Mila gave us a FULL LENGTH book and I died!!! Now I'll be honest this is a maybe first time reading a dancing book and I never watched step up so this is new and fresh for me.
We start off when Nata aka Sam and Dash met when they were 15 in school dance academy rich sad girl and a hungry dancer who found a friend. Even if they were friends for a short period they had a connection she shared her sandwich he tried to feed her so she didn't starve. But there friendship didnt last thanks to Sam mom who was a HUGE bitch like I wish she got ran over by a truck. She was abusive starved her daughter mental abuse..made sure Dash never attended there school again. This was a betrayal in Dash eyes from Sam which I'll be honest wasn't her fault she had nothing to do with it. Now we are in present time and they cross pass again. Sam still being controlled by her mother and somewhat of a boyfriend.. (don't worry she didn't wanna date the guy mom made her) and her disorder is still bad.. Dash is a big time star be made sure everyone knew him but he still wanted revenge and had some mixed feelings for Sam. He wanted to crush her and love her his mind was all over the place with that plan. The tension was high the KINKS!! I never knew feeding kink was so hot.. and cum play like lord he just wanted to feed her his cum 24/7. But as much as I love these 2 I wanted to smack them for some of the things they did.
I won't give much more away lol it's a doozy there some stuff that goes down.. and it isn't pretty.
Low angst, no ow drama/ tiny Om drama, drama, sexy times, no virgins (they both had lives during the Seperation.. it wasnt even mentioned)
Recommend-yes Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heat level-🌶🌶🌶.5
Prologue Slowinsta 23h/23H (they met when they were 15) Push away from both Cnc Seperation 8 years Humiliation Masturbation Degradation Public sex Prase kink Cum play Food kink Feeding kink Primal play Eating disorder Violence Edge play Force orgasms Abused Hea Epilogue
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
‘My life is empty, and the only reason I dance is because they’ll have no reason to love me if I don’t.’
Break by Mila Crawford was compelling and quite different to anything we’ve read in a while. It was toxic, emotional, problematic, and passionate. It was dark, dysfunctional, and disturbing. It was tragic, harrowing, heartbreaking, and intense. The scenes describing the dance though were written with such passion and beauty we felt as if we were watching it come alive. Mila Crawford created something incredibly vivid with her words and we were there for the roller-coaster ride with Dash and Natalya as they navigated one fucked up relationship and dance career.
‘I would have done anything for her, and all she did was leave me in ruins. I was dumb once, but I’ll never be that naïve again. I used to hate seeing her cry, but now all I want is for her to break down into nothing. I want her to feel the emptiness and loneliness, be trapped in it like I was for eight years. I had to crawl my way out of it. I want to watch Natalya crawl. Beg me for mercy.’
What happens when a homeless freestyle dancer with a scholarship to a prestigious dance academy befriends a prima ballerina with a controlling mother who demands her own brand of unbalanced perfection? Carnage, that’s what. Our hearts broke for them both, especially when their consequent actions became so extreme and disturbing. Revenge is certainly not sweet in Break by Mila Crawford.
‘Is this even dancing? This pulsing joy, this almost violent exuberance where I feel like I can fly and slay dragons in the same breath? It feels a lot like love…’
Dash and Natalya as characters were compelling, we went from insane dislike -we especially struggled with Dash at times- to compassion, to being disturbed by them, to understand all the why’s and finally liking them for the journey they had to survive, the beauty of their dance and what they went through to find their own messed up version of love.
“You can hate me all you want, but I am never going to stop taking care of you. You can reject me. You can push me away, but I can’t stop how I feel about you or my need to keep you safe, to feed you, to try to shield you from those who want to do you harm. I fucked up, and I know it. I’ll regret that for the rest of my life. But I won’t give up on you.”
We have to say that this is our favourite book by this Author as it was so well-written with a myriad of emotions. The passion was intense and at times it was super-hot, we have to say we’ve never read about food kink before! ‘I’m already confused about food, and when Dash feeds me, it feels like foreplay.’ We do have to mention that there are a lot of triggers in this book, so go carefully into Dash and Natalya’s story -to name a few- you’ve got CNC, violence, degradation, eating disorders, and mental abuse. It’s certainly not an easy read at times. But then again, there are also sweet and poignant moments too in this friends to enemies to lovers romance.
‘I had a long way to fall, and Dashiell Cunningham had a long way to climb, but here we are together, about to bring down the house.’
‘My life is empty, and the only reason I dance is because they’ll have no reason to love me if I don’t.’
Break by Mila Crawford was compelling and quite different to anything we’ve read in a while. It was toxic, emotional, problematic, and passionate. It was dark, dysfunctional, and disturbing. It was tragic, harrowing, heartbreaking, and intense. The scenes describing the dance though were written with such passion and beauty we felt as if we were watching it come alive. Mila Crawford created something incredibly vivid with her words and we were there for the roller-coaster ride with Dash and Natalya as they navigated one fucked up relationship and dance career.
‘I would have done anything for her, and all she did was leave me in ruins. I was dumb once, but I’ll never be that naïve again. I used to hate seeing her cry, but now all I want is for her to break down into nothing. I want her to feel the emptiness and loneliness, be trapped in it like I was for eight years. I had to crawl my way out of it. I want to watch Natalya crawl. Beg me for mercy.’
What happens when a homeless freestyle dancer with a scholarship to a prestigious dance academy befriends a prima ballerina with a controlling mother who demands her own brand of unbalanced perfection? Carnage, that’s what. Our hearts broke for them both, especially when their consequent actions became so extreme and disturbing. Revenge is certainly not sweet in Break by Mila Crawford.
‘Is this even dancing? This pulsing joy, this almost violent exuberance where I feel like I can fly and slay dragons in the same breath? It feels a lot like love…’
Dash and Natalya as characters were compelling, we went from insane dislike -we especially struggled with Dash at times- to compassion, to being disturbed by them, to understand all the why’s and finally liking them for the journey they had to survive, the beauty of their dance and what they went through to find their own messed up version of love.
“You can hate me all you want, but I am never going to stop taking care of you. You can reject me. You can push me away, but I can’t stop how I feel about you or my need to keep you safe, to feed you, to try to shield you from those who want to do you harm. I fucked up, and I know it. I’ll regret that for the rest of my life. But I won’t give up on you.”
We have to say that this is our favourite book by this Author as it was so well-written with a myriad of emotions. The passion was intense and at times it was super-hot, we have to say we’ve never read about food kink before! ‘I’m already confused about food, and when Dash feeds me, it feels like foreplay.’ We do have to mention that there are a lot of triggers in this book, so go carefully into Dash and Natalya’s story -to name a few- you’ve got CNC, violence, degradation, eating disorders, and mental abuse. It’s certainly not an easy read at times. But then again, there are also sweet and poignant moments too in this friends to enemies to lovers romance.
‘I had a long way to fall, and Dashiell Cunningham had a long way to climb, but here we are together, about to bring down the house.’
FYI: Even though I skimmed more than I read, this book was so far out of my comfort zone. I couldn't even give it one star -- so I won't be rating it.
Fair warning: Just to let you know what you’re getting into because the book blurb certainly doesn’t warn readers – and I haven’t read a review yet that really comes clean about the degradation involved. What goes on between these two isn’t romantic in my opinion. There’s very little story development either and it's about 80% of page after page of pure dark BDSM erotic sexual war with bizarre "eating" habits. The relationship is so far out there to even be considered believable. And there's not much comfort to be found in other characters.
The concept of two dancers -- a street dancer and a ballerina -- and their story drew me in through the meet/greet and his disappearance at age 15. Then the story picks up eight years later when the two are reunited through dance and quickly takes a sickening nose-dive into nothing but a disturbing, slimy, icky and gross smut-fest that included not only big and small cucumbers (they weren’t used for a salad!) but also a diamond encrusted butt plug that gets far too much attention!
My first read by this author will also be my last.
Now, before you go into this Mila Crawford book and expect her usual psycho murdering sexy novellas know this isn’t it. Does she still have a sexy man who would unalive and hurt anyone that would even look his girls way — absolutely! The spicy scenes are still very much Mila, but this plot is *chefs kiss*!!!!
She gives you such a great love story to read, you don’t want to put it down! Dash is now a top five book boyfriend! 🖤
I'm so so sorry.... I really tried and wanted to love it, but sadly I couldn't connect to the writing or characters. At this point I couldn't care less about Dash and Natayla and their weird connection and their weird food/feeding kink. I also don't feel their chemistry.... DNF for me. :-(
Read 50% Dash's extreme anger at Natalya for something her mother did just doesn't seem believable to me. I'm getting frustrated with it, so I'm putting it aside for now. Love the dance aspect, so I may come back later.
The smexy times were very hot. But this was like whiplash. One minute I hate you and literally the next line is them smiling and happy. The h was so immature and wish washy and I get she had some reasons but at what point do you grow up. It just felt very childish at times and it would jump from a to f to p and back to a just within a sentence. It was good but not great.
Wow! First I would like to thank the author and her team for allowing me the opportunity to receive an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This was my first Mila Crawford book and it has definitely made me want to dive into her other works.
First and I can't stress this enough...PLEASE CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!!! There are a few spots that get pretty dark.
The premise of this novel is a long game revenge story. It was beautifully done and wasn't overdramatic IMO. The minute our two MC interacted I was rooting for them. The boy from the streets to corrupt the rich princess is and will always be my favorite trope. The problems that our MC face are relatable every day problems, this made the story easy digestible and enjoyable to read.
The writing was very well put together. It wasn't convoluted and dry, it was easy to follow while maintaining a quick and enticing read. The dialogue was done truthful to the characters age and personality. This made everything believable and felt like the author took her time with each character.
The two MC showed so much tension that sometimes it felt like I could feel it. Tayla was a meek yet still kinda badass that needed saving from her own life. She fights every step of the way. Dash discovered Taylas secret and is trying to help her but she doesn't see it that way. The serial tension, anger and angst these two characters show feels like a storm brewing. You know it's about to go down but when, where, and how.
If you love dark romance I highly recommend this book. It was a little darker than expected but still oh so good!
Mila become an instant obsession of mine with her short, filthy, dark romances.
When she announced Break, I marked my calendar.
Natalya is a ballerina prodigy, if her over bearing and controlling mother has anything to say about it. She works on her craft daddy and night, all for the approval of her mother. Her mother makes sure she has the perfect body to show for it, withholding food and nutrition.
One day she meets the new kid at school, Dashiell, a kid with his own secrets and past.
Dash and his mom go shelter to shelter, his only passion being dance. With a scholarship to his dream dance school, he starts his new adventure. Until one mistake costs him everything.
Years later, Nat and Sash are thrust back together. With their passion for each other and for dance. They work on their new and old traumas, together.
Wow!!! Mila Crawford!!! Not only can you right spicy, dark as sin novellas, but you can write an amazingly beautiful story of strength & weakness, talent, and overcoming the impossible to become everything you thought you’d be..
Break is a beautiful story based on Dash & Natayla. They’re both dancers in different styles. Dash grew up poor and is a street dancer while Natayla grew up in a fancy lifestyle as a ballerina taking after her militant mother. Together their different worlds collide to create a beautiful love story.
Hands down 5 stars.. so amazing so breathtakingly unique and fun. I couldn’t put it down! I’m so grateful to have had a chance to read this arc. This author is so talented. While this book is not as dark as previous works by this author, it does have some pretty fantastic spicy scenes filled with a ton of chemistry between the main characters.
This story does have some triggers so please check trigger warnings before reading. Such triggers include: degradation, CNC, and mental abuse from a parent.
Thank you for blessing me with my new book boyfriend Dash!!!
Mila...my love....my friend....you angel of writing....can you please stop making me cry!?
Dash and Sam ( Natalya) meet as teens when they are both attending dance school, Sam notices the same hungry look in Dash and shares her lunch with him, and while their hunger may come from different places it connects them.
Years after Dash is kicked out of school due to Sam's controlling mom he returns years later for revenge, and the girl he loves. Upon seeing her still in the depths of her eating disorder he does all he can to blow up her mom's life, and love Sam and win her over.
The love and care he had for Sam hits so close to home, he teaches her to enjoy eating, to love dance again, and teaches her that she's more than what her mother made her be.
I really don't think there will ever be a day where I don't fall in love more and more with Mila's writing, and I don't think there will be a book where I don't tear up just a little 🖤
All I can say is,🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 damn!!! Dash and Natayla I really don't know what to say, this book is so different from what I've read before. Dash is a BreakDancer, Natayla is a ballerina. Hmmm I disliked Dash at first,it was kinda like a love, hate thing. Natayla I just felt really bad for her. Her mother is a Narcissist ( Katerina) evil b**ch .I would have accidentally pushed her out a window,😒. She's a character you really hate! It really is a great story of learning to live! To be yourself and finally falling in love. So yeah I fell in love with Dashiell ( Dash) . Get ready for some pretty hot sex. Which will have your panties melting off. All in all I absolutely love this book....
“It’s not a diamond ring. It’s peanuts, but it may as well be for how elated I feel.”
4⭐️ This is my first dance romance story. I really enjoyed it. Like I have this urge to become a dancer now! I liked the backstory and how they met. Their meet cute was really sweet. I liked their interactions and their dynamics are on just fire. There were times when the “push and pull” between their relationship got a bit over the top for me, it felt like it was repetitive at times.
The food/feeding play was a really nice and spicy angle. I haven’t read many books with that in it. It was quite delicious and engaging.
The enemies to lovers card is played hard so buckle up for lots of angst, miscommunication and angry spice. Overall great read!
This stunning story, this amazing and hauntingly beautiful tale is by far one of Mila Crawford’s best books yet! Absolutely my favorite and I’ve loved all of her books! So much raw emotion and passion sizzling between Natayla and Dash and they dance their way in and out of each other’s lives. Despite the toxic and abusive foundation she’s lived with her whole life, and the hardships he’s had to endure, these two broken souls only find freedom and stop the ache with each other. The depth of their love knows no bounds! This book is like all of my favorite dance movies rolled into one but SO MUCH BETTER!!! Ten mega stars!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Dash and Natayla but have hunger. Both in different ways. Hunger to acheive, hunger to dance, and well, physical hunger. Dash always wanted the best for Natayla from the first look. Her mother is a tyrant and emotional abüser and it has damaged her mind, body, and souls. What Katerina did was unforgivable! Dash wanted revenge, and he got it in a twisted way. The spice was explosive. Primal, food play, o denial, handcuffs, man what a fun ride. That man has a dirty mouth and I love it. Natayla found herself through Dash and that's worth its weight in a diamond tennis bracelet.
I don’t get this book! It started off so strong and sweet and caring, but then he just wanted revenge and for no reason. I feel like I missed several chapters between the 8 year time gap. I get wanting revenge on the girls mother, but Sam/taye/natayla whatever you want to call her, made no sense. Not to mention she was clearly being psychologically abused by her mother, then went into another psychologically abusive relationship with dash! There was so much whiplash reading this book, it could have been good, but the revenge plot was not it.
This book was hot!! Not gonna lie though make sure you read trigger warnings before reading because there’s alot. Mila did an Amazing job writing these characters then being able to watch them grow through the entire book was awesome. Was there love toxic ? yeah but without a doubt you can also see his concern for well being. I personally enjoyed it and recommend it. Not to mention It’s spicy too.
The writing in Break shows the magic of a push-and-pull relationship. I found myself cheering for Dash and Natayla knowing that while their fall was heartbreaking their return would be triumphant. Break is a full length novel with a hard fought for HEA.
Dash and Taye had such a tearjerking push-pull between them. They had such an instant connection when they met.. both recognizing something in each other. Taye's mother was absolutely horrible and the abuse that Taye suffered broke my heart. I loved watching Dash and Taye find their way back together through all the drama and chaos. I highly recommend this one!
Ok, not going to lie I almost stopped reading half way through. How humiliating and jerk-like Dash was to Taye was unnecessary. Especially because Dash wasn't always a jerk. He had a hard life, but big heart. For him to "punish" Taye for her Mom was unnecessary. With that being said I'm glad I pushed on because it did get better.
I liked the chemistry of the main characters at the beginning but was pretty disgusted with the abuse Dash did to Natalya. He knew she was damaged and even after admitting that he cared for her he continued to abuse her horribly and feel good about it. I am assuming that the Author is not one that I will be reading again.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. The dance scenes were amazing to read. I really enjoyed those and the first part of Sam and Dash’s story. The ending was a beautiful hea and the spice was immaculate like always with Mila Crawford.
Dash is yummy. This book was a cute enemies to lovers with a side of revenge. I honestly just thought that this was a cute book, until Mila finally showed up and sprinkled a milkshake and a cucumber over me. THE DEGRADATION HIT HARD BRO! And it gave me Step Up vibes.