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The Fall Trilogy #1
Breakfall
Two MIT students, two martial arts clubs, two different backgrounds. The ex-Navy Asbjorn Lund, still grieving his karate teacher's death, resolves to teach his students how to fall. When he infiltrates the aikido club as a rank beginner, the Aikidoka Sean Gallaway throws him - and Asbjorn falls for Sean, body and heart and spirit.
Sean has a lot to learn from the older and more experienced Asbjorn, from dirty street fighting to the beginning of something sweet and lasting. Except trouble finds Sean, the kind where he loses the battle and hopes to win the war. Brave and proud, Sean determines to finish the career of a sexual predator who victimized him.
Sean won't be coddled.
Asbjorn needs to protect.
The two will find their happiness - unless they kill each other first.
BREAKFALL is Book 1 of the Fall Trilogy, an action-packed gay romantic suspense story of retribution, revenge and recovery. And, of course, love.
Sean has a lot to learn from the older and more experienced Asbjorn, from dirty street fighting to the beginning of something sweet and lasting. Except trouble finds Sean, the kind where he loses the battle and hopes to win the war. Brave and proud, Sean determines to finish the career of a sexual predator who victimized him.
Sean won't be coddled.
Asbjorn needs to protect.
The two will find their happiness - unless they kill each other first.
BREAKFALL is Book 1 of the Fall Trilogy, an action-packed gay romantic suspense story of retribution, revenge and recovery. And, of course, love.
262 pages, Paperback
First published June 26, 2014
5 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Kate Pavelle
60 books52 followersKate Pavelle learned to use a gas mask in first grade, fired her first VZ50 in her sixth grade civil defense class and her dog was a wolf hybrid stolen from the Czechoslovak border guard. Her eccentric father blew out the windows of their house with a stun grenade.
Her high-stakes childhood leaves Kate searching for the next exciting thing: martial arts, horses, toxic mushrooms.
Her quests resonates through her suspense, thrillers and romances. Kate once knew the hunger of being a political refugee and the terror of being pursued by government agents. She imbues her characters with her own struggle for survival, excellence, and world domination.
Only the dead bodies are imaginary.
Her high-stakes childhood leaves Kate searching for the next exciting thing: martial arts, horses, toxic mushrooms.
Her quests resonates through her suspense, thrillers and romances. Kate once knew the hunger of being a political refugee and the terror of being pursued by government agents. She imbues her characters with her own struggle for survival, excellence, and world domination.
Only the dead bodies are imaginary.
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dnf
July 3, 2014/3/2014 spoilers in comments, please be advised.
Made it to 13% before I just gave up.
Made it to 13% before I just gave up.
August 5, 2014
Let me say in advance that although one of my pet peeves is a cliffhanger ending, I was not upset at the one in this book. Firstly, because I suspected there would be one as it's part of a trilogy but secondly, and more importantly, the book was too good to get upset over that minor detail.
Asbjorn and Sean were both very powerfully written characters. Sean in particular came across as a well-balanced and strong person who coped well with being bait for the stalker. I really loved how the author wrote both the attack and the aftermath in an insightful and matter of fact way that brought home that anyone can be a victim of such a crime but not everyone need be a victim for life because of it.
I liked the martial arts aspect of the story but could have done with a little less of the full on information about it. That said, it played a big part in the characters of both men and the way they interacted with each other with neither willing to be considered weak and girlish.
If I have one complaint about this book, it's that the author used a lack of communication between the men to add tension and drama to an already excellent story.
Taking all these points into account, I give this book a 5*. Generally a well written story and worth the read. I highly recommend it to any reader who likes Martial Arts, stubborn guys, realistic drama or just a great romance story.
Asbjorn and Sean were both very powerfully written characters. Sean in particular came across as a well-balanced and strong person who coped well with being bait for the stalker. I really loved how the author wrote both the attack and the aftermath in an insightful and matter of fact way that brought home that anyone can be a victim of such a crime but not everyone need be a victim for life because of it.
I liked the martial arts aspect of the story but could have done with a little less of the full on information about it. That said, it played a big part in the characters of both men and the way they interacted with each other with neither willing to be considered weak and girlish.
If I have one complaint about this book, it's that the author used a lack of communication between the men to add tension and drama to an already excellent story.
Taking all these points into account, I give this book a 5*. Generally a well written story and worth the read. I highly recommend it to any reader who likes Martial Arts, stubborn guys, realistic drama or just a great romance story.
August 16, 2014
1.5 STARS
Before I start I’m going to warn you all that this review is going to contain some major spoilers. I’ll warn you again before I get to that bit but I thought I’d let you know from the start in case you catch a glimpse as you get closer. Normally I avoid including spoilers, at least any important ones, but having given such a low rating, which I hate doing and have only done once before, I feel the need to explain myself. Obviously, as always, this is just my opinion.
I’ve always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Kate Pavelle’s books. Well actually no, until this book, hate would have been too strong a word. So why would I choose to review one? They’ve always annoyed me a bit, I think it’s the way the characters speak, but at the same time I like the plots she comes up with and the way she always includes information about topics I’m definitely no expert on. For example I loved the rock climbing angle she took with Zipper Fall and Wild Horses was horse training which I always enjoy reading about. The obviously extensive research she does into these topics results in a bit of an info dump but I’ve always found it interesting before. When I saw that this story was about martial arts I figured it would be similar to the previous books, an interesting backdrop for the book’s plot. Instead the martial arts overtook the story to, I believe, the detriment of the plot. It was not an information dump, it was an absolute avalanche that buried me in so many rituals and details that I just couldn’t keep up with what was going on. It was like parts of the story were written in another language and I ended up lost. On top of that some of the parts I did understand felt almost preachy. I get that some martial art styles include a lot of spiritual aspects but still, it just felt too heavy for this story.
Now onto the plot which will likely be interspersed with rants about the two main characters. And there will be some spoilers here but as the blurb already mentions that Sean is attacked these aren’t any major spoilers.
Sean and Asbjorn are both martial arts instructors in different types of styles. They meet when Asbjorn enrolls in Sean’s class and doesn’t mention who he is. He and Sean become friends and find themselves attracted to each other despite the fact they’re “not gay”. This bugged me. Asbjorn admits he is attracted to men but seriously never seems to consider that he might be gay. And Sean is attracted to a particular woman because, let me count the ways, she reminds Sean of her brother. What annoys me is that neither man is stupid and neither man has a hard time admitting that he’s gay (eventually) but it just never seems to occur to either one that finding men attractive could mean that he’s gay. The result is an on again, off again relationship that carries on throughout the whole book and I grew more and more frustrated with the men as it went on. Maybe if they were teenagers I could have bought their insecurity and idiocy but not in two grown men who are apparently mature enough to be martial arts teachers.
The attack on Sean was handled fairly well. Considering he behaves like a complete idiot when it comes to most things I expected him to be an idiot in this too. He promises the attacker he won’t call the police and I cringed thinking he is actually stupid enough to keep that promise, but I was pleasantly surprised. I also like the way all of the secondary characters react to the attack. Good or bad, their reactions are fairly realistic. What I didn’t appreciate was coming across what I consider a rape scene involving a main character without warning. The blurb mentions sexual assault but in my opinion there is a big difference between sexual assault and rape. Some readers may not consider it rape because there isn’t any anal penetration but I consider what occurred rape and the victim, Sean, refers to it as rape. I really think there should have been a content warning because if there were I wouldn’t have chosen to read this book.
This next bit contains the spoilers I mentioned at the start. If you don’t want to know (very specifically) what it was that pissed me off so much then stop here.
Since we’re discussing content warnings, here’s where I’ll bring up cheating. I don’t read books with cheating if I can help it. Ever. It doesn’t matter how much someone wants to assure me that the story is absolutely wonderful, if there’s cheating between the two main characters then I refuse to read the book. Cheating at 80% is just totally fucked up and the way it was handled in this book was just like rubbing salt in the wound. So, let me share. I’m sure some people will say it’s not cheating because the two men were in one of their “off again” phases, but! That’s just how their whole stupid relationship goes. On, off, fighting, loving, together, apart – annoying but there it is. Sean had already begun the whole get back together again song and dance but Asbjorn decides he’s still too pissed to get back together yet. So he gets drunk and has a threesome with two of their friends instead. What pissed me off most is that these two previously “straight men” are experiencing all their “gay firsts” together and suddenly out of nowhere Asbjorn is allowing another couple to tie him to the bed and claim his ass virginity. All the while feeling guilty and sad because he’s cheating on Sean who he’s in love with. Umm, ok, what the fuck ever. Meanwhile Sean is waiting for Asbjorn to come home and almost freezes to death after he falls asleep on his doorstep. And as much as I hate Asbjorn by this point I can hardly blame him for that because what sort of absolute tool decides to nap on a doorstep in a snowstorm? Asbjorn manages to defrost Sean then despite Sean’s upset at his confession of sex with their friends, Asbjorn starts hinting at how great the sex was and teases that maybe he’ll tell Sean all about it one day. Or maybe Sean can just experience it himself because Asbjorn wouldn’t mind a foursome with all of them. I really truly hated these characters. If the bad guy wasn’t a serial rapist I probably would have been cheering for him to win the day.
If this hadn’t been a review copy I would have DNFed. Perhaps even before I reached that point but definitely after reading that. But since I was already at 80% at least there wasn’t too much more to go, and there was still Sean’s attacker that needed catching. I was damned relieved when the story finally ended, though the semi-cliffhanger was irritating because there is no way in hell I’m going to be reading the sequel to this.
Pheww, now I’ve got that off my chest I feel so much better. I actually read this book a week ago but I’ve been putting off writing the review in the hope that I’d calm down and maybe see it all a bit more objectively. The best I can say about this is maybe if you’re martial arts obsessed you’ll enjoy it. And I mean obsessed, a slight interest isn’t likely to cut it.
Oh, yeah. I’m adding a P.S. to this review because I forgot to mention the biggest WTF moment I’ve read in a very long time. (I figure if you’ve gotten this far you’re ok with the spoilers.) One of the female characters is told she shouldn’t fight in their secret “fight club” because she’s had a baby so she whips out her breast and sprays the guy in the face with breast milk. I shit you not. True story. Read at your own risk. You’ve been warned.
My review of Breakfall can be found at Love Bytes
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2014/08/1...
Before I start I’m going to warn you all that this review is going to contain some major spoilers. I’ll warn you again before I get to that bit but I thought I’d let you know from the start in case you catch a glimpse as you get closer. Normally I avoid including spoilers, at least any important ones, but having given such a low rating, which I hate doing and have only done once before, I feel the need to explain myself. Obviously, as always, this is just my opinion.
I’ve always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Kate Pavelle’s books. Well actually no, until this book, hate would have been too strong a word. So why would I choose to review one? They’ve always annoyed me a bit, I think it’s the way the characters speak, but at the same time I like the plots she comes up with and the way she always includes information about topics I’m definitely no expert on. For example I loved the rock climbing angle she took with Zipper Fall and Wild Horses was horse training which I always enjoy reading about. The obviously extensive research she does into these topics results in a bit of an info dump but I’ve always found it interesting before. When I saw that this story was about martial arts I figured it would be similar to the previous books, an interesting backdrop for the book’s plot. Instead the martial arts overtook the story to, I believe, the detriment of the plot. It was not an information dump, it was an absolute avalanche that buried me in so many rituals and details that I just couldn’t keep up with what was going on. It was like parts of the story were written in another language and I ended up lost. On top of that some of the parts I did understand felt almost preachy. I get that some martial art styles include a lot of spiritual aspects but still, it just felt too heavy for this story.
Now onto the plot which will likely be interspersed with rants about the two main characters. And there will be some spoilers here but as the blurb already mentions that Sean is attacked these aren’t any major spoilers.
Sean and Asbjorn are both martial arts instructors in different types of styles. They meet when Asbjorn enrolls in Sean’s class and doesn’t mention who he is. He and Sean become friends and find themselves attracted to each other despite the fact they’re “not gay”. This bugged me. Asbjorn admits he is attracted to men but seriously never seems to consider that he might be gay. And Sean is attracted to a particular woman because, let me count the ways, she reminds Sean of her brother. What annoys me is that neither man is stupid and neither man has a hard time admitting that he’s gay (eventually) but it just never seems to occur to either one that finding men attractive could mean that he’s gay. The result is an on again, off again relationship that carries on throughout the whole book and I grew more and more frustrated with the men as it went on. Maybe if they were teenagers I could have bought their insecurity and idiocy but not in two grown men who are apparently mature enough to be martial arts teachers.
The attack on Sean was handled fairly well. Considering he behaves like a complete idiot when it comes to most things I expected him to be an idiot in this too. He promises the attacker he won’t call the police and I cringed thinking he is actually stupid enough to keep that promise, but I was pleasantly surprised. I also like the way all of the secondary characters react to the attack. Good or bad, their reactions are fairly realistic. What I didn’t appreciate was coming across what I consider a rape scene involving a main character without warning. The blurb mentions sexual assault but in my opinion there is a big difference between sexual assault and rape. Some readers may not consider it rape because there isn’t any anal penetration but I consider what occurred rape and the victim, Sean, refers to it as rape. I really think there should have been a content warning because if there were I wouldn’t have chosen to read this book.
This next bit contains the spoilers I mentioned at the start. If you don’t want to know (very specifically) what it was that pissed me off so much then stop here.
Since we’re discussing content warnings, here’s where I’ll bring up cheating. I don’t read books with cheating if I can help it. Ever. It doesn’t matter how much someone wants to assure me that the story is absolutely wonderful, if there’s cheating between the two main characters then I refuse to read the book. Cheating at 80% is just totally fucked up and the way it was handled in this book was just like rubbing salt in the wound. So, let me share. I’m sure some people will say it’s not cheating because the two men were in one of their “off again” phases, but! That’s just how their whole stupid relationship goes. On, off, fighting, loving, together, apart – annoying but there it is. Sean had already begun the whole get back together again song and dance but Asbjorn decides he’s still too pissed to get back together yet. So he gets drunk and has a threesome with two of their friends instead. What pissed me off most is that these two previously “straight men” are experiencing all their “gay firsts” together and suddenly out of nowhere Asbjorn is allowing another couple to tie him to the bed and claim his ass virginity. All the while feeling guilty and sad because he’s cheating on Sean who he’s in love with. Umm, ok, what the fuck ever. Meanwhile Sean is waiting for Asbjorn to come home and almost freezes to death after he falls asleep on his doorstep. And as much as I hate Asbjorn by this point I can hardly blame him for that because what sort of absolute tool decides to nap on a doorstep in a snowstorm? Asbjorn manages to defrost Sean then despite Sean’s upset at his confession of sex with their friends, Asbjorn starts hinting at how great the sex was and teases that maybe he’ll tell Sean all about it one day. Or maybe Sean can just experience it himself because Asbjorn wouldn’t mind a foursome with all of them. I really truly hated these characters. If the bad guy wasn’t a serial rapist I probably would have been cheering for him to win the day.
If this hadn’t been a review copy I would have DNFed. Perhaps even before I reached that point but definitely after reading that. But since I was already at 80% at least there wasn’t too much more to go, and there was still Sean’s attacker that needed catching. I was damned relieved when the story finally ended, though the semi-cliffhanger was irritating because there is no way in hell I’m going to be reading the sequel to this.
Pheww, now I’ve got that off my chest I feel so much better. I actually read this book a week ago but I’ve been putting off writing the review in the hope that I’d calm down and maybe see it all a bit more objectively. The best I can say about this is maybe if you’re martial arts obsessed you’ll enjoy it. And I mean obsessed, a slight interest isn’t likely to cut it.
Oh, yeah. I’m adding a P.S. to this review because I forgot to mention the biggest WTF moment I’ve read in a very long time. (I figure if you’ve gotten this far you’re ok with the spoilers.) One of the female characters is told she shouldn’t fight in their secret “fight club” because she’s had a baby so she whips out her breast and sprays the guy in the face with breast milk. I shit you not. True story. Read at your own risk. You’ve been warned.
My review of Breakfall can be found at Love Bytes
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2014/08/1...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2014
Title: Breakfall [Book 1 of the Fall Trilogy]
Author: Kate Pavelle
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review:
"Breakfall" by Kate Pavelle.....
What was this novel about?
"Sexual assault doesn't discriminate. Aikido instructor Sean Gallaway learns that when he falls prey to a violent stalker. Asbjorn Lund, a karate sensei on campus and a Navy vet, yearns to teach Sean how to survive. How to overcome. How to recover. Sean feels hunted and alone as the stalker escalates, testing his boundaries. With the entire dojo at his back, Sean resolves to play bait. He will catch the animal stalking him and reclaim his sense of self if it's the last thing he does. Yet Sean's hunger for justice clashes with Asbjorn's protective streak, and their budding romance might not survive their war of wills."
My thoughts from the read...
I thought what a interesting book cover and when I went on to find out what this novel was about I thought this may be good so I read "Breakfall." And YES, it is about gay partners. I must say I did like the martial arts going on but I really wasn't able to follow it all due to all of the references and its sayings? However, I kept on reading and found the two main characters were definitely alpha males and after all that happens the main question will be will they be able to work it all out in the end? There will have to be a lots of giving of space for one of the characters and for the other one to back off some but isn't that what love is all about...being there for each other and the give and take? Will these stubborn alpha males learn how to love each other while maintain their individuality? Well, I will not give any of it away other than to say you will have to pick up this read "Breakfall" to see how this will bring it all out to the reader. You will have to wait and see because this author will leave the reader with a cliff hanger, so we will have to wait for the next trilogy!
September 24, 2014
I admit starting this book with some trepidation, because of the sexual assault that is central to the plot of recovering trust in oneself, one's skills, and in others. I’ve read other work from this author and trusted her to carry me through difficult territory.
I am glad I read this book.
The two MCs are masters of different martial arts, and the differences in the forms’ philosophies are central to the conflict between the men, and the difficulties they have with each other and with events. Aikido, Sean’s discipline, promotes calm and defense, where Asbjorn’s karate and military background make the attack equally important. As he points out to Sean, you can’t expect the opponent to stay within your preferred style.
And unfortunately, the opponent doesn’t. Sean’s skills become the equivalent of bringing a knife to a gunfight: it doesn’t matter how good he is at what he does. Here’s where I have to admit to skimming, because I could not read the assault scene all the way through, for my own peace of mind, but I stayed with the story and with Sean and his aftermath. He’s got severe struggles with doubt over his skills and the rightness of his philosophy, and it’s as if he’s having a religious crisis of faith. He’s followed all the rules, lived correctly, done the right things, learned the skills perfectly, and still this terrible thing happened. His constant rehash of what his sensei would think, what he would approve of or disapprove of, was like endless pacing of the tiger in the cage, no way out within the structure of the cage of discipline. If the tiger grew wings, the tiger could escape into the sky. Sean has to find his “wings”, the flexibility to learn skills not found in aikido, and the mental wherewithal to use them. I got the distinct feeling the sensei had never been confronted with a real enemy.
Asbjorn has, and doesn’t mind using any trick or tool in his more aggressive repertory to defend, and if needed, to attack. He’s a 4th dan black belt and still considers that sometimes the right move is calling in air support or dialing 911. He’s a rock for Sean, who isn’t at all used to being supported, and Asbjorn’s oddly virginal for someone this comfortable with his sexuality, though the reality of being in the military encouraged him to keep a lid on his activities. This sense of inexperience led to my raised eyebrow at an event toward the end of the book, even though it was a reasonable thing to try.
Sean’s planning to date sensei’s sister, giving the feeling that he’s interested in sensei but at one remove. After the attack, Sean feels safer in being with a partner who doesn’t need to be protected (though Sister would probably demonstrate a few swift kicks at that thought). That's my thought, not something the author said, but Sean's never had a male lover until now.
Sean and Asbjorn do a delicate dance of respecting autonomy, finding confidence, and catching the perp, complicated by idiotic remarks from third parties. Sean’s on the wrong end of a lot of cultural assumptions about what happened to him (including inside his own head), and he deals with it by finding his strength in various places, including in bed with Asbjorn, who respects his boundaries there. I found this perfectly believable. Asbjorn’s torn between wanting to protect, defend, support, and not smother, and if he doesn’t always do it well, he’s trying. It’s rugged going, and when it seems like he can’t make it work with Sean even on the level of basic courtesy, it’s a very dark moment.
The author gives us a very rich and detailed world, letting us feel the gym mats rubbed with the sweat from a thousand falls, the tang of the air over the Charles River in the early morning, and the rasp of body hair under a lover’s hands. The detail of the martial arts is probably at the level of oxygen to practitioners, although it’s more strong perfume to those of us who think the aikido trousers are really palazzo pants. The style is fluid enough to drag me through the forest of unfamiliar terms.
The ending has hope, sweetness, and the promise of another Sean and Asbjorn book that comes like a blow to the face. I can’t wait.
I am glad I read this book.
The two MCs are masters of different martial arts, and the differences in the forms’ philosophies are central to the conflict between the men, and the difficulties they have with each other and with events. Aikido, Sean’s discipline, promotes calm and defense, where Asbjorn’s karate and military background make the attack equally important. As he points out to Sean, you can’t expect the opponent to stay within your preferred style.
And unfortunately, the opponent doesn’t. Sean’s skills become the equivalent of bringing a knife to a gunfight: it doesn’t matter how good he is at what he does. Here’s where I have to admit to skimming, because I could not read the assault scene all the way through, for my own peace of mind, but I stayed with the story and with Sean and his aftermath. He’s got severe struggles with doubt over his skills and the rightness of his philosophy, and it’s as if he’s having a religious crisis of faith. He’s followed all the rules, lived correctly, done the right things, learned the skills perfectly, and still this terrible thing happened. His constant rehash of what his sensei would think, what he would approve of or disapprove of, was like endless pacing of the tiger in the cage, no way out within the structure of the cage of discipline. If the tiger grew wings, the tiger could escape into the sky. Sean has to find his “wings”, the flexibility to learn skills not found in aikido, and the mental wherewithal to use them. I got the distinct feeling the sensei had never been confronted with a real enemy.
Asbjorn has, and doesn’t mind using any trick or tool in his more aggressive repertory to defend, and if needed, to attack. He’s a 4th dan black belt and still considers that sometimes the right move is calling in air support or dialing 911. He’s a rock for Sean, who isn’t at all used to being supported, and Asbjorn’s oddly virginal for someone this comfortable with his sexuality, though the reality of being in the military encouraged him to keep a lid on his activities. This sense of inexperience led to my raised eyebrow at an event toward the end of the book, even though it was a reasonable thing to try.
Sean’s planning to date sensei’s sister, giving the feeling that he’s interested in sensei but at one remove. After the attack, Sean feels safer in being with a partner who doesn’t need to be protected (though Sister would probably demonstrate a few swift kicks at that thought). That's my thought, not something the author said, but Sean's never had a male lover until now.
Sean and Asbjorn do a delicate dance of respecting autonomy, finding confidence, and catching the perp, complicated by idiotic remarks from third parties. Sean’s on the wrong end of a lot of cultural assumptions about what happened to him (including inside his own head), and he deals with it by finding his strength in various places, including in bed with Asbjorn, who respects his boundaries there. I found this perfectly believable. Asbjorn’s torn between wanting to protect, defend, support, and not smother, and if he doesn’t always do it well, he’s trying. It’s rugged going, and when it seems like he can’t make it work with Sean even on the level of basic courtesy, it’s a very dark moment.
The author gives us a very rich and detailed world, letting us feel the gym mats rubbed with the sweat from a thousand falls, the tang of the air over the Charles River in the early morning, and the rasp of body hair under a lover’s hands. The detail of the martial arts is probably at the level of oxygen to practitioners, although it’s more strong perfume to those of us who think the aikido trousers are really palazzo pants. The style is fluid enough to drag me through the forest of unfamiliar terms.
The ending has hope, sweetness, and the promise of another Sean and Asbjorn book that comes like a blow to the face. I can’t wait.
July 7, 2014
3.75/5 stars..
Sean Gallaway is an Irish American Aikido instructor and college student with a need to do things his own way. He doesn't really accept help willingly or often, but he will step in and offer his help when it's needed. When he witnesses someone being attacked, he steps in to help. And when he's called to testify at a grand jury hearing, he becomes the victim. Someone doesn't want Sean to testify, but the same someone takes his threats to far and violates Sean, sending Sean into a tailspin of remorse, guilt and shame.
Asbjorn Lund is Danish American and ex-Navy. He's a student at the same college as Sean, and they share a love of martial arts as well. Both men are headstrong and proud and have a past they'd just soon forget about. All of these things and a slow burning mutual attraction bring these two men very close together. But Sean is proud and doesn't like to be 'looked after'. While Bjorn is stubborn and only wants to protect what's his, and as soon as these two share that first kiss, as awkward as it may be, Sean became his. But Bjorn's overwhelming need to protect Sean... and Sean's irritation at being handled cause a rift in the relationship that they may not be able to overcome.
The description and the cover of this book drew me in and I had to read it. While some things fell flat for me, a lot of things rung true, so my review is sort of middle of the road. I'll start with what I didn't like...
Communication is key and when I'm reading an adult novel constant miscommunication and angst tend to leave me a little cold. While I realize martial arts was a huge part of the story and the world the two men live in, there were way too many martial arts references and sayings that I don't know, that kind of put a damper on things for me as well. The story was a little slow here and there, but perhaps the author was giving the readers mind a break in between some intense events, so I'm not marking off for that, just stating.
What I did like... I loved that the author wrote a story about two head strong stubborn should be alpha males and how they finally find a way to make it sort of work in the end. The story is far from over and Holy Crap (!!) that cliff hanger ending, that suspense right there made up for something I though was anti climatic a few pages prior. Bjorn has to learn to back off and not be quite so protective of Sean. And Sean has to learn to accept the help of the man he loves, not just because of pride, but because THAT is what love is all about, compromise. And the sexual aspect of the story is very PG in a way, only brief x rated details here and there, but I think that only made this love story stronger in the end.
I didn't love this book, but I sure did like it a lot. I'm definitely intrigued not just by the story and the characters, but by what Pavelle has to offer with future stories in this series. If you can get past the monotonous martial arts and the tedious "I'm a man, and men don't ask for help" bits, I think you'll really enjoy this read. If you like stubborn alpha males that have to learn how to love each other and still maintain their individuality, this is a must read.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews {http://www.mmgoodbookreviews.wordpres...}
Sean Gallaway is an Irish American Aikido instructor and college student with a need to do things his own way. He doesn't really accept help willingly or often, but he will step in and offer his help when it's needed. When he witnesses someone being attacked, he steps in to help. And when he's called to testify at a grand jury hearing, he becomes the victim. Someone doesn't want Sean to testify, but the same someone takes his threats to far and violates Sean, sending Sean into a tailspin of remorse, guilt and shame.
Asbjorn Lund is Danish American and ex-Navy. He's a student at the same college as Sean, and they share a love of martial arts as well. Both men are headstrong and proud and have a past they'd just soon forget about. All of these things and a slow burning mutual attraction bring these two men very close together. But Sean is proud and doesn't like to be 'looked after'. While Bjorn is stubborn and only wants to protect what's his, and as soon as these two share that first kiss, as awkward as it may be, Sean became his. But Bjorn's overwhelming need to protect Sean... and Sean's irritation at being handled cause a rift in the relationship that they may not be able to overcome.
The description and the cover of this book drew me in and I had to read it. While some things fell flat for me, a lot of things rung true, so my review is sort of middle of the road. I'll start with what I didn't like...
Communication is key and when I'm reading an adult novel constant miscommunication and angst tend to leave me a little cold. While I realize martial arts was a huge part of the story and the world the two men live in, there were way too many martial arts references and sayings that I don't know, that kind of put a damper on things for me as well. The story was a little slow here and there, but perhaps the author was giving the readers mind a break in between some intense events, so I'm not marking off for that, just stating.
What I did like... I loved that the author wrote a story about two head strong stubborn should be alpha males and how they finally find a way to make it sort of work in the end. The story is far from over and Holy Crap (!!) that cliff hanger ending, that suspense right there made up for something I though was anti climatic a few pages prior. Bjorn has to learn to back off and not be quite so protective of Sean. And Sean has to learn to accept the help of the man he loves, not just because of pride, but because THAT is what love is all about, compromise. And the sexual aspect of the story is very PG in a way, only brief x rated details here and there, but I think that only made this love story stronger in the end.
I didn't love this book, but I sure did like it a lot. I'm definitely intrigued not just by the story and the characters, but by what Pavelle has to offer with future stories in this series. If you can get past the monotonous martial arts and the tedious "I'm a man, and men don't ask for help" bits, I think you'll really enjoy this read. If you like stubborn alpha males that have to learn how to love each other and still maintain their individuality, this is a must read.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews {http://www.mmgoodbookreviews.wordpres...}
August 4, 2014
Blog Tour, eARC Review: Breakfall by: Kate Pavelle
This was very, very, very well done!
The first part of this book explains a whole lot of the differences between a variety of martial arts and it was both intriguing and highly informative. Not to mention it was an eye opener for it also made clear a whole lot of questions I had. Then there was the narrative - spread throughout - on breakfall, or, how to break a fall.
Breakfall is one of the most basic of moves in any martial art practice and to perfect it is to mean not only preventing yourself from any serious trauma during a fall, it also is a means of survival for it teaches the body to trust in itself and curl up in defense - not as a sign of submission or cowardice or fear. Unfortunately, this one basic move is something perfected by Sean and yet he forgot to trust.
Breakfall by Kate Pavelle is the story of two men who practice different martial arts styles. Sean is a Aikido sensei and teaches his students the art as it should apply in life: be calm and avoid violence but always be on the ready. Asbjorn is a Karate sensei and other forms. A Navy veteran, he may still be a student at MIT just like Sean, but his experience on tour and as a team leader honed not only his craft but his reflexes and his way of thinking. The two meet when Asbjorn decides to learn the art of breaking his fall properly. At first they just become friends, studied the arts together and eventually became sparring partners. As they get closer together, their natural dominant natures not only get their nurturing instincts to rise but their instinct to be independent and be the 'alpha male' rose as well .
The first clash of personalities happen when Asbjorn gets hurt in a fight and when Sean's over protectiveness gets nerve wracking for someone like Asbjorn who is highly independent. When Sean is assaulted by a violent stalker, Asbjorn comes in to rescue just like a knight in shining armor - something that Sean is both grateful for yet resentful of. Now the tables have turned and both do not know how to handle them. Misunderstandings and miscommunication almost overwhelm their budding relationship and it is only through the help of others that they are finally able to break away the mis- in the trust and they learn to break the falls within their relationships.
This was a stunning read and I must admit to losing a bit of sleep over this for the images were just so true and real. I saw the sensei warring over the insecure men. I saw the need for nurturing versus the need to show outward strength. The juxtapositions these men find themselves in is very real and understandably confusing.
If there is one thing I will have to point out as a negative on this book (NOTE this is NOT a negative for me!) is the narrative on the intricacies of martial arts. This information is not for everyone, especially as not everyone is familiar with it. What I can honestly say is this: be patient, read the necessary narratives and then integrate it into how the relationship between Asbjorn and Sean develops. It is key! Breaking the falls within relationships gets it going stronger for a long, long time. Failure to do so would mean a break up.
Fantastic book! Can't wait for the second and third installments!
This was very, very, very well done!
The first part of this book explains a whole lot of the differences between a variety of martial arts and it was both intriguing and highly informative. Not to mention it was an eye opener for it also made clear a whole lot of questions I had. Then there was the narrative - spread throughout - on breakfall, or, how to break a fall.
Breakfall is one of the most basic of moves in any martial art practice and to perfect it is to mean not only preventing yourself from any serious trauma during a fall, it also is a means of survival for it teaches the body to trust in itself and curl up in defense - not as a sign of submission or cowardice or fear. Unfortunately, this one basic move is something perfected by Sean and yet he forgot to trust.
Breakfall by Kate Pavelle is the story of two men who practice different martial arts styles. Sean is a Aikido sensei and teaches his students the art as it should apply in life: be calm and avoid violence but always be on the ready. Asbjorn is a Karate sensei and other forms. A Navy veteran, he may still be a student at MIT just like Sean, but his experience on tour and as a team leader honed not only his craft but his reflexes and his way of thinking. The two meet when Asbjorn decides to learn the art of breaking his fall properly. At first they just become friends, studied the arts together and eventually became sparring partners. As they get closer together, their natural dominant natures not only get their nurturing instincts to rise but their instinct to be independent and be the 'alpha male' rose as well .
The first clash of personalities happen when Asbjorn gets hurt in a fight and when Sean's over protectiveness gets nerve wracking for someone like Asbjorn who is highly independent. When Sean is assaulted by a violent stalker, Asbjorn comes in to rescue just like a knight in shining armor - something that Sean is both grateful for yet resentful of. Now the tables have turned and both do not know how to handle them. Misunderstandings and miscommunication almost overwhelm their budding relationship and it is only through the help of others that they are finally able to break away the mis- in the trust and they learn to break the falls within their relationships.
This was a stunning read and I must admit to losing a bit of sleep over this for the images were just so true and real. I saw the sensei warring over the insecure men. I saw the need for nurturing versus the need to show outward strength. The juxtapositions these men find themselves in is very real and understandably confusing.
If there is one thing I will have to point out as a negative on this book (NOTE this is NOT a negative for me!) is the narrative on the intricacies of martial arts. This information is not for everyone, especially as not everyone is familiar with it. What I can honestly say is this: be patient, read the necessary narratives and then integrate it into how the relationship between Asbjorn and Sean develops. It is key! Breaking the falls within relationships gets it going stronger for a long, long time. Failure to do so would mean a break up.
Fantastic book! Can't wait for the second and third installments!
November 3, 2014
Full Review Here http://thebloggergirls.com/2014/08/01...
This is an unique book with a lot, lot, lot going on. It’s s the first of a trilogy (based on the name) and I am assuming this first book is weighty with the telling of the back story because it is scant in projecting the relationship.
There is a lot of martial arts terminology – some of which adds color and a sense of realism to the book, and if you are a fan of the martial arts, perhaps some extra texture. For those of us not into martial arts it was burdensome and sometimes difficult to follow in the context of the action.
In addition to the martial arts terminology we are given two very complex characters with many side characters and their back-stories. So this is a meaty book. That being said, there were times when I was really at a loss as to the motivation of the characters, especially the MCs.
Asbjorn joins an opposing martial arts center to check out the competition and then ends up being attracted to the teacher, Sean. Sean, who starts out the book as very straight, suddenly, and without any seeming perseveration, goes GFY for Asbjorn about midway through the book. I never quite understood the immediacy of his actions, especially when – around the time the two start to hook up - Sean is essentially raped by a man. Instead of shying away from his newly “gay” feelings or being frightened of another alpha male’s sexual advances, he pushes Asbjorn to move their physical relationship forward in a way that felt very inauthentic and strange.
There were parts of the story that were very strong. I liked the writing, it was well edited and the style was clean and well presented. The relationship between the two MCs has some potential for being interesting as they are both very strong-willed and MALE and as such they need to learn how to adjust for one another in that aspect, which can lead to some interesting reading.
I wanted to feel more of the pain from the attack, maybe work through Sean’s pain in a slower fashion, and see his trust with Asbjorn grow over time. Instead, it seemed rather rushed, and maybe this will be addressed in future books, but it left me rather baffled at the end of this first installment.
If you like action/mystery/suspense mixed in with two tough guys in a romantic relationship this will likely keep you very interested, especially if you have an interest in martial arts. The antagonist in the story is also fairly creepy, and again, I was left scratching my head at Sean’s handling of his interaction with him. But it was suspenseful, and that kept me turning pages to see what happened.
I’ll warn you there is a slight cliff-hanger at the end – in terms of the action part of the story, not the romance per se, so if that bothers you, it might behoove you to wait till all three books are out.
Overall I thought the book was good. It was well written and it exposed me to the world of martial arts in a very interesting way. I think the two MCs relationship has a potential to be interesting as it evolves, but with as much as was “said” already by the two, I’m not sure there is a lot more they can do to evolve this relationship.
Overall Impression:
3 stars – It was good
This is an unique book with a lot, lot, lot going on. It’s s the first of a trilogy (based on the name) and I am assuming this first book is weighty with the telling of the back story because it is scant in projecting the relationship.
There is a lot of martial arts terminology – some of which adds color and a sense of realism to the book, and if you are a fan of the martial arts, perhaps some extra texture. For those of us not into martial arts it was burdensome and sometimes difficult to follow in the context of the action.
In addition to the martial arts terminology we are given two very complex characters with many side characters and their back-stories. So this is a meaty book. That being said, there were times when I was really at a loss as to the motivation of the characters, especially the MCs.
Asbjorn joins an opposing martial arts center to check out the competition and then ends up being attracted to the teacher, Sean. Sean, who starts out the book as very straight, suddenly, and without any seeming perseveration, goes GFY for Asbjorn about midway through the book. I never quite understood the immediacy of his actions, especially when – around the time the two start to hook up - Sean is essentially raped by a man. Instead of shying away from his newly “gay” feelings or being frightened of another alpha male’s sexual advances, he pushes Asbjorn to move their physical relationship forward in a way that felt very inauthentic and strange.
There were parts of the story that were very strong. I liked the writing, it was well edited and the style was clean and well presented. The relationship between the two MCs has some potential for being interesting as they are both very strong-willed and MALE and as such they need to learn how to adjust for one another in that aspect, which can lead to some interesting reading.
I wanted to feel more of the pain from the attack, maybe work through Sean’s pain in a slower fashion, and see his trust with Asbjorn grow over time. Instead, it seemed rather rushed, and maybe this will be addressed in future books, but it left me rather baffled at the end of this first installment.
If you like action/mystery/suspense mixed in with two tough guys in a romantic relationship this will likely keep you very interested, especially if you have an interest in martial arts. The antagonist in the story is also fairly creepy, and again, I was left scratching my head at Sean’s handling of his interaction with him. But it was suspenseful, and that kept me turning pages to see what happened.
I’ll warn you there is a slight cliff-hanger at the end – in terms of the action part of the story, not the romance per se, so if that bothers you, it might behoove you to wait till all three books are out.
Overall I thought the book was good. It was well written and it exposed me to the world of martial arts in a very interesting way. I think the two MCs relationship has a potential to be interesting as it evolves, but with as much as was “said” already by the two, I’m not sure there is a lot more they can do to evolve this relationship.
Overall Impression:
3 stars – It was good
August 4, 2014
3.75 stars
I was excited to start this book since I found the premise interesting. I thought I would be reading a story about overcoming one's fears after an assault and the conflicted emotions that would arise through the healing process and as a relationship started. And although some of what I had expected was delivered, it wasn't delved into as deeply as I had expected.
I guess my main disappointment with the story was that some important elements got lost in the sea of details the author provided. Mainly the assault, its repercussions and how Sean and Asbjorn's relationship fit into it all.
Now don't get me wrong, I appreciated getting to know Asbjorn--what drove him, why he felt so lonely and why he felt so protective of Sean. But I could have done without much of his reminiscing about his dead sensei and his training. Likewise, Sean's story was interesting, but his constant worry about pleasing his sensei and his reciting of 'rules' and how he applied it to life had me rolling my eyes a time or two.
There were a lot of martial arts references in both Sean and Asbjorn's point of view which made it hard for me to follow along. I understand what the author wanted to achieve through this, but it took me out of the story with just trying to figure out some of the terms and the actions that were taking place.
Then there was also the feeling that Sean's assault was shoved aside too easily. According to the blurb (which was what caught my eye in the first place), the story was supposed to deal with the assault, the effect it had on Sean and how that related to the relationship he was trying to build with Asbjorn. And yes, some of those points were referenced, but not deeply enough to satisfy me.
Having said that, I still think that the story was worth my time. I liked how the relationship between Sean and Asbjorn was handled, the growth they achieved both as individuals and as a couple and how the conflict came to be resolved.
The romance was slow in building but worth it in the end. Sean and Asbjorn came to connect on a deeper level by the time the story came to a close (for now), which helped tremendously in my rating of the story overall. The ending came as a surprise and now that I have gotten to know Sean and Asbjorn more and have seen how far along they have traveled in their journey, I am interested in knowing how it will all play out for them in the end.
All in all, a great start to a series with an interesting storyline coupled with a sweet yet hot little romance. I can't wait to see how these alpha males come together to get achieve their goal of a HEA.
*I received this title in exchange of my honest opinion.
July 13, 2014
3.5 star review by Karen, posted at ScuttlebuttReviews
There are multiple layers to Breakfall. First, the premise of a victim taking back control, while not completely original, gives scope for some exploration of character and psychology, which could really go somewhere. But accompanying that is a sense that Pavelle has done some box-ticking to ensure all her bases are covered (attack, feminizing, GFY, family issues). Then there is some really good writing and a fundamentally strong story, and then there is just too much martial arts information. Parts of Breakfall managed to really confuse me.
Furthermore, there are several elements at work: Sean, who witnesses a violent crime and is due to testify, becomes the victim of a crime designed to stop him. Meanwhile, Asbjorn, who is in the process of taking over some karate classes, attends some of Sean’s Aikido classes – without letting Sean know who he is, in an attempt to assess the kind of instructor Sean is.
The first third of the book is drenched with martial arts references, and I have to say that I struggled here, and would have preferred a little more drip feeding of information, it felt a bit like Pavelle wanted to get all the technical stuff and backstories dumped on us, so she could get on with the rest of the book.
Then there is the attack. There is a part of this that didn’t sit well with me, and honestly felt unnecessary. It led to feminizing Sean’s character, which seemed pointless and I felt detracted from a story strand that is actually interesting and exciting.
The relationship between Sean and Asbjorn has potential, they are actually both strong and quite dominant, and there are lessons for both of them around control and trust to be negotiated. That being said, the GFY seemed totally unnecessary, there being enough drama with the external plot to keep the reader engaged.
While this all may seem critical and a bit negative, the cliffhanger ending left me wanting to know what happened next. Between that and the more successful parts of the book, I am looking forward to the second installment. With a bit less extraneous information that seem to have been covered in Breakfall, the meatier parts of the story should have a chance to lead.
There are multiple layers to Breakfall. First, the premise of a victim taking back control, while not completely original, gives scope for some exploration of character and psychology, which could really go somewhere. But accompanying that is a sense that Pavelle has done some box-ticking to ensure all her bases are covered (attack, feminizing, GFY, family issues). Then there is some really good writing and a fundamentally strong story, and then there is just too much martial arts information. Parts of Breakfall managed to really confuse me.
Furthermore, there are several elements at work: Sean, who witnesses a violent crime and is due to testify, becomes the victim of a crime designed to stop him. Meanwhile, Asbjorn, who is in the process of taking over some karate classes, attends some of Sean’s Aikido classes – without letting Sean know who he is, in an attempt to assess the kind of instructor Sean is.
The first third of the book is drenched with martial arts references, and I have to say that I struggled here, and would have preferred a little more drip feeding of information, it felt a bit like Pavelle wanted to get all the technical stuff and backstories dumped on us, so she could get on with the rest of the book.
Then there is the attack. There is a part of this that didn’t sit well with me, and honestly felt unnecessary. It led to feminizing Sean’s character, which seemed pointless and I felt detracted from a story strand that is actually interesting and exciting.
The relationship between Sean and Asbjorn has potential, they are actually both strong and quite dominant, and there are lessons for both of them around control and trust to be negotiated. That being said, the GFY seemed totally unnecessary, there being enough drama with the external plot to keep the reader engaged.
While this all may seem critical and a bit negative, the cliffhanger ending left me wanting to know what happened next. Between that and the more successful parts of the book, I am looking forward to the second installment. With a bit less extraneous information that seem to have been covered in Breakfall, the meatier parts of the story should have a chance to lead.
August 4, 2014
To read my full review, please visit http://onsilverwingz.blogspot.com/201...
Asbjorn is still grieving Tiger's death when he meets the aikido instrutor, Sean. He pretends to be a martial arts beginner when he himself is a karate instructor in order to get into the aikido club and build connections. Sean is super confident in his martial arts and uses it to beat up a group of men ganging up on a kid in an alley. However, one of the men got away and comes back for revenge on him.
Sean is a master at aikido but is ignorant of other martial arts. When he gets attacked in his own home, he feels defeated and weak. All his years of studying aikido seems like a waste. Asbjorn forces Sean to accept help and branch out to study various fighting techniques. At the end of the story, Sean gives the impression of being resilient and adaptable to changes in life.
This story is action-packed with lots of fighting, drinking, and main characters acting macho. Neither of the MCs say they are gay, but they experiment and comfort each other in the bedroom. They gradually fall deeper in love, but don't know how to express it. Each of them thinks the relationship would be easier if the other was a girl. At least then they would know how to act based on their experiences and societal expectations. They love their independence but smothers the other with too much attention. It is interesting to watch them struggle to find a compromise and figure out how to date a gay man.
Overall, the story is fast paced with the right amount of romance and action. I could do without the abrupt cliffhanger ending leading to the next book in the series. If the ending is neatly wrapped up without hinting at the next book, it would have been perfect. Sean and Asbjorn are great characters with tough backgrounds and realistic personalities. I definitely recommend this story to fans of Japanese culture, martial arts, and a slow romance.
*review copy received in exchange for an honest review*
Asbjorn is still grieving Tiger's death when he meets the aikido instrutor, Sean. He pretends to be a martial arts beginner when he himself is a karate instructor in order to get into the aikido club and build connections. Sean is super confident in his martial arts and uses it to beat up a group of men ganging up on a kid in an alley. However, one of the men got away and comes back for revenge on him.
Sean is a master at aikido but is ignorant of other martial arts. When he gets attacked in his own home, he feels defeated and weak. All his years of studying aikido seems like a waste. Asbjorn forces Sean to accept help and branch out to study various fighting techniques. At the end of the story, Sean gives the impression of being resilient and adaptable to changes in life.
This story is action-packed with lots of fighting, drinking, and main characters acting macho. Neither of the MCs say they are gay, but they experiment and comfort each other in the bedroom. They gradually fall deeper in love, but don't know how to express it. Each of them thinks the relationship would be easier if the other was a girl. At least then they would know how to act based on their experiences and societal expectations. They love their independence but smothers the other with too much attention. It is interesting to watch them struggle to find a compromise and figure out how to date a gay man.
Overall, the story is fast paced with the right amount of romance and action. I could do without the abrupt cliffhanger ending leading to the next book in the series. If the ending is neatly wrapped up without hinting at the next book, it would have been perfect. Sean and Asbjorn are great characters with tough backgrounds and realistic personalities. I definitely recommend this story to fans of Japanese culture, martial arts, and a slow romance.
*review copy received in exchange for an honest review*
February 18, 2017
Read as part of – The Fall Trilogy
Author – Kate Pavelle
Star rating - ★☆☆☆☆
No. of Pages – 666
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – No.
Genre – LGBT, Mystery, Suspense
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
DNF'D AT 16%
This is my first story by Kate Pavelle and, I'm sorry to say, it will be my last. I'll explain why in a minute. But, in warning, I was supposed to read and review this entire trilogy. Not going to happen. I got as far as 16%, which leaves another 21% of the first story alone to read, before I couldn't take any more.
Now, I'm not a person who DNF's books. I especially don't enjoy DNF'ing a book that I'm to review. However, there was just so much in this one that I couldn't stand any longer. I, quite honestly, don't have the time to waste reading things that make me want to throw away my kindle and never look at it again.
~
Book 1: Breakfall
Length: 0-37%
First off, I have to sat that I was bored almost from the get-go. I am not a martial arts enthusiast, but I can handle any backstory or character interest in a novel.
In fact, half my problem with the portion of the book I read was that there was a whole lot of action but nothing ever happened. I didn't read this in hopes of getting some kind of martial arts master class; I couldn't understand or visualise most of it and the stilted language they adopted when using martial arts made it feel like a bad Kung-Fu movie, where these characters tried to slip into a “character” whenever they undertook any kind of martial arts. For me, this was just a whole lot of disembodied fight scenes with a bare hint of flirting and nothing else. There was no serious character development or exploration and no real plot beyond the karate, until 13-16% when Sean got attacked.
At just 1%, I was already confused by three huge things:
1. Burrows-sensei was described as a “he” for about 6-8 pages, yet the only Burrows we'd ever been introduced to within the story was a “she”. There was no explanation that this was another person or the “she's” brother until well into Chapter 2, which caused a whole lot of confusion. You can't just insert someone with the tag Burrows-sensei and introduce a character called Casey Burrows and not expect the reason to imagine they're the same person, even with the different pronouns. Not when no other Burrows exists in our minds.
2. I didn't realise that I had to be a martial arts expert to understand this book. Because, quite honestly, it takes until about 13% before anything non-martial arts related happens in the story. And, until that point, I barely understood half of what happened.
3. The blurb. Good, God! That blurb. If there is one thing the author needs to learn it's NOT to give away the ENTIRE plot of the story in a blurb. Both the singular book blurb and the trilogy blurb give far too much away. For Breakfall, the blurb tells us in the first line that Sean is sexually assaulted, even though this doesn't happen until 13% into the story and is supposed to be a major surprise event. And the fact that I know there's cheating, idiocy and straight-to-gay or at least some serious self-denial going on for both main characters, but that they end up married just makes me supremely furious!
In terms of writing style, it was laborious to read. This was mostly due to the fact that there were either some continuous editing issues or some really lazy writing and the short scenes, some not even a page long, made it impossible to spend enough time with one character before moving on to the next. It was like they had to show every single scene from both POV or we wouldn't understand what the characters were thinking and feeling. But, if that had been shown instead of told to us through their POV then we'd have seen it anyway, no matter whose POV it was in. Instead, we got short sharp cuts of scenes that flitted back and forward far too fast and sometimes over hours within a page, that made it impossible to keep up and not feel dizzy with an overload of information within far too small a space of writing. The POV scenes aren't divided in any distinguishable way except a few block caps that don't help much. And the use of accents and abbreviations with words is tiresome and kind of stupid, since half the time they denote an accent that doesn't belong to the person. Example: Asbjorn is Danish but half the time he sounds more Scottish or Irish than anything else.
There was very limited character exploration, the first of which I only saw in Sean during his attack. There were flashbacks and memories used to try to connect us to him but they never made an impact. And, now I'm left wondering about that flashback he had about being pinned to a bed and unable to fight back, wondering if that was a previous attack or not. But, honestly, I don't care enough to read on and find out. I'm far too exhausted from trying to figure out these mismashed personalities.
The first line of the blurb comes at 13% and it's ruined by the fact that we know exactly what's going to happen from the blurb. There's no panic about whether he makes it out alive or whether he can handle it emotionally. Because we know. We're told in the blurb before we even begin the book.
When it comes to characters, Sean is the only one I could stand. He stuck by his beliefs, believed in himself and what he was doing; he only ever wanted to help people, even if that put him in danger or in trouble. Still, he was the biggest idiot on the planet for a whole hunk of the book that I read. He insisted point blank that he was straight, even when his only interest in Casey, the only girl we actually see him crushing on, is all because of how similar she is to her brother. Case in point:
“He loved falling for Casey almost as much as he loved falling for her older brother.”
“His baritone was mellifluous and hypnotic and, once again, Sean felt caught under the other man's spell. Sean focused on him, and it was as though the rest of the whole world fell away from them.”
“He felt a surge of warmth toward his teacher, a kind of warmth he never felt for the man's sister.”
Oblivious just doesn't cut it. But Asbjorn isn't any better. In fact the whole straight-to-gay theme is way overdone, because it's quite clear that both men are just simply too stupid to see that they're gay and just won't admit it.
For me, they don't have much chemistry. There are a few hints here and there, but the problem comes in the fact that they're “told” and not “shown” to us. The incident in the library when Sean fell asleep and a few other things were sweet and showed how unsuspecting the attraction was, but the stuff we were actually shown was too forced.
Again, the whole point of the chemistry is ruined by the fact that this book begins with a blurb that tells us these two men get married. A fact that I don't support or endorse having watched these two bungle their way through a not-really-there relationship for 16%. There is no way these two belong in a relationship together. Maybe as a short term thing, but not marriage.
But you know what plucks my last nerve the most? The cavalier way that the rape of the book is treated. Now, we're prepared for a sexual assault thanks to the blurb, but the way this is treated is downright disgusting to me. I'm not a victim of it myself, but I know enough to find this kind of treatment the straw that broke the camel's back.
1. Mrs Curry, from the dean's office, is dismissive of it being a rape just because he's a male and he probably brought it upon himself. I thought this was a counterpoint, to show how ignorant some people were, but it proves to be quite a common consideration.
2. A cop hands Sean a coffee, while he's waiting to give his statement and says: “it's my standard treatment for recalcitrant witnesses such as yourself”. Now, either the author didn't check that this was the right word or they just had a cop insult Sean to his face only to feel “oddly touched” by it. It took me two seconds to make sure that I knew what this word was, when the way it was used surprised me enough to question myself. But, yup, I was right. The cop just implied that Sean was uncooperative, even when he was the one to alert them to the crime, the one to give them added information about a person they were already on the lookout for and who had undergone a humiliating rape kit immediately before talking to them. HOW DOES THAT MAKE HIM UNCOOPERATIVE?
3. Ah, the way Asbjorn treats him. Well, that's a whole argument of it's own. Why the HELL would Sean accept being spooned and kissed and nuzzled after what he'd just been through? Most rape victims can't abide being touched at all, never being being fondled and perved over within hours of the attack.
4. No, flashbacks don't always “go away in time”. In fact, a rape victim whose attacker is still out there in the world may NEVER recover from flashbacks and often end up isolating themselves from the world, unable to leave their homes or be around groups of people for fear that their attacker is still there. That doesn't go away that easily.
5. And, no. Trauma doesn't just go away because someone talks about it. So when Asbjorn says “You know, with stuff like this, the more you talk about it, the faster you get it out of your system” is a LIE! And what the hell does he know about “stuff like this”? Some people NEVER forget what happened to them, but talking about it hours after having to recount it to the police, detectives, nurses and doctors is not a relief. It's another burden that often makes victims wonder if they will ever be more than what happened to them.
6. The one that made me stop – sex. WHY is Sean's solution to what happened to him to have SEX with Asbjorn? NO. NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!! A rape victim does not just turn around a few hours after the incident and have sex with someone they like, just because it will “take away the memory” of what happened to them. IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE! And no person should AGREE to it, because they're just compounding the problem by relating what they share with the victim to the attack, having them so closely linked, mentally and physically, that the victim often can't disassociate one from the other.
Also, I don't read reviews before I read a book. But, after writing my own review, I do go ahead and read the reviews of people who felt the same way I did, just to make sure I'm not the crazy one who seems to be the only one on the planet who can't stand this book. And I'm not. In fact, I read a review that exactly shared my sentiments. However, they read further than I did. And when they revealed that cheating (in a threesome between three STRAIGHT guys) happened, gutwrenching and physically putting Sean at risk, I was so relieved I didn't read on. I can't abide cheating in books, especially when this is described as a guy who can't even admit he's gay losing his virginity to two straight men. I mean WTF?!
Don't even get me started on a woman squirting breast milk into the face of a man, just because he told her not to do something. Just...don't.
~
OVERALL
This wasn't a book where characters were interested in or exploring a subject; this was an author's love letter to martial arts and it exhausted me to read it.
Adding on the way that the sexual assault was handled, the lack of interest in characters thanks to the complete absence of characterisation and I just couldn't do it. I couldn't spend any more time reading this book than I already have. I want that time back.
Author – Kate Pavelle
Star rating - ★☆☆☆☆
No. of Pages – 666
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – No.
Genre – LGBT, Mystery, Suspense
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
DNF'D AT 16%
This is my first story by Kate Pavelle and, I'm sorry to say, it will be my last. I'll explain why in a minute. But, in warning, I was supposed to read and review this entire trilogy. Not going to happen. I got as far as 16%, which leaves another 21% of the first story alone to read, before I couldn't take any more.
Now, I'm not a person who DNF's books. I especially don't enjoy DNF'ing a book that I'm to review. However, there was just so much in this one that I couldn't stand any longer. I, quite honestly, don't have the time to waste reading things that make me want to throw away my kindle and never look at it again.
~
Book 1: Breakfall
Length: 0-37%
First off, I have to sat that I was bored almost from the get-go. I am not a martial arts enthusiast, but I can handle any backstory or character interest in a novel.
In fact, half my problem with the portion of the book I read was that there was a whole lot of action but nothing ever happened. I didn't read this in hopes of getting some kind of martial arts master class; I couldn't understand or visualise most of it and the stilted language they adopted when using martial arts made it feel like a bad Kung-Fu movie, where these characters tried to slip into a “character” whenever they undertook any kind of martial arts. For me, this was just a whole lot of disembodied fight scenes with a bare hint of flirting and nothing else. There was no serious character development or exploration and no real plot beyond the karate, until 13-16% when Sean got attacked.
At just 1%, I was already confused by three huge things:
1. Burrows-sensei was described as a “he” for about 6-8 pages, yet the only Burrows we'd ever been introduced to within the story was a “she”. There was no explanation that this was another person or the “she's” brother until well into Chapter 2, which caused a whole lot of confusion. You can't just insert someone with the tag Burrows-sensei and introduce a character called Casey Burrows and not expect the reason to imagine they're the same person, even with the different pronouns. Not when no other Burrows exists in our minds.
2. I didn't realise that I had to be a martial arts expert to understand this book. Because, quite honestly, it takes until about 13% before anything non-martial arts related happens in the story. And, until that point, I barely understood half of what happened.
3. The blurb. Good, God! That blurb. If there is one thing the author needs to learn it's NOT to give away the ENTIRE plot of the story in a blurb. Both the singular book blurb and the trilogy blurb give far too much away. For Breakfall, the blurb tells us in the first line that Sean is sexually assaulted, even though this doesn't happen until 13% into the story and is supposed to be a major surprise event. And the fact that I know there's cheating, idiocy and straight-to-gay or at least some serious self-denial going on for both main characters, but that they end up married just makes me supremely furious!
In terms of writing style, it was laborious to read. This was mostly due to the fact that there were either some continuous editing issues or some really lazy writing and the short scenes, some not even a page long, made it impossible to spend enough time with one character before moving on to the next. It was like they had to show every single scene from both POV or we wouldn't understand what the characters were thinking and feeling. But, if that had been shown instead of told to us through their POV then we'd have seen it anyway, no matter whose POV it was in. Instead, we got short sharp cuts of scenes that flitted back and forward far too fast and sometimes over hours within a page, that made it impossible to keep up and not feel dizzy with an overload of information within far too small a space of writing. The POV scenes aren't divided in any distinguishable way except a few block caps that don't help much. And the use of accents and abbreviations with words is tiresome and kind of stupid, since half the time they denote an accent that doesn't belong to the person. Example: Asbjorn is Danish but half the time he sounds more Scottish or Irish than anything else.
There was very limited character exploration, the first of which I only saw in Sean during his attack. There were flashbacks and memories used to try to connect us to him but they never made an impact. And, now I'm left wondering about that flashback he had about being pinned to a bed and unable to fight back, wondering if that was a previous attack or not. But, honestly, I don't care enough to read on and find out. I'm far too exhausted from trying to figure out these mismashed personalities.
The first line of the blurb comes at 13% and it's ruined by the fact that we know exactly what's going to happen from the blurb. There's no panic about whether he makes it out alive or whether he can handle it emotionally. Because we know. We're told in the blurb before we even begin the book.
When it comes to characters, Sean is the only one I could stand. He stuck by his beliefs, believed in himself and what he was doing; he only ever wanted to help people, even if that put him in danger or in trouble. Still, he was the biggest idiot on the planet for a whole hunk of the book that I read. He insisted point blank that he was straight, even when his only interest in Casey, the only girl we actually see him crushing on, is all because of how similar she is to her brother. Case in point:
“He loved falling for Casey almost as much as he loved falling for her older brother.”
“His baritone was mellifluous and hypnotic and, once again, Sean felt caught under the other man's spell. Sean focused on him, and it was as though the rest of the whole world fell away from them.”
“He felt a surge of warmth toward his teacher, a kind of warmth he never felt for the man's sister.”
Oblivious just doesn't cut it. But Asbjorn isn't any better. In fact the whole straight-to-gay theme is way overdone, because it's quite clear that both men are just simply too stupid to see that they're gay and just won't admit it.
For me, they don't have much chemistry. There are a few hints here and there, but the problem comes in the fact that they're “told” and not “shown” to us. The incident in the library when Sean fell asleep and a few other things were sweet and showed how unsuspecting the attraction was, but the stuff we were actually shown was too forced.
Again, the whole point of the chemistry is ruined by the fact that this book begins with a blurb that tells us these two men get married. A fact that I don't support or endorse having watched these two bungle their way through a not-really-there relationship for 16%. There is no way these two belong in a relationship together. Maybe as a short term thing, but not marriage.
But you know what plucks my last nerve the most? The cavalier way that the rape of the book is treated. Now, we're prepared for a sexual assault thanks to the blurb, but the way this is treated is downright disgusting to me. I'm not a victim of it myself, but I know enough to find this kind of treatment the straw that broke the camel's back.
1. Mrs Curry, from the dean's office, is dismissive of it being a rape just because he's a male and he probably brought it upon himself. I thought this was a counterpoint, to show how ignorant some people were, but it proves to be quite a common consideration.
2. A cop hands Sean a coffee, while he's waiting to give his statement and says: “it's my standard treatment for recalcitrant witnesses such as yourself”. Now, either the author didn't check that this was the right word or they just had a cop insult Sean to his face only to feel “oddly touched” by it. It took me two seconds to make sure that I knew what this word was, when the way it was used surprised me enough to question myself. But, yup, I was right. The cop just implied that Sean was uncooperative, even when he was the one to alert them to the crime, the one to give them added information about a person they were already on the lookout for and who had undergone a humiliating rape kit immediately before talking to them. HOW DOES THAT MAKE HIM UNCOOPERATIVE?
3. Ah, the way Asbjorn treats him. Well, that's a whole argument of it's own. Why the HELL would Sean accept being spooned and kissed and nuzzled after what he'd just been through? Most rape victims can't abide being touched at all, never being being fondled and perved over within hours of the attack.
4. No, flashbacks don't always “go away in time”. In fact, a rape victim whose attacker is still out there in the world may NEVER recover from flashbacks and often end up isolating themselves from the world, unable to leave their homes or be around groups of people for fear that their attacker is still there. That doesn't go away that easily.
5. And, no. Trauma doesn't just go away because someone talks about it. So when Asbjorn says “You know, with stuff like this, the more you talk about it, the faster you get it out of your system” is a LIE! And what the hell does he know about “stuff like this”? Some people NEVER forget what happened to them, but talking about it hours after having to recount it to the police, detectives, nurses and doctors is not a relief. It's another burden that often makes victims wonder if they will ever be more than what happened to them.
6. The one that made me stop – sex. WHY is Sean's solution to what happened to him to have SEX with Asbjorn? NO. NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!! A rape victim does not just turn around a few hours after the incident and have sex with someone they like, just because it will “take away the memory” of what happened to them. IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE! And no person should AGREE to it, because they're just compounding the problem by relating what they share with the victim to the attack, having them so closely linked, mentally and physically, that the victim often can't disassociate one from the other.
Also, I don't read reviews before I read a book. But, after writing my own review, I do go ahead and read the reviews of people who felt the same way I did, just to make sure I'm not the crazy one who seems to be the only one on the planet who can't stand this book. And I'm not. In fact, I read a review that exactly shared my sentiments. However, they read further than I did. And when they revealed that cheating (in a threesome between three STRAIGHT guys) happened, gutwrenching and physically putting Sean at risk, I was so relieved I didn't read on. I can't abide cheating in books, especially when this is described as a guy who can't even admit he's gay losing his virginity to two straight men. I mean WTF?!
Don't even get me started on a woman squirting breast milk into the face of a man, just because he told her not to do something. Just...don't.
~
OVERALL
This wasn't a book where characters were interested in or exploring a subject; this was an author's love letter to martial arts and it exhausted me to read it.
Adding on the way that the sexual assault was handled, the lack of interest in characters thanks to the complete absence of characterisation and I just couldn't do it. I couldn't spend any more time reading this book than I already have. I want that time back.
August 7, 2014
Ok I am going to be painfully honest here. There were times I thought about giving up. Several times in fact. I can't say it's because the story is slow far from it. But, all the martial arts speak overwhelmed me. I have to admit at one point about 30 percent in, I thought about sending an email and saying id run the spotlight but drop the review.I talked to a friend that had read the book and she urged me to go on and keep reading that I was almost at a turning point and that she knew my reading taste and assured me I was gonna really like this book. A lot. So I went on. at almost 40percent I still had my doubts then my mouth dropped open and my eyes bugged out. A few more pages and I was crying. This is a good thing for me. I love books that make me cry.
Yes, I am extremely glad I kept going. There became many twists and turns. some frustrating moments, some beautiful moments and some scary moments. I can't wait for the next book in this trilogy.
If your a true MM romance lover, I urge you to read this.
Yes, I am extremely glad I kept going. There became many twists and turns. some frustrating moments, some beautiful moments and some scary moments. I can't wait for the next book in this trilogy.
If your a true MM romance lover, I urge you to read this.
February 1, 2015
How can you not love a book that both educates you and entertains you? The first half or so of the book weaves an intricate tale of the different styles of Asian fighting ad self -defense arts. The need for this is established when one of the MCs, Sean, is attacked and could lose his sense of self because he's supposed to be a sensei, or teacher, and according to his own mind should have been able to protect himself better. It takes his lover, Asbjorn, to show him that no man is an island. But then Sean takes his recovery one step too far, at least in Asbjorn's mind, and sets himself up as bait to catch this crazy stalker.
Fair warning, there isn't a clean ending to this book, but by the time you get there you should be expecting the main plot to continue to the next book in the series and beyond that to the third book in the trilogy. Ms Pavelle is a woman of many talents ad varied knowledge that she incorporates into her stories with exquisite skill. Read one and you're hooked for life.
Fair warning, there isn't a clean ending to this book, but by the time you get there you should be expecting the main plot to continue to the next book in the series and beyond that to the third book in the trilogy. Ms Pavelle is a woman of many talents ad varied knowledge that she incorporates into her stories with exquisite skill. Read one and you're hooked for life.
December 19, 2014
The cliffhanger ending was kind of unexpected. But since the MCs were not right at the thick of things when shit went down, I found myself feeling strangely OK with it. Especially seeing that the second book is coming soon.
What I like: the story was quite believable. Although Sean was an aikido instructor, his reaction to the assault was quite human. Asbjorn did not come across as an asshole or superhuman despite the fact that he was ex-Navy and karate instructor who learned lots of secret martial arts techniques in Japan. He had a few issues to work on but he was willing to try. In fact, both characters had issues to work on, so they were not perfect. I found them quite relatable. I liked a lot of the secondary characters too.
What I don't like: there was misunderstanding caused by lack of communication. It's the type of conflict I hate most. Fortunately, it was resolved right on time, so I didn't have time to be really frustrated.
What I like: the story was quite believable. Although Sean was an aikido instructor, his reaction to the assault was quite human. Asbjorn did not come across as an asshole or superhuman despite the fact that he was ex-Navy and karate instructor who learned lots of secret martial arts techniques in Japan. He had a few issues to work on but he was willing to try. In fact, both characters had issues to work on, so they were not perfect. I found them quite relatable. I liked a lot of the secondary characters too.
What I don't like: there was misunderstanding caused by lack of communication. It's the type of conflict I hate most. Fortunately, it was resolved right on time, so I didn't have time to be really frustrated.
August 5, 2014
I won a copy of this book and was intrigued by the story-line. The first part of the book drew me in; I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Sean an Akido instructor, and Asbjorn a Karate sensei, develop. Both are strong men who have to learn how to communicate and trust one another. I would have liked to see more sexual chemistry between Sean and Asbjorn, perhaps I just prefer more hotness in my sex scenes. I liked the martial arts aspect, however, there were too many martial arts references and at times I would feel myself pulled out of the story. Overall I liked the book. Breakfall is the first book in what will be a trilogy and we are left with a cliffhanger ending, hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for Book 2.
August 10, 2016
I recently won a copy of Breakfall by Kate Pavelle. I loved it and read it over two days (due to the necessity of an EDJ). Although I know nothing of martial arts, I learned enough from the novel to appreciate the important role it played in many of the characters’ lives. I also enjoyed the brief glimpse of Denmark, the home of my best friend in high school. I thought the author did an excellent job of fleshing out the characters, even most of the secondary ones. My only criticism would be the cliffhanger ending. Now I have to wait for the next book in the trilogy to come out!
August 10, 2014
I did not really know what to make of this book when I started. It started a bit slow. There were a lot of technical discussions about martial arts and the sparring was described in great detail. However, I would say stick with it. The story evolves, as do the characters, and the book becomes quite suspenseful.
July 9, 2014
There was a lot of information to digest at the beginning of this, which I found distracting, also the borderline feminising of one of the MC's. However it picked up pace and the 2 MC's Sean and Bjorn have potential.
Full review at scuttlebuttreviews.com
Full review at scuttlebuttreviews.com
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July 24, 2014zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I've given up on this one. It's just sitting there in my "currently reading" shelf and I cannot make myself finish.
I've given up on this one. It's just sitting there in my "currently reading" shelf and I cannot make myself finish.
October 16, 2014
3.75 stars.
June 28, 2014
3.5 stars
September 30, 2019
What I enjoyed about this book was the martial arts aspect. I loved reading about them training and competing. Those parts hooked me and kept me reading.
What I didn't enjoy about the book was that it felt a bit disjointed. The book skipped around a lot from the past to the present and then between characters. It made it a bit confusing.
Overall, I enjoyed parts of the book. I just didn't find it to be super great. I found my mind wondering while reading because of the skipping around. I think if some changes were made to fix this aspect, I would really like the book.
What I didn't enjoy about the book was that it felt a bit disjointed. The book skipped around a lot from the past to the present and then between characters. It made it a bit confusing.
Overall, I enjoyed parts of the book. I just didn't find it to be super great. I found my mind wondering while reading because of the skipping around. I think if some changes were made to fix this aspect, I would really like the book.
August 14, 2014
2.5 Stars
Breakfall just wasn’t for me. The writing wasn’t bad, but the sheer volume of martial arts information contained in this book is staggering. While martial arts was virtually a third main character in the story, and also in the world Sean and Asbjorn live in, I started skipping large chunks of the details about Aikido because I didn’t understand. I did this in an effort to get back to the plot. Unfortunately, once I managed that, the story itself was slow moving and hard to follow. It also contained way too many WTF moments.
Aikido (a form of martial arts) instructor Sean Gallaway is violently sexually assaulted. Asbjorn Lund is a Navy veteran with years of martial arts training. Asbjorn wants to teach Sean how to be stronger and turn into a survivor instead of a victim. He doesn’t make Sean aware of this fact, but he knows who Sean’s assailant was. He seemingly is motivated by guilt.
The way Asbjorn treats Sean seems beyond depraved. He is supposedly protective of him and wants to enable him to be protective of himself. There is violence, rape by multiple men, drunken hate-filled diatribes, so if you appreciate trigger warnings, note: dub-con, non-con, and domestic violence. When Asbjorn feels guilty about what he has allowed to happen to the man he supposedly cares so much about, he deals with it by trying to come up with a way to get all the men involved into bed together. None of it made any sense to me.
Communication is the most important part of any relationship. There was not only no communication, which is all too common in gay fiction because men are generally less verbally communicative than women, but there was purposeful miscommunication, lying and manipulation.
I liked that Ms. Pavelle attempted a story in which two head-strong, stubborn alpha males give being together a try, and how they finally find a way to make it sort of work. There is still a ton of story to tell, this is the first in a trilogy. Maybe Ms. Pavelle will write the second and third books differently. I don’t think I will find out for myself, though.
Breakfall just wasn’t for me. The writing wasn’t bad, but the sheer volume of martial arts information contained in this book is staggering. While martial arts was virtually a third main character in the story, and also in the world Sean and Asbjorn live in, I started skipping large chunks of the details about Aikido because I didn’t understand. I did this in an effort to get back to the plot. Unfortunately, once I managed that, the story itself was slow moving and hard to follow. It also contained way too many WTF moments.
Aikido (a form of martial arts) instructor Sean Gallaway is violently sexually assaulted. Asbjorn Lund is a Navy veteran with years of martial arts training. Asbjorn wants to teach Sean how to be stronger and turn into a survivor instead of a victim. He doesn’t make Sean aware of this fact, but he knows who Sean’s assailant was. He seemingly is motivated by guilt.
The way Asbjorn treats Sean seems beyond depraved. He is supposedly protective of him and wants to enable him to be protective of himself. There is violence, rape by multiple men, drunken hate-filled diatribes, so if you appreciate trigger warnings, note: dub-con, non-con, and domestic violence. When Asbjorn feels guilty about what he has allowed to happen to the man he supposedly cares so much about, he deals with it by trying to come up with a way to get all the men involved into bed together. None of it made any sense to me.
Communication is the most important part of any relationship. There was not only no communication, which is all too common in gay fiction because men are generally less verbally communicative than women, but there was purposeful miscommunication, lying and manipulation.
I liked that Ms. Pavelle attempted a story in which two head-strong, stubborn alpha males give being together a try, and how they finally find a way to make it sort of work. There is still a ton of story to tell, this is the first in a trilogy. Maybe Ms. Pavelle will write the second and third books differently. I don’t think I will find out for myself, though.
June 25, 2019
Trigger warning! Victim POV sexual assault on page
This book is not going to be for everyone. If you have a knowledge of the martial arts styles and language, it will definitely make the story a whole lot easier to engage with. I, for one, do not have this background, so a good portion of the building of the story was over my head. The author used very technical terminology when telling about the MCs skills and teaching, which is a very large part of the first half(?) of the book.
However, if you are able to get through that, then you get to the actual storyline. Asbjorn and Sean are both Senseis, but of two different methods. They are drawn together, but they have a very tumultuous relationship. There is a LOT of misogynistic commentary throughout the story, but there are a few women who have a thing or two to say about that.
When circumstances bring Sean to the attention of a stalker, he is faced with a lot of hard truths. He is also stubborn and doesn't want to be treated like a "maiden in distress," so a lot of anger, hurt feelings, and betrayal is left in his wake.
Asbjorn wants to help Sean, but he has learned from his own experience that he should not hover. Eventually, he and Sean make a deal; but deals can be broken if they're not respected or fully understood.
When things finally come to a head, the MCs believe that they are finally free to live their lives. They go on a trip over a break from school, only to have their fragile new peace shattered with one little news broadcast on TV. Obviously, this is a total cliffhanger, but I would tentatively label it as a HFN.
* I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving my honest review. *
This book is not going to be for everyone. If you have a knowledge of the martial arts styles and language, it will definitely make the story a whole lot easier to engage with. I, for one, do not have this background, so a good portion of the building of the story was over my head. The author used very technical terminology when telling about the MCs skills and teaching, which is a very large part of the first half(?) of the book.
However, if you are able to get through that, then you get to the actual storyline. Asbjorn and Sean are both Senseis, but of two different methods. They are drawn together, but they have a very tumultuous relationship. There is a LOT of misogynistic commentary throughout the story, but there are a few women who have a thing or two to say about that.
When circumstances bring Sean to the attention of a stalker, he is faced with a lot of hard truths. He is also stubborn and doesn't want to be treated like a "maiden in distress," so a lot of anger, hurt feelings, and betrayal is left in his wake.
Asbjorn wants to help Sean, but he has learned from his own experience that he should not hover. Eventually, he and Sean make a deal; but deals can be broken if they're not respected or fully understood.
When things finally come to a head, the MCs believe that they are finally free to live their lives. They go on a trip over a break from school, only to have their fragile new peace shattered with one little news broadcast on TV. Obviously, this is a total cliffhanger, but I would tentatively label it as a HFN.
* I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving my honest review. *
June 27, 2019
This book was interesting but difficult for me to rate. I liked Sean and Asbjorn, and I loved the instant connection they felt upon meeting. Each was surprised to feel such desire for another man. Both men were very disciplined but also occasionally gave in to temper. For each of them, this led to some bad decisions.
I don't know much about martial arts, and there was a lot of it blended into the story. That left me confused but curious to learn more. The secondary characters were almost as interesting as the main couple, and I hope to learn more about them as this trilogy continues.
I found the behavior of the attacker/stalker to be unbelievable at times, and I sometimes felt that I was meant to feel sorry for him. I also got angry with Sean at times, when I felt like he wasn't using common courtesy or common sense. Overall, though, I enjoyed this book. There was a cliffhanger event at the end, but the couple was together and happy. I hope they learned enough from the events of this book to work as a team going forward. I'm ready to see what happens next for them.
I don't know much about martial arts, and there was a lot of it blended into the story. That left me confused but curious to learn more. The secondary characters were almost as interesting as the main couple, and I hope to learn more about them as this trilogy continues.
I found the behavior of the attacker/stalker to be unbelievable at times, and I sometimes felt that I was meant to feel sorry for him. I also got angry with Sean at times, when I felt like he wasn't using common courtesy or common sense. Overall, though, I enjoyed this book. There was a cliffhanger event at the end, but the couple was together and happy. I hope they learned enough from the events of this book to work as a team going forward. I'm ready to see what happens next for them.
August 27, 2014
I really loved the concept and overall plot of this book, but I found the writing to be oddly stilted and formal. This was made even more awkward by the heavy use of martial arts terminology, which I understand but bogged down the dialogue and descriptions. Sean and Asbjorn were compelling characters, and I wanted them to work things out. Also I was disappointed by the ending and build up to next book in the series. I'm not a big fan of the cliffhanger ending--so if you aren't either then reader beware. I didn't read the description as it being a cliffhanger. I would say read this because the plot and characters are interesting but read with all of this knowledge.
June 25, 2019
Sam is proud and stubborn, dealing with the fallout of horrific events that have completely thrown him for a loop. He comes into the a martial arts class under false pretenses and meets Asbjorn, the instructor. They begin a slow dance around each other and their personalities clash. Asbjorn is just as stubborn as Sam and he wants to protect him, but Sam just wants to be independent. They're both running from their respective pasts. They have to learn how to coexist and be what the other needs without being overwhelming or losing themselves in the process of learning how to navigate a relationship.
January 1, 2015
2.5 stars...I really did not enjoy this book. The only good thing about it was that the protagonists developed a gay relationship...but the author seemed to focus on their relationship than the fact one of them got sexual assaulted. It felt like I was reading a fanfiction. I probably will not continue with the series...whenever the next book comes out. The ending seemed really fast and...I really was not impressed.
June 15, 2016
This took me a little bit to get into because the martial arts aspect was a little overwhelming but so well done it was interesting and eventually paced itself with the rest of the story, which I found suspenseful, romantic and sexy!!! There is a HEA at the end of this book but also a cliffhanger in the plot that starts book #2. Then book #3 is a great addition with a whole different plot. There are lots of really interesting secondary characters too.
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