What do you think?
Rate this book
Break for You
I’m barely seventeen. I shouldn’t feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders.
But life happens. Things get dark and you have to look for the light at the end of the tunnel, or you’ll drown in the darkness.
What happens to an innocent crush when the “crush” returns the feelings… and they aren’t so innocent anymore?
When I’m with him, it’s easy to forget the bad.
The problem?
He’s my new volleyball coach.
He’s twice my age.
And he will break me like nothing has before.
FROM THE AUTHOR
Break For You is a forbidden age-gap romance between coach and player with dark themes that some readers may find triggering. Only suitable for readers 18+ due to language and sexual scenes.
First book in the Broken Series. Book 1/3 MUST BE READ IN ORDER
Break For You
Leave ME Broken
Heal For Me
But life happens. Things get dark and you have to look for the light at the end of the tunnel, or you’ll drown in the darkness.
What happens to an innocent crush when the “crush” returns the feelings… and they aren’t so innocent anymore?
When I’m with him, it’s easy to forget the bad.
The problem?
He’s my new volleyball coach.
He’s twice my age.
And he will break me like nothing has before.
FROM THE AUTHOR
Break For You is a forbidden age-gap romance between coach and player with dark themes that some readers may find triggering. Only suitable for readers 18+ due to language and sexual scenes.
First book in the Broken Series. Book 1/3 MUST BE READ IN ORDER
Break For You
Leave ME Broken
Heal For Me
559 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2022
543 people are currently reading
2956 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews
March 15, 2024
I think I already read this story but the former is better.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate this book, but some things - come on- for example : the behavior of the male character is the same as a teen 🤦🏻♀️, and everything is so unpredictable…
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate this book, but some things - come on- for example : the behavior of the male character is the same as a teen 🤦🏻♀️, and everything is so unpredictable…
August 18, 2022
Who had compared this to off balance by Lucia Franco and why???
If her friends don’t care or think it’s wrong. or her, her self doesn’t have any conflicting emotions about being with him. or the coach himself doesn’t… hell if her eighty year old preacher grandpa doesn’t.
Then can we really call
This a taboo romance if nobody cared really with some
Minor conflict?
Listen I bet some Authors, might be scared when writing a
“ forbidden” romance to go all out, but if your gonna go there…
I think they listen to to much criticism from
Other reviewers when it comes to “ taboo”
The “ This” is so sick” “ who would write this” “ messed up”
But you know what that’s why ppl read this trope to be scandalized and “ omfg i can’t believe he/she just did that” and turn the to the next page.
Not me full body cringing whenever he called her “ baby girl” lmaooooo wtf in his “ posh spunky accent”
If her friends don’t care or think it’s wrong. or her, her self doesn’t have any conflicting emotions about being with him. or the coach himself doesn’t… hell if her eighty year old preacher grandpa doesn’t.
Then can we really call
This a taboo romance if nobody cared really with some
Minor conflict?
Listen I bet some Authors, might be scared when writing a
“ forbidden” romance to go all out, but if your gonna go there…
I think they listen to to much criticism from
Other reviewers when it comes to “ taboo”
The “ This” is so sick” “ who would write this” “ messed up”
But you know what that’s why ppl read this trope to be scandalized and “ omfg i can’t believe he/she just did that” and turn the to the next page.
Not me full body cringing whenever he called her “ baby girl” lmaooooo wtf in his “ posh spunky accent”
April 9, 2024
BE SOOOOOO FUCKIN FR RN LOLOLOL
i will be back to discuss when im not fuming lmfao WHAT
i will be back to discuss when im not fuming lmfao WHAT
September 10, 2022
3.5/5⭐️ rounded up
I finished this earlier today and have sat on rating it because I’m SO torn!
I love forbidden romance more than anything, then tack on a big age gap and coach athlete and I’m sold. But here’s the thing with this one…no one seems to care that these two are together! Not the characters themselves, not their friends, not Ash’s parents and even though Payson’s grandpa doesn’t know, he had said he thought her crush on him was cute and it doesn’t look like he’ll care either.
For me, one of the best parts about forbidden romances is the “we shouldn’t be doing this” and the characters trying to fight their attraction for one another and knowing what they’re doing is wrong, but by like the 25% mark he was already telling her how much he wanted her. Like my dude you’ve known her for what, a week? Not a single thought to the consequences of what their relationship could mean for them both. And I’m not saying I didn’t want to them get up to shenanigans, because I’m not here for them to be taking the moral high ground, but I would’ve liked to see some more restraint on both of their ends and trying to not give in to their feelings. Make me feel that angst build!!
So while I thought the romance has seemed way too easy thus far in terms of getting over the fact that he is almost twice her age and her coach, there were a lot of elements to the story that I did really like! I liked Payson’s character and like her backstory. She’s a very strong and independent heroine and she doesn’t need Ash, but she wants him and I love that. As hard as it is to see her struggle it also makes her all the compelling and I’m looking forward to what comes next for her. Ash was fine I mean he’s a hot volleyball player with a dirty mouth I’m here for it. We don’t get his POV except for one random chapter but I’m hoping to see more through his eyes moving forward, even though I do feel like this is Payson’s journey and I love being rooted in her POV.
I loved the writing of this book as well and I didn’t want to put it down. So even with some of the elements that didn’t quite work for me personally, I overall did enjoy the book and with that cliffhanger, I will for sure be picking up the next one! I think that was the other thing for me I thought this was a stand-alone going in so when I got to about 70% I was starting to get worried things would not have time to wrap up, but I’m happy to know there will be more time to explore all of the open avenues and storylines that this started!
I finished this earlier today and have sat on rating it because I’m SO torn!
I love forbidden romance more than anything, then tack on a big age gap and coach athlete and I’m sold. But here’s the thing with this one…no one seems to care that these two are together! Not the characters themselves, not their friends, not Ash’s parents and even though Payson’s grandpa doesn’t know, he had said he thought her crush on him was cute and it doesn’t look like he’ll care either.
For me, one of the best parts about forbidden romances is the “we shouldn’t be doing this” and the characters trying to fight their attraction for one another and knowing what they’re doing is wrong, but by like the 25% mark he was already telling her how much he wanted her. Like my dude you’ve known her for what, a week? Not a single thought to the consequences of what their relationship could mean for them both. And I’m not saying I didn’t want to them get up to shenanigans, because I’m not here for them to be taking the moral high ground, but I would’ve liked to see some more restraint on both of their ends and trying to not give in to their feelings. Make me feel that angst build!!
So while I thought the romance has seemed way too easy thus far in terms of getting over the fact that he is almost twice her age and her coach, there were a lot of elements to the story that I did really like! I liked Payson’s character and like her backstory. She’s a very strong and independent heroine and she doesn’t need Ash, but she wants him and I love that. As hard as it is to see her struggle it also makes her all the compelling and I’m looking forward to what comes next for her. Ash was fine I mean he’s a hot volleyball player with a dirty mouth I’m here for it. We don’t get his POV except for one random chapter but I’m hoping to see more through his eyes moving forward, even though I do feel like this is Payson’s journey and I love being rooted in her POV.
I loved the writing of this book as well and I didn’t want to put it down. So even with some of the elements that didn’t quite work for me personally, I overall did enjoy the book and with that cliffhanger, I will for sure be picking up the next one! I think that was the other thing for me I thought this was a stand-alone going in so when I got to about 70% I was starting to get worried things would not have time to wrap up, but I’m happy to know there will be more time to explore all of the open avenues and storylines that this started!
April 24, 2023
Well, I had hoped to love this, but I'm sorry to say I didn't. And I really don't want to sound harsh or rude, but this book definitely would have benefited a lot from more editing and revising before being put out.
For starters, before I get into the negatives, I do want to say that I saw potential in it. This isn't the worst book I've ever read, and I liked the initial idea of it, it's just that the execution didn't meet the mark for me.
My main takeaway from this book is that it's 500+ pages, and over half of it felt like unnecessary filler. I remember while reading when I got to around page 300 and had no clue how I was that far in and it felt like nothing had happened. And don't get me started on me not realizing that this is apparently a freaking trilogy? (I mean, fair enough, try and get that money, but I wasn't expecting it.) The fact that this book was as long as it is - and not a whole lot felt like it happened until the very rushed last 10% of the book - and there's still two more books, is crazy to me. I guess it makes sense considering almost every subplot was left unresolved, but still. I just wish I had known this was a trilogy but that’s my own fault. Oh well.
There was countless spelling/grammar issues that really had me feeling like no one even bothered to read it over once it was finished. I don't know anything about the author, but I think this is a debut book, so I wasn't planning on judging it that harshly - no one is perfect, least of all me - but it just kept accumulating and at some point it became too much to ignore.
One of the other bigger issues I had with this book was how often scenes would abruptly shift. Something would happen, like a cliffhanger of sorts or just in the middle of a random scene, and out of no where it just cuts to sometime later and there's hardly any info about what just happened. Idk, the book didn't flow all that smoothly a lot of the time.
Something else I think that came from the lack of re-reading/editing was that the author often contradicted themselves. Examples:
- From pretty much the start, Ash makes it clear he wants to have sex with Payson. He has told her multiple times that he does, and then randomly he says he wants to do more than kiss her and she's thinking in her head, "Did he just admit to wanting to have sex with me?" Well, yeah, he did, but that's nothing new. He admitted that multiple times already since you've met.
- They dance around the fact that Payson is inexperienced, and it's implied Ash figures she's a virgin, then there's a scene where he gets shocked. . .that she's a virgin. Even though he has seen how inexperienced she is. What, does he have amnesia? Early onset dementia? Idk.
- At the start we learn that Payson's brother, Jason, is being severely beaten by their mom's bf/husband to the point that Jason sometimes has broken bones, is fearing for his life, things of that nature. And Payson says Jason (I just realized their names rhyme loll) is her favorite person, and they are written as if they are very close and love each other very much. At this point in time I believe Payson was 10 and Jason was 17. After getting into a bad fight, Jason I guess you can say cuddles Payson as they lay in bed(kinda odd ngl, but moving on), and he tells her he has to leave because Fred - the bf/husband - would end up killing him if he didn't. She says she understands and she doesn't want him to stay and get hurt anymore. But then, flash forward to the end where we see Jason again, and she is basically putting all the blame on Jason for what happened to her after he left. Saying he should've taken her with him, that he's selfish, etc. Drastic difference from what she said before. First of all, he was only 17. He was a kid. He was fearing for his life and didn't think Fred would do anything to Payson if he left. It was not his responsibility to take care of Payson, and there's no way he would've been able to. A 17 year old taking care of a 10 year old with no help? There's just no way. The logistics just don't add up. Do I think Jason was naive to think Fred wouldn't do anything to her? Yes. But I don't think it was fair at all that he was basically turned into another villain in her story.
Moving on from that and more focus on the mmc and mfc.
Ash, or Ashley, whatever you want to call him, ended up being one of my least favorite mmc's of all time. It got to a point that he overall started seeming sleezy. Take for example when he was at a strip club - this is after he has got to know Payson and they've messed around for months now - and his inner thoughts about the strippers were, "I wish I could fuck one. I do. The girl on my lap is hot, and if it was two months ago, I'd be sneaking touches and not getting in trouble for it because that's what good looks and money gets you-the right to break the rules." I'm sorry? Was that not supposed to come across as sleezy as fuck? Not to mention the high-key manipulating/gaslighting he did to Payson after she found out that he went into a private room with one of the strippers and made her come. Afterwards, telling Payson things along the lines of "I was only thinking of you,", "I'm used to having sex consistently and don't want to pressure you,", "You deserve someone better than me; I thought I could fuck a stripper and move on and make you hate me," and "It/they meant nothing to me." Like, c'mon. That's toxic ass behavior and manipulation to a freakin' T. (Granted the author stated this book was toxic, but damn lol.) He really has spent months telling Payson that it's just her and him, makes her tell him that she's his, is possessive as hell and threatening harm to any guy that she lets touch her, etc, and then pulls this? Absolutely not. He even had sex with someone just weeks before this. He said so in his inner thoughts while the stripper was on him. I hate the whole cheating trope/OM or OW stuff. Sure, they aren't technically "together", but they are fooling around, plus she knows nothing about these other girls that he's apparently been messing around with in the months they've also been messing around, and it's just gross to me and pisses me off that the one chapter we get of Ash's POV is him talking about how horny he is and how he hasn't had sex in weeks, which implies he probably was fucking other girls the whole first two months of the book. Yet, he's saying he's in love with Payson just a short while later? Be real.
Then we add in the fact that this man - within minutes of meeting Payson, in a gym with 50+ people - is coming up so close behind her and sharing what looks to be an intimate moment. . .how no one aside from Janelle saw made no sense considering most of the girls there were there watching Ash. This book was heavy on the insta-lust. Even though he's 33 (yet seems immature as hell at most times), thinks Payson is 16 (up until a week or so after them initially meeting), and they've never had an interaction before. I usually eat age-gaps up (fiction wise, of course), and when reading it, there's only two things that I can think of that give me the ick: 1) When the mmc has known the mfc since she was a child and "notices" her before the age of 17/18, or, like we see in this book, 2) There's a significant age difference where she is 17/18 and there's absolutely no build up to them getting sexual. You mean to tell me that this 33 year old man is already talking to her in a suggesting way, getting close and touching this girl that has been 17 for only four days, and he has no problem with it? Nah. Ash was way too fast with it. I need some sort of connection. I need her to be mature and them to naturally form a bond over time, you know, something other than just insta-lust to the point that he's already telling her he wants to fuck her within a few weeks of them barely interacting.
And EVERYONE is totally fine with it. Wtf? Aside from Jason, everyone is perfectly okay with the relationship when they find out about it. Honestly, I love the no drama aspect of it, but it's just way too unrealistic.
Hm. . .what else. . .
The cutting stuff seemed extra. Like it was thrown in for shock value or just to give Payson some big secret. And how she cut herself at practice in the locker room and Ash came to her house claiming he could tell she did something because she was acting different than usual after he's known her, what, a matter of a few days? Shows up at her house and forces his way into her bedroom? Wth was he looking for? Made no sense. How she didn't think he was cuckoo nest, bonkers crazy after pulling that stunt is beyond me.
Something that just annoyed me was Payson constantly saying penis and vagina. At one point the author wrote, "I dragged my vagina up and down his penis," and I had to fight not to finally DNF the book due to the cringe. The sexual scenes were so uncomfortably mechanical sounding a lot of the time. But that's - like this whole review is - just my opinion. Others might've read it and thought it was super spicy. I just get the ick when the word penis is used during smexy times. It's not the worst word, but not at all my cup of tea lol. I did like the CNC aspect, love books with that kink, but I found it hard to believe that Payson has just turned 17, pretty much is completely naive to sex in general - to the point she has to search up what a dick looks like, and has a hard time saying words like fuck - that she is automatically drawn to CNC, spanking, likes to be slapped and choked, etc. But she has to be a perfect match for every one of Ash's desires, so of course it's written that way. And I'm pretty sure daddy kink is something else to add to it; though it was briefly mentioned, it was clear they were both interested to some degree at the aspect of her calling him daddy. Which I'm not complaining about. Every kink in this book is one I share so I'm not mad at it at all.
There's a lot of them fucking around throughout the book, but they don't have sex until around 95%. And it was not super great lol. It seemed pretty rushed, and to me it was very cringey for the most part because she was in so much pain and he was essentially telling her to shut up, get over it, just relax, and I was just like. . .dude, I get y'all are into rougher stuff apparently, but it's her first time. Of course she's struggling to relax. He was a little ridiculous.
Sidenote, completely random, how did she not recognize her own body in that background picture? Don't understand. Just something that made me scratch my head lol.
Eh. Will I read the second book? Maybe. . .it's pretty much a coin toss. It doesn't come out for forever, so I may have forgotten about it by then. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
For starters, before I get into the negatives, I do want to say that I saw potential in it. This isn't the worst book I've ever read, and I liked the initial idea of it, it's just that the execution didn't meet the mark for me.
My main takeaway from this book is that it's 500+ pages, and over half of it felt like unnecessary filler. I remember while reading when I got to around page 300 and had no clue how I was that far in and it felt like nothing had happened. And don't get me started on me not realizing that this is apparently a freaking trilogy? (I mean, fair enough, try and get that money, but I wasn't expecting it.) The fact that this book was as long as it is - and not a whole lot felt like it happened until the very rushed last 10% of the book - and there's still two more books, is crazy to me. I guess it makes sense considering almost every subplot was left unresolved, but still. I just wish I had known this was a trilogy but that’s my own fault. Oh well.
There was countless spelling/grammar issues that really had me feeling like no one even bothered to read it over once it was finished. I don't know anything about the author, but I think this is a debut book, so I wasn't planning on judging it that harshly - no one is perfect, least of all me - but it just kept accumulating and at some point it became too much to ignore.
One of the other bigger issues I had with this book was how often scenes would abruptly shift. Something would happen, like a cliffhanger of sorts or just in the middle of a random scene, and out of no where it just cuts to sometime later and there's hardly any info about what just happened. Idk, the book didn't flow all that smoothly a lot of the time.
Something else I think that came from the lack of re-reading/editing was that the author often contradicted themselves. Examples:
- From pretty much the start, Ash makes it clear he wants to have sex with Payson. He has told her multiple times that he does, and then randomly he says he wants to do more than kiss her and she's thinking in her head, "Did he just admit to wanting to have sex with me?" Well, yeah, he did, but that's nothing new. He admitted that multiple times already since you've met.
- They dance around the fact that Payson is inexperienced, and it's implied Ash figures she's a virgin, then there's a scene where he gets shocked. . .that she's a virgin. Even though he has seen how inexperienced she is. What, does he have amnesia? Early onset dementia? Idk.
- At the start we learn that Payson's brother, Jason, is being severely beaten by their mom's bf/husband to the point that Jason sometimes has broken bones, is fearing for his life, things of that nature. And Payson says Jason (I just realized their names rhyme loll) is her favorite person, and they are written as if they are very close and love each other very much. At this point in time I believe Payson was 10 and Jason was 17. After getting into a bad fight, Jason I guess you can say cuddles Payson as they lay in bed(kinda odd ngl, but moving on), and he tells her he has to leave because Fred - the bf/husband - would end up killing him if he didn't. She says she understands and she doesn't want him to stay and get hurt anymore. But then, flash forward to the end where we see Jason again, and she is basically putting all the blame on Jason for what happened to her after he left. Saying he should've taken her with him, that he's selfish, etc. Drastic difference from what she said before. First of all, he was only 17. He was a kid. He was fearing for his life and didn't think Fred would do anything to Payson if he left. It was not his responsibility to take care of Payson, and there's no way he would've been able to. A 17 year old taking care of a 10 year old with no help? There's just no way. The logistics just don't add up. Do I think Jason was naive to think Fred wouldn't do anything to her? Yes. But I don't think it was fair at all that he was basically turned into another villain in her story.
Moving on from that and more focus on the mmc and mfc.
Ash, or Ashley, whatever you want to call him, ended up being one of my least favorite mmc's of all time. It got to a point that he overall started seeming sleezy. Take for example when he was at a strip club - this is after he has got to know Payson and they've messed around for months now - and his inner thoughts about the strippers were, "I wish I could fuck one. I do. The girl on my lap is hot, and if it was two months ago, I'd be sneaking touches and not getting in trouble for it because that's what good looks and money gets you-the right to break the rules." I'm sorry? Was that not supposed to come across as sleezy as fuck? Not to mention the high-key manipulating/gaslighting he did to Payson after she found out that he went into a private room with one of the strippers and made her come. Afterwards, telling Payson things along the lines of "I was only thinking of you,", "I'm used to having sex consistently and don't want to pressure you,", "You deserve someone better than me; I thought I could fuck a stripper and move on and make you hate me," and "It/they meant nothing to me." Like, c'mon. That's toxic ass behavior and manipulation to a freakin' T. (Granted the author stated this book was toxic, but damn lol.) He really has spent months telling Payson that it's just her and him, makes her tell him that she's his, is possessive as hell and threatening harm to any guy that she lets touch her, etc, and then pulls this? Absolutely not. He even had sex with someone just weeks before this. He said so in his inner thoughts while the stripper was on him. I hate the whole cheating trope/OM or OW stuff. Sure, they aren't technically "together", but they are fooling around, plus she knows nothing about these other girls that he's apparently been messing around with in the months they've also been messing around, and it's just gross to me and pisses me off that the one chapter we get of Ash's POV is him talking about how horny he is and how he hasn't had sex in weeks, which implies he probably was fucking other girls the whole first two months of the book. Yet, he's saying he's in love with Payson just a short while later? Be real.
Then we add in the fact that this man - within minutes of meeting Payson, in a gym with 50+ people - is coming up so close behind her and sharing what looks to be an intimate moment. . .how no one aside from Janelle saw made no sense considering most of the girls there were there watching Ash. This book was heavy on the insta-lust. Even though he's 33 (yet seems immature as hell at most times), thinks Payson is 16 (up until a week or so after them initially meeting), and they've never had an interaction before. I usually eat age-gaps up (fiction wise, of course), and when reading it, there's only two things that I can think of that give me the ick: 1) When the mmc has known the mfc since she was a child and "notices" her before the age of 17/18, or, like we see in this book, 2) There's a significant age difference where she is 17/18 and there's absolutely no build up to them getting sexual. You mean to tell me that this 33 year old man is already talking to her in a suggesting way, getting close and touching this girl that has been 17 for only four days, and he has no problem with it? Nah. Ash was way too fast with it. I need some sort of connection. I need her to be mature and them to naturally form a bond over time, you know, something other than just insta-lust to the point that he's already telling her he wants to fuck her within a few weeks of them barely interacting.
And EVERYONE is totally fine with it. Wtf? Aside from Jason, everyone is perfectly okay with the relationship when they find out about it. Honestly, I love the no drama aspect of it, but it's just way too unrealistic.
Hm. . .what else. . .
The cutting stuff seemed extra. Like it was thrown in for shock value or just to give Payson some big secret. And how she cut herself at practice in the locker room and Ash came to her house claiming he could tell she did something because she was acting different than usual after he's known her, what, a matter of a few days? Shows up at her house and forces his way into her bedroom? Wth was he looking for? Made no sense. How she didn't think he was cuckoo nest, bonkers crazy after pulling that stunt is beyond me.
Something that just annoyed me was Payson constantly saying penis and vagina. At one point the author wrote, "I dragged my vagina up and down his penis," and I had to fight not to finally DNF the book due to the cringe. The sexual scenes were so uncomfortably mechanical sounding a lot of the time. But that's - like this whole review is - just my opinion. Others might've read it and thought it was super spicy. I just get the ick when the word penis is used during smexy times. It's not the worst word, but not at all my cup of tea lol. I did like the CNC aspect, love books with that kink, but I found it hard to believe that Payson has just turned 17, pretty much is completely naive to sex in general - to the point she has to search up what a dick looks like, and has a hard time saying words like fuck - that she is automatically drawn to CNC, spanking, likes to be slapped and choked, etc. But she has to be a perfect match for every one of Ash's desires, so of course it's written that way. And I'm pretty sure daddy kink is something else to add to it; though it was briefly mentioned, it was clear they were both interested to some degree at the aspect of her calling him daddy. Which I'm not complaining about. Every kink in this book is one I share so I'm not mad at it at all.
There's a lot of them fucking around throughout the book, but they don't have sex until around 95%. And it was not super great lol. It seemed pretty rushed, and to me it was very cringey for the most part because she was in so much pain and he was essentially telling her to shut up, get over it, just relax, and I was just like. . .dude, I get y'all are into rougher stuff apparently, but it's her first time. Of course she's struggling to relax. He was a little ridiculous.
Sidenote, completely random, how did she not recognize her own body in that background picture? Don't understand. Just something that made me scratch my head lol.
Eh. Will I read the second book? Maybe. . .it's pretty much a coin toss. It doesn't come out for forever, so I may have forgotten about it by then. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
January 24, 2024
ash my man. my fave toxic alpha male. listen i’m not kidding i’m obsessed with ash & always will be. the way ash talks, i love. payson is one of the strongest girls i’ve read. her positive outlook on life is something we can all take from her.
but payson & ash together. CANT GET ENOUGH. the dynamic between them is perfect & u can tell they work well for each other
but payson & ash together. CANT GET ENOUGH. the dynamic between them is perfect & u can tell they work well for each other
August 15, 2022
Wow! Where to start with this amazing book. So KB Row has volleyed this ball right over the net with her debut book. Payson has become one of my favourite FMC. Everyone will tell you about how hot Ash is, and they're not wrong. But Payson deserves some love too. KB was able to get both the innocence and the fact she had to grow up way to quick at the same time. It's not an easy balance, but KB has captured Payson's voice so much.
I'm warning you though you are going to want to leave a huge opening in your life to read this book. I was unable to put it down.
Now for ASH. Panty wetting does not do him justice. I'd do suicide drills all day for this guy. This confident Alpha-hole is everything you want in a book boyfriend. He's dirty talking and is NOT discreet. Some of his best lines involve some really naughty words so...
Enjoy. See you on the other side, you are gonna want to talk about it.
I'm warning you though you are going to want to leave a huge opening in your life to read this book. I was unable to put it down.
Now for ASH. Panty wetting does not do him justice. I'd do suicide drills all day for this guy. This confident Alpha-hole is everything you want in a book boyfriend. He's dirty talking and is NOT discreet. Some of his best lines involve some really naughty words so...
Enjoy. See you on the other side, you are gonna want to talk about it.
July 16, 2023
I typically don’t write reviews like this but this book made my stomach turn so much that I feel like I have to. This may sound dumb but I hate bashing people's books because I know the author probably poured their heart into it but this book is disgusting.
This book is about a pedophile.
Yes, you read that right, a legitimate pedophile.
He’s in his 30’s, she’s 17.
The first mistake with reading this book was the fact that I was recommended on Tik Tok. Red flag number one. Something along the lines of “Olympic-winning volleyball coach meets a troubled girl who has been in juvie for a while.” I was intrigued. My second mistake was assuming this was college-level volleyball because it most definitely was not.
To start, Payson is annoying. She acts like a kid which looking back makes sense because Ash is a literal pedophile. She’s described as emotionless yet she “shows every emotion on her face,” whenever they have an argument. She’s just…annoying, as much as I hate to say it. Payson has no backbone and never sticks to what she’s feeling unless it’s over something minor like a cupcake. (No pun intended. You know, because ASH IS A PEDOPHILE)
By the time I realized the true ages my stomach was already in knots but I had to see if this got any better before I left a review. This is where the fun starts…
He cheats on her with a stripper because “she looks like her.”
- he barely shows any remorse over this btw ^^ the only thing he says is that “he hates he disappointed her”
- He apologizes more the first time they have sex because he finished too fast. He wasn’t even that broken up about when he cheated on her.
He also admits to her that he has a child THE SAME AGE AS HER!
- Keep in mind she asked him if he was a father before this. And guess what his response was? I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t “Yes.”
- He claims he wasn’t in his child’s life for the first sixteen years because he was in the prime of his career. Trophy dad amiright? Oh and how could I forget, Luca (his best friend) and his sister both told him he should wait. We already know how easily persuaded he is from the stripper incident so this shouldn’t be a surprise.
Once I got to the second book I knew I wasn’t going to finish it. I honestly don’t even know why I kept going considering the stomach pains I was having. < I’m so serious btw. My stomach literally was cramping from how grossed out I was by this book. It’s still cramping as I write this.
Now this is my favorite part of this whole ordeal. This might be hard to understand given the fact that I’m mentally exhausted from this train wreck but bear with me.
During an argument at volleyball practice, Alyssa, (one of the teammates) tells Payson that not only was her sister the stripper he cheated with but he also had sex with Alyssa last summer.
Now correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Alyssa younger than Payson? I might be getting characters mixed up but either way, Alyssa is a MINOR. He had sex with multiple minors at 30 years old.
Again, correct me if I’m wrong, but even if Alyssa is the same age as Payson, that puts her at 16 last summer.
And if she’s a year younger like I thought, then she’s 15.
This book is not a “toxic steamy romance,” it’s disgusting and borderline abusive.
As crazy as it may sound I’m genuinely sad that one of the girls from Booktok I follow recommended this. I usually don’t judge considering I love dark romance but this book is blatant pedophilia. Between the way she acts, the way he describes her, and him having sex with multiple minors… I’m just not seeing the appeal.
Please correct me if I’m wrong about any of this. I hate leaving reviews like this but this doesn’t sit right with me :(
This book is about a pedophile.
Yes, you read that right, a legitimate pedophile.
He’s in his 30’s, she’s 17.
The first mistake with reading this book was the fact that I was recommended on Tik Tok. Red flag number one. Something along the lines of “Olympic-winning volleyball coach meets a troubled girl who has been in juvie for a while.” I was intrigued. My second mistake was assuming this was college-level volleyball because it most definitely was not.
To start, Payson is annoying. She acts like a kid which looking back makes sense because Ash is a literal pedophile. She’s described as emotionless yet she “shows every emotion on her face,” whenever they have an argument. She’s just…annoying, as much as I hate to say it. Payson has no backbone and never sticks to what she’s feeling unless it’s over something minor like a cupcake. (No pun intended. You know, because ASH IS A PEDOPHILE)
By the time I realized the true ages my stomach was already in knots but I had to see if this got any better before I left a review. This is where the fun starts…
He cheats on her with a stripper because “she looks like her.”
- he barely shows any remorse over this btw ^^ the only thing he says is that “he hates he disappointed her”
- He apologizes more the first time they have sex because he finished too fast. He wasn’t even that broken up about when he cheated on her.
He also admits to her that he has a child THE SAME AGE AS HER!
- Keep in mind she asked him if he was a father before this. And guess what his response was? I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t “Yes.”
- He claims he wasn’t in his child’s life for the first sixteen years because he was in the prime of his career. Trophy dad amiright? Oh and how could I forget, Luca (his best friend) and his sister both told him he should wait. We already know how easily persuaded he is from the stripper incident so this shouldn’t be a surprise.
Once I got to the second book I knew I wasn’t going to finish it. I honestly don’t even know why I kept going considering the stomach pains I was having. < I’m so serious btw. My stomach literally was cramping from how grossed out I was by this book. It’s still cramping as I write this.
Now this is my favorite part of this whole ordeal. This might be hard to understand given the fact that I’m mentally exhausted from this train wreck but bear with me.
During an argument at volleyball practice, Alyssa, (one of the teammates) tells Payson that not only was her sister the stripper he cheated with but he also had sex with Alyssa last summer.
Now correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Alyssa younger than Payson? I might be getting characters mixed up but either way, Alyssa is a MINOR. He had sex with multiple minors at 30 years old.
Again, correct me if I’m wrong, but even if Alyssa is the same age as Payson, that puts her at 16 last summer.
And if she’s a year younger like I thought, then she’s 15.
This book is not a “toxic steamy romance,” it’s disgusting and borderline abusive.
As crazy as it may sound I’m genuinely sad that one of the girls from Booktok I follow recommended this. I usually don’t judge considering I love dark romance but this book is blatant pedophilia. Between the way she acts, the way he describes her, and him having sex with multiple minors… I’m just not seeing the appeal.
Please correct me if I’m wrong about any of this. I hate leaving reviews like this but this doesn’t sit right with me :(
September 21, 2022
i’m so beyond pissed off
Read
February 9, 202450%
I’m (DNF)ing a lot of book this year !!!
I started reading this because i thought it would be like the off balance series by Lucia Franco but absolutely NOT
Not my cup of tea
I’m (DNF)ing a lot of book this year !!!
I started reading this because i thought it would be like the off balance series by Lucia Franco but absolutely NOT
Not my cup of tea
March 29, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6 stars!!!
ROUND OF APPLAUSE 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 10/10 👩🏾🍳 💋 10s all across the board and 0 complaints!
Wow! This book destroyed me in all the right ways that i was begging to be destroyed. If you're looking for something emotional with lots of build up and lots of angst then this one is for you. I absolutely LOVED this book and could not put it down. I could not get enough of Ash and Peyson's story and am of course going right into the second book after I post this review.
Ash is one of my favorite top antihero's to ever exist- just add him to the long list of morally grey man who I will give a pass to EVERY.SINGLE. TIME.
I was caught off guard by his character and it was one of the best suprises this book had to offer. Yes, student teacher romances typically have heroes who have more turbulence and resistance towards their counterpart. But once I accepted the story for what it was instead of trying to make it what I thought it would (I'm looking at you Off Balance fans) I found his reaction to it all to be quite appealing for me. He simply did not care. Ash is an antihero plucked right out of a dark romance series that I would eat right up. I love that he isn't your typical hero and I fell for this book so much harder because of that. Him and his unpredictability was my favorite part of the story.
When he told her he would kill a guy in front of her if she showed any effction towards them, I knew I was in for a ride.
Peyson's story was heartbreaking and I had to skip over alot of the actual abuse that she experienced because (please check your triggers) I just couldn't but even so I was able to feel for her and get the jist of everything that had occurred which says alot about the writing. The writing was okay. Although the storyline flowed gorgeously, the descriptions and writing was a little choppy and I found myself confused on how characters were interacting with one another or how I should be picturing it in my head. I got taken out of the story quite a bit because of poor descriptions and not being able to visualize what was going on. If this is the authors first book then that's totally understandable and not something that I would hold against them because compared to everything if, I stand impressed.
The cliffhanger through me through a loop but I did suspect it after the foreshadowing that was done in the car scene. Still, I was shook to my core.
I love that the author has no boundaries when it comes to Ash and isn't afraid to let him go there - the caefteria scene when he becomes physical with Peyson will live rent free in my mind forever. I was already excited to reread some scenes from this bool while I was still actively reading the book so if that doesn't says 5 stars then i dont know what does. This book got me out of a really bad reading slump and helped me get excited about reading again. Would 1000000% recommend.
ROUND OF APPLAUSE 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 10/10 👩🏾🍳 💋 10s all across the board and 0 complaints!
Wow! This book destroyed me in all the right ways that i was begging to be destroyed. If you're looking for something emotional with lots of build up and lots of angst then this one is for you. I absolutely LOVED this book and could not put it down. I could not get enough of Ash and Peyson's story and am of course going right into the second book after I post this review.
Ash is one of my favorite top antihero's to ever exist- just add him to the long list of morally grey man who I will give a pass to EVERY.SINGLE. TIME.
I was caught off guard by his character and it was one of the best suprises this book had to offer. Yes, student teacher romances typically have heroes who have more turbulence and resistance towards their counterpart. But once I accepted the story for what it was instead of trying to make it what I thought it would (I'm looking at you Off Balance fans) I found his reaction to it all to be quite appealing for me. He simply did not care. Ash is an antihero plucked right out of a dark romance series that I would eat right up. I love that he isn't your typical hero and I fell for this book so much harder because of that. Him and his unpredictability was my favorite part of the story.
When he told her he would kill a guy in front of her if she showed any effction towards them, I knew I was in for a ride.
Peyson's story was heartbreaking and I had to skip over alot of the actual abuse that she experienced because (please check your triggers) I just couldn't but even so I was able to feel for her and get the jist of everything that had occurred which says alot about the writing. The writing was okay. Although the storyline flowed gorgeously, the descriptions and writing was a little choppy and I found myself confused on how characters were interacting with one another or how I should be picturing it in my head. I got taken out of the story quite a bit because of poor descriptions and not being able to visualize what was going on. If this is the authors first book then that's totally understandable and not something that I would hold against them because compared to everything if, I stand impressed.
The cliffhanger through me through a loop but I did suspect it after the foreshadowing that was done in the car scene. Still, I was shook to my core.
I love that the author has no boundaries when it comes to Ash and isn't afraid to let him go there - the caefteria scene when he becomes physical with Peyson will live rent free in my mind forever. I was already excited to reread some scenes from this bool while I was still actively reading the book so if that doesn't says 5 stars then i dont know what does. This book got me out of a really bad reading slump and helped me get excited about reading again. Would 1000000% recommend.
Read
October 18, 2024DNF
Nope, the h sounds very childish… not for me.
Nope, the h sounds very childish… not for me.
December 28, 2022
WOW, I did not expect to love it as much as I did. This was honestly a 5 star read for me up until there was a certain scene that didn’t have enough grovelling for me but besides that everything was perfect!
I loved both the MC’s as well as the side characters but for me Payson stole the show.
I thought Payson was such a beautifully written character. I wanted to laugh with her, smile with her but also cry for her. I went through so many different emotions that just shows how well the book was written as I was truly submerged in the story.
To say technically the MC’s don’t have actual sex until right towards the end this book was HOT. It sets up so well for future sex scenes that I hope happens in the next book.
Overall I’m left with sooo many question and I’m not just talking about the massive cliffhanger.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
🌶🌶🌶
age gap
Sports romance
Coach/player
Praise
Degradation
Slapping
Spit
Tw- self harm, sexual abuse
OW scene- (not enough grovelling in my opinion)
I loved both the MC’s as well as the side characters but for me Payson stole the show.
I thought Payson was such a beautifully written character. I wanted to laugh with her, smile with her but also cry for her. I went through so many different emotions that just shows how well the book was written as I was truly submerged in the story.
To say technically the MC’s don’t have actual sex until right towards the end this book was HOT. It sets up so well for future sex scenes that I hope happens in the next book.
Overall I’m left with sooo many question and I’m not just talking about the massive cliffhanger.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
🌶🌶🌶
age gap
Sports romance
Coach/player
Praise
Degradation
Slapping
Spit
Tw- self harm, sexual abuse
OW scene- (not enough grovelling in my opinion)
August 22, 2023
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars! Forbidden/ hot coach, omg, this was such a good start to what’s going to be a trilogy
August 25, 2022
This book was very well written by KB Row. While it may be somewhat of a slow burn the plot and character development was well executed to leave you wanting more from this author.
Payson and Ash are student/teacher and while Ash has left me more mad then anything I will be waiting for more from him.
This book has some taboo elements so be sure to check the authors page for specifics.
Payson and Ash are student/teacher and while Ash has left me more mad then anything I will be waiting for more from him.
This book has some taboo elements so be sure to check the authors page for specifics.
February 11, 2024
One of my top favorite age gap romances!
I loved this book so much. I didn’t want to put it down, and it’s definitely going onto my favorites list, as well as, book boyfriends list. This is my first book from this author and I will definitely be reading her other books when I’m done reading this series. I don’t want it to end though! Everything felt so real since it completely consumed me and my time. This is my favorite read of 2024 so far and it will take a LOT to beat it. Extremely great writing by this author. It pulled me in from the first page. There’s so many questions I have, and not just from that cliffhanger. I want to know what’s up with Ronnie. Seems like we got a hint of her having been in an age gap relationship at some point. And I was kind of hoping Luca would end up with Janelle. I’m hating Collins for her now, even though I love me a good stepbrother romance. I did want to throttle Ash during one scene though. I was so disappointed in him!! Other than that this book was perfection!
I loved this book so much. I didn’t want to put it down, and it’s definitely going onto my favorites list, as well as, book boyfriends list. This is my first book from this author and I will definitely be reading her other books when I’m done reading this series. I don’t want it to end though! Everything felt so real since it completely consumed me and my time. This is my favorite read of 2024 so far and it will take a LOT to beat it. Extremely great writing by this author. It pulled me in from the first page. There’s so many questions I have, and not just from that cliffhanger. I want to know what’s up with Ronnie. Seems like we got a hint of her having been in an age gap relationship at some point. And I was kind of hoping Luca would end up with Janelle. I’m hating Collins for her now, even though I love me a good stepbrother romance. I did want to throttle Ash during one scene though. I was so disappointed in him!! Other than that this book was perfection!
February 9, 2023
Volleyball Player and Coach
Forbidden Age Gap
Childhood Hero
Comfort Trope
Jealous MMC
Traumaaaa & Dramaaa
Check TW!
Left on cliffhanger.
So good!
Forbidden Age Gap
Childhood Hero
Comfort Trope
Jealous MMC
Traumaaaa & Dramaaa
Check TW!
Left on cliffhanger.
So good!
August 14, 2022
YOU NEED TO READ THIS NOW!
🌟 Forbidden
🌟 Age Gap
🌟 Coach/Player romance
🌟 Alpha/Toxic
🌟 Sports Romance
🌟 HOT AF!🥵🥵
Debut novel? PFT! This was a work of art! I have read this book about 3/4 times now and I will never get bored, it was phenomenal!!
𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘐 𝘢𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
I love our girl Payson, she is a lost soul and has been through hell and back for such a young girl, some people might think she's weak but she's one hell of a strong girl underneath it all. I love that she has banter and can still see the light in life and people even when she probably shouldn't.
ASH MF'ING PEARSON - holy fucking SHIT he is everything you could ever wish for and is toxic with a capital T but we love that about him more than anything! The words that come out of his mouth will have your panties disintegrating!
“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘥…”
“…𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.”
The angst in this book was on point and when i say its angsty, its FULL of it. The fact Ash is Payson's coach and their relationship is so forbidden makes it all that more exciting. The sneaking around and how Ash is totally alpha with Payson will have you having all kinds of butterflys! This book is constant, there is always something happening that will have you like 😲/😫 or 😍🥵. There were parts in this book that broke me, the book goes deep and it will make you want to give Payson a hug. You will go through every emotion reading this book. The ending, oh my god 😲🥴. You will all be shocked! Trust me! I cant wait for the next book!
🌟 Forbidden
🌟 Age Gap
🌟 Coach/Player romance
🌟 Alpha/Toxic
🌟 Sports Romance
🌟 HOT AF!🥵🥵
Debut novel? PFT! This was a work of art! I have read this book about 3/4 times now and I will never get bored, it was phenomenal!!
𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘐 𝘢𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
I love our girl Payson, she is a lost soul and has been through hell and back for such a young girl, some people might think she's weak but she's one hell of a strong girl underneath it all. I love that she has banter and can still see the light in life and people even when she probably shouldn't.
ASH MF'ING PEARSON - holy fucking SHIT he is everything you could ever wish for and is toxic with a capital T but we love that about him more than anything! The words that come out of his mouth will have your panties disintegrating!
“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘥…”
“…𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.”
The angst in this book was on point and when i say its angsty, its FULL of it. The fact Ash is Payson's coach and their relationship is so forbidden makes it all that more exciting. The sneaking around and how Ash is totally alpha with Payson will have you having all kinds of butterflys! This book is constant, there is always something happening that will have you like 😲/😫 or 😍🥵. There were parts in this book that broke me, the book goes deep and it will make you want to give Payson a hug. You will go through every emotion reading this book. The ending, oh my god 😲🥴. You will all be shocked! Trust me! I cant wait for the next book!
September 27, 2023
It has Off Balance vibes but the writing is not as mature/advanced as Lucia Franco’s. I also found myself saying all the time “this is just a book” because there’s just no way people wouldn’t have noticed some of the interactions they had in public. There were times in Off Balance I felt like it took forever for their relationship to be established, but this was the opposite and felt too rushed.
I am going to continue the series and am interested in what happens. But…if you’re reading this because you loved Off Balance, just know that nothing compares to that series 🤣
OKAAYYY… I am coming back to edit my review because I’m 14% into book two and I feel like I got some much needed clarity from Ash that makes the timeline feel a little less rushed and the writing is more impressive. Also, I literally just said “OH JFC HE DID NOT” and… I’m very impressed and intrigued/did not see this coming. I’m going to keep 3/5 stars for book one, but so far book two makes reading book 1 worth it and I’m guessing will receive a higher rating at this point in time.
I am going to continue the series and am interested in what happens. But…if you’re reading this because you loved Off Balance, just know that nothing compares to that series 🤣
OKAAYYY… I am coming back to edit my review because I’m 14% into book two and I feel like I got some much needed clarity from Ash that makes the timeline feel a little less rushed and the writing is more impressive. Also, I literally just said “OH JFC HE DID NOT” and… I’m very impressed and intrigued/did not see this coming. I’m going to keep 3/5 stars for book one, but so far book two makes reading book 1 worth it and I’m guessing will receive a higher rating at this point in time.
May 17, 2024
Rating: 6/10⭐️
Spice: 2/5🌶
Tropes:forbidden; coach/athelete; series; trauma; hurt/comfort
This was a solid start for the trilogy.... I LOVE a good forbidden romance add in coach/athlete & I'm ALWAYS there but for me this just didn't hit all the way like I wanted it too. Perhaps it was because he was obsessed with her from the jump like cmon gimme some angst... gimme some of the longing touches and the looks across the gym but nope he was all like YOU'RE MINE from jump... it wasn't my vibes. I love the angst. and how does no one care that they are together? i mean they are all just like oMg We LoVe Y'aLl together. like lets be forreal. that's not how this should of been.
now, with that.. I still did enjoy parts of it. Ash.. yeah he had his moments of jerky but he truly did care for Payson.. and Payson my she truly is such a strong FMC and with all the crap she has had to go through she's still fighting and trying to overcome her demons. I love that she doesn't NEED Ash and isn't willing to just give him whatever he wants just because he is her childhood idol.. also the shminks? those are kinda hot.
will i keep reading? ya, but like am I hauling butt to book two? na.
Spice: 2/5🌶
Tropes:forbidden; coach/athelete; series; trauma; hurt/comfort
This was a solid start for the trilogy.... I LOVE a good forbidden romance add in coach/athlete & I'm ALWAYS there but for me this just didn't hit all the way like I wanted it too. Perhaps it was because he was obsessed with her from the jump like cmon gimme some angst... gimme some of the longing touches and the looks across the gym but nope he was all like YOU'RE MINE from jump... it wasn't my vibes. I love the angst. and how does no one care that they are together? i mean they are all just like oMg We LoVe Y'aLl together. like lets be forreal. that's not how this should of been.
now, with that.. I still did enjoy parts of it. Ash.. yeah he had his moments of jerky but he truly did care for Payson.. and Payson my she truly is such a strong FMC and with all the crap she has had to go through she's still fighting and trying to overcome her demons. I love that she doesn't NEED Ash and isn't willing to just give him whatever he wants just because he is her childhood idol.. also the shminks? those are kinda hot.
will i keep reading? ya, but like am I hauling butt to book two? na.
January 31, 2024
I really thought I would love this one with the forbidden/taboo, age gap romance, but when I realized she was only 17 and he was 33 & her volleyball coach I was unsure. It only got worse from there. IMO he was literally grooming her and she was an easy target due to her upbringing and abuse she had endured. He was a little too obsessed with her & honestly it was super weird the way he acted towards her…a grown man. And what was that cliffhanger ending?? lol no thx
Some will like this, so read if you like:
Forbidden romance
Taboo age gap (minor, 33 y/o)
HS volleyball player/coach
Rough childhood/abuse
**read TW
Some will like this, so read if you like:
Forbidden romance
Taboo age gap (minor, 33 y/o)
HS volleyball player/coach
Rough childhood/abuse
**read TW
December 13, 2023
2.25⭐️
100% a low budget taboo romance, but hey-I didn’t choose to read this bc I thought it would change my life. I wanted the taboo & it delivered. Even if it was cheesy.
Ash gives off major creep/perv vibes & Paysons IQ is actually 4.
Overall, I will prob continue to read this series when i need a taboo fix.
100% a low budget taboo romance, but hey-I didn’t choose to read this bc I thought it would change my life. I wanted the taboo & it delivered. Even if it was cheesy.
Ash gives off major creep/perv vibes & Paysons IQ is actually 4.
Overall, I will prob continue to read this series when i need a taboo fix.
June 9, 2024
Summer is all about making bad choices. This book was one of them. It came across the feed. Sounded like Off Balance and I thought, why not make myself uncomfortable, again. It should have been not. Just not. The male MC was so freaking immature, the dialogue was very juvenile. The other book at least had content and context about the sport. This just doest. Will I read book 2? I’ll Probably skim it bc of the stupid cliffhanger book 1 ended on but I’ll hate myself the entire time.
August 31, 2025
{4.5/5}
TW
- sexual abuse (not in the present relationship)
- rape (not in the present relationship)
- self harm
- hard kink
- age gap
- teacher x student kinda (coach x player)
I loved it…
The relationship, the trauma, everything was writted so good !
But…
This book is not for everyone, there is a lot of spice and kinks that can make you uncomfortable.
TW
- sexual abuse (not in the present relationship)
- rape (not in the present relationship)
- self harm
- hard kink
- age gap
- teacher x student kinda (coach x player)
I loved it…
The relationship, the trauma, everything was writted so good !
But…
This book is not for everyone, there is a lot of spice and kinks that can make you uncomfortable.
May 22, 2024
I hated this. It’s like the couple moved so ridiculously fast as in there was no build up but also so ridiculously slow as in you had to get 5/6 of the way in for anything to happen. Was so annoying to read.
October 31, 2023
How many 5 stars can I leave? OMG. SO SO good
Read
January 27, 2025DNF
September 13, 2023
Long and boring. You have to search really hard for something exciting in this book. Way too much inner dialogue. The fooling around parts are just okay. There is no way I’m moving on to book two when I barely got through this first book.
January 23, 2023
Break for You
by KB Row
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Ohhh glorious glorious forbidden, taboo fruit 😂😏. I didn’t think I’d ever find another book that could slap like Off Balance (sorry, there’s my daily mention 😂), but THIS ONE SLAPPED.
This is the story of a 17yo volleyball player, and her very traumatic life up to this point. This year, she has a new coach and it’s none other than the man she’s looked up to since she was younger and used to have his posters on her walls and go see him play…
Despite the quotes featured on this reel, there’s actually a lot of tender, sweet moments, and also the story itself is guttural in places.
I don’t want to pass this off as purely spice, because God in places I found myself breaking for Payson and all she was going through. I have a history of SH myself, so some of the scenes hit hard. It really does tackle some heavy hitting trauma.
Also, he’s another MMC you’re going to downright HATE at points. Oh yes, it’s going to make you feel the feelings 😂.
1 reel on booksta and I headed in and ATE THIS UP. Argh it was just so good from the get go! SO SO GOOD.
AND THE DAMN CLIFFHANGER JUST ABOUT KILLED ME. I need the next book NOW.
In this book you get:
✨Forbidden/Taboo Romance (coach/student)
✨Age Gap
✨Emotionally heavy Story
✨Angst
Please check TW, as I mentioned before there is a lot of SH talk, as well as other triggering topics.
by KB Row
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Ohhh glorious glorious forbidden, taboo fruit 😂😏. I didn’t think I’d ever find another book that could slap like Off Balance (sorry, there’s my daily mention 😂), but THIS ONE SLAPPED.
This is the story of a 17yo volleyball player, and her very traumatic life up to this point. This year, she has a new coach and it’s none other than the man she’s looked up to since she was younger and used to have his posters on her walls and go see him play…
Despite the quotes featured on this reel, there’s actually a lot of tender, sweet moments, and also the story itself is guttural in places.
I don’t want to pass this off as purely spice, because God in places I found myself breaking for Payson and all she was going through. I have a history of SH myself, so some of the scenes hit hard. It really does tackle some heavy hitting trauma.
Also, he’s another MMC you’re going to downright HATE at points. Oh yes, it’s going to make you feel the feelings 😂.
1 reel on booksta and I headed in and ATE THIS UP. Argh it was just so good from the get go! SO SO GOOD.
AND THE DAMN CLIFFHANGER JUST ABOUT KILLED ME. I need the next book NOW.
In this book you get:
✨Forbidden/Taboo Romance (coach/student)
✨Age Gap
✨Emotionally heavy Story
✨Angst
Please check TW, as I mentioned before there is a lot of SH talk, as well as other triggering topics.
September 29, 2023
“Do you know what it’s like to watch someone hate themselves when you love them more than anything?” I don’t answer. “It’s fucking agony.”
Like many many others, I am reading this series because it was compared to Off Balance by Lucia Franco. Nothing has been able to touch the taboo angst that that series delivered. The more I looked into this series, the more excited I got. We have a high school volleyball coach (33 years old) and one of his players. Payson just turned 17 years old at the beginning of this book. Author makes it clear that she is above the age of consent in the state she lives in (not that I care - but I know many have issues with minors in books). The attraction and tension between these two happens INSTANTLY. In fact, Payson has been in love with Ash since she was like 8 years old. He is a famous Olympic winning volleyball player. His style of serving is the reason she serves the way she does. She had all the memorabilia, his picture on her walls, an Ash themed birthday party and even had one of his jerseys that she caught at a game she went to in the past. OBSESSED.
Payson has a terrible home life. The book starts when she is young and we are introduced to her brother who is her protector... until he isn't He abandons her when she is 10 years old and leaves her in their abusive home. Their step-dad is emotionally and physically abusive and their mom is just neglectful. When her brother leaves... the abuse starts to take a sexual turn (no rape though).
At 16 years old, an incident occurs between her and her step dad that sends her to juvie and then house arrest when she gets out. She moves in with her grandpa and isolates herself for months from her friends.
In her Junior year of high school her volleyball coach and close friend, Amanda, moves out of state leaving a vacancy for the coach position. I wonder who will fill the position ?!?!?!?! Enter stage left.... THE ASH PEARSON, her long time crush and role model. Due to her self isolating, she is blind sighted by his presence. (One of my biggest irritations with this book is that she didn't instantly recognize him and that really bothered me given her previous obsession).
Payson and Ash grow close pretty quickly and his dirty mouth shows up much sooner than I thought it would. This book lacks the "but what if we get caught" and "I could lose everything if someone found out". Ash is just ALL IN so soon without really thinking through the consequences. And of course Payson is ALL IN.
Due to Payson's upbringing, she has some mental health concerns that are a BIG part of this book that may be severely triggering to those with a history of self harm. It would be impossible to skip those scenes because its so frequent and a core part of the plot/her personality.
I started getting Off Balance vibes about halfway through thinking I knew what Ash was hiding. I was getting upset because that series ruined me and I didn't want an exact carbon copy of what happened with that book (IYKYK). His secret is different BUT still intense. We find out in the last sentence of the book so don't flip to the back and ruin it for yourself!
There is a scene that is kinda "cheating" but not really. Its awful and sucks but ultimately I think it was necessary for Ash to clear some things up in his head.
Overall this book was WAY LONGER than it needed to be. Not a lot happened, yet tons of things happened. I did appreciate all the tension and back room make out sessions. Their behavior is so risky and delicious. It is a slow burn with an explosion at the very end (so at least we don't have to wait multiple books for THE DEED).
Payson is very innocent, naive, and immature. She gets kind of annoying as the book progresses but I still like her character and empathize with her struggles. I'm excited for the drama aspect of this series to amp up in this next book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews