Review:

From Goodreads: He was lost and alone. Then he found her. And the future seemed more fragile than ever.

As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed.

All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy…

As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.

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This second novel in the Contours of the Heart series, by Tammara Webber, focuses on that of heartthrob Lucas, the young man who stole my heart in Easy, and who continues to draw my love in Breakable.  If you’ve read Easy, then you already have the foundation for Breakable, but whether you have that foundation or not, Webber’s latest novel stands all on its own, telling the story from the masculine perspective, which is just as much fun as its predecessor, and all the more captivating as Lucas takes readers on an in-depth journey to his soul.

Webber is a master storyteller, and her characters are implicitly real.  It’s as if they walk right off the page and into your life as you read, and I absolutely adore her writing style.  The story itself is poignant and raw, and it’s impossible not to feel for Lucas as he works through the loss of his mother and his feelings for Jacqueline.  While this novel does follow the storyline of Easy, readers are given an in-depth analysis of Lucas, and the narrative jumps between past and present as the novel unfolds, giving us glimpses into this past experiences in school, with girls, and with his family as he slowly begins on the road to recovery after the night that forever stole his mother from him.

The juxtaposition of past and present is one of my favorite narrative styles, as it that of duel perspectives, and Webber has done a superb job not only bringing to life her characters, but also creating a believable scenario that entices readers to keep turning the pages. I read this beautiful novel in one sitting, and I absolutely adore it–Lucas will melt your heart and stay with you long after the final page!

I highly suggest lovers of NA novels pick up this enticing read as it depicts life on a college campus, the ups and downs it encompasses, and the intensity of finding your soul mate.  Five stars.

In exchange for an honest review, I received an ARC of this awesome novel from the publisher.

Amazon | Kindle (only $5.12) | Barnes and Noble

and don’t forget to pick up your copy of Easy today!

Amazon | Kindle (only $5.12) | Barnes and Noble

(Read my 5 star review of Easy HERE)

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Interview with the amazing Tammara Webber:

What was your inspiration for your novels Easy and Breakable?

Though there are some deeply personal issues in these books, the stories aren’t autobiographical. I am an acquaintance rape survivor (friend/classmate), but I never intended to write about that experience. It took me several years to even tell anyone because I was so ashamed of my bad judgment. I thought I should have been more careful, or I should have known that guy was untrustworthy. I finally confessed what happened to a friend, and began the healing process. Years after that, I woke up with Jacqueline’s story in my head, and she insisted on it being told. Lucas’s story stems from a particular fear of mine, based on a news story I heard years ago. When my husband left town on business trips, particularly when my kids were small, I was often so terrified that it was hard to sleep. I took the emotions from those real-life experiences and deep-seated fears and gave them to my characters.

How difficult/easy was it to write Lucas’ point-of-view in Breakable, and what made you decide to tell his story?

It was the most difficult thing I’ve written, from a technical standpoint. I didn’t think I’d ever write Lucas’s story, because he didn’t “talk” to me much when I wrote Easy. I knew the facts before she did, but I saw him through Jacqueline’s eyes – I didn’t always see or completely understand his emotions or reasoning, especially when it wasn’t logical. It was months after publishing Easy before he started speaking to me. Once he did, I had to write it. There would have been no way to integrate the stories. His would have overshadowed hers – and I felt (and probably always will feel) that her story was the most important thing I’ll ever write.

Will there be more to the Contours of the Heart series, or is this a two book series?

I’m finished with Lucas and Jacqueline, but there are possible spinoff stand-alones for other characters in my head. We’ll see what emerges.

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

I wrote three shelf novels and notebooks full of poems and short stories before I wrote Between the Lines. Easy was the seventh novel I wrote. You’ve probably heard this before – that often, people thought to be overnight successes are people who’ve been working at their particular craft for a long time. There is absolutely a place for right-place-right-time (which I credit for some of my success) and who-you-know (I didn’t have a single friend who wrote – I had to seek out strangers on the internet to find critique partners and reviewers. As an introvert, that was completely outside my comfort zone!). But working continually to become better at what you do is as important – more important – to a career as an author. If I hadn’t kept working, I might not have had a book ready when the digital book + self-publishing revolution took off. I allowed myself to be knocked off kilter by the craziness that went along with moving from being a wholly self-published to a traditionally-published author, and I know I lost some momentum. For me, that’s water under the bridge. For an aspiring author, it’s a lesson – always be working on the next thing. Seek to become better and better at what you do. Allow projects to come to completion so you can move on to the next thing. I’ve seen many authors get stuck in the writing, revising, querying or marketing (if self-pub) stage – of one book – sometimes for years. Nothing will ever be perfect. Do your best work and move to the next thing. The more you write, the better you’ll write.

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About Tammara Webber:

Tammara Webber is author of the New York Times bestselling New Adult novel Easy, the first novel in her Contours of the Heart series, and the Between the Lines series.  She is a hopeful romantic who adores novels with happy endings, because there are enough sad endings in real life.  Before writing full-time, she was an undergraduate academic advisor, economics tutor, planetarium office manager, radiology call center rep, and the palest person to ever work at a tanning salon.  She married her high school sweetheart, and is a mom to three adult kids and four very immature cats.

Connect with her online at tammarawebber.blogspot.com, twitter.com/tammarawebber, and www.facebook.com/TammaraWebberAuthor.