Break Me

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Title: Break Me
Author: Julie Kriss  
Publication date: 11/19/2015
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

I’m super picky about my step-brother romances. I just feel like the whole thing’s been done to death, you know? (I mean, the whole trope is just setting up unrealistic expectations for young girls everywhere. Girls, if one of your parents remarries, chances are your new step-sibling will NOT be super hot. He’s most likely NOT your soul mate. Sorry to break that to you, kids. That’s why they call me The Crusher of Hopes and Dreams, though. I digress…) 

But the blurb on this one caught my attention, as did the very, um, vascular cover model, and I thought I might as well give it a shot. Overall, I’m really glad I did.

​If you like your heroes alpha, tough, tattooed, dirty-talking and fresh from prison (and let’s face it, who doesn’t??), let me introduce you to Bram, your new book boyfriend. Was he a bit of a dick when he was younger? Absolutely. Was he a v-card stealing asshat who ran away from the heroine far and fast right after he dipped his wick? Sure. But I (much like the heroine, Summer) can forgive him for all that. It’s kinda hard to fault an 18-year-old boy too much for his choices. Exactly how much emotional maturity can you expect from the testosterone-stunted little turds, you know? (Let me answer that for you: none. None. At. All.)

But after his stint in prison, Bram’s not a stupid kid anymore. He’s a mature adult who is open and honest about his feelings for the heroine, and who is doing his best to make a life for himself. I admired that about him.

Summer was a great heroine, too. She knew what she wanted and she wasn’t afraid (too afraid, anyway) to go for it.

The sexy times in this one were of the holy-crap-lemme-fan-myself variety. Lovers of romantic erotica and regular contemporary romance alike would most likely be, um, satisfied with the level of smexy between Bram and Summer.

The only irksome point I could find (and y’all know I go digging for irksome points in anything I read), was Summer’s judgy, pushy friend who kept trying to matchmake Summer with a twatwaffle of an ex. Why? What was the point of this? I would’ve been fine with that “friend” getting hit by a bus at some point in the story.   

But long-story-short: this is a great short, sexy, second-chance romance with just a hint of taboo to keep things spicy. It’s definitely worth a look!
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Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
Crushes it! This one is clean and sober. No rehab needed.  

Other reading suggestions
For other sexy, hero-just-got-out-of-prison stories, try Kristen Ashley’s Lady Luck and BN Toler’s Taking Connor. For the best step-brother romance of all time, check out Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward. And for all you lovers of taboo romance (and you know who you are, you little naughties), check out our picks for the top 11 taboo romance reads.

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