Monday, August 14, 2017

[Review] Breaking by Danielle Rollins

Breaking by Danielle Rollins
Series: Burning companion novel
Rating: 3 stars

Format: ARC Paperback
Published: June 6th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:
Monsters lurk where you least expect…
Charlotte has always felt ordinary compared to her two best friends at the prestigious Weston Preparatory Institute. Not enigmatic and daring like Ariel or beautiful and brilliant like Devon, Charlotte has never quite met the standards of the school—or those of her demanding mother. But with Ariel and Devon by her side, none of that mattered. They became the family she never had.
Until the unthinkable happens—Ariel commits suicide. And less than a month later, so does Devon.
Everyone accepts the suicides as tragic coincidences, but Charlotte refuses to believe that. And when she finds mysterious clues left behind by Ariel, Charlotte is thrust down a path that leads to a dangerous secret about Weston Prep. There’s a reason Weston students are so exceptional, and the people responsible are willing to kill to protect the truth… 

Third #ARCAugust read.

I keep on reading suspenseful books.

Breaking was alright. Its supposed to be a companion novel to Burning, but you don't really need to read the first one to read this one. Except I think the ending of this book would make a whole lot more sense with it.


Anyhow, our main character, Charlotte, is trying to solve the mystery behind the suicides of her two best friends, Ariel and Devon, at her prestigious preparatory school in upstate NY. She also has to deal with her mother, Dr. Gruen, who controls every aspect of her life but is seemingly hiding something from her daughter.

Three-fourths of the book is very slow-paced and is about Charlotte's day-to-day activities after her friends' suicides, and how she finds a vial in Ariel's closet that makes her good at everything. She's slowly trying to uncover how students in the school have become well above average like her in the span of a few weeks. So really, not much is happening.

The last fourth of the book is the big reveal, and its rushed and uncovered so quickly, you don't realize it's over. It also doesn't make sense (without Burning) and the reveal is so far-fetched you are confused by it. Don't bring out a new character in the last ten pages of the book without any backstory! Jeez.

On top of a weirdly paced book, I didn't connect too immensely with any of the characters. I guess Zoe was the most complex and interesting out of them. Also, why would Charlotte go for her dead best friend's boyfriend? And why would Jack (the boyfriend) be totally into her? Does this not make sense?

Overall, an okay read that didn't really pull me in either direction of disliking or loving it.

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