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bookish_smorgasbord's review against another edition
4.0
Celebrity journalist Kennedy Wells' ends up in Anchorage, Alaska after her magazine editor sends her out to write a cover article on a new reality show. The idea smells like rotten fish, but Kennedy won't give up a shot at regaining her former beat rubbing elbows with performers and the famous-for being-famous.
Much of the novel's humor plays off Kennedy's unfamiliarity with Anchorage's great outdoors. She's more at home on the bustling city streets of LA, dining on catered cuisine and dashing off to her next interview in designer heels. A near-disaster on her first day exploring the area's scenic byways requires calling in the rescue squad--- in this case, a strapping butch park ranger named Brynn Coleman.
Alaska’s Wildlife Rescue and Sanctuary, located outside Anchorage, provides refuge for more than just injured animals. As its director, Brynn finds peace within its lands and her mission to help rehabilitate creatures that cannot take care of themselves. Wally the racoon is a surprisingly endearing character, though readers-as-Kennedy are informed that wild animals, no matter how friendly, are still wild animals.
The two women cross paths as Kennedy finds herself in the thick of misadventure time and again. As the journalist discovers the appeal of her new environs, she also comes face to face with firmly entrenched body image issues, commitment aversion, and an unexpected career crossroads. One of the main issues at play is how much Kennedy and Brynn, who harbors a closely guarded past, are willing to confront within themselves before they can discover a deeper fulfillment. A small cadre of queer friends (including a local librarian) and colleagues ground the women throughout the story and give Alaska a small town feel, despite the nearly 740,000 population of Anchorage.
Overall, Breakthrough is delivers satisfying romance, amusing adventures, and a surprising, thrilling change of pace in the latter half of the story. The novel's primary drawback is rooted in telling rather than showing the reader what is happening. There are times when a character's thoughts are repeated aloud after she thinks them. Recommended for fans of "fish out of water" stories, butch/femme pairings, Great Outdoors immersion, and the television series Northern Exposure.
Much of the novel's humor plays off Kennedy's unfamiliarity with Anchorage's great outdoors. She's more at home on the bustling city streets of LA, dining on catered cuisine and dashing off to her next interview in designer heels. A near-disaster on her first day exploring the area's scenic byways requires calling in the rescue squad--- in this case, a strapping butch park ranger named Brynn Coleman.
Alaska’s Wildlife Rescue and Sanctuary, located outside Anchorage, provides refuge for more than just injured animals. As its director, Brynn finds peace within its lands and her mission to help rehabilitate creatures that cannot take care of themselves. Wally the racoon is a surprisingly endearing character, though readers-as-Kennedy are informed that wild animals, no matter how friendly, are still wild animals.
The two women cross paths as Kennedy finds herself in the thick of misadventure time and again. As the journalist discovers the appeal of her new environs, she also comes face to face with firmly entrenched body image issues, commitment aversion, and an unexpected career crossroads. One of the main issues at play is how much Kennedy and Brynn, who harbors a closely guarded past, are willing to confront within themselves before they can discover a deeper fulfillment. A small cadre of queer friends (including a local librarian) and colleagues ground the women throughout the story and give Alaska a small town feel, despite the nearly 740,000 population of Anchorage.
Overall, Breakthrough is delivers satisfying romance, amusing adventures, and a surprising, thrilling change of pace in the latter half of the story. The novel's primary drawback is rooted in telling rather than showing the reader what is happening. There are times when a character's thoughts are repeated aloud after she thinks them. Recommended for fans of "fish out of water" stories, butch/femme pairings, Great Outdoors immersion, and the television series Northern Exposure.
gayanyway's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
hhushaw's review
4.0
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. I have been putting off this read but after just finishing Bryant's new book and falling in love I needed to read more from this author. Two hours later and this book is finished and I am experiencing regrets of reading too fast. This was outstanding, the hilarious and realistic experiences that Kennedy went though when she first arrived to Alaska kept me enthralled in the plot line. The animals and the amazing Wally and of course Brynn, made this novel a great romantic read.
sunnydaysrainynights80's review
5.0
Phenomenally well written book!
Alaska is one of the places I wish I had more time to explore when I was there.
So, I really enjoyed the nature scenes and of course the animals!
Awesome characters that would make great friends!
This one is going into ‘I’ll read again’ collection on my Kindle!
Alaska is one of the places I wish I had more time to explore when I was there.
So, I really enjoyed the nature scenes and of course the animals!
Awesome characters that would make great friends!
This one is going into ‘I’ll read again’ collection on my Kindle!
kjanie's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
So I guess we are all in agreement that Brynn is the ideal partner?!
sherpawhale's review against another edition
4.0
A fun fish-out-of-water tale with a prissy city girl journalist trying to make a comeback by going to one of the "final frontiers" - Alaska.
More stories should have pet racoons, that's all I'm going to say.
More stories should have pet racoons, that's all I'm going to say.
elvang's review against another edition
4.0
Kennedy Wells is sent to Alaska to write an article on fishing for an outdoors magazine as final penance for liberties she took while covering the celebrity beat for Mainstream magazine. Take a city girl out of LA and plunk her into the rugged outdoors and you know there is going to be a steep learning curve involved. Add in Kennedy’s talent for finding trouble mixed with a good deal of naïveté and you just know this damsel in distress is going to require saving by the handsome local ranger, Brynn Coleman.
I enjoyed this fish out of water tale and the charming moments shared between the two mains when a series of misadventures force Brynn to come to Kennedy’s rescue. I liked the mix of humour, Brynn’s adorable pet and Kennedy’s talent for getting herself into trouble. There is some intrigue to add weight to this romance but I found myself smiling throughout the read. Some books have HEA written all over them and Breakthrough is one of them. What added to my enjoyment of this read was the author’s confession that some of the events in the book may have had more basis in fact than fiction following a vacation she had taken to Alaska. Kept me turning pages and making guesses.
ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.
I enjoyed this fish out of water tale and the charming moments shared between the two mains when a series of misadventures force Brynn to come to Kennedy’s rescue. I liked the mix of humour, Brynn’s adorable pet and Kennedy’s talent for getting herself into trouble. There is some intrigue to add weight to this romance but I found myself smiling throughout the read. Some books have HEA written all over them and Breakthrough is one of them. What added to my enjoyment of this read was the author’s confession that some of the events in the book may have had more basis in fact than fiction following a vacation she had taken to Alaska. Kept me turning pages and making guesses.
ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.
mjsam's review against another edition
3.0
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest revietw.
I like Kris Bryant books and this was a nice story. I was intrigued by the Alaskan setting because I traveled through there (and stayed in Anchorage) a few years ago. Bryant makes good use of the Alaskan setting, it made me want to go back, although the way she referred to Anchorage as a ‘town’ was a bit off-putting, parts of the book make it sound like some hick town with a couple of cops, but it’s actually a fair sized city.
Anyway, that aside, I did like both characters, though I very much wish this story hadn’t been in first person, and that the first person perspective wasn’t Kennedy ‘the helpless’. Lord, did this woman have bad luck. If I was Brynn I’d have stopped coming to the rescue after the second time, but god love her, she hung in there. Due to the first person POV I felt like I didn’t get as much of a handle on Brynn and what she was feeling, but that’s the limitation of first person.
Due to the series of unfortunate events, the two leads do spend a large amount of time together, but again, outside of Brynn’s big trauma, the shelter and Kennedy’s work, don’t really discuss anything of substance about each other. Wally was a cute addition and not your typical ‘pet’, and the few secondary characters weren’t very fleshed out.
The ‘mystery’ was ok, but really only there to ensure the two characters maintained constant contact. The ending was also a little too twee for me, but overall it’s a fairly sweet romance, and I appreciated the lack of any contrived drama between the main characters. 3 stars
I like Kris Bryant books and this was a nice story. I was intrigued by the Alaskan setting because I traveled through there (and stayed in Anchorage) a few years ago. Bryant makes good use of the Alaskan setting, it made me want to go back, although the way she referred to Anchorage as a ‘town’ was a bit off-putting, parts of the book make it sound like some hick town with a couple of cops, but it’s actually a fair sized city.
Anyway, that aside, I did like both characters, though I very much wish this story hadn’t been in first person, and that the first person perspective wasn’t Kennedy ‘the helpless’. Lord, did this woman have bad luck. If I was Brynn I’d have stopped coming to the rescue after the second time, but god love her, she hung in there. Due to the first person POV I felt like I didn’t get as much of a handle on Brynn and what she was feeling, but that’s the limitation of first person.
Due to the series of unfortunate events, the two leads do spend a large amount of time together, but again, outside of Brynn’s big trauma, the shelter and Kennedy’s work, don’t really discuss anything of substance about each other. Wally was a cute addition and not your typical ‘pet’, and the few secondary characters weren’t very fleshed out.
The ‘mystery’ was ok, but really only there to ensure the two characters maintained constant contact. The ending was also a little too twee for me, but overall it’s a fairly sweet romance, and I appreciated the lack of any contrived drama between the main characters. 3 stars
theamandashelby's review against another edition
5.0
This is my 6th book by the author and I have enjoyed every single one of them. Bryant is an author I don't have to think twice about before picking up her book. I just know I will enjoy it. Bryant checks all my favorites: Alaska, hot butch, and a LOT of chemistry. Kennedy the city girl sent to Alaska, where the super hot butch, Brynn, comes to the rescue. So much chemistry but Kennedy can't wait to get back to the city life, while Brynn loves the wilderness. Excellent story and fantastic writing. This one may be my favorite of Bryant's books. The descriptive writing will make you think about visiting Alaska, and the romance will make you happy you picked this one up. This one is going on the favorites list to be reread at a later date.