Breaking by Danielle Rollins is the companion novel to Burning. I think Breaking should be listed as a sequel because you need a lot of knowledge from Burning for everything to make sense. I think Breaking is more of a ya-thriller than Burning was too.

These characters drew me in right away. I was extremely interested in Charlotte’s life and how it would connect with Angela’s from Burning. Breaking is very mysterious and I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery. I think Charlotte’s character is interesting. Her best friends committed suicide but she doesn’t know why. Charlotte finds a clue from Ariel and now she is on the hunt to find the other clues.

There is a bit of a romance in this book that plays into the book but it isn’t the center of it. There is enough hint of it though that it keeps the reader wondering what is going on between these two characters and how did it affect the others. Rollins did a great job playing with the readers with this romance.

I liked Breaking a lot more than Burning but I still feel like there is so much more to the story. Very few things were answered from the first book and I wish I could have answers. The mystery is great but I want more! It doesn’t sound like there will be anymore books in this series though.

I don't know what compelled me to request this book. I hated the first book, which isn't a good start. I think it was the cover, or the synopsis, or maybe I just decided to give the companion novel the benefit of the doubt. Breaking, however, did not land high enough on my scale to either make me enjoy the book or save it from its predecessor's fate. I didn't like Breaking. I thought it was glamorizing suicide. I thought it was over-dramatic. But, most of all, I thought it lacked the umph necessary to pull itself from the muck.

While I enjoy the characters that Danielle created, the story did not have that pull I'd expect to go along with the mystery aspect. Overall, it's a forgettable story that I wanted more from.

I loved this book!  The only reason I wouldn't recommend for my classroom is because I teach 6th grade.  This is definitely 8-12 grade appropriate and would hook in reluctant readers.  Great book!

This one wasn't really for me - I was intrigued at first, but it was so vague! There's mention of Charlotte feeling better, having better skin, whiter teeth, a better looking face(?), but no real clue as to why. Is she dreaming/hallucinating? Is it something her friends took that lead to their deaths? I just don't get it. And so I ended up losing interest. 

Also: as a side note: Ariel was a TERRIBLE friend. She does something horrific in the book (which is worthy of jail-time but which Charlotte and the entirely of Weston just BRUSHED OFF) and yet there was no repercussion, Charlotte wasn't angry and sure, a lot of that is to do what happened immediately after, but Charlotte still defended Ariel as a friend and I just didn't get it.

The whole Charlotte/Jack thing also grossed me out. He was dating your BEST FRIEND. HOW CAN YOU DO THAT?! Regardless of what I thought of Ariel, there's an unwritten rule that you do not fall in love with your best friend's boyfriend. And it kind of ruined Charlotte's character because she then goes all moon-y over Jack again, when he's with *another* girl. Like girl, please, have some self-respect! 

Unfortunately, Breaking wasn't for me. It ends where there could be a sequel (or another companion maybe) but I won't be reading it because I just didn't really like the characters. The writing was fine, but Charlotte was so dull. Of the three friends, I'd have liked if it was narrated by Devon, because she was the most mysterious I think. 

You win some, you lose some.

I devoured this book. The pacing was intense and the story drove me to keep reading. I read with horror, with tears and with curiosity. I loved the characters and I'm quite excited to read the sequel because I assume with that ending, there will be a sequel.

This was very compelling. The pacing of the action was good and the blend of the action and the romance was well balanced.

Breaking is a companion novel to Burning. So it was a little daunting to read having not read the other but was still an enjoyable read.

Prep school gets a twist of supernatural suspense in this commercial YA thriller.

Charlotte has always been content in the shadow of her two best friends at the prestigious Underhill Preparatory Institute. Ariel is daring and mysterious. Devon is beautiful and brilliant. Although Charlotte never lived up to the standards of the school—or her demanding mother—her two best friends became the family she never had. When Ariel and Devon suddenly commit suicide within a month of each other, Charlotte refuses to accept it as a coincidence. But as the clues point to a dangerous secret about Underhill Prep, Charlotte is suddenly in over her head. There’s a reason the students of Underhill are so exceptional, and the people responsible are willing to kill to protect the truth…

Suspenseful and scintillating, with hints of the supernatural, this fast-paced thriller will keep readers hooked.
Definitely slow to start and I was definitely missing something by not having read Burning first. 

Breaking is a dark twisted little tale for fans of Alice in Wonderland even if it is a bit on the nose, complete with bottles that say "Drink Me." 

Charlotte's story is intriguing enough for her story to work as a standalone, her two best friends kill themselves within a month of each other, but the world needs further building and I suspect the world is built up in Burning. 

I hope when this book goes to publish that the publishers are much clearer on the fact that this is a companion novel.

Breaking by Danielle Rollins is a young adult novel that is scheduled to be released on June 6, 2017. Rollins writing style is very addictive, capturing your attention and holding on till the very end. The plot line is very intriguing yet sad at times. The story is about Charlotte who is a very quite person who is somewhat of a loner. She just isn’t like the other kids at her school. Neither is Ariel or Devon which is why they always get along. Soon the story takes a sad  and dark turn when both of her best friends commit suicide. Charlotte has no idea why they would do that and sets out to find answers. Soon she learns why everyone at her school is so perfect. This book is quite sad at times and can be very dark.

Very exciting read!  Not a boring line in it - the well written plot keeps you reading and before you know it, it's hours past your bedtime.  Charlotte is an interesting girl who tries to figure out what happened to her two best friends.  She is a fairly strong character although it appears she is in denial that she has an eating disorder.  That isn't played out as a very big deal in the story.  Following clues that her friend left her, she makes the impossible discovery of an imaginable horror.  Well done!

I received this ARC from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


Breaking is the exciting follow-up to Danielle Rollins’ Burning! Though it’s considered a companion novel, I would still recommend reading Burning first. There will be characters and events from there that will be mentioned in this one that without prior knowledge of them might leave you a bit confused. I found Breaking to be a bit more…mysterious than its predecessor. Granted, it’s probably the mystery itself that had me more hooked! It’s definitely different from the first book in a lot of ways, but there’s still that air of familiarity that will have you linking the two together within time!

Charlotte is having a rough go of it lately, her two best friends, Ariel and Devon have both committed suicide a month a part. Charlotte is left feeling lonely, confused, and all other sorts of messy emotions. Her mother is ready to withdraw her from her very elite private school since her grades are suffering and she’s skipping classes. It’s the night before she’s set to leave that she finds a strange bottle among Ariel, her roommate and best friend’s things. She drinks it, thinking it was nothing more than booze that her bestie hid from her. It’s not until the next morning that she realizes it was a clue left behind for her. On the bottle is 2/3. She and Ariel would play a game where Ariel would leave clues behind that were labeled 1/6 or such and at the end would be the prize! Charlotte thinks that maybe by finding the clues she might be able to figure out why Ariel committed suicide.

Charlotte tries to dig through her friends’ things struggling to find clues. While around her, it seems other weird things are happening. Her new roommate, Zoe seems to be keeping secrets from her, not that they were close anyway. Her friend’s ex-boyfriend, who she had a serious crush on starts paying her more attention. And she can’t help but feel like something is definitely off. There’s this overall sense of weirdness and secretiveness going on throughout the whole story. Even when we start to get an inkling of an idea, it’s nothing concrete, the mystery at large is still a mystery!

The suspense to this one was pretty awesome! As I said, you know something is off, something weird. Even Charlotte knows this, but she can’t quite fit the pieces together. We get quite the startling surprise fairly early on too. One that will slowly begin to tie this book and Burning together. We get little hints, little tastes, and by the end, we’re going to get one big picture! But alas, there’s still questions! Those annoying little questions. And worse yet, I don’t know if there are more books! There has to be more books! I wouldn’t say we entered detrimental territory, but pretty close!

It’s always the little things that get left unanswered. Wondering who all was involved with this mystery that was happening! Why was it happening? What exactly were they trying to do? Perhaps there are more books to come and those questions can’t be answered yet. But at the same time, I feel like we’re missing something! There was way more details to this situation than I can really divulge in! 

As before, we have a little bit of romance going on in this one. I mentioned Charlotte crushing on her friend’s ex-boyfriend, Jack. Like before, it’s very little. Hardly even there. I can’t really say if I liked it or not. Jack and Charlotte have a history that we aren’t really privy to, we get little hints of flashbacks, but I don’t feel like it was enough for me to care about these two as a couple. I’m not sure if they’re being a couple was really meant to add to the story. Jack isn’t quite meant to be written off though. 

This book, you guys!! There is sooo much I am wanting to talk to you about it, but I can’t because of spoilers. Errg! The ending though, it will really send you through a trip! It’s mind boggling!! So many questions! So few answers. There has got to be another book! There just has to be!! Yet, it’s still too early to really know for sure! I just hope there is! My sanity is at risk here! 

Breaking was a remarkably twisted read that will leave your head spinning, but I mean this in all the best ways! Who doesn’t love a mind-twister? A book that leaves you guessing through its very end! Yes, through the ending, not until, because as I said, I still have sooo many questions! I truly hope Danielle isn’t done with this world yet, there is still so much to know from it and I hoping that next year will bring us a conclusion! If you love twisted reads that intrigue and captivate you, this is one you will not want to pass up!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars


Breaking releases June 6, 2017

This is a pretty fun thriller in the vein of campy teen horror movies, but the uneven pacing and weird ending from left field made this only okay.

I did not finish this book. I didn't care for any of the characters and that makes it difficult for me to get involved in the story.

(I received an ARC of this book on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

Charlotte’s two best friends commit suicide within a month of each other, and now everyone thinks she’ll be next: the dean at her fancy private school, her influential mother, and one of the dead girl’s boyfriends. Charlotte drifts through the aftermath in a fog until she finds a little vial that says “Drink Me”… well, Ariel always did like fairytales, and of course she’d leave something like this for Charlotte to find. But when Charlotte drinks the substance, her world is turned upside-down and she has to figure out what happened to her friends before she really is next…

I didn’t realize this was a companion novel to Burning (which I didn’t read) until about halfway through. Maybe this book would have been better if I’d read that. As it was, it was “fine, just fine,” but I feel like I’ve read this plot in twenty iterations. Nothing new or exciting here.

On the flip side, the writing is fun and I think I’ll go back and read Burning. ;)