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"He had already lost his sister and mother; he couldn't lose Claire, too."-Toni Aleo, Breaking Away
WARNING: This book contains sexual content and is not meant for younger audiences.
Phillip Anderson, an Assassin's Hockey Player, is having a difficult time. After his sister's death he takes on his niece, Claire. But Claire is not happy with the arrangement and shows it quite obviously. Reese ran away from New York and heart break to open her own, now successful studio. Viewed as a cold bitch by almost everyone, Reese only has one night stands, preferring that over heartbreak. But when Phillip and Reese run into each other again, sparks fly. But can Phillip convince Reese that the risk to her heart is worth it? And will Claire be able to forgive him and move on to a better life? Find the official description on Goodreads.
In the rest of the series, we see Phillip act in a completely different manner than the one he does in this book. Although we do see his humor in this book and it is similar to the other books, he was also kind of an idiot who doesn't know how to shut up or when. But I found it amazing to see a caring, unsure, and serious Phillip. It was a complete 360 from the previous book and I have to say I feel sort of bad for hating Phillip in previous books. We also find more about Phillips past and his sisters death. Toni Aleo certainly portrayed the emotional mindset of Phillip in Breaking Away. Not to mention adds more depth to a previously shallow character.
Then there's Reese. Again, in the other Assassin books, we've seen her portrayed in one way and in this book, we see a different Reese. The reader gets to go in more depth into her character and learn more about her. We never really knew the reason that she left New York but in Breaking Away, we see that it was because of a certain situation that took place in New York. It also explains her unwillingness to commit to a relationship. Reese goes from the witch we've thought of her to a woman burned and scared of love. It certainly made me feel bad for making snap judgments and agreeing with other characters on their assessment of her.
Many of the other characters that were more on the periphery are familiar to us although we do get to see a few new faces. It was great to get to catch up with the characters we've met previously and see how their lives are going. We also got to see how Karson is coping with having to give up Lacey even years later. I didn't expect that but it was great and yet at the same time made me want to cry.
We can't forget to mention the hockey! I loved reading the parts about the games. Toni really made you feel like you were watching the game live and I enjoyed it so much! Unfortunately the hockey season is almost done so I think I'll be reading these books again and again during the summer to make it through the off season.
Throughout the book, I laughed, almost cried, wanted to smack some sense into Reese, Claire and Phillip and I have to say that Toni Aleo has created another marvelous addition to her series! It's well worth the money to buy this book!
