Saturday, February 8, 2014

[Kame's Review]: "Breakaway Hearts"


Breakaway Hearts by Crista McHugh
Publisher: Crista McHugh (February 3, 2014)
Series: The Kelly Brothers, 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance


Hockey star Ben Kelly has retreated to his mountain cabin in the ski town of Cascade, BC, to recuperate from a season-ending knee injury and contemplate his future in the NHL. He never expects to run into the one woman who got away. Nine years may have passed, but nothing has dulled the explosive chemistry between them. Now he wants more than just one night.

Hailey Eriksson had Olympic-sized dreams until an accidental pregnancy from a one-night stand halted her ambitions. Her life was shattered when her son died. Nothing will keep her from fulfilling her promise to him to make the Olympic team, especially not the charming Ben Kelly. Unfortunately, he’s out of sweep her off her feet this time, and she finds him harder and harder to resist with each passionate kiss. But when he learns about the child he never knew, will their rekindled romance be on thin ice?





Where to Buy*:
Amazon | BN  
More Info:

Series Reviews:
The Sweetest Seduction (#1) -- Kame


Kame's Review:


Sometimes a chance meeting leads to the person you are meant to be with for the rest of your life. What is the thing any hockey player’s dreams of, meeting a girl who loves hockey as much as he does. Ben goes against his normal tendency to take things slow and spends and incredible night with Hailey. He knows he wants to see her again and he makes up his mind he will get her contact information in the morning; except the only thing he saw when woke was a note from Hailey.




[…] he crossed the room and picked up one of the skates. The last time he’d worn them was the night he’d been injured. And now he was willing to risk getting hurt again just ti impress a girl.

Well, not just any girl. Hailey.




Ben is not your typical jock character. He is rather quiet and a little reserved for a hockey player (at least considering the ones I have read about in contemporary romance). His fear about his ability to return to hockey after an injury was very well written. I enjoyed how he wasn’t instantly “cured”. I think it was brilliant to have Hailey be more than just a hockey fan; her love of the game was evident. The hockey theme and mentions were not too much for someone like me who doesn’t really watch the game; a true hockey fan might find it too light. The real focus of this story was the relationship Ben and Hailey had and where Book 1 had the couple fall for each other quickly and their relationship progressed fast; this one took its time. Intimate scenes were varied but not overly graphic, I would say more of a simmer than steamy.


I have mixed feelings on the plot of this book. I enjoyed the setting, the small Canadian town was quaint; enough detail was given to envision the town, but not too much to overtake the story between Ben and Hailey. The secondary characters were well thought out and placed well in the story. Any character we got to know well had a direct purpose, no real fluff characters in this book. We also got to see a glimpse at Ben’s family with a few phone calls to his Mom and Adam from Book 1. Where I have problems in the plot is the story line that threatens to rip Ben and Hailey apart (I am trying to avoid a huge spoiler) it is one that is common in today’s contemporary romance, and one as a woman I have a hard time accepting and wrapping my head around. Yes the threat to their HEA is real and often happens in real life; but I am challenged that it would really happen to these two characters who seem so true to their feelings. The way they behaved seemed so out of character. The solution of this conflict was quick and again unrealistic to me. After a unique setting and way the couple met I had hoped for an equally unique plot twist to cause conflict with the couple.


In the end I did enjoy the book. The characters are warm, and are people I would love to spend more time with. The few mentions of the other Kelly brothers have me still intrigued to read more. The only disappointing part is I now have to wait some time before I can read Book 3 and it is not available for more than a month.




    
   4 STARS!





 ~*~*~*~
Kame received an e-copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for her honest opinion.

*Note: The quote used belongs to Crista; Kame and TBQ's Book Palace do not claim it.
~*~*~*~



Meet Kame:

Kame is part of a family of readers; one day she picked up the Nook she purchased for her husband and discovered her love of e-books. A few months later he purchased one for her so he could have his back! Kame’s Nook is never far, and she is hard pressed to pick a favorite book, genre or author. As long as there are characters that make her want to sit down and have a chat and a plot keeps the pages turning, she’ll read it.

Kame's GoodReads 




~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Thanks for the review, Kame! :) A lovely cover, and a solid review -- I'm putting this series on my list! 


Have you read Crista McHugh before? 







Enjoy!


Until Next Time,

Photobucket

  *TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

1 comment :

kimbacaffeinate said...

Despite the forced conflict before the HEA, this sounds lovely. I love the cabin setting and second chance romance..wonderful review