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aluhealz's review against another edition
2.0
I will admit, this didn't end up incredibly high on my list of reads. It wasn't terrible, but the plot pacing felt off. Elena goes from jaded in love to wanting to jump Julia's bones a bit too suddenly for my taste. The budding attraction didn't have a good build up for me. On a side note, I'm never a fan of present tense storytelling, but that isn't necessarily breaker for me.
Despite that though, I did enjoy the plot twist and drama that is introduced about halfway through. The store didn't get stale at any point. I also enjoyed the side characters a lot. They all had a lot of personality.
Despite that though, I did enjoy the plot twist and drama that is introduced about halfway through. The store didn't get stale at any point. I also enjoyed the side characters a lot. They all had a lot of personality.
eyrinreads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ralexa's review against another edition
4.0
I liked that it was only Julia's POV because it feels more like real life when you know only one person thoughts, not everyone's around.
It is written in the present tense. It was difficult at first but I got used to it pretty fast.
Overall, it was a great romance, good chemistry, amazing horses bonding moments. There was some angst thrown into it with the crazy ex, but it didn't feel very real.
And there's an ice queen. Can't not like those ones :)
It is written in the present tense. It was difficult at first but I got used to it pretty fast.
Overall, it was a great romance, good chemistry, amazing horses bonding moments. There was some angst thrown into it with the crazy ex, but it didn't feel very real.
And there's an ice queen. Can't not like those ones :)
mjsam's review against another edition
4.0
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book by Zak that I’ve read. I had mixed feelings about the first, but enjoyed this one.
This features Elena, who is a ranch owner and mother, and Julia, who is running from life in general. There’s also an age gap, but nothing is made of this at all, which I found refreshing.
Julia’s car breaks down in a rural Colorado town and as luck would have it, Elena needs help on her ranch. Of course Elena doesn’t even know she’s hired Julia, so they don’t get off to the best of starts, but Julia soon takes to life on the ranch, and all the people who live and work there. She is especially fond of Elena’s son Cole (one of the best characters) and also develops a love for horses. The two grow closer and it’s fun watching them interact.
Then Elena’s ex shows up and this is where the story starts to drag a bit, there’s a lot of ‘I want to be with you, please don’t run’ vs ‘she’s not good for you, please don’t take her back’ and there could have been WAY less of that. There’s also the usual contrived nonsense towards the 80% mark, but it doesn’t drag on for too long.
I liked both MCs, and their relationship develops naturally (and over time), which I also enjoyed. The backdrop of the ranch was also fun. I’m giving it 4 stars because it did drag towards the end, but I enjoyed the story enough to overlook that.
This is the second book by Zak that I’ve read. I had mixed feelings about the first, but enjoyed this one.
This features Elena, who is a ranch owner and mother, and Julia, who is running from life in general. There’s also an age gap, but nothing is made of this at all, which I found refreshing.
Julia’s car breaks down in a rural Colorado town and as luck would have it, Elena needs help on her ranch. Of course Elena doesn’t even know she’s hired Julia, so they don’t get off to the best of starts, but Julia soon takes to life on the ranch, and all the people who live and work there. She is especially fond of Elena’s son Cole (one of the best characters) and also develops a love for horses. The two grow closer and it’s fun watching them interact.
Then Elena’s ex shows up and this is where the story starts to drag a bit, there’s a lot of ‘I want to be with you, please don’t run’ vs ‘she’s not good for you, please don’t take her back’ and there could have been WAY less of that. There’s also the usual contrived nonsense towards the 80% mark, but it doesn’t drag on for too long.
I liked both MCs, and their relationship develops naturally (and over time), which I also enjoyed. The backdrop of the ranch was also fun. I’m giving it 4 stars because it did drag towards the end, but I enjoyed the story enough to overlook that.
broomesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Julia Finch is a runner. If something doesn’t work out well, she moves on. There’s no point in living the disappointment day in and out, is there? When a road trip ends up with her car broken down and no where close to being fixed without dropping a pretty penny, Elijah strikes her a deal. If she works at the Bennett Ranch to pay off the repairs to her car, he’ll get it fixed and then she can move on. It’s a decent deal, even if she has no idea what she’s doing. She didn’t expect to like the ranch owner, Elena Bennett as much as she does. It makes leaving all that much harder.
Now this is an age-gap romance and I have a difficult time finding that in lesbian romances but this hit the spot. It wasn’t your typical meet and move in type of relationship that I have a knack for finding. This was a slow, steady burn that made you want Julia or Elena to make a move. When the move was made, *fans self* whoa boy. They had some intense chemistry and weren’t afraid to get lost in each other. Zak writes sex scenes that don’t make me uncomfortable when I’m reading them. They flow well, it’s never one-sided, both characters are just as into to the moment as the other was.
What I really enjoyed was the fact that each character, Cole, Elijah, Toni, the horses and even Penny, they were all what pushed the story along. (Although Penny I felt like wasn’t entirely necessary to this story, more like just thrown in there as an after thought) I liked reading about the secondary characters as much I liked reading about Julia and Elena. Cole is my spirit animal.
Elena and Julia found themselves when Julia’s car broke down in Colorado. They flourished as they got to know each other. It was a treat to see both of these women settle into their skin again and I don’t think they would have done so if they hadn’t met each other.
I’m definitely looking forward to more written by Erin Zak.
Now this is an age-gap romance and I have a difficult time finding that in lesbian romances but this hit the spot. It wasn’t your typical meet and move in type of relationship that I have a knack for finding. This was a slow, steady burn that made you want Julia or Elena to make a move. When the move was made, *fans self* whoa boy. They had some intense chemistry and weren’t afraid to get lost in each other. Zak writes sex scenes that don’t make me uncomfortable when I’m reading them. They flow well, it’s never one-sided, both characters are just as into to the moment as the other was.
What I really enjoyed was the fact that each character, Cole, Elijah, Toni, the horses and even Penny, they were all what pushed the story along. (Although Penny I felt like wasn’t entirely necessary to this story, more like just thrown in there as an after thought) I liked reading about the secondary characters as much I liked reading about Julia and Elena. Cole is my spirit animal.
Elena and Julia found themselves when Julia’s car broke down in Colorado. They flourished as they got to know each other. It was a treat to see both of these women settle into their skin again and I don’t think they would have done so if they hadn’t met each other.
I’m definitely looking forward to more written by Erin Zak.
brennooth's review against another edition
5.0
So much love for this story, for how Elena kept Julia from running away again - in a way. How Julia bonded with Cole and made Elena open up again. I really didn’t like Penn or what she did, but I’m glad she kinda came around in the end and even got engaged, so I’m glad she’s found her happy ending as well. Also, Leia seems like the perfect horse for Julia.
jeh's review against another edition
2.0
I really had trouble with this book and it took me a few tries to get into it. The tense was difficult at first then the actual parts of the story that the plot hinges on seemed very unlikely. In the middle there were some great descriptions of Colorado but the rest fell flat. I found the ending a bit tiresome to get through as it was predictable by that point. I wanted to like it but unfortunately it fell flat for me.
broughtyoubooks's review against another edition
4.0
While Julia is endlessly running from everything to deal with her past, Elena is rooted to her ranch, trying to find some stability after a number of rocky years. Each woman's story is slowly dragged out by the other, and the beginning of their intimacy is one overshadowed by the return of Elena's ex, Penn, at the start of the ranching season(?) The depth of each character is brought out through often endearing events - Julia's instant and easy communication with the horses, her encouragement of and friendship with Elena's son, and her slow but steady acceptance into the ranch's family/friend group.
I loved most things about this book. The actual depth of the characters, the way that being gay wasn't made a super huge deal of and the instances of explicit intimacy that were sweet and playful. I know I do have some bias against romance, for a lot of reasons, but this is definitely a book to bring me around to the genre.
I loved most things about this book. The actual depth of the characters, the way that being gay wasn't made a super huge deal of and the instances of explicit intimacy that were sweet and playful. I know I do have some bias against romance, for a lot of reasons, but this is definitely a book to bring me around to the genre.
lezreviewbooks's review
3.0
Julia Finch is a city girl used to constantly run away from her conflicted past and never settle anywhere. After dealing with her biological parents' rejection she leaves Chicago towards the west. Her car breaks down somewhere in rural Colorado. Alone and without money, she gets a job as a ranch hand but when she meets the enigmatic and gorgeous ranch owner Elena Bennett, all bets are off. Will their attraction be enough to stop Julia from running?
This is an entertaining romance set in rural Colorado where the author grew up. Her descriptions of nature and the landscape are very picturesque along with her accounts of what ranch life is all about.
'Breaking down her walls' is written in third person in present tense from the exclusive point of view of Julia. Some readers might not be comfortable with the choice of present tense despite it isn't as uncommon as one would think. Normally present tense provides a more intimate and immediate relationship with the character, it intensifies the emotions and the connection with the character's consciousness. I personally haven't issues with the present tense narrative but I think that Ms. Zak doesn't use the intimacy with her character in its full potential. There were moments when the author tells us how Julia feels instead of showing it and the closeness is temporarily lost. But other moments, like Julia's connection with her horse are really well done. Hands down, Leia is the best horse character I've read in lesfic.
It took me approximately half the book to feel the chemistry between the mains possibly because Elena's character was harder to grasp. Maybe that was the author's intention as it shows how Julia sees her. However, once the connection is established, the chemistry is strong and the intimate scenes are very realistic and hot. Unlike many lesfic books, the conflict around 80% mark doesn't feel contrived or forced and the resolution makes sense within the plot.
Overall, an entertaining romance for nature and horse lovers. 3.5 stars.
ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
This is an entertaining romance set in rural Colorado where the author grew up. Her descriptions of nature and the landscape are very picturesque along with her accounts of what ranch life is all about.
'Breaking down her walls' is written in third person in present tense from the exclusive point of view of Julia. Some readers might not be comfortable with the choice of present tense despite it isn't as uncommon as one would think. Normally present tense provides a more intimate and immediate relationship with the character, it intensifies the emotions and the connection with the character's consciousness. I personally haven't issues with the present tense narrative but I think that Ms. Zak doesn't use the intimacy with her character in its full potential. There were moments when the author tells us how Julia feels instead of showing it and the closeness is temporarily lost. But other moments, like Julia's connection with her horse are really well done. Hands down, Leia is the best horse character I've read in lesfic.
It took me approximately half the book to feel the chemistry between the mains possibly because Elena's character was harder to grasp. Maybe that was the author's intention as it shows how Julia sees her. However, once the connection is established, the chemistry is strong and the intimate scenes are very realistic and hot. Unlike many lesfic books, the conflict around 80% mark doesn't feel contrived or forced and the resolution makes sense within the plot.
Overall, an entertaining romance for nature and horse lovers. 3.5 stars.
ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
corrie's review
4.0
I was a fan of Erin Zak back when she was still writing Swan Queen fanfic and posting her updates on Tumblr. That’s how we met and hung out in a time that all our gay little hearts were furiously hoping that the showrunners would take Regina and Emma’s obvious love for each other to the next level. As we know they ultimately chickened out, but we will always have fan fic that celebrates their love and a whole slew of new and exciting talent that originated from that fandom.
It took me until a few weeks ago to figure out that fanfic writer EtotheSwan was in fact Erin Zak (duh!) and so I had to start reading Breaking Down Her Walls in a screaming hurry! I read it as a work in progress when it was a Swan Queen fic but I never saw the finished product and kinda forgot about it.
It was as good as I remembered. I had no problem switching to the format (be it first or third person present time) and I loved the ranch setting. It is very much Zak’s love letter to her birth state Colorado as she lovingly gives us a taste of the mountains in all their finery. If you love horses this is a must read. If you are a romance fan you don’t want to miss this either. The romance is slow burn as both women have some emotional hurdles to climb but oh man, when they do get busy it will melt your socks. That is one seriously sexy snu snu scene.
Too bad for that obligatory angst at the 80% mark to happen. I know it’s the go-to romance format of the moment, but personally I’m not a fan. It does nothing for me to be honest.
But other than that… I’m thrilled to bits Erin got snatched up by Bold Strokes. Not that I’m surprised because she was already a natural and can only grow further as an author. Looking forward to more!
f/f explicit
Themes: city girl, mountain ranch, horses, trust issues.
4 stars
* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.
It took me until a few weeks ago to figure out that fanfic writer EtotheSwan was in fact Erin Zak (duh!) and so I had to start reading Breaking Down Her Walls in a screaming hurry! I read it as a work in progress when it was a Swan Queen fic but I never saw the finished product and kinda forgot about it.
It was as good as I remembered. I had no problem switching to the format (be it first or third person present time) and I loved the ranch setting. It is very much Zak’s love letter to her birth state Colorado as she lovingly gives us a taste of the mountains in all their finery. If you love horses this is a must read. If you are a romance fan you don’t want to miss this either. The romance is slow burn as both women have some emotional hurdles to climb but oh man, when they do get busy it will melt your socks. That is one seriously sexy snu snu scene.
Too bad for that obligatory angst at the 80% mark to happen. I know it’s the go-to romance format of the moment, but personally I’m not a fan. It does nothing for me to be honest.
But other than that… I’m thrilled to bits Erin got snatched up by Bold Strokes. Not that I’m surprised because she was already a natural and can only grow further as an author. Looking forward to more!
f/f explicit
Themes: city girl, mountain ranch, horses, trust issues.
4 stars
* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.
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