ARC for honest review with no compensation received by Ne Galley and LoveSwept.

The Breakup is book 2 of the Jordan Brothers series and while a standalone you might want to also read the first book.

Bella know as the "Princess" is getting ready for her wedding and finds out her groom is cheating on her but her mother tells her she should just overlook the cheating and go on with the wedding...Bella decides that she can't overlook it and leave him at the altar. She calls Christian to pick her up and now she must decide what she wants out of life....

Christian on the other hand has a reputation for sleeping around but there is something about Bella that speaks to him. When she calls he goes to pick her up and while sparks fly between them they both need to grow up and take responsible for their own lives before they can begin to maybe have a life together.

Will these two figure out how to make that happen or will they just "breakup"??

3.5 Stars

I have mixed feelings about this story. It's my first by Erin McCarthy, so I haven't read The HookUp, and I wasn't lost reading this book as a standalone. Bella and Christian were interesting characters. Throughout the beginning of the story, I couldn't quite figure them out, then through the second half I thought they were a good fit for each other. But the end felt rushed, and not genuine to the story.

There's a few weird moments in the story that I felt could have been handled differently to be true to the characters. Personally, I read through the story, but I didn't connect well to the characters or the story line. I was hoping for a satisfying HEA, which there was, but not a genuine ending that left me cheering for Bella and Christian.

Christian had a habit of being attracted to women who were unavailable in a relationship. Christian was one of five kids in a family that was the town joke. Christian watched as Bella stumbled in the bar where he was bartending and she came up to the bar.Bella was again chasing trouble and her sister was having sex with Christian’s with brother Cain. For some reason this rich girl Bella intrigued Christian. And Bella had been watching Christian all night even though she had a rich fiance Bradley. Bella was worried that bradley was cheating on her. It was a week before Bradley and Bella’s wedding. Bella didn’t have Sophie’s intelligence or her father’s ambition. All Bella wanted was a mix of biological and adopted children and foster pets and a crowded happy house of love. Bella wanted to shine on her wedding day and have it everything she had ever dreamed of. But Bella was 85% sure Bradley was cheating. Sophie knew Bradley’s pass code to Bradley’s phone and Bella had to know. Bradley was definitely cheating without feeling any guilt only glee only. Bella would not agree to anal sex so Bradley found others who would. Christian has a son that could be his or Cains but Christian is raising him with no help from his biological mother. . Bella runs from her wedding and calls Christian as she runs from the only life she has ever known. She asks Christian to come pick her up and they spend the weekend together. Bella left her job just before her now canceled wedding where Bella had worked as a social worker for an adoption agency. She even takes a job at the same bar Christian works at. . Bella and Christian sleep together and Bella becomes pregnant and Christian abandons her until he comes to Bella with a business like answer to her pregnancy. Christian slept with a coworker when he and Bella were broke up. Bella did get Bradley to give her house he had bought as a wedding gift there in Maine. Bella was from Boston.
I had mixed feelings on this book. I did I did enjoy reading it to a degree and I didn’t regret reading this just wasn’t a favorite. There were things I liked and things not so much. I liked that Sophia and Bella were close and how they interacted. This was a easy quick summer read. I did get annoyed with and didn’t like Bella at times. I do advise you to read the first book in this series for a smoother read. I did like Christian and Bella together but I really didn’t like how Christian treated Bella at times. I did like having both Bella’s and Christians POV . I also liked seeing Christian’s son as he really did add to this book. So as you can tell there were things I liked and others…. So I did have mixed feelings.

I've been anticipating this book since I read The Hookup and was introduced to Bella and Christian. Gotta say, I was not let down at all. The Breakup was a uniquely fun, steamy and emotional story.

Bella thought she had it all, the perfect fiance, her dream wedding and her future planned out, but when it all blows up she finds herself taking a walk on the risky side - starting up a fling of sorts with Christian. What she discovers is that perhaps the perfect life she thought she had wasn't at all what she really wanted or needed.

Christian knows better than to start something with Bella and yet when she turns to him in her time of need - he can't turn her away. As they grow closer, Christian realizes a few truths about himself and suddenly he can see the promise of love and why people want it.

I really enjoyed following along the ups and downs these two faced on their journey together, I loved that it wasn't smooth sailing and they had to face up to their own fears as well as admitting to their feelings. This book was the perfect follow up to the Hookup and I absolutely loved every page. I laughed, I teared up, and I was hooked on these two.

I really enjoyed the prior book in this series, but I had a hard time connecting with the characters in The Breakup, which made it difficult to really feel the romance. I love Erin McCarthy, so I will definitely read her next book. This one just wasn't my favorite.

This is a quick read it's a fun really coming of age love. When Christian finds himself with two baby mama's he has to do some serious thinking. And he holds Bella’s future and the unborn child she's carrying in the balance. This is different than his first son his mother who didn't want that child so he's raising him with his mother's help. This story is really about growing up and seeing the future for all involved. And is love enough for Christian to take a chance.

I give this book a solid 4.5 stars. This is the second book in the Jordan Brothers series. We meet Bella and Christian in The Hookup, which you need to read first to fully appreciate the details in this book. Bella is Sophie’s older sister who is about to have her dream wedding. Christian is Cain’s twin brother, who we learned slept with Cain’s girlfriend and got her pregnant. Bella and Christian have an altercation during her bachelorette party. He decides he’s going to get her to sleep with him because she’s so stuck up. But that flies out the window when things take a different path. It was entertaining to watch Bella grow into her new outlook on life. And it was fun to watch how Christian helped her achieve that. These two have great chemistry; they are funny and sweet with each other. This was a different kind of romance book, which made this story unique. I really enjoyed it.

Entertaining and interesting sexy read. Well written with strong characters. I want to read more from this author. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I'm sick. I needed something quick and easy, and I finished this in one sitting.

That doesn't sound like a great endorsement, but I actually enjoyed this. More than I expected to. It really wasn't anything special or exciting. Quite generic, to be frank, but not as predictable as I expected. There was never any reason to expect anything bad to happen, but I enjoyed the journey to the end result. Bella was a little too naive for my liking, Christian a bit too f**kboi, but they developed well. Overall it was sweet and humorous and I don't regret it's how I spent my morning in bed.

The Breakup is book 2 in The Jordan Brothers series, and I highly recommend reading book 1, The Hookup, before reading this one.

Bella is a princess, everything she wants is handed to her, no matter the cost. But days before her fairytale wedding she discovers her prince is actually a lying cheat.

Christian is a local bad boy, surrounded by drama and attempting to fix his broken relationship with his twin. The last thing he needs is a rich tourist bringing more drama into his life, but when she needs help he's there in an instant.

I enjoyed watching Bella begin to find herself, and discovering that there was a lot more to her than what we learned in the first book. I was very frustrated with how things played out for her, and I had a very hard time connecting with the characters, as well as the story. I loved the banter between the sisters, and wish we could have had more scenes with Sophie. While I was very excited for this book after reading the first one, this story unfortunately fell flat for me, and I had a very difficult time getting into it.

I finished The Breakup late last night and I needed to sleep on this one before leaving a review. Why? This is one of those books with a not very likeable leading male character. If you haven't read The Hookup, I recommend doing so because the storyline for The Breakup takes place during the second half of The Hookup. This is the story about the other Bigelow sister, Bella and the other Jordan twin, Christian. Where we had Cain numbing his pain with mindless hookups we have Christian doing it because he's too afraid to commit to a relationship however it makes him come across as a very shallow person. Bella is too sweet for words. She's the beautiful, kind girl that has only had good things happen to her all of her life until she discovers that her fiancee has been cheating on her multiple times two weeks prior to their wedding. What I loved about this book was seeing Bella come into her own. I wanted her to to find her true self and she does. What I didn't love was Christian's cynicism. He comes across very self centered for someone that considers himself to be a loving father. And now you know the reason for my 4 star rating. It's hard to love a self centered character I think that this is a good book and I would love to see more of the Jordan family in future books. The Breakup is written from dual POV and is full of angst, heat and a tear or two.

The blurb on this book is great, but the story fell flat for me. Maybe that is because I didn’t read the first in this series (I wasn’t even aware), but I could not connect with the characters. Bella just came off as whining the time, and Christian was kind of a jerk. Their interactions felt a bit forced to me, and I just didn’t fall for them as a couple, unfortunately.

I received an advanced copy via NetGalley and voluntarily left a review.

My mother always taught me that I should balance out my criticisms with compliments. So, I want to first say that I think the cover of this book is lovely. Just lovely.

OK, now that THAT’S out of the way, here’s the stuff that really just irked the crap out of me:

The heroine:
Bella is a doormat. There were a few moments there (days, actually) where she actually considered marrying the cheating scumbag who treated her like crap. She also tolerated the fact that the hero treated her like a crap a few times (more to come on that). I have VERY little tolerance for doormat heroines.

I also didn’t like that she got super judge-y with Christian when he admitted something to her about his past that he wasn’t proud of. Christian isn’t the type of guy to open up about his feelings, but he did it with Bella, and she responded by basically calling him a scumbag and stomping away from him a prissy, judgemental huff. Way to be the big hearted, compassionate, sweet woman everyone seems to mistakenly think you are, Bella.

She also kept a secret from Christian for way too long for no apparent reason. She shouldn’t have agreed to be his “girlfriend” before telling him the secret. He had a right to know right up front.

The hero:
I’m sorry, but Christian is an asshat. He seems to be a decent father, so I cut him a little slack, and I didn’t really like Bella anyway, so it didn’t bother me too much that he treated her like crap. But when he started casually banging another woman while he was thinking about Bella and wanting to be with Bella, I had to quit making allowances for him and admit that he was just a douchenozzle. I also didn’t care for how quickly he bailed on Bella when “the secret” came to light. He acted like a total wimp, and I have no tolerance for wimp heroes in my romance novels.

The trope:
Why is it that in romance novels, every woman who has had a crappy sex life assumes there’s something wrong with HER? Why do these women assume they’re bad in bed instead of wondering if their boyfriend/husband/life partner is the one who doesn’t know his way around a clitoris? I HATE that! Have a little self-confidence, ladies. If you don’t like sex, it’s entirely possible that you’re just having sex with someone who doesn’t care enough to make sure you’re having a good time. Look elsewhere for sex before deciding that you’re frigid and bad in bed, m’kay? And the whole idea of seeking out a man who can “teach you” how to be better in bed? Gross and pathetic.

Long story short, this book gets 1 star for the pretty, pretty cover and 1 star simply because it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve read in a while. I finished it, at least. That’s gotta be worth something.

Full disclosure: I received an ARC from NetGalley at no charge.

This book is the second in a series by Erin McCarthy, but it is totally a standalone. I did read the first book but had to go back and re read some of it to remember why they were connected. The story kept my attention, but it was a familiar plot....runaway rich bride and poor, hot bad reputation bartender. They somehow work and I believe that was because Ms. McCarthy did a great job humanizing both characters. Fun, interesting easy read.

Do two wrongs make it right ? Bella finds out her fiance has been cheating on her and leaves him at the alter. She then hooks up with the local bartender, Christian. He helps her with her self discovery in the bedroom.
This story is told in a dual point of view. I had a hard time connecting the characters, Bella is very uptight and whiny. Christian thinks he is god's gift in the bedroom. He already has one child out of wedlock. In the end he finally stands up to the plate, but I had my doubts. There is very explicit sex scenes.
This is the second book in the series. I did not read the first book but now I wish I had to follow the story better.

These two deserve one another. Bella is way too immature for her age but I guess that's the "princess" mentality. Christian, well he really rubbed me the wrong way in the first book with the Cain issue which I think is just inexcusable especially coupled with his "woe is me" mentality. Their drama is entertaining & engaging but the repetitiveness causes the plot to drag at times, they are both indecisive when it comes down to the really important stuff. They have great chemistry though, I wish their relationship had more time to build-up. 3 1/2* rating.

4.5 stars

The Break Up is absolutely one of my favorite books. I knew when we first met Christian in The Hook Up that I was going to love him so much. He's been hurt in the past and has his own demons to battle when he is swept up in Bella and her fight to gain control of her own life. It seems like when one thing goes wrong everything else will too. This book is seriously sweet, funny, scorching hot, and heartbreaking. It's everything you want wrapped in a neat little package.

The only thing that kept me from giving this one a full five stars is that I was really enjoying the pace, until a little past half way through, then things seemed to move too fast and maybe even a little rushed. Other than the fact that I wanted more time and would have loved to see a few things more drawn out, this story was fantastic and I definitely hope there will be more books to come because I'm not done with the Jordan brothers yet.

Boy, I did not like this book. Seriously. I only gave it two stars because I enjoyed The Hookup so much.

What I dislike most about this book is the main characters. Bella is vapid and all around alarmingly dimwitted. She's almost delusional at times in her need to believe that her life is a Disney fairytale waiting to unfold. She acts more like a thirteen year old with severe comprehension issues than a twenty six year going through a crisis. Maybe not stupid exactly, more like she should have been diagnosed at some point for some disorder that would explain her issues. The only nice thing I have to say about Bella is she wasn't a mean person, but that wasn't enough to make me like her.

Our hero was Christian. OMG, was he a piece of work and not remotely heroic, even in the loosest meaning of the world. It's not about him being promiscuous and sleezy (which he was); who doesn't enjoy a book about a bad boy who finds redemption and love? I didn’t like him because he wasn't really a bad boy. He was just a basic jerk. He might have stepped up where his son was concerned but he lacked fundamental maturity and did not display any character that he could ever fall back on.

I also found the pacing of the book odd and the ending felt incredibly rushed and ridiculously trite. I didn’t find the ending remotely believable, even in an HEA. Plus, as much as I disliked both characters, I’m not sure they deserved a lifetime of each others BS.

At certain points (a lot more than I expected) throughout this story I actually forgot why I didn’t like Christian in the first book, The Hookup. I’m not necessarily satisfied with his reasons for what he did to his brother in the past, but I really got to see that he’s not a bad guy. In fact, he’s really a good guy and he’s doing what he can to be a good father.

As for Bella, I knew there was more to her than the rich stuck-up Stepford wife type young lady we met in that first book. We got to see glimpses of the real Bella in that previous story. Just as I could see how her sister didn’t fit the mold her family expected in book one, I saw how Bella did everything in her power to fit that same mold so as not to disappoint anyone. Bella is a people pleaser, even when that pleasing makes her miserable. For whatever reason, Christian gives her that safe space to be her true self. They may not voice their thoughts about how safe they feel with each other, but at some deep level they can feel that connection.

The progression of this story was a bit different and I really enjoyed the flow. The relationship didn’t take the usual route. It’s not that Christian and Bella did things exactly backward, they were all over the place…but it really worked, and worked well. On top of their relationship, it was good to see that Christian and his twin Cain are slowly working on their own relationship.

While I don’t think you have to read the first book to enjoy this book, it would bring so much more to the story. It may seem like a pretty good book if you don’t read book one first, but having read both it takes this story to a whole other level. This story is amazing! There were a few more tidbits about the rest of the Jordan siblings that have me intrigued for the next book.

Awful to awkward to awesome! Yes, that is what is going on in this second book of The Jordan Brothers series. I haven't read the first book yet, but I'm going to catch up with Cain and Sophie again real soon. Actually, this is my first Erin McCarthy book and I'm having a bit of a girl crush at the moment. I got my HEA and it was a very enjoyable ride getting there.

I just loved Bella! She's graceful, sincere and thoughtful, honest and kind, even when those around her don't deserve her best qualities. She also a bit naive and entirely too trusting in her dirtbag fiancé. Lucky for her she wished up at the last minute and chose the perfect person to help her out of her situation. Enter Christian Jordan, sexy and aloof with a swagger that borders on comical. A good guy to those who matter most in his life, though certainly not perfect at all. This is a amazing pairing of sweet and a bit raw.

The story unfolds in such a way that I felt anger and outrage followed by vindication. There was some smexy to smooth the jagged edges and then the sweetness of falling in love and the anxiousness of what might come next, followed up with a huge helping of awwweeeee that's so sweet! I got everything I was hoping for from this book. Thanks, Erin! I'm going to be checking out more of her stories.