Sometimes I wish life had dealt me a different hand. Perhaps then, my parents would still be alive, and I could have graduated from university instead of dropping out to care for my brother and working in a bar—struggling to make ends meet each month.
In another life, Paxton and I might still be friends, but when I needed him the most, he was off touring the world. I haven’t heard from him in years—until he suddenly shows up at my work. In a turn of events, he becomes my roommate, hiding from the public and his band members. And just like that, the old crush I thought was history comes rushing back.
I only need to deal with him for a few months—just until my brother heads off to college. That can’t be so hard. Right?
Breakdown is a steamy rockstar/ enemies to lover’s romance. It's book four in the Hystoria series but can be read as a standalone. It is the only Hystoria book to include mmc pov chapters. This book entails mention and portrayal of narcissism, and grief due to losing loved ones.
⬥︎ This story follows Katie and Paxton who have been friends since they were teenagers, but with the success of the Hystoria (Paxton's band) their friendship was lost along the way. Ten years later, Paxton re-enters Katie's life, but this time he's willing to make amends for past mistakes.
⬥︎ I really liked Katie's character, she doesn't take shit from anyone and has always done the best she can for herself and her brother. She's very independent and doesn't accept help from anybody, but throughout the book we can see how much all the pressure she has is affecting her and how she realises that it's okay to ask others for help.
⬥︎ I loved the way the author portrayed Paxton's character, a person who thinks he's God's gift to humanity. I loved how he was able to see what his problem was and that he took time out to take care of himself, to be a better person and learn about feelings as if he were a toddler. Even though we got a few pov's from Paxton, I still would have liked to have seen more of his journey.
⬥︎ I liked the way their relationship developed and would've liked to see more moments between them on page. Katie and Paxton were always comfortable around each other, so it wasn't hard for her to call him on his bullshit. I liked that they always talked about everything, even if they were uncomfortable at times and even when Paxton would panic with fear of returning to his old self and hurting Katie in the process.
⬥︎ I loved how we got to see the characters from previous books (although I haven't read the first two 😅😅) and how all the pieces fell into place at the end.
⬥︎ I want to thank you the author for the opportunity to read this e-arc.
⬥︎ P.S.: I loved Micah character!! He's so sweet and funny, always with a mischievous glint in his eyes. I think he deserves a book about him.
This series follows a group of friends from high school. The guys became rock stars, and their female besties/crushes eventually make their way back to them. This is the fourth book that follows Pax and Katie. Once fame hit, Pax began to let it go to his head and developed a clinical case of narcissism. It got so bad that he did horrible things to his friends and bandmates and they told him to get help or get out. He chose to get help and now he’s back to lie low while he gets his life in order. And he wants to do that with by renting a room in Katie‘s house. Katie has been raising her brother since their parents died and she is struggling financially. So the rent from Pax would definitely come in handy. But being under one roof makes feelings start happening again and the two eventually reconnect.
This is listed as a standalone, but I think it would’ve been really helpful to have read the other books in the series first. That being said, the MMC of this book, Pax, did something horrendous previously in the series and I’m honestly not sure I would have forgiven him enough to have wanted to read this book. So in a way, it’s good that I read his book first.
Ebook. Purchased. Meh. This novella had details in the wrong places. Instead of whole chapters describing her friend’s stripper routine it would have been nicer to have more build up to the actual relationship. We went from reunion to sort of friends to in bed in a blink with what felt like zero build up or tension or even discussion.
I love a good redemption story! I loved this book. Katie was amazing, I adored her. Pax oof he made so many mistakes. But I love his redemption story. It was amazing to read about. I really really loved his growth and him in the end.
Love a story where people realise their actions have hurt others and they make the decision to change their life for the better. Was hard to put the book down to go to bed as the whole time I was thinking “just one more chapter”. I haven’t read Hailey’s other book but will definitely Can’t wait to read them.
TITLE: Breakdown GENRE: Contemporary Romance AUTHOR: Hailey Frost TROPE: Rockstar, Friends-to-Nothing-to-Lovers TYPE: Series (Hystoria Book 4) POV: Dual POV MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
⚠️ Check trigger warnings; this dark content is for +18 readers.
WHAT TO EXPECT: 🎸 Rockstar 🎤 Forced Proximity 🎸 Slow Burn 🎤 FMC Down On Her Luck 🎸 Roommates 🎤 Recovering Narcissist 🎸 No Third Act Break Up
Breakdown is hands down my favourite book of the series. Paxton is working on a road to redemption for all he inflicted on his bandmates and Eve in the past. Pax's first mission is to connect with his former best friend and school crush, Katie. Katie has been scraping by, supporting both her and her younger brother in the years since her parents passed away. Hoping to elevate some of the financial burden, she agrees to take on Pax as a roommate.
I found the storyline flowed well and the characters engaging; it was a good closure to the series in how everything came together at the end. I am giving Breakdown a rating of 4 / 5 stars.
Katie is doing everything to stay afloat and keep it together for the sake of her younger brother Luke who is in his last year of high school. It’s just the two of the since their parents passed in a car accident. Working nights as a bartender to pay the bills, she decides she’s going to take in a roommate to help cover more expenses. But who other than her old best friend Paxton of the rockband Hystoria.
But the band doesn’t know where Paxton is, so not only is he going to be Katie’s new roommate, she’s also going to be hiding his location to her besties.
Can they stop old feelings from coming back to the surface? And what about the help Paxton is getting while he’s away from the band…?
📚 Rockstar Romance 📚 Second Chance 📚 Forced Proximity - Roomates 📚 4th Book in Series 📚 Dual POV
This was my first Hailey Frost read and I love the style she writes and the friend group I’ve been introduced to. Okay I love a second chance, previous best friends, then the boy comes back after becoming famous!! Ahhhh like all the women in the world but coming back home to your OG girl 😍🥹🫶🏻
Breakdown is the deliciously slow-burning story of Pax and Katie. Childhood friends until Pax’s narcissism decimated their friendship. Now, eight years later, they need to try to rebuild the relationship they once had. They aren’t the same people anymore, though; both carry their own trauma and scars that they need to overcome if they are going to make things work.
Unlike the other books in this series, we get Pax’s POV as well as Katie’s, whereas the others are all strictly from the POV of the female character. I think this was really important because it portrayed his narcissism perfectly and his inner struggles and thoughts.
I loved the sideline characters and the fact that the rest of hystoria was still involved, if only from the outside, respecting that Pax needed space. Characters like Micah brought some much-needed fun and flirty banter while hinting at other possible romances. They all also cared deeply about Katie and worried about her taking on too much and burning out.
While it deals with a heavy topic, I actually found the book to be relatively light. Yes, there were some angsty moments, but on the whole, the gentle teases and caring nature made for a happy read.
I loved that it focused on redemption and fixing the mistakes of the past, especially with Paxton and all his friends that he hurt on his road to becoming a big superstar! We really got to see his struggles in a raw and organic sense, which really made me enjoy his storyline. Katie has been through so much in a short amount of time. From losing her parents in a drunk driving accident, to raising her brother and thinking she's not doing enough because she had a better childhood than he did, she has sacrificed so much and continues to put her brother before herself. Through their past mistakes and grief, they overcome and built something so beautiful.
It wasn't super spicy, more so focusing on the characters and storyline itself (which is always refreshing!) I enjoyed this read and can't wait to read more of Hailey's books soon!
3.5 ⭐️ This was a cute read, I loved the FMC Katie, who was had custody of her younger brother following their parents death. She was such a good guardian to Luke, making sure he had everything & working herself to the bone. Because of this she never really grieved her parents and doesn’t spend time on herself. Pax is her childhood friend who went off to be a rockstar and they lost touch but now he is back and been in therapy for Acquired Situational Narcissism. Whilst he is very sorry for his past actions, Katie continues to help him in his recovery. Whilst I did like the storyline, it all felt too fast pace for me and felt like there were chunks missing. They hardly talked about their past and it all just seemed brushed over. Also not a fan of the cover, I read because I seen a tiktok that intrigued me.
I was very excited to read Pax's story, honestly, he was a bit of an enigma and it did not disappoint. His struggle was very well portrayed, and I loved how he redeemed himself. Katie was a very strong character, as Hailey's FMCs always are. I enjoyed her relationship with her brother, and she was such a good sister. I really felt for her, she was always sacrificing herself, and she deserved a big love story.
This was a very good read and I finished it in one sitting. ALSO I really really loved that we got to see the PAX's POVs, they really helped the story and seeing how insecure he was broke my heart <3 I loved seeing their relationship blossom!
I received this book as an arc reader and this is my honest review.
This book hit the mark. Between the backstory and Katie overcoming so much trauma and grief and raising Luke. To Paxton hurting her previously and the emotions that come with that. Fast forward to a narcissist actually getting help?!? 🤯 the way he works through it with therapy and asking the people in his life to help him is some great character development. I wish the spice was a bit spicer, but all in all it was a great fast read. Wasn’t too deep, but yet still heartwarming to see a happy couple find their way back to each other.
Loved being able to read this as a ARC! Thank you for the opportunity!!
Being totally honest this is my first read in the Hystoria series… I signed up to ARC read and got it!! That being said, wow.. loved this book! I’m totally going back and reading the first 3 books in the series.
Who doesn’t love a redemption story? From what I got from this book Pax WAS a true asshole, but I LOVE his character development and the fact he actually wanted to work on himself. Now Katie is just a sweetheart, and the relationship she has with her brother is so heartwarming. I liked how she didn’t endlessly monologue about why she should or shouldn’t do something too. Slow burn, could’ve been a bit spicier but still hot😉🌶️✨🔥
Though it wasn’t for me it felt bland I feel like there wasn’t enough emotional connection it’s hard to explain for example he shows up wanting to live with her for a couple of months because is the only one who was always straight with him the it focuses on how hard life is for her and then hanging out in the house for his birthday and all of a sudden I was in love with you and bam let’s kiss and F**k and from there it’s love. The build up to it was bland I did not feel connected to the characters but maybe for someone else it will be a great read and will see it differently
I really wanted to like this story and there were a few aspects that I did but everything felt a bit shallow?
The beginning was a nice steady pace but once Pax was introduced the timeline kept jumping in very inconsistent ways. Their attraction made sense but once the book came to a close it felt rushed and disjointed. I would have loved to see more character development as the whole purpose of pax moving in was for Katie to help him.
Aside from maybe correcting his spoiled habits Pax talked about being a narcissist but the further along the story went it was harder to believe given the absolute lack of presence.
4⭐️ 2.5🌶️ This is a really wonderful second chance, small town, romance. This is the 4th book in the Hystoria series which center around band members who find their significant others. The entire series has been good and this book is truly no exception. It will have you laughing, it will have your heart aching, and it will leave you feeling all the good feels. This book deals with mental health content especially pertaining to narcissistic personality disorder, so if you are sensitive to that, please be aware.
Second Chance ✅ Rockstar Romance✅ Friends-to-Enemies-to-Lovers✅ Roommate✅
Plot 2 ✨
When I first read the description of this book, I thought I was going to love it. However, it fell flat for me. I found myself getting more annoyed by Katie, even though I understood why she was doing the things she was. The one thing I did like is how self-aware Paxton was and how he was determined to change not just for Katie or his band mates but for himself.
If you like all the tropes above this might be for you it just wasn't for me.
I just loved Katie and Pax’s story. Pax is trying to get redemption for things he’s done. Trying to have a relationship with Katie after 10 years. Katie is looking after her younger brother since her parents passed away years ago. She has dedicated her life to looking after her brother. What an amazing sister she is. As Katie and Pax navigate their relationship with some ups and down love always wins. Loved it.
4.5 Such a good book I finished it in one day. I loved Katie and it was such a good easy read. The spice was a little slow burn but once it happened damn it was good. I loved the redemption and I love all of the relationships in this book. 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Tropes Second chance Redemption Rock star Single parent(sister) Unequal social status F/N/L Slow burn Roommates Fmc down on her luck Recovering narcissist
Holy!! I love a good redemption story and Hailey did not disappoint ! Paxton made we want to throw my kindle, a true narcissist with no care. Katie who is such a kind & loving big sister who puts the needs of everyone else before her made my heart hurt! Breakdown blew me away with the self redemption, steamy scenes & overall character building within this story, a new favourite for sure!
Really loved this book as it was a wonderful surprise to have a story without a buttload of angst! It felt like a really heart-warming read and I adored Katie's strength and resilience. The friendships shown in the book are amazing and while Paxtons meant to be the big bad rockstar vibes, he is so easy to love and root for.
This was a really quick great read. A true redemption story. The narcissism story line, through me a bit. Maybe it’s because I don’t have experience but a reformed narcissist was a bit strange.
It was good to see Katie and Paxton as they went from friends to strangers to lovers.
I didn’t read any other novels in this stand alone series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This had a great story of forgiveness and rising above our flaws although I never heard of Pac's problem. I'm glad the band came to but if they go lite on their career they may not make it. I think the industry uses these guys to get all the money out of them and then dumps them or the guys quit. Its real sad.
I enjoyed it and thought it was cute. It just felt a bit short and therefore rushed. I wish they hadn’t come together so easily and there really didn’t feel like there was any conflict or tension where there probably should have been. There was also quite a few errors so some more time editing would have gone a long way.
Decent read, i feel like there wasn't as much conflict as I was hoping. And I wish the book started off with the past chapter instead of it being 5 or 6 chapters in. However I liked their story and happy ending.
Loved the ending of the series and it was such a lovely ride☺️ the 2nd was my personal favorite and I enjoyed the different storylines😁 I really loved that in this book we got both POVs and not just the girl, even though it was just 3 chapters worth😅 a fun series and a good ending⭐️3.7