Chandler Gray never imagined during her journey to earn a nursing degree, she would encounter a distraction, in the form of firefighter, Moses Lawson. With the chaos of supporting her mother after her father’s passing and completing her internship and practicum, Chandler had no time for a relationship. However, Moses’ persistence, charisma, and rugged good looks made her think again. Perhaps a summer fling with no strings attached was just what the doctor ordered.
Unfortunately, their situationship became much more than she bargained for. Now Chandler wants Moses to switch things up to be in a committed and monogamous relationship. His response causes Chandler to react in ways she may come to regret.
Years later, when their paths cross in very different circumstances, Chandler will have another decision to make.
Can she look beyond her own hurt to give of herself and heal another past their breaking point?
Carlotta Ardell is an engineer, professor, researcher, speaker, and author. However, her most important roles are being a Christian, mother to her daughter, Kennedy, and wife to her husband, William. She has many technical publications and a book on multidisciplinary robotics.
During the 2020 pandemic and summer of social justice, she was inspired to work with other Black Women engineering professors to become a fiction book author. Engineering has a marketing problem and there has been a longstanding need to amplify, normalize and promote Black Women in STEM as they navigate through their everyday lives. Out of this mission, Catalyst Chronicles and First Responder Fairytales was born.
It is her hope that through these African American fiction and Black Romance novels, people will see themselves and aspire to learn and do more to diversify STEM.
Breaking Point is a fun and entertaining romantic story. The plot line is well-developed and presents to you a story characteristic of many romantic comedy movies. I enjoyed connecting with the characters and their journeys through love, loss, career, family life, and friendship. It is a great book if you are looking for a story to curl up and read while relaxing with coffee or tea.
This story, just like the first in this series, has such a warmth that makes you want to curl up with a blanket, a cup of tea, and no interruptions. The characters are so authentic and their love is so heartwarming. I love that Black men and women are shown such kindness and given the grace to make mistakes and recover in her stories. I will always love how she incorporates aspects of STEM, faith, family, and gentle love into her romances.
This story was a hit for me and I will definitely be ordering on release.
I enjoyed reading this book and following the wise, witty, and kind Chandler as she navigates the challenges of relationships and heartbreak and discerns who she can trust with her heart. With her compassion and dedication to her patients and family, Chandler was a likeable character and I found myself cheering for a happy ending for her. I would highly recommend this book!
A huge thank you to Carlotta Ardell for sharing this novel with me. The following review reflects my honest reading experience.
Breaking Point: Chandler’s Choice is the second book that I have read by author Carlotta Ardell, and it did not disappoint. I was rooting for Chandler Gray and Moses Lawson the entire time I was reading the book.
What happens when a “situationship” turns into something more and catches both people off guard? Carlotta Ardell invites us into this roller-coaster romance between Chandler Gray, a focused nursing student and Moses Lawson, a bachelor firefighter who is used to his pick of women. As readers, we follow these two through break-ups, breaking points and several chances at love. They say if you love something set it free, if it comes back…it’s yours. Chandler and Moses both make decisions that take them in totally different directions, until an unfortunate event years later brings them back into each other lives and all of their unresolved issues and feelings come back to the surface. How on earth will they handle it this time?
What I loved most about this book is the depth of the characters. We find out so much about Chandler Gray and Moses Lawson history, that it was so easy to understand the decisions they made. The excellent character development made it easy to love Chandler and Moses together or separately. The dialogue was realistic and funny. I laughed out loud throughout the book. If you are looking for a love story to escape the hum-drum of everyday life, I highly recommend Breaking Point: Chandler’s Choice. You will not be disappointed.
Breaking Point: Chandler's Choice is another offering by writer Carlotta Ardell in her series of STEM romances. Having read her first novel, Elevated Inferno, there was a pleasant familiarity with several of the characters from that book appearing here. We get to see the end of their story while exploring the lives of old and new characters as well. Although it is the second book in the series, its narrative is not a sequel, and its plot and subplots stand alone.
Like Elevated Inferno, Breaking Point is an easy, engaging read. The characters are everyday people with issues familiar to many of us. There is a realism, particularly with the use of real locales, that makes it very relatable.
One thing I really like about this author's work is her ability to tastefully tackle sexual encounters. In a "let-it-all-hang-out" world, she tastefully includes the sex while remaining PG.
I began reading small portions at a time, but a little past halfway through, I couldn't put it down, and I stayed up way over half the night to see how it ended. I just had to know! Ardell makes the reader care about the characters and their challenges and struggles by artfully presenting them, flaws and all, as they seek to resolve tough life issues.
Chandler Gray and Moses Lawson a complicated relationship. Chandler a Nurse and Moses a Firefighter. They met and started a non-commitment relationship until Chandler developed deeper feelings and wanted more out the relationship, but Moses refused because of instability to commit to a relationship. Fast forward a few years, Chandler is divorced with a little girl and Moses is in a motorcycle accident and needs a nurse and this is where they reconnect. Although Moses loves Chandler and want to develop a meaningful relationship, but there are concerns that they both need to work through. I received the audio from the author and my honest opinion, the story and characters are well developed. I did not care for the narration, it seemed unimaginative for me, and I think I would have enjoyed the story more by reading it versus listening to the audio. I think this book is great for new readers or anyone getting into reading. It is wholesome with a meaningful romance showing love amid chaos, forgiving and how everything happens for a reason. I give this story 3 out of 5-star rating.
Get cozy and start reading. Similar to Elevated Inferno, Breaking Point does such a great job of incorporating real, tough life topics into a story that gives you a warm feeling. I think everyone will find a character to identify with in Breaking Point - whether you’re a strong person who spends a lot of time taking care of others (maybe at your own expense), someone who has past demons to grapple with, or somewhere in between, you’ll be able to see yourself represented here. Even better, Carlotta again works in challenges specific to the BIPOC community in a super easy to approach way. Grief, childhood trauma, taking on big responsibilities before you feel ready, complicated feelings - it’s all covered. Looking forward to the next book in the First Responder Fairytales.
If you’ve read Elevated Inferno and, like me, wished there was more of the charming friend, Moses, you’ll be extra happy reading Breaking Point.
I have never quite been into fiction books, but I loved every bit of Breaking Point! The great representation! I loved so much that all the main characters were educated and with good jobs.
I loved that this book touches on emotions, heartbreak, true love, and more. At first, I was a bit taken aback by the short jump in years, but looking back it was perfect. The entire time I was rooting for whatever was good for Chandler, I felt she was a good woman and mom and she only deserved the best. I also felt very much for Moses and was happy that everything didn't fall on Chandler but he took the effort and time to work on himself as well.
I look forward to any book Carlotta writes because I feel so immersed in the story. Breaking Point takes you on a journey, there were so many times when I frowned, and felt deep empathy for the characters, but also saw the lights ahead and cheered with much enthusiasm for those moments.
I loved reading Elevated Inferno by Carlotta Ardell so I was excited to read book#2 in her series. Breaking Point: Chandler's Choice did not disappoint.
The story takes us on a journey with the main characters, Chandler and Moses, as they navigate the balance of love, careers, and family. Those imbalances presented by life will push you to a breaking point that also impacts everyone around you. While Chandler and Moses rode the rollercoaster of love, I appreciated the relationship between Chandler and her bestie,Ephinay. Their love and friendship added extra layers to the fairytale during good and bad times.
I sat down to read for an hour, then found myself turning the pages to find out what happened next. I laughed. I cried. I screamed. If you want to know how the fairytale ends, grab a copy of Breaking Point.
I had a pleasure to be a beta reader of this book. It's a lovely story about two people finding each other but timing keeps getting in the way! The main characters grapple with personal demons and traumas in their lives, what it means to create your own family and the challenges of developing your career as needs in life develop.
The characters are at different stage in their lives than me so I don't think I would have picked it up on my own but it is a really heartwarming (and at time steamy) story! I'm sure it has only gotten better as final edits were implemented!
Carlotta writes strong African American characters likely reflecting her own community and experiences where she is a fantastic role model as an engineering professor so I think for all those reasons it is a good read!
This couple had a long and bumpy road on their way to a HEA. Moses has player written all over him and Chandler should have known better. But she couldn't help herself. She thought it would just be fun for a while and then she would walk away. Moses doesn't want anything permanent with anyone, but Chandler is different. But he still can't bring himself to make it permanent with her. When he just blows her off, she walks away. Years later, they meet again, and she can't help it if her heart still only wants Moses. The stakes are higher now that she has a daughter to think about. Will Moses ever be ready for a real relationship? Can Chandler trust him with her heart again?
I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it. I was reading it during a training I had lol. The way the author intertwined faith into the story was beautiful. The fact that the love between the characters was still there after a period of time. I’m not gonna go into detail. Just please buy the book and read it for yourselves. You won’t regret it. It’s just a beautiful love story. I can’t wait for the next book to come out! Black love win again ❤️
Wow! I had to force myself to stop listening (listen with 1.2 or faster for natural pace). Chandler and Moses have such an exciting build up of their relationship ! I can’t write more because I don’t want to spoil it. I was also happy to have Monet and Reese (first book of Carlotta Ardell) make a reappearance. However, it’s not necessary to read the first book to get into the second. I love the passion in this book and I usually prefer sci-fi, fantasy, or horror. So, this was a pleasant surprise and I can’t wait for the next amazing book of Carlotta Ardell!
Such a great story! It gave me all the feels as Chandler and Moses found and fought for their love. I also loved the relatable, strong, smart African-Americans characters with dreams and drives. This is my first read by this author. I will be checking out more of her work.
Fantastic read. Reading this book was a great way to destress.
While this was an excellent romance novel, and the love story was amazing, I love the focus on Chandler’s career and her success as a woman in STEM. This was a story unlike any other.
I loved this book and how the characters have evolved. I enjoyed the romance with some spiritual growth of the characters. It shows how love finds, endures and is patient.