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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
This novel had more twists than a hairpin road in the mountains. Who's the good guy, who's the bad? Why was the box important, what really happened to her mother (and when)? Although some things are answered and cleared up, a lot of questions remain. The book will hook you and draw you in like one of the fish in a river metaphor.
adventurous
fast-paced
I read Break the Stone as a preliminary beta reader. Even with an unpolished copy, I could not put it down. It’s a fantastic debut for new author Cassie Swindon, full of suspense and romance.
Raelyn Bell is suddenly transplanted from her idyllic country life and forced to finish her final year of high school in a new city. She has no idea that the reason for the sudden move was because her father, William, had begun receiving threats about files her deceased mother may have left behind.
Raelyn is a good protagonist: shy, romantic, and strong minded. The real standout is her new best friend, Cali. She’s the outgoing show stopper that all introverts love to be adopted by. The final main character is Kody, the brooding military man struggling to protect the people he loves, while helping Raelyn search for answers. Together, they attempt to uncover the truth about Raelyn’s mother and disentangle the growing conspiracy around her death.
The romance between Raelyn and Kody was perhaps a little predictable, but the characters had excellent chemistry and I was pleased with how well their growing relationship drove the suspenseful plot line. Overall the biggest strengths were the well-drawn characters, which is a major plus for me personally. You can have the best plot in the world, but if the characters are flat, I’m bored. That was not the case with Break the Stone. Raelyn, Cali, and Kody were all engrossing, likeable in their own ways, and full of depth. And William’s journey toward connecting with Raelyn and finally coming to terms with being a single father was heartfelt and real.
The plot was also engrossing. Most of my initial predictions were way off, which isn’t usual for me. I won’t spoil anything here, but the ending is satisfying and leaves plenty of room for a sequel. Can’t wait for more from this author!
For more reviews, visit me at annacackler.com.
Raelyn Bell is suddenly transplanted from her idyllic country life and forced to finish her final year of high school in a new city. She has no idea that the reason for the sudden move was because her father, William, had begun receiving threats about files her deceased mother may have left behind.
Raelyn is a good protagonist: shy, romantic, and strong minded. The real standout is her new best friend, Cali. She’s the outgoing show stopper that all introverts love to be adopted by. The final main character is Kody, the brooding military man struggling to protect the people he loves, while helping Raelyn search for answers. Together, they attempt to uncover the truth about Raelyn’s mother and disentangle the growing conspiracy around her death.
The romance between Raelyn and Kody was perhaps a little predictable, but the characters had excellent chemistry and I was pleased with how well their growing relationship drove the suspenseful plot line. Overall the biggest strengths were the well-drawn characters, which is a major plus for me personally. You can have the best plot in the world, but if the characters are flat, I’m bored. That was not the case with Break the Stone. Raelyn, Cali, and Kody were all engrossing, likeable in their own ways, and full of depth. And William’s journey toward connecting with Raelyn and finally coming to terms with being a single father was heartfelt and real.
The plot was also engrossing. Most of my initial predictions were way off, which isn’t usual for me. I won’t spoil anything here, but the ending is satisfying and leaves plenty of room for a sequel. Can’t wait for more from this author!
For more reviews, visit me at annacackler.com.
Mystery. Action packed. Intriguing. I was a little hesitant if I would like this book when I started reading as it isn’t the normal genre of books that I would read however I was very pleasantly surprised when I found that I couldn’t put the book down.
This book has a little bit of everything in it for every kind of reader, from suspense to mystery to romance to action. It’s packed full of information and little hints that keep you questioning what’s going to happen next and keeps readers on the edge of their seats with more than a few emotional moments throughout the book.
And now to impatiently wait for book 2...
I was kindly sent this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book has a little bit of everything in it for every kind of reader, from suspense to mystery to romance to action. It’s packed full of information and little hints that keep you questioning what’s going to happen next and keeps readers on the edge of their seats with more than a few emotional moments throughout the book.
And now to impatiently wait for book 2...
I was kindly sent this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am so thankful that I was able to receive an arc copy of break the stone and get the opportunity to read this story. I don’t want to post any spoilers so I will keep my descriptions vague.
With that being said I want to say that the storyline was good and I loved the mystery and romance this book offered. I loved that you got duel POVs from both Raelyn and kody throughout the book to give you insight from both sides. There were sometimes that I thought the love was a little forced between the two and that some of the thing that happened were kind of easy to guess at first but as the story went on it kept me more on my toes so for the most part I really enjoyed it.
My downfall to this book was that I couldn’t get over how the POVs were written in the third person. I have never been able to get into and fully submerged myself in a story that was written like this. It’s no fault to the author it’s just how I am. So if you don’t like books written in the third person I wouldn’t suggest this for you BUT I you do like the third person POV or don’t mind one way or another I would recommend this book to you!
With that being said I want to say that the storyline was good and I loved the mystery and romance this book offered. I loved that you got duel POVs from both Raelyn and kody throughout the book to give you insight from both sides. There were sometimes that I thought the love was a little forced between the two and that some of the thing that happened were kind of easy to guess at first but as the story went on it kept me more on my toes so for the most part I really enjoyed it.
My downfall to this book was that I couldn’t get over how the POVs were written in the third person. I have never been able to get into and fully submerged myself in a story that was written like this. It’s no fault to the author it’s just how I am. So if you don’t like books written in the third person I wouldn’t suggest this for you BUT I you do like the third person POV or don’t mind one way or another I would recommend this book to you!
I loved this book! My favorite character was definitely Raelyn. I felt connected to her throughout the story, and could definitely relate to the confusing aspects of truly liking a boy for the first time. Her journey it so enticing as she strives to find answers to questions that have been haunting her for years. I’m excited to see how her character grows and where her journey takes her in the rest of the series!
Also, Bear reminds me SO MUCH of the dog that I grew up with. He’s a great sidekick throughout the plot.
Also, Bear reminds me SO MUCH of the dog that I grew up with. He’s a great sidekick throughout the plot.
I was given an electronic copy as an ARC from the author, and I really enjoyed it! I really liked the plot and watching the story unfold as we try to learn more about Raelyn and her family’s history, as well as Kody and how he becomes involved. I liked both of the characters, and I felt that they were both easily likeable and their POV’s were both interesting, because we were given two sides to the story instead of just one, which I appreciate.
A few things I really enjoyed were the dual POV’s because we were able to learn more about each character as the story went on. I also just really liked the mystery element present within the story, and I think the plot was really well executed.
I didn’t necessarily enjoy the romance between Kody and Raelyn for a decent portion of the time just because it felt a bit forced, but the pizza scene in Tuzlicci felt natural. I also felt that the writing throughout the novel was a bit wordy and overly descriptive, but it didn’t bother me enough that it would affect my rating.
Overall, I really enjoyed this debut novel from Cassie, and can’t wait for the sequel!
A few things I really enjoyed were the dual POV’s because we were able to learn more about each character as the story went on. I also just really liked the mystery element present within the story, and I think the plot was really well executed.
I didn’t necessarily enjoy the romance between Kody and Raelyn for a decent portion of the time just because it felt a bit forced, but the pizza scene in Tuzlicci felt natural. I also felt that the writing throughout the novel was a bit wordy and overly descriptive, but it didn’t bother me enough that it would affect my rating.
Overall, I really enjoyed this debut novel from Cassie, and can’t wait for the sequel!
I received this as an ARC for an honest review. You can not help but become invested in the story, along with the characters. Secrets that were buried are coming to light. If I could I would give this book 100/10 stars.
I was given an electronic copy as an ARC from the author, and I really enjoyed it! I really liked the plot and watching the story unfold as we try to learn more about Raelyn and her family’s history, as well as Kody and how he becomes involved. I liked both of the characters, and I felt that they were both easily likeable and their POV’s were both interesting, because we were given two sides to the story instead of just one, which I appreciate.
A few things I really enjoyed were the dual POV’s because we were able to learn more about each character as the story went on. I also just really liked the mystery element present within the story, and I think the plot was really well executed.
I didn’t necessarily enjoy the romance between Kody and Raelyn for a decent portion of the time just because it felt a bit forced, but the pizza scene in Tuzlicci felt natural. I also felt that the writing throughout the novel was a bit wordy and overly descriptive, but it didn’t bother me enough that it would affect my rating.
Overall, I really enjoyed this debut novel from Cassie, and can’t wait for the sequel!
A few things I really enjoyed were the dual POV’s because we were able to learn more about each character as the story went on. I also just really liked the mystery element present within the story, and I think the plot was really well executed.
I didn’t necessarily enjoy the romance between Kody and Raelyn for a decent portion of the time just because it felt a bit forced, but the pizza scene in Tuzlicci felt natural. I also felt that the writing throughout the novel was a bit wordy and overly descriptive, but it didn’t bother me enough that it would affect my rating.
Overall, I really enjoyed this debut novel from Cassie, and can’t wait for the sequel!
I am so happy that I got the opportunity to be a beta reader for this book. I'll start by saying that this book was a completely surprise for me. I was not expecting to be so drawn by the mistery, by the characters.
The romance:
I liked it, but I have to admit that sometimes it felt forced or unnatural. I don't really like when characters say that they are not good enough for the ones they love, so they distance themselves from them and pretend to not have feelings. But, after all this, I enjoyed the romance because it was so cute and somehow childish.
The characters:
They were well described, they had originality and flavour. I really loved Rae, her passions, her thoughts and the fact that she wrote poems and liked music. I liked Kody too because he had a good personality.
The mistery and plot:
This was my favourite part. It was written well and I couldn't wait to find out more about her Ma, about the messages, about all the threats.
The world:
I appreciated the fact that the author did a research on how the military works and gave me a realistic experience.
In the end, I gave it just 4 stars because of the moments when the romance felt unnatural and because I guessed a part of the mistery.
My feelings:
During this read, I went through a lot of emotions. I had moments when I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes, but there was also moments when I almost cried or got angry on the characters.
This book reminded me of the book Paper Princess and I think that if you liked that book, you'll enjoy this one too.
P.S: I so loved that the author told us what songs the characters were listening, so I could get in their moods and vibe with them.
You should definitely give this book a try because who knows? It might surprise you!
The romance:
I liked it, but I have to admit that sometimes it felt forced or unnatural. I don't really like when characters say that they are not good enough for the ones they love, so they distance themselves from them and pretend to not have feelings. But, after all this, I enjoyed the romance because it was so cute and somehow childish.
The characters:
They were well described, they had originality and flavour. I really loved Rae, her passions, her thoughts and the fact that she wrote poems and liked music. I liked Kody too because he had a good personality.
The mistery and plot:
This was my favourite part. It was written well and I couldn't wait to find out more about her Ma, about the messages, about all the threats.
The world:
I appreciated the fact that the author did a research on how the military works and gave me a realistic experience.
In the end, I gave it just 4 stars because of the moments when the romance felt unnatural and because I guessed a part of the mistery.
My feelings:
During this read, I went through a lot of emotions. I had moments when I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes, but there was also moments when I almost cried or got angry on the characters.
This book reminded me of the book Paper Princess and I think that if you liked that book, you'll enjoy this one too.
P.S: I so loved that the author told us what songs the characters were listening, so I could get in their moods and vibe with them.
You should definitely give this book a try because who knows? It might surprise you!