying so far. It makes them even more appealing I think as it shows you that what you say can really hurt someone and can change the way they live but this also shows you that you can fight back and break away (no pun intended) from the bullying.

 

My god, there's so many aspects to this story and I wish I could talk about it all but I feel like you'd get bored of this review haha. Audrey's ex is a creep and those two really deserve each other. Even though Bia is being portrayed as being a slut thanks to the rumors and stereotypes, she doesn't let the rumors break her down so much that she actually starts to believe she is, I'm really glad she kept standing up for herself when it came to Jonah, Audrey's ex. Every time she did I was really proud of her and going, "You go girl!". It's amazing how absorbed I was in these characters lives, how it felt as if I was right there beside Bia, how truly real this all felt. I felt the pain Bia felt, I felt her heartache, her happiness, her everything. These are the types of books that stay with you long after you read them and which is why the Breaking series is one of my favorites! I'm dying for the third one! In the later chapters you can already see what next couple Mrs. Haygert is going to write about and I'm so excited! I can't wait to be back into this world!

 

Overall Breaking Away was an emotional roller coaster and one I didn't want to end! Though I enjoyed it, I'm sad to say that Garrett the love interest just didn't sweep me off my feet completely. There were moments I got swept up but by him as a whole, I felt like he was holding back. I didn't feel like he was really in the picture enough to fall head over heels for him. Yes, you learn quite a lot about him but him as a person, I felt he was holding back. I think what's between the two of them is more of a blooming romance (even with the sex scenes, they were still holding back) and once they finally find out the truth of what Garrett is hiding and months have gone by, do we really start to see the beginning of a serious relationship. Other than that, I truly loved Bia's story and it was so good to be back in this world!   

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Readings Everybody!