If I Break by Portia Moore is an intriguing creation. It has a great many elements that I liked and kept me wanting to at least read enough to figure out what was going on. I really enjoyed the perspective and the stream of consciousness approach was done very well. The premise of the book and the journey tugs on the heart strings. I loved the depiction of the internal struggle the protagonist/main character experienced throughout the book. I appreciated the message and experience of facing (spoiler) severe psychological ill health and the impact on those who love the affected.

But this book required a bit more polishing. There were issues with repetition, grammar, spelling, flow, structure that made the story halt and hiccup, drawing me out of the reading. I would have liked to see, for example, more counter/supporting plot - maybe perspective of what is going on with the main character through other characters' eyes. I would have liked to see a more creative way back story was filled in, although the book itself does a decent job of flashback and present switches and develops a rhythm that is easy enough to follow. What I would have loved to see was more of the main character's personality without men in her life. How she does without being 'co-dependent'. It seems her life is very much focused on waiting for her prince to come and nothing else. There is a depth in characters that isn't well portrayed at this point, just touched on.

Regardless, I think it is a very interesting book.
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Relationship analysis from past and present time. Don't fall in love with this type of man.. no respect for her. just uses sex to avoid being open . sorry for all women who go through this. Love -hate relationship
Shocking twist ( )

Wow! All I can say is WoW! I absolutely loved this story. It started completely on one level and had me thinking one thing, then I'm completely floored when I learn the truth. Holy crap. Lauren is a waitress who isn't looking for love, but when she literally bumps into Cal, well, she just might have to change her mind. Cal is gorgeous. He's rich and a badass. He sweeps Lauren off her feet and after dating for a year, they marry. But that's when things change. Suddenly, Cal is leaving on business trips and not contacting Lauren for days. But he always comes back and makes things right. Only, Lauren can't seem to accept his reasoning behind the trips. She thinks he's screwing someone else. And then, it happens. Cal leaves and doesn't come back. For two years, Lauren has mourned the loss of her husband, not knowing where he is, if he's dead or alive. The only consolation is the daughter he left behind for her to raise alone. And now one tiny picture in a newspaper has Lauren on a search that will ultimately tear her world apart again.
I love this story so much. I couldn't put the book down and immediately bought the next two in the series. The author has given life to the characters and has woven a love story for the ages. I could honestly see this as a movie. ( )

AMAZING!!!! Loved the dual personality aspect and the separate lives. It kept me wondering the whole book what he was up to in the time away and not getting an answer til the last part of the book. I normally hate cliffhangers but this time it was the good take your breath away kind of cliff hanger>>> The author sucked me in and I fell in love with both main characters. The side characters are intriguing and with only a small taste of them here and there makes me curious about their story as well. Definitely worth buying the real thing and reading over and over!!! ( )

I requested to read this book in exchange for an honest review through GoodReads' New Adult Book Club. At this time, I will not rewrite a summary of this book; other reviewers have done a good job with their summaries, as has the author with the book blurb.

Overall, this story, told in dual times -- recent events in alternate chapters from the early years of the Hero's and Heroine's relationship -- was laid out well and the author did a good job with her reveals of information. The author wrote the Heroine's love for the Hero well, as well as her desperation and frustration. The Hero was both the good guy (in the early portion of their relationship) and the bad guy, too. The twist was an interesting one, and I think the author should have concealed the twist rather than reveal in her blurb. (Remember when you found out the truth about the wife in Gone Girl?!?!? Think about how much better it is for that truth to be absent in the blurb and withheld from the story until ... later!)

My only criticism would be the need for editing -- commas and semicolons present where they shouldn't be and absent where they should be inserted. Too many sentences have words transposed, "extra" words and missing words. A handful of hard returns in the middle of sentences and missing end quotes. These editing needs were a distraction and pulled me out of the story to puzzle out what was written and what was meant to be written. There's even a chapter with the wrong date as its title; when the author is moving the reader back and forth in time, and the reader comes to rely on the chapter titles to find their place in the story, this minor error is distracting, as well.

Even with the need for editing, I rate this as a 4-star story. I was swept up and carried along and now I wish to beg the author for a copy of Before I Break, so that I can read Cal's/Chris' POV! ( )