Breaking Out

By: Angharad Jones

Narrated by: Alex Alvarez

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Thanks to Paul Sturgess, his long-time family friend and benefactor, Mike Sloan has lived a comfortable existence during college as a record-breaking swimmer. He's looking forward to finishing his senior year, followed by graduate school, then a high-powered career. That's what he thinks anyway, before he meets Hank Schechter, the awkward, shy, new-transfer student swimmer. Mike senses a sensitivity to the withdrawn young man, and makes it his personal goal to bring Hank into the fold. While helping Hank to become a member of the team, Mike finds himself falling for the new guy. Mike's dear childhood friend, Rachel Levange, who is running her own private law practice, announces she's ready to become a mother. And she wants Mike to be the baby daddy. Mike may be a gay man, but he too is experiencing a sudden desire to become a father. How will he reconcile it all?

©2015 Denise Barone (P)2016 Denise Barone

wow hell I need to to come down!!

After a night with no sleep because of this book!!!! this is my review...( with no spoilers as always) before everything I need to say this book is not for everyone....

this book!!! Oww this freaking book !!!
when I was interested in this book I never imagined I would get this kind of story! this kind of feeling's! this kind of humanity!!!!!
you may think this is a usual gay romance but it's not ...not at all!
it's a story without labels, it's just a story that tell us about humans.... humans with mistakes, humans with false, and humans with feelings. maybe this book is not for everyone, because it sure as hell I was shocked!
it's a book about a man, a young man that is a struggle to finding one thing ...one special thing that we are all looking for. love!
simply love!
Michael is an amazing character. Hank is much more than amazing and sweet, so freaking sweet. the illness was so well described without even telling us the readers What Hank problem is.
and we knew did the problem is serious, we didn't knew he has disabilities.. but we knew that something is wrong. very very, wrong ...
every and each character in this book was in place.
it was amazing how everything collided in an amazing frustratingly good story.
I can't say everyone will love the story. I can't say everyone will say it's a good one.
no people will struggle with this book, this book is very special.
and I thought I knew the famous genre of gay men stories. but I was mistaken so much, and so badly!!!
because when I got this one I have learned the sex is just an act... an act that you can do with a woman and enjoy it with a man and enjoy it and you don't need to label. the feeling that they were looking for is love... yes they were looking for sex (like all humans)
but this book in specific is incredible and frustratingly annoying.
I don't even know how to describe it! and I don't know if everyone would love it. but I couldn't switch off the narrator for one second, I didn't sleep, I couldn't work properly until I finished this specific book.
I was thinking a lot about the score I will give this book, but I can't give anything below 5 stars... because this book made me anxious, made me mad, I felt the sweetness of Hanks disease... I felt the struggle of Mike's life.. I felt in every syllable, in every word, and in every sentence!!! what the author I meant, when he write this book!
the narrator was quite amazing... I didn't knew anything about this narrator and this writer until I heard this book, and I'm sure I will get another book from this writer even though this book was frustratingly annoying and frustratingly good. everything that happened will piss you off, it pissed me off so badly ....but I couldn't stop myself and I couldn't stop wishing that everything will be okay it just was so good I will definitely wait for more books from this author. and I will search another books of this narrator.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Different but good

This story was very different many levels of the story. Lots of angles of the characters. I do feel like a lot of details were left up in the air. The beginning was awkward. It seemed to even out but man the turns of story were just a bit much for the small amount of time the book had left. I did like it just needs more hotness:)

This is unbiased review with a credit from audiobookboom

Soul searching YA story

Everyone wants Mike. His friend, Rachel still wants him. His benefactor, Paul wants to marry him. Even his teammate, Hank, wants to fool around with him.

I found it a little difficult to like Mike. He has some moments where he thinks about his life choices and he is pretty brutal in his assesments. I think he is dissasociating from life because his mom is sick. At least, this is the only palatable reason I can come up with to explain him.

Honestly, I can see where the author was going with this story. Life is hard and full of hard choices that pull at us from all directions - especially when young and your entire life is ahead of you. I remember having this style of self reflection in college when I didn't realize how rude and selfish I could sound. There are so many things flowing through this book, many of the topics are lightly explored.

I think Hank deserves his own book. He is a strong secondary character and he has an interesting story to tell. He just needs more time to tell it.

The audio book performance is very good. Alex has a gentle, smooth voice that was comforting and he portrays the characters with empathy. He's so skil!ful that I will definitely listen to more of his work.

Overall, I think college age people will relate to this book.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Interesting characters and story

This story was interesting, but I didn't love it. The characters never clicked with me, and I never felt a real connection between them. I felt like there were several holes in the story line, and I wanted to know if Mike's mom passed away before he went to the trials. I did find the idea of training for the Olympics to be really interesting, so I enjoyed that, as well as some other parts of the book. I think the narrator did a good job, and I'd listen to him again. I just wish I liked the characters more.

Could have been great

The storyline was interesting, but the writing left alot of much needed details out. The characters were undeveloped.

I enjoyed listening to the narrator, he did a good job with what he had to work with.

I received this audible free of cost. I freely give my honest review.

rough gem

'Breaking Out' does have a good premise, dealing with some important issues regarding acceptance of the LGBT community in competitive sports and in general. Mike was quite lovable and following his story was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Interesting secondary characters, some added to the story, some not so much.
The flow was not quite smooth, jumping from one scene to another, some feel rushed and some of the expressions used in the book snapped me out of the story.

I enjoyed listening to Mr. Alvarez's voice, versatile and with good modulations, loved most of the voices chosen, but the delivery fell short for me. Some of the voices were switched, also not sure if this was intentional, but female's voice used for a male character and male voice for female character are not good.

I was given this free review audiobook at my request and this review is voluntary.

Good story lacking in ending

Ending was a bit brief and not enough closure for important characters story was good up until the end

I LIKE IT!

I liked this book overall. This story was emotional for me in a way that it dealt with real life issues that are sometimes hard to navigate in life. The narration was good. The author could have done a better job with the character builds and plot, it just didn't seem to flow as easily as it should. This was my first book by this author and I would read another book to make sure this is not the typical writing style. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

One of the most complex and human MM stories

Where do I start with this? It's not exactly a romance, but a story of very different people trying to find love and get through college and life.

Mike is starting his senior year of college and just wants it to be over with and get on with his life. He has been in a relationship with an older man, Paul, who wants to marry him. Mike has feelings for Paul, but it is not love. Mike, a swimmer on his college team, meets Hank, a new student who joins the team. But Hank is a little odd and the other guys tease him. Mike feels a spark there and thinks Hank might be gay. He takes him under his wing and they go on a date, which leads to an awkward night of sex because Hank is a virgin and is a little freaked out by it. Mike decides to let Hank take his time. He finds out that Hank is interested in the Olympics and Mike is too. In fact, Paul is sponsoring Mike and Mike gets Paul to take on Hank, too. Meanwhile, Hank moves into an apartment with a woman from school. She thinks he's kind of hot and seduces him, which starts a relationship.

And Mike's best friend, Rachel, is a lawyer who has decided she wants to have a baby and wants Mike to be the father. Mike is intrigued by the idea of becoming a father. But what about Paul and Hank? Hank, we learn, probably has Aspberger's. And he isn't really sure if he is straight or gay.

Mike, on the other hand, starts sleeping with Rachel. I had a problem with this part of the story. Mike had no qualms about doing it at all, although he is gay. And it was done for pleasure, not to get her pregnant. It just did not seem realistic to me, especially when nothing was said about whether Mike had slept with women before or not.

Mike is a man who thinks he knows what he wants, but he really doesn't. The story was different because it was more like real life - the daily ins and outs, the daily confusion, the daily stress, etc, but in the end no one knew what they really wanted (except maybe Paul).

Alex Alvarez did a good job narrating, although his voice for Hank was a little odd at times. I know he was doing this because of the Aspberger's, but it just made it more of a stuttering guy who didn't know what to say. Not everyone who has Aspberger's speaks oddly like this.

Overall, an interesting story, but it doesn't leave you with a feel good ending, just that life continues and will go on, never being what people want their lives to be.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Mixed Bag

The blurb describing Breaking Out tells us that Olympic hopeful swimmer Mike develops feelings for Hank, a shy and very awkward new team member. Meanwhile, his best friend since childhood decides she wants to have a baby and would like him to be the father. But there is so much more to this book that the description almost seems misleading in its simplicity. Whether that helps or hinders readers’ interest remains to be seen.

Author Angharad Jones’ biography mentions a history with British soap operas, which would definitely help explain the complex twists and turns in Breaking Out. Those expecting a simple MM romance, or perhaps any MM romance, will most likely be disappointed.

Lead character Mike, in his early 20s, is being pressured by Paul, his 50ish benefactor and sugar daddy, who he’s known since he was seven, to marry him. Enter Hank, the fresh-faced new guy on the college swim team, who is not only awkward but sometimes cringingly so. We later find out why, and not only does it help explain Hank’s behavior, but it actually makes this book somewhat groundbreaking. Working hard not to include spoilers.

Enter Mike’s best friend, a “is she or isn’t she” lesbian, who wants a baby from Mike. As it so happens in this world, gay men and maybe-lesbians have sex with each other often, and, well, readers and soap lovers will have already guessed the outcome. Meanwhile, side story with Hank veers off in a completely different and unexpected direction. Add to the mix Mike’s mother, who is in the last stages of cancer, and a last chapter that comes out of left field, Breaking Out may leave readers saying either “WTF” or “Then what happened?”

Breaking Out is almost reminiscent of early Jackie Collins. Like Collins, there is also a good deal of sex in this book—as much MF as MM. The characters can come off as shallow and manipulative, which may not sit well with modern MM romance enthusiasts . But by the end of the tale, and when Mike finally realizes his character’s motivation, it makes the journey worthwhile.

Alex Alvarez’s narration is one of the highlights of this audiobook. He adds distinctive voices for each character without going over the top. His smokey vocals make one sit up and take notice.

***I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.***