Breaking
Series: Fall or Break #2
Genre: Contemporary Erotic, MM Romance
Author: Barbara Elsborg
Release Date: July 28, 2015

Archer Hart is on the move before the man he’s just killed is found. When a bullet whizzes past his ear, he realizes hunter is now hunted. So much for his retirement plans. Someone wants him dead and all he can do is keep running.

Downed by a hit and run driver, barrister Conrad Black is certain the ‘accident’ was deliberate but he has no proof or support. In recovery, struggling to work out of partial paralysis, he has plenty of time to wonder who regrets not striking him harder. At this point, running anywhere is a distant dream.

The confidence, determination and stamina of two alphas males will mean little if neither is willing to bend—seize the love offered—and work together to understand why they’re suddenly both marked men. Not easy for either when Archer has broken the law in the worst possible way and Conrad is the law.

 

Amazon / iBooks

His present was a lie and he didn’t know what his future held. One moment it seemed possible and the next a distant dream. His biggest worry was that if he stopped running, he’d die.

What is it about an MM romance by Barbara Elsborg that just does it for me? Every. Single. Time. I’m pretty sure it’s the perfect combination of incredibly erotic sex scenes with a dry wit, snark, and humor along with some suspense that all adds up to be exactly what I need it to be. If you’ve read Falling, then you’ll definitely remember Conrad as the intense, assholish but not without feeling and atonement ex of Malichai. And if you haven’t read that yet, no worries, because you can easily read this one as a standalone. Though I’d still recommend you read Falling first, not only because it’s a great book, but it’ll give you a background (albeit a small one) to Conrad that you’ll appreciate here.

Everything was warm except his heart. He didn’t deserve it to be otherwise. Was he even incapable of accepting kindness? I’m too broken to mend.

If you enjoy your MM with two very distinctly ALPHA males, this is not a book that you’ll want to miss. That was quite possibly one of my favorite parts about this. The fact that both the MCs are very much alpha and have a power struggle on who will bottom. Damn but it was delicious. But beyond that, Barbara Elsborg has once again managed to deliver and emotional and erotic story about two very broken people that find strength in each other and heal.
While recovering from an injury that almost paralyzed him and may not have been quite the accident that everyone else believed it to be. he’s sequesters himself to a house on the lake to go through the physical therapy he needs to finally gain his strength back. The last thing he expects to do is save a random drowning surfer.

But Archer Hart is the furthest things from a surfer you can get. Lethal and running from a threat from his life while trying to figure out who targeted him, the last thing he expects is for a man that can barely walk to rescue him from the water. He also never expected to feel the intense connection to Conrad considering they couldn’t be more wrong for each other.

You know we’re doomed, right? There’s no way this can work. I’ve broken the law in the worst possible way. You ARE the law. I’m not some young kid to be manipulated into being what you think you want. I don’t play games. What I do is real. I’m dangerous. I’m your worst fucking nightmare.

This was so much more than just a romance. The suspense element was just as entertaining to read. If I had any doubt about Conrad in the first book, this one manage to truly humanize him. While you get a few hints as to what truly runs beneath his cool exterior, you truly get to the bottom of it here.

I absolutely loved Conrad and Archer together. The chemistry between them was sizzling, and that delicious power struggle about who gets to top? Ugh. I couldn’t get enough of it.

This mouth-bruising, air-stealing, mind-fucking kiss was like no kiss he’d ever had or ever given. It deprived every cell in his body of oxygen, and flooded him with lust.

Barbara Elsborg has become an auto-buy author for me and this book is a perfect example of why. I only hope that there may be more books in this series, but if I’m being honest, it doesn’t even matter because whatever this woman writes, I’ll read. Without a doubt.

DON’T MISS BOOK 1 IN THE FALL OR BREAK SERIES!

My Review / Amazon / Goodreads

Falling is easy. Landing without breaking your heart? Impossible.
Harper is no longer behind bars, but it doesn’t feel like it. Ten years serving time for a crime he didn’t commit have left him shut down, numb, and a frozen wreck over the simplest of choices.

He’s acutely aware of the dark-haired young man checking him out in the supermarket, but he’s too deep in panic mode to even meet the guy’s gaze. Afraid the slightest move will trigger a fall that will never stop.

Fresh off a long-term relationship with a controlling man, Malachi is stuck living with relatives who think he’s a waste of oxygen. The tall guy in the long, gray coat is the first bright spot he’s glimpsed in a long time…though the man’s unblinking stare at a bottle of shower gel is a touch alarming.

Hard experience tells both of them to turn away before lust turns to hopeless attraction, and inevitably to disaster. But once their sparks connect, the arc of electricity is too strong to deny. Even if the cost is too much to bear.

Warning: Contains an ex-con with disaster written all over him, a boy toy who’s trouble with a capital T, a damp old British house, compulsive meddling, and enough hot sex to cure the severe case of nervous babbling.

Amazon / B&N / iBooks

How many times can a heart break before there’s nothing left to mend.

Barbara Elsborg has this incredible ability to make me fall head over heels for absolutely every single character she writes. Whether they’re alphas, broody, broken, sweet, sheltered, jaded…it doesn’t matter. Her signature writing style of dry wit mixed in with heart breaking angst, panty melting eroticism, and an added element of suspense never disappoints me. If you’ve read any of her other books, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you haven’t and that sounds like something you may enjoy, I cannot recommend a better author for you.

Twenty four year old Malachi is struggling to get by. After leaving a relationship with a man that controlled every aspect of his life, he longs to make it on his own. But life has different plans for him. Unable to get a job, unable to afford a place of his own, he’s barely making ends meet living with his sister and her homophobe asshole of a husband. When Malachai notices a beautiful man standing at a supermarket and looking as lost as he feels, he feels an instant connection…and a strong surge of lust. When his brother-in-law actually does him one act of kindness and helps him get a job with a contraction company, Malachi’s first day of work brings him face to face with the man who’s been a constant presence in his nightly fantasies.

Thirty four year old Harper has spent the last ten years of his life behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. Shunned by everyone he once knew, they all turned away from him when he was sentenced, including his father. Harper felt the stare of the beautiful young man with the face of a fallen angel that day at the store, but he’s terrified that his past will continue to taint his future.

He closed his eyes. Please let me sleep. Please don’t let me dream. Please give me my life back.
No one was listening. No one ever had.
He was still falling.

Malachi was a character that you fall for right away. He has such a caring heart even after everything he’s been through. But he also has a dry wit and a sharp mind that makes him endearing even though he may not be the alpha male I’m used to reading about. The way that he soothes Harper and breaks down his walls bit by bit was equal parts emotional and beautiful to read.

I’m…”
“What?”
“Afraid of wanting this too much. Afraid of hurting you. Afraid of falling. Afraid of landing.

My heart absolutely broke for Harper and everything that he’s been through, especially when the details behind his arrest and sentencing begin to come to light. You’d have to be cold and dead not to feel for him.

The attraction between them is instant and solid. The chemistry is absolutely sizzling. I absolutely loved these two together.

Harper’s hips shifted faster as he plunged in and out, driving Malachi against the wall, fucking him at a crazy speed, thrusting into tight slick heat, compelled to fuck him until he fell, and the world ended.

Amidst the romance there’s also the suspense of the mystery behind exactly what happened with Harper and who may be responsible. Add it all together and this was an absolute page turner. Harper and Malachi together were absolute perfection. They healed each other’s broken pieces. It’s like they were two halves of a whole; they fit. It was sexy, sweet, emotional. I couldn’t get enough of them.

Of course it just wouldn’t be a Barbara Elfsborg book without all shit hitting the fan in the last 15%. I love that added bit of angst and suspense. Knowing that Malachi ex, Conrad’s, book is next, I also really liked getting that little peak inside his head. For a character that I wanted to hate for most of the book, I have to say he really made me question everything I thought about him at the end. I can’t wait to read his story.

If you’re looking for a sizzling hot and emotional MM romance, then this book is a no brainer pick. I loved it!

You are what’s important in my life. Freedom tastes like you. Without you, I’m nothing.