*WARNING! potential spoilers ahead*
cooper callahan the man that you are !!!!
when i originally read first down, i loved cooper and sebastian (maybe even a little more so than i even loved james.) they both had these winner personalities and were incredibly funny each and every time they were mentioned in the book (as well as post-grad: the extended epilogue) cooper, specifically, has such a charming personality. he was caring, funny, flirtatious, nerdy, and knew his boundaries. that man had a heart of gold. his energy matches penny's incredibly well. cooper was very passionate about everything: including penny (and lord of the rings, but mostly penny) the way cooper was completely on board with sharing her interests and taking a deep dive crash course into penelope ryder was absolutely heartwarming.
penny, on the other hand, was just as charming as cooper. i personally loved everything about her. she was sassy, determined, funny, creative, and utterly romantic. every part of the relationship she had with cooper was unbelievably and undeniably cute. their ability to bond with each other as friends and lovers was so admirable. i loved how vulnerable penny allowed herself to be, there was still pieces of her that were broken from a previous relationship (and some other things in her life) and she decided it was right to take care of herself, to try to make herself bigger and better than before. penny's therapist had my whole entire heart, she was the best <3
cooper callhan came in and delivered with the daddy issues, i really did appreciate the portrayal of being the middle child and feeling unloved or underappreciated. i feel like i never really see that type of content outright. his story in particular made me realize that even though somebody could technically have everything in the world (money, fame, love, etc.) their problems are still just as valid as the next. cooper truly struggled with his relationship with his father and after seeing the obvious effect it had on him it was beautiful to see the slow development and resolution of that relationship. even though he may be fictional, i wish that man all the best.
i really enjoy how different cooper was from his older brother james and penny was from bex, they weren't a carbon copy of the same character. their personalities were able to shine through and we were able to truly love the characters. there was a different plot, different characters but it still remained in the same setting. authors who can build worlds like that are utterly talented in my book.
although i, myself, am not big on the plot of books only being smut/spice, i absolutely enjoyed this book. the smut aspect of the book really had a meaning, it wasn't just thrown out there for no reason or to arouse its readers from the get-go. there was a deeper, more important reason to why penny and cooper were together in the first place. penny had depth, she had a backstory-- there was ultimately a reason why the plot of this book was in place.
breakaway wasn't just some fifty shades of grey, there was a reason for the season. i personally think that aspect of the book pulled cooper and penny closer together in their relationship. penny had to gradually build some type of trust with cooper to continue guiding her through the list she'd made. their relationship blossomed as that friendship, trust, and love did.
THANK GOD AND GRACE REILLY FOR NO THIRD-ACT BREAK-UP, YOU SAVED THE RATING AND MY BRAIN FROM THE FRUSTRATIONS.
i really did enjoy this book, the callahan brothers (AND IZZY !!!) and the women who keep them out of absolute fucking chaos have my heart and whole entire soul. i cannot wait for sebastian's book, i know it will be just as good as the rest !!!