They had it all planned out: college, marriage, happily ever after.
But it didn't quite work out that way...Erin O'Brien was everyone's favorite in Ballycraig, while Rory Brady was the town's golden boy: the local lad who moved to America and became a professional hockey player. Rory promised to return to sweep Erin away to the life of her dreams in New York. But the bright lights and late nights turned his head and he never came back.
Two years later, Rory realizes he's made the worst mistake of his life. Heading back to Ballycraig, he's confident that all he needs to do is flash his winning smile and Erin will fall back into his arms. But Erin's moved on.
Racing the clock, Rory needs to prove to her that the man she fell in love with is still there. But can happy-go-lucky Erin risk it all and give another chance to the man who broke her heart?
Breakaway was the first title I’ve read from Deirdre Martin and from the synopsis it sounded like it would be an interesting read, and it was. The story centered on Erin O’ Brian, who fell in love with her high school sweet heart Rory Brady. They were the “it” couple in the small Irish town of Ballycraig Ireland and had their perfect lives all planed out. Rory getting drafted into pro hockey, the big move to America, then marriage. Now things did go according to plan, Rory got drafted to play professional and he went to America but that’s where the plan ended. Rory, swept away by the bright lights of fame, broke off his engagement to Erin cutting all ties to his old life behind in Ballycraig.
Two years has past since Rory went away to America and the story begins with Rory going back to his hometown to fix the mess he left of his old life with the intention to win back Erin’s heart and the friendships of those he left behind. A long shot? I thought so. This is one of the first instances were I started reading a story disliking one of the main characters. Who could blame me? What Rory did was wrong and cowardly on many levels. So from the start the story evoked emotions from me, though negative.
How Deirdre Martin would make Erin, me and everybody in Ballycraig (besides Rory’s parents) see him in a better light, was a challenge that had me flipping the page to find the answer. Cause Rory had a lot to make up for.
The story had a nice consistent flow and I enjoyed getting to know Erin and finding out that she was a strong who cared for people but knew what she wanted out of life. I admired that when things didn’t work out as planned, she was devastated like any person would be but then got back on her feet and set goals for her life.
Forgiveness played a major theme within the story. Deirdre Martin crafted these believable characters filled with emotion and flaws that drew me into their story. Getting to know Rory more, he began to grow on me though not as much as I wanted. Though I have to give him some credit because he understood what he did was wrong and went back to face those he’d wronged.
In the end I enjoyed reading Erin and Rory struggle to repair their broken love as well as Rory try to repair the broken relationships of his friends. Though I wished the Erin could have let Rory suffer a bit more and that Rory could have shown a bit more remorse for what he did which I felt was hidden behind his determination to win back Erin and fix the mess that he made.
Overall Breakaway was a good read with some faults. Though I had a few qualms it didn’t totally tarnish the story for me. The story did have an interestingly compelling story and believable characters. Adult readers looking for a nice contemporary romance should give Breakaway a shot.
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