Thursday, November 6, 2014

LL Collins Breaks the Mold with "Breaking Free"


Novellas can be hit or miss.  Sometimes they're too short and you are left wanting more.  But LL Collins knocked it out of the park with "Breaking Free".  

"Breaking Free" is the final book in the "Living Again" series.  For me, all of the books were good.  A little on the wordy side, but entertaining non-the-less.  But then "Breaking Free" happened.  And just....wow.  Read the synopsis as listed on Amazon and then I'll explain further:

"Alexis Carson-Nichols has had what anyone would describe as an idyllic childhood.  She has great parents, little brothers and sister that mean the world to her, and friends that are always there for her.  As she graduated from high school and gets ready to go to college, she feels like she has the world at her fingertips.  She can't wait to experience life as a young adult.  Maybe even get a boyfriend...as long as her school comes first.
What she doesn't expect is to meet Greer Henderson.  Greer hasn't had a life anything like Alexis'.  Sure, he's had the parents that loved him, but that was about it.  He's never been understood or even tolerated.  He's spent his life in a constant state of inner chaos and outer turmoil.  See, Greer has Aspergers.  When he finally gets up enough courage to take a few classes at his local college, he becomes lab partners with Alexis.  He things she's the most beautiful person he's ever laid eyes on, but he knows she won't want anything to do with him. None of the kids ever do.  But if there's one thing he's good at, it's science.
As Alexis tried to break through Greer's tough exterior and understand his idiosyncrasies, she realizes that Greer may just be teaching her more than she could ever imagine, and changing her life in insurmountable ways.  Can Alexis teach others how to love and accept Greer, even if he's different?  And can Greer, through Alexis, realize that all of his dreams are within his reach and that's he's worthy of love after all"

My son has Asperger's, albeit much higher functioning than our hero.  So I recognize that I may just be a sucker for books like this.  But frankly, I thought it was really, really well done.  Each chapter is from either Alexis' or Greer's perspective and you can feel the difference in the writing. You really feel like you are in Greer's head and seeing the world the way he does, which is not an easy feat. I'm wildly impressed that LL Collins was able to pull it off and in such a heartfelt way. I ached for Greer.  I cheered for him.  I found myself mentally encouraging him.  And I was so thrilled that he found someone so perfect for him, who loved him just the way he was.  Maybe that's just me being an encouraged mom, but it was great.

LL Collins doesn't recommend reading "Breaking Free" as a stand alone book, so if you are interested in starting from the beginning, you can pick up the box set by clicking here.  It's $5.99 which really isn't bad for 4 complete novels and a novella.

However, if you never read another LL Collins book, I highly recommend you pick up "Breaking Free" by clicking here.  It is absolutely worth it.

LL Collins breaks through my picky reading ways to give "Breaking Free" a solid




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