Review: Loved it!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 10, 2013
Breaking Brandon is the second novel in Elizabeth Reyes Fate Series.  I haven't read the first novel in the series, yet still thoroughly enjoyed Breaking Brandon, so this could really be considered more of a companion novel, though I do plan to go back and read book one.  We originally met Brandon in Sweet Sofie, book three in The Moreno Brothers Series.  Don't worry if you haven't read that yet though, because Elizabeth Reyes recaps what happened and what is relevant to this story.  Brandon thought he loved Sofie, and when she rejected him, that combined with his abusive relationship with his father, his father's death, and the subsequent loss of his mom, caused him to choose to turn into a hard, cold man who chose not to have attachments of any kind, a motto which he had lived by for years.  Now a Drill Instructor in the Marines, he finds himself transferring back to California, not far from his old neighborhood in La Jolla, somewhere he never thought he'd go again.  Regina Brady is also moving back home to California to start over, recovering from a tragic loss herself.  When Brandon first sees her in the airport, he overhears her phone conversation, notices how beautiful and how well-dressed she is, and immediately he can't stand her, labeling her a daddy's girl, a spoiled rich little princess.  He's even madder at himself because he can't seem to quit looking at her or get her out of his mind, and it brings up memories of feelings he once had for a girl, as well as a time he'd tried to forget.When Brandon reports to work at the Base, he is informed by his superior that there are civilians working there in the same building on a project.  After seeing several of the civilian men working on the project, he is quite taken about when a woman walks and he realizes that that woman is his spoiled princess from the airport.  He's even more surprised when he learns that she is the lead civil engineer on the job.  Regina Brady recognizes Brandon to, and immediately smiles at him, only to receive a hate-filled, disgusted stare back, which she doesn't understand.  Several subsequent brief encounters with Sgt. Billings make it obvious to Regina that he can't stand her, but she has no idea why.  Deciding that two can play this game, she thinks it is best to avoid him, even though there is something about him that draws her to him.  Her choice to avoid him at all costs results in a mishap that throws them together whether they want to be or not.The subsequent relationship that develops between them is intense, passionate, and takes them both completely by surprise.  They are both such broken individuals with pasts that have caused them to have more in common than they realize.  The spoiled princess Brandon hated has become "His Princess," who he now cherishes.  Regina in turn is finding that this man is bringing a level of healing to her heart that she thought she'd never find after the loss that she had incurred.  The chemistry between them is smoking hot.  Though they share parts of their pasts, there are parts that they aren't ready to deal with yet and would rather keep hidden, dark parts.  Brandon is very possessive and hot tempered, and makes it clear to her what he wants, and Regina finds herself also wanting the same things.  They both experience joy and begin to share bits and pieces of their pain, but when events turn serious and the past collides with the present like a head-on collision, they have to decide if what they have together is worth overcoming the obstacles of their past, and the obstacles that they face presently.Breaking Brandon is a beautiful story about two incredibly broken individuals living life behind a mask who gradually learn to remove the mask and peel back the layers of pain to find love, healing, and acceptance.  It is romantic, has some very steamy scenes, as well as some very tragic and heartbreaking ones.  The books is fast paced and kept my attention, and the plot intriguing.  The story is told from both Brandon and Regina's points of view, alternating chapters.  Breaking Brandon is a great contemporary romance and is something I would definitely recommend to fans of that genre.My favorite quote from the book referenced a tattoo Brandon had on right side. Regina has asked him what it means and this is his response:  "What's past is prologue," he whispered, before lifting the shirt over his head and bringing it all the way down to cover the tattoo.  "Technically, it means history repeats itself, but I like to think of it how my mother explained it.  While our past does set the stage for what's to come in the future, ultimately it's your decisions based on what's happened in that past - good or bad - that determine your future."