We make plans, we have hopes and dreams, and then life has other ideas. Dreams get dashed, hopes are left smoldering, and no one understands this better than our heroine, Sophie Marshall. Her past has taught her to build a wall around her heart and live a safe, simple life. The last thing she's looking for is attention from the charming, Viking-like a rock star, Matt Sullivan.
After being dumped by his fiancée, Matt has sworn off relationships for the foreseeable future. Meeting Sophie has him rethinking his female embargo, but Sophie is emotionally unavailable, so he proposes a friendship. In all honesty, this cinnamon roll hero is half gone already, and he'll take whatever parts of Sophie she's willing to share.
The road is certainly not an easy one for these two. There's Matt's fame and celebrity that follows him in public, and the demons from Sophie's past are never far away. Matt is honest and patient, and most of all, simply there for Sophie as she figures out how to overcome her past so they can share a future. Their story is both heartbreaking anguish and thrilling inspiration that made the rest of the world fall away as I gobbled through this in one sitting.
Let's face it. Pretty much no one makes it through this life unscathed, but it's how we respond to hardship that matters. Halloran gives us imperfect, broken characters we relate to and find a kinship with. We empathize with their challenges, take on their heartbreak as our own, and rejoice in their victories. They make us feel a little more seen in our struggles and a little less alone in our journey. They find optimism, healing, and love, daring us to dream and fanning our own embers of hope as we travel their road to forever.
It's been six years since Breaking Giants was released and, for that reason alone, this story may not make an enormous splash in the pond of contemporary romance. But for anyone fortunate enough to read it, its impact is immeasurable, so make sure you don’t pass it by. It will be one of your favorites, and one that will remain in your heart long after the last page.