Breaking The Girl

Breaking the Girl - An Unbroken Girl
A powerful and sometimes painful story, reminiscent of work by author Colleen Hoover, this is the twisted story of two people, both with traumatic childhoods difficult to overcome and achieve any sort of normal life. This story contains triggers relating to rape, violence and family disruption.
The lovely Payton is homeless having dropped out of college for reasons related to family loss and trauma. The pain she has suffered over the previous year is almost incalculable. Approached with an opportunity that seems to be a lifeline, she has come to be trained by Axel to be a porn star. Her hope is to make enough money to build a life for herself and Ben. She is a virgin, not at all aware of the reality of acting in the pornography industry.
Axel is a young porn star who began acting in porn films at the age of 16 and he has had enough. He is limiting his work to training new actresses and approaches this activity in an unemotional, objective manner, working less and less in his planned separation from this disgusting activity. He has become hard yet hurts inside at the loss suffered by many of his former trainees.
Getting out is not straightforward and the ones who make money from his activities are not at all willing to take the financial loss.
Character development is strong and the characters likable although as the reader, I sometimes wanted to throttle each of the main characters, at different times. This author has a story to tell that is woven around several contemporary social issues. I appreciate the opportunity to be an advance reader for the publisher via NetGalley.

excellent read

*I received a copy of this book for free via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I believe this story should come with a warning, or disclaimer in the beginning so that readers can choose to pass or continue. It contains a very traumatic scene towards the end that some readers may not be able to handle.

This story is about Axel, a guy who has worked in the porn industry for many many years. He has become tired of it, hating his job and basically wanting out. So instead of filming, he trains the new girls for filming.

At the beginning, you get a taste of this hate as he signs a contract with a girl and prepares to go on vacation to get away from it, but even though he thinks he will actually have this vacation, a new trainee ends up coming with him.

Payton Knight is an innocent little girl who has been through some trauma in her life and uses the opportunity to film porn as a means of making money to make a life for herself and Ben. She doesn't know at all what she is getting into, and Axel tries to warn her but she doesn't listen.

This story is a journey to their happily ever after and the harsh truths of the porn industry.

I did enjoy this story, at times I wanted to strangle Payton. At other times I wanted to hug her. The author has a way of pulling us deep into the minds of the characters and letting us feel the broad variety of emotions that they feel as the words unfold.

It does contain sex scenes, but they are very traditional vanilla, cookie cutter scenes. Honestly I skimmed them.

I would recommend this book, however be warned about the graphic traumatic scene.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for giving me this opportunity to review this book.

I am not quite sure what possessed me to read this book to review, but I am actually glad that I read it. While it is a weird subject - the porn industry - it surprised me in two ways: First, because it was actually "warm" at the ending, as the Author allowed the male main character to grow, really grow up, and give him ,as well as her, a stable environment in which both of them could heal from their past trauma.
Two, because it was actually a lot better written (and more honest) than 50 Shades of Grey. It is graphic, not for the sensitive soul whatsoever, but if you are willing to look beyond the obvious, you can see a bit of true romance. Surprisingly not a bad read.

Warning: Not Clean At All! Trigger Warning! Adult only!

I read this book in under 24 hours, it's very readable and gives the reader an insight into the porn industry. There are some extremely uncomfortable scenes, one of which is brutal but as hard as some bits were to read I couldn't actually put it down. It was hard not to let the main characters get under my skin and start to care about them. I'd not normally go for a book for this genre but I'm glad it did, its story with stay with me. Thank you to the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book. I expect it will be a hit once it's released next month.

This book is not for everyone. It is in part about the porn world so of course it has graphic sex scenes. It also has some wonderful warm and loving scenes as Alex and Payton fall deeply in love with one another. Alex, though hardened by the life he has led, grows and softens throughout this book. We learn what made him the man he has become and we watch him struggle to leave that all behind. Warning: there is a violent scene near the end that includes a rape that is not easy to read. That being said, I believe that the book is well written and worth reading.

Breaking the Girl by M.C. Webb

Alex Stone is a star maker – well, of women that want to make it in the adult movie industry, that is. He has made it big in the industry and knows what it takes to be a star but is jaded, tired and ready to get out completely when he is talked into taking on the training of Payton. Payton needs money and feels that without an education or real skills her best chance is to be in the movies, porn movies. As jaded as Alex is he sees right through Payton’s naiveté and tries to dissuade her from pursuing what she seems to think will make her life more secure.

Payton and Alex had secrets and issues to deal with. Alex came across cold at points but did warm up and grow through the story. Payton really did have a one track mind that did not allow her to really see what her future would be if she continued on the course she set for herself.

This is a dark, gritty, sometimes painful read with graphic scenes that include a disturbing rape and violence. That said, this is a book that made me care not only for Payton and Alex but also for the supporting characters. It made me feel and think and hope that the two would find a healthy way forward with their lives. And, I am now VERY curious about Alex’s friend Reece and wonder if he might show up in a future book – I would definitely like for him to ;)

Thank you to NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the copy of this book. This is my honest review.

4 Stars

This book was nothing like what I expected. This was a damn good book!!! Anytime a book has me yelling at the characters, that is a good thing. The two main characters Axel and Payton are so far apart as their experiences is a good backdrop to the story. The character development is outstanding and it keeps you hooked until the last page. What brings the two main characters together may be what causes a rift in this relationship. There is a rape scene that is a bit shocking and for some it may be a bit to handle. Do not let the fact that this book s set in the porn industry when deciding to read. It is a book worth reading. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read the advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.

This took me a little while to get into, but once I did I started to really enjoy it. It's well written and easy to read and a good story line. I haven't read anything like it before.