This is one intriguing read. Having only read 1/4 of the book so far I find myself stealing every spare minute to dive back into the story. I would highly recommend it and couldn't wait any longer to finish it.

I was given a copy of this book by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately drawn to this book by description, it seemed like something I would normally read. I didn't realise that it was the second in a series and actually didn't find out until after I finished it, having said that it didn't feel like I was missing out on something it can definitely be read as a standalone.

As I got further into the book I realised that it actually wasn't something I would usually choose to read but I really enjoyed it, I was hooked straight away and never felt like there was parts that were slower, the pace was steady throughout and the story made me not want to stop.

The ending definitely made it seem like there was more coming in this series and I definitely can't wait to read more, starting with the first book.

DNF at 17%.

I am really sad about this. I loved her first book in this series, and when I saw this book would be a book set in the same universe + boarding school + mystery? I just had to have it. I just needed to read it.

Sadly, I can't like Charlotte, I wonder how she is even still at that school, if it is so prestigious as it is said it is. Then again, I can do a good guess and I think the word we are looking for is money. :|
She seemed so ungrateful, people did try to help her, they did extend their hands for her to grab it, but instead she was acting all high and mighty.

Also Zoe. Bleh. What a terrible character. I can't even believe she was so different not that long ago. I may have believed it if we had seen it with our own eyes, but now? Nah.

Also it was just ridiculously silly how she had packed everything, found a bottle, then was in the car with her mom and instantly changed her mind about where to go. It was just hilarious. 

I just had no interest in her friends. They are dead when the story starts so we just see what they are like through Charlotte and her flashbacks. I feel it would have been better had they all been alive. That their suicide would have happened as the story was unfold. Now I just didn't know what to think of either Devon or Ariel. 
Another option would be to have the first chapter be about the suicide and then rewind back to the time before it all happened. Before it all went wrong.

Plus the OMG suicide is so great message was pretty big in this one (sorry, but I would call it that as Charlotte keeps talking about joining them in the dark and how she wished she was able to do that). It was just uncomfortable and made me unhappy.

Ah yes, and the fact that they apparently drank alcohol like it was water (at least that is how it seems to me, considering they just had alcohol everywhere and didn't hesitate to drink it). 

So yeah, an anticipated read which failed to meet my hopes. Such a shame.

A quick, dark read. I expected some minor YA drama (especially given repetition of lines from the protagonist about doing worse than liking her [dead] pal's boyfriend!), but was pleasantly surprised to find a sinister mystery beneath the surface. Overall, this was pretty gripping, though I'd be interested to see where things could have gone had the characters been even more fleshed out and the ending not been so abrupt.

Charlottes' two best friends committed suicide and she want to find out why. While packing up her things in her dorm after being 'asked to leave', the private and prestigious boarding school she attends, she discovers a bottle with the instruction 'drink me' so naturally she does. This turns out to be one of three clues and so she convinces her mother and the dean to give her one last shot. What she doesn't tell them however is that she intends to get to the bottom of why the two people closest to her killed themselves, and she uncovers something shocking 

This started off with a contemporary feel, Charlotte struggling with the loss of Devon and Ariel, who to her had been like family, her thinking that she was the reason they took their own lives as well as juggling the less than perfect relationship she has with her mother and the feelings she has for her best friends ex-boyfriend. 
It then had the feeling of a mystery, with the search for why they died and then sci-fi/paranormal elements were added. It was pretty boring to start off with, I wasn't all that invested in the story, but about halfway through things started getting interested and I wanted to see how the story played out and figure out what the hell was happening. 

I'm not sure my feeling towards the main character Charlotte, there wasn't really anything super interesting about her that made me connect to her. 

The way it ended gives the impression that there's gonna be a sequel. There is another book related to this, Burning, but I checked it out before reading and someone said that you could read this without reading that. I think I'd probably read the sequel, if there is one, if I got an arc, like with this or it was really cheap on Kindle .

*Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Children's Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
'Breaking' tells the story of teenager Charlotte Gruen, a senior at Weston, a private boarding school for privileged and talented students. I notice that in the Goodreads description of the book, it says that Charlotte attends The Underhill Preparatory Institute - not sure if the name of the school was changed after that was written? Neither here nor there. Breaking is a companion book to 'Burning,' but can most definitely be read as a standalone novel. I have not read Breaking (yet) and don't feel like I was missing anything. 
Charlotte's mother is a high achieving and pushy doctor, who wants the best for her daughter... at any cost. If you're think this sounds like a typical trope of YA fiction, think again. Breaking is a novel full of suspense and twists, as Charlotte fights to discover what has caused the recent deaths of two of her friends. It was a quick read, that kept my attention throughout. I think it would be enjoyed by teenage girls in particular.

Intriguing storyline about a girl at a private school

3.5 STARS!!!
Entertaining, good pacing, quick read but I liked the writing style more than the plot. This is a book for fans of YA thrillers.

Charlotte and Zoe are roommates due to Charlotte's two best friends, Devon and Ariel being found dead by suicide within the same month. The school and Charlotte's mum are worried about her as they were like three Disney princesses in a club as Ariel instilled on them each, only hers and Devon's princesses were one's that ended in death and tragedy.

Ariel dated Jack at the school but was jealous over Charlotte and Jack's relationship as he broke up with her for Charlotte despite now dating Chloe, another girl at the school.

Charlotte leaves originally, with her mum after getting drunk on her final night in her room at school only for Jack's words to make her persuade her mum to take her back. Over the course of the book, we see Charlotte find clues towards the deaths of her two best friends as Zoe reveals she knows about the serum Charlotte found and thought was left to her by Ariel, though Zoe reveals teachers, her mum and even Jack's doctor parents are involved with distributing the serum instead...

Overall it was okay but the twist with the serum and everyone involved and the way it twisted my original take on the book from the blurb I read, I didn't enjoy what I read as I hoped to.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!