I liked the hero but I did not care for the heroine in this book. I understand she's survived a major ordeal but at the time I stopped reading, I just couldn't see long term viability for this relationship.

Rarely does a romance novel see Miss Bates guffaw, snort-laugh, and read the final page with great, gulping sobs, except Ruby Lang’s Clean Breaks did!

Miss Bates hates it when romance reviewers dub romance novels “fresh”, as if every other romance written to this point were stale. But Lang’s Clean Breaks felt, to MissB. at least, that Lang’s voice, characterization, conflict, were, ugh she hates to say it, a “fresh” take on a genre becoming too familiar. And you know what familiarity breeds … Clean Breaks made MissB. stand up and take notice instead of sink into the comforting, stock romance arc. What was “fresh” for MissB? On a micro-scale, Lang’s ironic quip of a title (too often romance titles, like their covers, are descriptively mundane) – that “clean breaks” aren’t possible. As her heroine realizes, love doesn’t call when one is ready, cleansed of messy conflict and perfected in career, life-style, and balanced inner workings. Nope, it asks admittance and its call must be answered, even when life is uncertain and messy. On a macro-scale, Lang made MissB laugh and cry, and discover a “fresh” new romance voice. Not bad for a few hours reading on a lazy summer Sunday afternoon.

Lang’s hero and heroine are sheer delight: complex, interesting, engaging; funny, angry, frustrated, sexy, vulnerable and strong simultaneously. One would think that a newly-divorced hero and recently-free-of-cancer heroine would display as more vulnerable than these two. We meet them, however, at the “things-are-looking-up” tail-end of their suffering. Sarah Soon and Jake Li are resilient, evident in every scene, exchange, thought, and utterance, but it doesn’t take anything away from their troubles. Lang’s achievement is in creating characters with strong personalities, strengths and weaknesses, self-determined identities as well as family-and-adolescent accretions, confrontations with life’s vagaries, and believable, compelling growth.

Lang introduces us to her heroine with a few, well-chosen phrases, capturing her personality and life-stage perfectly: “Sarah Soon, obstetrician/gynecologist, maker of lists, taker of names, kicker of asses … her new motto was, Try new things. She’d had a brush with mortality, and she loved lists. It was a perfect combination of old and new.” What distinguishes Lang is her love and compassion for her characters. They’re not drawn to suit the story/genre/narrative, they’re created out of an interest in human foible and fortitude. Her description of Sarah captures her spirit, pluck, her metier, her survival, her humour, and her most loveable obsessive list-making (guilty as charged is MissB. so she LOVES this bit with many many heart emojis).

Lang does no less to pull us toward the hero, who will be worthy of our resilient, ass-kicking, itemizing heroine: ” … while he was glad that he was no longer married to Ilse, being not married was strange … He felt relieved and lighthearted and free and all of those things that he’d never been allowed to feel for all of his responsible and conscientious life.” Again, there is Jake Li, drawn with affection and charity in his people-helping-pleasing vulnerability and love of fidelity and commitment. But what a truth-teller and admitter Jake is and a lovely hint that he might want to break a little of the “responsible and conscientious” mold. But Lang doesn’t have characters who act “out of character”, with sudden derring-do, Jake’s changes are a certain foul-mouthed charm articulating his attraction to Sarah – for a preacher’s son and social worker. It’s the most fun romance-reading Miss Bates has had in ages.

Sarah and Jake share a history. They grew up in the same town, went to the same schools, and were subject to the same parental pressures to honour the family, succeed, make the community proud; in short, to always be good. And, in Sarah’s case, condemnation when she was perceived not to have been when she was caught, in high school, with her shirt off and a boy named Dixon. As a bystander to that and the sniggers, catcalls, and disapproving stares that followed, when Sarah and Jake meet again, Jake is associated with that part of her life. With the psychic dislocation of her brush with mortality, Sarah is a great combination of angry-vulnerable and strong-independent-take-no-prisoners mouthy. Jake is her perfect foil.

None of this deadly serious stuff, however, is ever done “stuffily”. Jake is sexy and Sarah, earthy. Together, they’re a hoot. Other than the male/female flipping of professions (Sarah’s the doctor; Jake is the social worker – take that, every small-town romance under the sun), with Sarah as the more high-powered one, Lang also flips the come-on line and body-checking-out to emerge from Sarah:

“Are you checking me out?”

“Force of habit,” she said.

And:

“Are you taking advantage of this fraught and tender moment to feel me up?” he rumbled.

“Mmm, yes.”

“Okay. Good. Carry on.”

There’s no alpha/beta-either/or to Jake. He’s beta in his thoughts, emotions, and needs and full-on alpha in the bedroom.

Jake and Sarah aren’t just fun: they are really good at self-revelation and still sound natural and compelling. They grope towards each other out of the darkness of their vulnerabilities. Witness Sarah:

“We’re both … vulnerable right now.” The way she said that word, vulnerable, with a grumble in her voice as if it irritated her to apply the word to herself, made him almost laugh, even as his heart did a painful flip-flop. “

Why isn’t this the time, then? he asked. “This is the perfect time. Because nothing of significance happens if we aren’t even a little vulnerable.”

Sarah’s the one running scared, running away from love and Jake is the one running full towards it. A pretty wonderful conflict of where a person is in his or her life. Jake and Sarah are nothing short of painful truth-tellers, honest with themselves and each other, even when it takes them time and confrontation to come to realizations. Witness Jake to Sarah:

” … we all try hard, Sarah. You attempt to be perfectly organized and on top of it. I try to do the right thing … And look at us, we’re a mess.”

That seems to be Lang’s strongest message: even though we’re a mess in one form or another, pretty much all the time, we can still choose love if we’re brave. We don’t have to be perfect, we just have to be brave, like Jake is:

” … there was an unexpectedly deep vein of yearning in him lately, and he just couldn’t stop excavating more and more of it.”

And Sarah is:

“Things didn’t have to be perfect for her to move forward with her life.”

People aren’t perfect and neither are books. There is a near-unbelievable food fight in Clean Breaks, but a book, like a person, doesn’t need to be perfect to be loved. Miss Bates LOVED Lang’s Clean Breaks – and not only because Lang’s self-portrait could easily be that of MissB. herself, “Ruby Lang is pint-sized, prim, and bespectacled.” 😉

With Miss Austen’s wise approval, Miss Bates says, in Ruby Lang’s Clean Breaks, “there is no charm equal to tenderness of heart,” Emma.

Ruby Lang’s Clean Breaks is published by Crimson Romance. It was released in February 2017 and may be found at your preferred vendors. Miss Bates received an e-ARC from Crimson Romance, via Netgalley.

Ruby Lang's books get better and better. I liked her first, Acute Reactions, loved the second, Hard Knocks and I adored Clean Breaks. Each of these romances are fun, emotional and nuanced in their portrayal of families and friendships. They are full of flawed people, and families who persist in loving each other, despite mistakes and disappointments.

Sarah Soon has come a long way from high school, where she was almost removed as valedictorian because she was caught topless with a boy at a party. She left home soon after, worked her way through college and med school on her own. She has just survived a brush with cancer, and is working to regain her strength and confidence again. The last person she wants to run into is Jake Li, her brother's best-friend and one of the many who didn't have her back when she needed them most, even if he has gotten incredibly hot in the meantime.

In the last ten years, Jake Li has lost his faith and most recently ended his marriage after his wife admitted to falling in love with another man. Jake is starting over, to trying to figure out who he is and what makes him happy. Everyone from his friends to his Reverend father have ideas on how he should act and behave after the divorce, but he is not interested in sleeping around or dating for sake of getting out there again. He is interested in seeing Sarah again and getting to know her all over again. He is not about to let idiotic best-friends, disapproving family and ancient history get in the way.

I loved how this romance developed. Jake and Sarah have a common history, growing up close but they don't know each other anymore. They have to re-learn things they thought they knew about each other and about themselves. Their shared history is both a blessing and impediment. They needle each other, they recognize each other and in the end surrender to loving each other.

Lang balances the seriousness of their feelings with great moments of humor. I loved their tense stand-offs over who had the right to bring a date to their sushi bar and the disastrous dinner Sarah, Reverend Li and Jake share at white-run Taiwanese inspired restaurant. Anger, awkwardness and ridiculousness meld deliciously.

All the characters felt knowable, yet unpredictable. I can't wait to read whatever Lang writes next.

Sarah Soon may have recovered from cancer—in body—but her brush with mortality has left the usually confident OB/GYN shaken about her future and herself. When she unexpectedly runs into Jake Li, her brother’s annoying high school BFF who betrayed her trust, he’s the last person she wants to see. She doesn’t need the now-disturbingly hot social worker hanging around while she sorts herself out, yet suddenly he’s inescapable.

Everyone’s telling the newly divorced Jake that he shouldn’t be looking for a serious relationship already, but he’s always been helplessly drawn to Sarah’s vivaciousness. Can he show her that he’s all grown up now and worthy of her trust and a second chance?

Or will they make a clean break once and for all?

Nope, nope, and nope some more. I just didn't like this book...like at all. I understand that things are in the past but dude and dudette - GET OVER IT! I guarantee that when you're married that if you bring up what's in the past....you're headed for divorce. The only thing that gave you 3 stars was your editor! Seriously....thank your editor on this.

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

I’m a huge fan of Ruby Lang – her characters are smart and flawed and her friendships come across very real. I think I’ve mentioned this in previous reviews, but the girl friendships in this book are not all cupcakes and wine. They challenge each other, and have attitudes and reflect what I feel like is a true friendship.

All that being said, this is the first time I’m going to give this author less than four stars. For me this was a 3.5 star read, which is still good! I just didn’t connect with it as much as her first two.

Sarah Soon and Jake Li grew up together and went to the same school. Sarah’s parents are from China and Jake’s parents are from Taiwan, and they went to a predominantly white school. Maybe because of that, and because their families know each other, Sarah and Jake were friends somewhat in school. However, when Sarah is slut-shamed in high school for being caught with a boy with her shirt off, Jake doesn’t stand up for her. The community doesn’t’ stand up for her, and this betrayal never leaves Sarah. Now as an adult, she is a OB/GYN, mostly estranged from her parents but has found great friendships in the three other women who are part of her medical practice. Her life was in order, and going exactly as planned, until she was diagnosed with stage two skin cancer. Although she is currently cancer free, that diagnosis rocked her world. She has always exercised, eaten healthy and gotten lots of sleep. Cancer was not something that was supposed to happen to her. But she is slowly realizing that some things in her life are uncontrollable – like her feelings that flare up when Jake comes back into her life.

Jake is recently divorced. Marrying young, his wife fell in love with someone else, but was very open and honest about it. Yay? Jake is now lonely, working as a social worker at a high school. He starts his life over by moving to the same town Sarah lives and starts to run into her. Jake has always been very fond of Sarah, even though they have a somewhat messy past. Jake pursues and courts Sarah, but Sarah feels like her life is in chaos and isn’t sure she is ready for everything Jake has to offer.

This explores much more than just a relationship between Jake and Sarah. It explores race, rocky relationships with parents, health crisis, and friends getting married. But all of this swirls around their relationship, as it would in the real world. Jake and Sarah have known each other for a long time, so their courtship isn’t so much learning about the other, but more about how they see the future. Sarah’s world has been turned upside down by a cancer diagnosis, and even though she is in the clear, her brain just won’t move forward. She should be getting back to work, and should be excited about a new romance in her life, but she is stuck and it really upsets her. She lashes out to the people around her. I found Sarah very complex, but also hard to connect with. On paper, yes she has every right to be angry at the world for what she has been through. But sometimes her negative attitude and her negative actions made me sit back in my chair and grimace. Honestly, I found her difficult to like at times. She holds onto grudges and has such bitterness towards her parents – I wanted to understand that better. She is very frank and blunt and for me there is a fine line between coming across as honest and coming across as rude.

I didn’t dislike her entirely! There are some very witty scenes in this book, and the romance unfolds at a nice pace. Jake is a more easy-going guy, dealing with his own parental issues and finding his way in his new life after his divorce. His courtship of Sarah is sweet. Plus he has a beard and really sexy forearms so I swooned over him for most of the book.

I like this author’s voice and I really look forward to every book she writes. I hope you guys check out this series – the first two especially are fabulous.

Grade: B-

Not for me. I couldn't finish it. Maybe if I had read the first two? I will try again once I do.

I really did not enjoy this as a romance book. I did like Jake, and could not understand why he continued his pursuit of Sarah who continued her grudge with him, it happened in the past get over it. I understand that Sarah went thru an ordeal, but she was not a happy person, so I could not connect with her. I honestly felt he could have done better.

I requested this simply for the sheer novelty of a cover featuring an attractive and contemporary Asian couple.

Jake Li is a recently divorced Taiwanese-American social worker with "A+ forearms", a beard, an astronomy hobby and a rescue dog named Mulder. He's kind and patient, with a latent possessive steak that made him, to his own surprise, unexpectedly growly. I adored just about everything about Jake and wanted him to get a fantastic HEA. I just wish his HEA wasn't with the prickly, combative, grudge-holding Sarah.

Sarah was a really difficult character to connect with, much less like. She's feeling adrift, after recovering from a recent battle with melanoma. She's feeling disconnected from her close friends and is actually disconnected from her estranged parents whom she didn't even tell about her cancer or surgery. When Jake, her brother's childhood friend, sees her again, he pursues her romantically only to learn that Sarah is still pissed at Jake for something that happened to her in high school years ago. Even though Jake apologizes and explains himself, Sarah continues to hold this incident over his head. When that fails, Sarah uses another excuse - Jake's recent divorce- to keep him away. I couldn't understand why Jake continue to pursue her.

With issues concerning Jake's widowed reverend father considering re-marriage, a visit from Sarah's parents, Sarah's brother hiding his girlfriend, Jake's ex-wife's wedding, and Sarah's best friend's wedding, this read more like women's fiction at times, rather than a romance. On top of that, Sarah had issues with almost everyone and everything: her friend who wouldn't use GPS, Jake's "white guy" friends, the faux-Asian restaurant she felt was racist, her not-bright former hookup, etc.

In the end, this was a case of a cute romance with a cute guy but with a girl whose many issues made me wonder if they could actually last. 3.5 stars

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

3.5* rounded up.

Sarah, who has just been given the all-clear after treatment for melanoma, runs into a childhood friend, Jake, who has just got divorced. Jake had a crush on Sarah when they were teenagers, but she has never forgiven him for not standing up for her after she was discovered making out with a boy. Sarah's parents stopped speaking to her, Jake's minister-father made a moral example of her, and she left home, became a doctor, and now has only limited contact with her family.

What I liked:

-Jake: he was decent, humorous, kind and honest.

- The exploration of Chinese/Taiwanese family dynamics and the portrayal of the changing relationships children have with their ageing parents.

- The "fight" scene in Sarah's kitchen.

What I didn't like:

- Sarah: she was grumpy, inconsistent, self-centred and just a bit of a downer all round.

- The "plot": Jake got a dog, Jake's dad came to visit, Sarah's family came to visit and that was about it.

Overall I enjoyed it, but I think Jake deserved some one nicer!