Breakup In A Small Town (A Slippery Rock Novel, Book 3)

Slippery Rock #3

by Kristina Knight

This isn't the man she married…

Jenny Buchanan never considered what "for better or for worse" meant when she married Adam Buchanan at nineteen. Six years and two little boys later, "for worse" arrives in the form of a tornado that ravages Slippery Rock and injures Adam. Now he's a stranger to his family…and love won't be enough to bring him back.

Only when Jenny asks him to move out does Adam become the husband she needs…but Adam isn't the only one who's changed. As their attraction sparks back to life, Jenny and Adam must learn what it is to grow up—and grow together—before this small-town breakup lasts forever.

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2017

About the author

Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police--no, she wasn't a troublemaker, she was a journalist. Her career took her all over the United States, writing about everything from a serial killer's capture to the National Finals Rodeo. Along the way she found her very own Knight in Shining Cowboy Boots and an abiding love for romance novels. Kristina writes contemporary romance with a smattering of sass, sex and (of course) drama, and she loves hearing from readers. And just like the characters from her favorite books, she's living her own happily ever after.

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good second chance story.

[Micah Persell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excuse me while I disappear for a couple weeks; I'll be binge-reading the rest of this series. Wow! I've always been a Kristina Knight fan, but this book blew me out of the water. The "small town" in her books' titles is it's own character, with vivid locals, beautiful scenery, and people you'd want for neighbors. I haven't read many romances where the main couple is already married and going through marital problems, mostly because I get so sad in those books: the couple's troubles usually stem from internal conflict such as selfishness, lack of loyalty, etc. While Jenny and Adam certainly have their share of some of these issues, it's the very real impetus of tragedy that brings them to light. As a married person myself, I can see the possibility of Jenny and Adam around the slightest misfortunate corner, which puts the reader (in this case, me) solidly rooting for them from Chapter One. I just devoured this book, and everytime I had to put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to it. Loved it.

[Books and Spoons · Rating 4 out of 5]

An emotional, heart-wrenching, and thought-provoking story that is much topical right now in the current events. Maybe that is the reason why - I admit - I have kept putting this book off. I saw in the blurb that a tornado had leveled part of the town, and the hero was injured because of it, and suddenly all the hurricane, earthquake and wildfire news came that much closer and my idea of escape-reading was far-fetched.
Jenny and Adam Buchanan had married young, straight out of high school, after Adam had been in a serious car accident. The book has timing issues throughout the eARC. When they have been together ten years, when married six, when married nine years, when they got married when they were 18, then when they were 19, then being now 24, or 26 or next time 28, loving each other half of their lives but together only ten... So, the fact was, they got married very young and were under 30 years old. They lives were set around the circle of family, taking care of their boys, building up the family business until the tornado hit the town, and Adam was seriously injured, again.
It has been three months from Adam's injury when Jenny's cup runs over and life gets too much to handle. Adam's recovery is not happening fast enough and keeping up all the balls in the air is just too much for her and the laundry-gate happens.
As I was reading this story, I realized I was reacting to Jenny not only as disliking her as a character, but resenting her on a very personal level, as well. It has only been three MONTHS from the tornado yet she expects things to be moving on, Adam to snap out of it, and start to adjust to life in a wheelchair, and other limitations that could be part of his life rest of his days. I don't remember when I have been as mad at a character as I was with Jenny. As a person with a partial disability, and not at the state of wheelchair or epilepsy, it took me three YEARS to adjust to the new life, to adjust the medication, to adjust not being able to work, to snap out of the funk, and she expects him to perform as a functioning, contributing person after three MONTHS?! Lady... It is a good thing she is a fictional character, right?!
I liked Adam. Maybe it was easy for me to relate to him. His struggle to find his new place in his old life was realistic. His feelings for his family are true, his need to protect them from himself are noble, if not what they needed or wanted. I loved the connection he builds up with his sons, they brought tears to my eyes several times with the earnest, emotional scenes as they adjust to the new life.
So this story came to be a bit too personal for me, and thus it was difficult to be 'partial and fair' at times with Jenny and the twists in the plot. But I do believe the story deserves the four Spoons because it is well written and the story has a great flow, it engages the thoughts and emotions of the reader, and the characters have depth and show development as the tale unfolds. The great truth about saying "I do", and 'do' being an active verb, not an emotion or a feeling, and thus promising to choose love and commitment each day, and actively work towards that goal with one's actions and behavior as well, is a great lesson and reminder to the readers. Life is not easy, it can be very challenging, and to choose to act upon the promise made, even when everything goes wrong, that is the true test of the commitment to love each other in sickness and in health...
An interesting, challenging, and inspirational story about marriage and love at the most trying times in life
~ Four Spoons

[Lynn Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turmoil and heartache snare our attention with this latest dip into Kristina Knight’s Slippery Rock series. If you’ve read the previous books, you will recognize Adam and Jenny and already be familiar with what happened to him. I was hooked on the story just from enjoying the series, but watching them fight for their relationship kept me even more enthralled. She was hard to like, but I enjoyed their story.

Jenny Buchanan thought she had a happy life until her husband was almost killed in the tornado that struck Slippery Rock. Now she’s living with a cold and bitter man who is nothing like the man she married, and it’s making her take a big look back at their life together in a way she never did. She’s seeing ways that she never spoke up for herself, and ways she settled instead of reaching for what she wanted.

Adam Buchanan is shocked out of his new life of anger and self-pity when his wife asks him to move out. She’s tired of living half a life with him and the man he has become since his injury. He knows in his heart that she deserves better than the life he’s left her with, but he can’t bring himself to leave and give up on what they have shared. Can changing his attitude and trying to find a way to cope with his illness make his wife fall back in love with him again?

[Kate Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever wondered if you wanted to stay married, but weren't sure if you could manage separating from your spouse, you will empathize with Jenny Buchanan, who is now "doing it all" after Adam is badly injured in a tornado. All? His work, her work, the children's needs and their worries, his parents. Yep, all of it. And Adam remains in a dark funk Jenny can't seem to plumb.

When she tells him to move out, Adam has a wake-up call. Will he lose the woman he's loved since they were in school? Will he lose his two little boys? What about his business? In one sense, he thinks that being gone will make it easier for everyone, but he doesn't really want that, or does he?

How these two complex characters being to work through not only their personal issues but the interpersonal and business ones, too, speaks to the difficult realities of how injuries leave behind more than scars and the meaning of those scars as healing takes away the most obvious pain.

[Jess Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breakup in a Small Town is the third book in the Slipper Rock series by Kristina Knight. I can't help it I absolutely love every single visit I make to this town. I don't know what it is but Kristina always blows me away. Jenny and Adam's story is no different. This couple has been through so much and this has caused a rocky marriage.

Jenny has tried to be there for Adam since his accident but his attitude is becoming more than she can handle. She can no longer endure the daily struggle of being treated unfairly. She understands that Adam has been through Haiti and back but she would love nothing more than to be able to see the man she fell in love with again.

Adam knows he has been a bear to deal with since his accident. His life completely changed in one moment though. He knows he needs to get his act together because he is pushing everyone around him away. Can he change things before he looses his life forever?

You will adore this series. I recommend all three books!

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings when I requested this book as I had read the previous books and didn't much like Adam very much. He had come across as moody, combative, rude and at some points, abusive towards Jenny. While Jenny had come across as sweet, supportive, hurt and embarrassed when he was acting this way in front of his friends. So while I liked that he finally got a clue, it still left a bad taste of the way he acted previously towards her. No matter how much he was hurting and was in his own personal hell, I didn't like his treatment of the woman who he was suppose to have loved and who supported him for so long.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenny and Adam are married, with 2 young sons. When a tornado rips through town Adam is seriously injured. Since he can’t work at their cabinetry company Jenny has to take over. And take care of him, the boys, the house and the cooking. Meanwhile, Adam just withdraws, thinking they’re all better off without him. Once Jenny gets mad enough and lashes out, he realizes he’s never been much help to her. Things are getting better, then he has another setback and leaves them. I liked this story, they seemed real and the whole town was great.
When Adam finally wakes up and realizes what he almost gave up, I was glad.

[Kathleen Booker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying the Slippery Rock series. Very sweet read about young love growing up together, getting ripped apart and finding their way back. Look forward to next one.

[Janga · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong marriage-in-trouble story despite some contradictory details that were confusing. Full review will be posted soon at The Romance Dish.

[Anna Beason · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book I have read by this author (Kristina Knight). I have enjoyed her writing and storyline very much and look forward to reading more books by Ms Knight.

[Steph N · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of those... "why did I just read that" moments. I enjoy a good beach read. Who doesn't?

This is not that.

[Harlequin Books]

received 4 1/2 stars @ harlequin.com (as of 9/27/17). To view reviews, go HERE> https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/...

Miniseries: A Slippery Rock Novel

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew Adam and Jenny's story was going to be tough to read, and I wasn't wrong. Seeing them be all happy and married in much of book one ( Famous in a Small Town ) and then him nearly dying in the tornado and then his bitterness and their distance from each other in book two ( Rebel in a Small Town ) was difficult enough--seeing things from their perspectives, though? Was sure to be even harder.

And it was...and wasn't.

It was a relief to see the reasons behind what they were doing, even when I didn't agree with them--and there were parts that I strongly disagreed with. Why couldn't they just see that they still had a life, a future together? That she wasn't pitying him, and that Jenny and the kids didn't "deserve" better? Couldn't she see that Adam really was trying?

This book was hard to read, but rewarding at the same time, because Adam and Jenny do (eventually--talk about waiting until the last minute; argh!) figure it out. And watching two people who have been together forever but are just finally figuring out how to really be together at last makes for one heck of a story. I'm really looking forward to seeing them together again in future series books, as they continue to work their way through being a stronger, better family together :)

Breakup is the third book in the series, and though you do have enough background here for it to work okay as a standalone, it will have a lot more impact if you've read the first two books first and have seen this one coming up in the rearview. Plus, the first two books a great stories in their own right, so you'll be doing yourself an extra-special favor by reading them all. ;)

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[Melissa]

This book had me on the edge of my seat.  I was not sure what was going to happen between Jenny and Adam.  Stay together or stay apart?  It was nice reading about a couple that was married already and facing a life event that changed so much in both Jenny and Adam's life.  After the tornado, Adam changed a lot from the man Jenny married.  I hope there are a book or 2 more in this series!

☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!
Read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!
Melissa