Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Kendall Ryan's When I Break. My stop includes all the details for the book, a teaser, my review, and a giveaway.
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messed up he really is. Needing a change, he attends a local Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting, where he finds himself tempted by the alluring instructor, McKenna.
Twenty-one year old McKenna is trying to make amends. After losing her parents in a horrific accident, she knows if she can just be good enough, maybe she can forgive herself for what happened. With her newly acquired degree in counseling, she begins leading a sex addicts group where she meets the troubled Knox and her life takes on complications she never bargained for. She doesn't have time for a bad boy who only wants to take her to bed, even if her body disagrees. The fixer in her wants to help, but trusting Knox's true motivations might take more courage than she has.
When I Break is book 1 in a new series by bestselling author Kendall Ryan. When I Surrender, book 2, will be available May 2014.
Warning: Contains a stubborn alpha male with addiction issues and loads of sexual tension between two damaged characters. Read at your own risk.
Due to mature content, it is recommended for 17+.
When I Break is a great start to a new series. The characters are likable and I enjoyed the story, for the most part. It is well-written but the pacing seemed rushed - especially in the beginning.
McKenna is a young woman still dealing with the tragic loss of her parents. She's completed her degree in counseling and moved to Chicago, hoping the make a fresh start. McKenna is a 'fixer'...the type person who needs a project. She uses work and volunteering as a means to 'fix' other people and thereby ignore having to deal with her own issues. Meeting Knox, a hunky patient in her recovery support group, provides her with the perfect distracting new project.
Knox is a young man who's had to grow up far too quickly. But he's done it willingly and nobly. He takes care of his three younger brothers, works - he's very responsible. To release the pressure of all that responsibility, he loses himself in women. He knows he needs to clean up his act in order to be a better role model for his brothers, but joining a support group and meeting McKenna has him off-kilter.
Both McKenna and Knox are dealing with guilt over their pasts. They each cope in very different ways. McKenna hopes that by fixing others, she'll one day make amends for her perceived part in her parents' deaths. Knox believes he ruins everything he touches, aside from his brothers where he struggles to be what they need. He, therefore, steers clear of any woman wanting more than one night.
When I Break is an engaging read. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the interactions between McKenna and Knox, especially when Knox's brothers were involved, were entertaining. However, there were a few things that seemed a little too fantastical for realistic fiction. The main thing was that I found it hard to buy the unprofessionalism of McKenna, as a counselor, becoming involved with a patient. It may be Ms. Ryan's purpose to show McKenna's weakness where Knox is concerned to further the plot in the future installments of the series, but was hard for me to swallow. I am invested in these characters though and I look forward to seeing both McKenna and Knox grow, individually and possibly as a couple.
**3.5 Bookworms**
She's a sassy, yet polite Midwestern girl with a deep love of books, and a slight addiction to lipgloss! She lives in Minneapolis with an adorable husband, two naughty puppies, and a brand new son.
She enjoys being naughty, reading, and anything girly.
