Break Me Tour Stop!

Gemma Andrews doesn’t trust men. 
She’s been left with a bitter taste in her mouth after her father left her mother while she was still pregnant, for another woman, and started a whole new perfect family. Gemma doesn’t feel like she belongs with her father’s family—with her family—and has done everything she can to push them all away. 

One summer, her last summer stuck with these people, is about to change all of that. 
Abe North, the hunky night guard she meets by chance, breaks down Gemma’s carefully built cinderblock walls, and shows her what she’s been missing out on. He helps her to reconnect with the brother and sister she has kept at a safe distance all these years. In the end, maybe, just maybe, Abe can show Gemma that all men aren’t bad and that he’ll be the one who’ll be there for her. 
But is Gemma ready to accept love? 
Or is she too broken?

I really didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this, and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the characters in this story

Gemma doesn’t trust men.  Her father left her mother for another woman while she was pregnant, only to start a new family with her.  So, not only is she distrustful, but she’s angry.  She’s angry at her dad for leaving her, angry that she’s not 18 yet and has to spend summers with her dad and his family. But this final summer before she leaves for college has a lot of lessons in store for her. She finally begins to open up not only to her family, but to the sexy Abe as well.  She has a carefree summer where she begins to shed the layers of anger and hurt, only to be thrust right back under when something horrible happens. 

First of all, Gemma is a completely relatable character.  She was written so well that I really understood why she was the way she was with people, and I honestly couldn’t blame her.  And Abe…oh em gee, ABE!  Totally awesome boy to help lure you out of your protective shell.  Patient, kind, funny…makes me want to go back to 17 just in the hopes of meeting a boy like this.  Major swoon factor here. Though I’ll warn you now, he is only human.

The plot of this book is familiar, but is written so well that I didn’t feel it was exhausted or boring.  I really felt like the second part of the book after the “incident” was poignant and touching.  To me, this wasn’t only a book about romantic love, but love in general.  How you can feel like you may not be important in someone’s life only to realize that you’ve been in their heart every step of the way.  I cried.  It was really good.

Overall, I can’t wait to read more books in this series.  I was very impressed by the book as a whole and would definitely recommend it.  4 stars.

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Hours later Gemma made her way down the beach and kept her eyes peeled for Abe. He was supposed to be waiting for her just down the road from her house but he hadn’t been there. They had been apart for two hours and she already ached for him. She knew it was only going to get worse as they took things to the next level and she couldn’t make herself care. Slightly annoyed that he still wasn’t in sight she kicked a rock as she rounded the corner that brought her to the first entrance to the public beach. As she closed the gate behind herself she turned and her eyes rounded in surprise. “Abe,” she took a few steps closer so they could hear each other better, “what is this?”

            He smiled as he walked up to meet her, “I remember you saying that if it was possible to sleep in a hammock out here you would.”

            She quickly took the last couple of steps that separated them and jumped, wrapping her arms around his neck. “It’s perfect. You are so damn perfect.” She smiled as he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her knees up with the other, carrying her to the hammock.

“As you’ve seen the past couple nights we have about two hours before they show up at the bakery. We won’t do anything you don’t want to do. We won’t go any further than you want to go. But, Gemma, I’m begging you, please just let me kiss you a little more tonight.”  He lowered her on to the hammock and then eased himself up beside her. They rolled toward the middle, facing one another.

            “How can I tell you to stop when you haven’t started?”

“Good point,” he placed his hand on her thigh and started working it up her leg. She immediately reached down and stopped his progress.

            “I’m sorry.” She winced as he quickly pulled back.

            “Stop,” he whispered as he pulled her chin up so she would look into his eyes. “Don’t apologize.”

            “But I acted all tough and then you touch me and-“

            “And I should have known better than to push it so far so soon.” He rolled so he was back on his side and pulled her head onto his chest. “I will do anything for you, Gem. And that includes taking our time so I can prove to you that I’m in this thing.”

            “And what if that means you are waiting on me until our wedding night?” It dawned on her what she had said and she considered rolling out of the hammock and running for it until he spoke.

            “One, just the fact that you can think of us and wedding day shows how much you are already starting to trust me. Two, if that’s the case then I take my wife to bed and discover her like millions of men have done before me.” He gently kissed the top of her head and the word swoon flashed through her mind. “You, Gemma Andrews, are worth the wait.”

Harper James currently lives in Louisiana. When she isn’t admiring her husband, the rock star, or playing with her baby boy and girl, the two cutest kids ever made, she can be found either reading or writing one of the many books she has floating around in her head. She has an unhealthy addiction to all things romance and will always fight for a happy ending.

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