Breaking

Okay, so, when I said I want to see Conrad suffer, this is not quite what I was thinking. He paid his dues in full and then some.

Starting to read this book, I thought maybe I was wrong and it had nothing to do with Conrad. How could he even fit with Archer's storyline? But I was game either way. Then Conrad showed up and if the first chapter had my attention, now I was fully in.

The second book of Fall or Break took such a wild turn, it was completely different from the first one, much more intense and more serious, although I did recognise some of Malachi's humour in Conrad, hardly surprising since they spent seven years together.

By the end of Falling I had already started to warm up to Conrad, but here I really liked him. He is this hotshot barrister, he's cold and keeps his walls up, but can also be vulnerable and capable of feeling. I wonder how his and Archer's first, uh, interaction would have gone if Conrad would have been uninjured (although their methods are clearly different—a detail I liked).

I found the plot to be a little too over the top at times, but it worked well. There were a lot of coincidences and insane situations, but Barbara Elsborg managed again to make everything make sense. She's magic.

I liked Archer very much too. I probably shouldn't, but he was so good for Conrad, I can't imagine a better pair for him. They are so similar and while I maybe would have been inclined to believe their strong personalities will clash violently with no chance of recovery, they somehow managed to complete each other. They were surprising.

I probably should take a star off for all of the coincidences, but I enjoyed the book just as much as I did Falling and, to make up for that star, I was more touched by Breaking. All in all, if you are not expecting something super realistic, the book is great.