BLOG TOUR: Pieces by Michelle Davidson Argyle (Review & Guest Post)

Hello lovelies! Yes the last few posts have all been blog tour stops because I've been in a book reviewing-slump and have taken a short hiatus. And yes this post is a blog tour stop too. But I promise reviews are coming back soon! Especially cause I'm on break right now and have all week to do whatever. Well, most of the week. But I hope you enjoy learning about Michelle and her books nonetheless. xoxo

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The Breakaway

By: Michelle Davidson Argyle 

Review by: Kaede

Publisher: Rhemalda Corporation

Pages: 303

Series: The Breakaway (#1)

Format: E-Book Review Copy
Source: Xpresso Book Tours

Purchase: Amazon 

When Naomi Jensen is kidnapped, it takes her parents two days to realize she's missing. Escape isn't high on her list of priorities when all she has to return to is an abusive boyfriend and parents who never paid much attention to her. For the first time in her life she's part of a family-even if it is a family of criminals. But she's still a captive. In a desperate attempt to regain some control in her life, Naomi embarks on a dangerous plan to make one of her kidnappers think she's falling in love with him. The plan works too well, and when faced with the chance to escape, Naomi isn't sure she wants to take it.

The Breakaway was definitely a bit out of the comfort zone of the mentality I've built up for myself as the type of book I usually read. I think my experience with books involving kidnappings can also be counted for with one hand. That's why I didn't quite know what to expect. And with what I got, I still don't quite know what to make of it. Perhaps you guys can help me?

Our lead is a teenager who has a habit of acquiring more and more self-pity for herself to drown in. However, despite that, I thought Naomi was a generally interesting character to read about. Taken captive by a group of people she doesn't know, Naomi is desperately unsure of what to do. Escaping and returning to her unmindful parents and abusive boyfriend isn't exactly number one though. While I sympathized with the fact that Naomi, even if she did manage to pull of an escape, she'd have nothing worthwhile to return to, I didn't appreciate that she tried to use that reason as justification for thinking it was okay to remain captive. In the hands of complete strangers, if I may add. And if it had to be done, I would have preferred coming to the conclusion myself through the long annoying series of flashbacks of Naomi and her abusive boyfriend, Brad.

Somehow through it all though, Naomi formulates a risky plan. Make one of her kidnappers believe she's falling in love with him. Even if she's feeling more at home with her abductors than she ever did with her parents, Naomi knows she can't stay like this forever. She has to escape. But Naomi never expected her plan to work so well. And she certainly didn't calculate her own feelings. Faced with the chance to escape, will Naomi take it?

For the most part, I felt that the characters were decently fleshed out. Although I lacked a personal connection with any of them, I liked that when it came down to it, these people were criminal but they all had their reasons and stories.

The ending was perhaps my favorite part. I loved it's taste of bittersweet satisfaction, and it provided a realistic ending as a conclusion to the first part of Naomi's story. I liked that it showed that actions have consequences, which is something I feel so many young adult books just walk over nowadays.

The Breakaway was an interesting read overall. It wasn't violent and didn't display sexual harassment, and was more...calmer that I had maybe thought it'd be. But Argyle managed to create a story that was entertaining while it'd lasted. I'd recommend The Breakaway for readers intrigued on the subject of Stockholm Syndrome and enjoy contemporaries. I know I'm personally invested and intrigued enough to try out the sequel, Pieces. I hope, even while I did sincerely like The Breakaway, I'll enjoy Pieces far more.

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3 ½ coffee cups!

Add THE BREAKAWAY to Goodreads

Find Michelle's Website | Goodreads | Twitter

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Michelle's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Michelle lives and writes in Utah, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. She loves the seasons, but late summer and early fall are her favorites. She adores chocolate, sushi, and lots of ethnic food, and loves to read and write books in whatever time she can grab between her sword-wielding husband and energetic daughter. She believes a simple life is the best life.

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Guest Post! :

I'm super excited to be hosting Michelle today! Michelle was kind enough to also provide a guest post for all you darlings to read. Enjoy! xo

So my question for Michelle was, "What are your personal views on kidnapping and if it played an influential role in your books?" 

Michelle answered with: 

My views on Kidnapping and how it affected my book.
What an interesting question! First of all, I’d like to say that I first wrote The Breakaway when I was in high school (it’s been through a lot since then). I was still a teenager myself, so my intention wasn’t necessarily to discourage kidnappings of young teenagers as much as it was to explore the scenario of what it might be like to be kidnapped. How would I react? How would I cope? Would I be able to come up with an intelligent way to escape? Or would I be stupid and get myself killed?
One of my favorite books is The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore by Joan Lowry Nixon. I think I read that book eighty times as a teenager. I even read it now as an adult. It fascinated me and I wanted more of that kind of world, so that’s one of the reasons why I picked a story about a kidnapping for the first novel I ever wrote. As for my view on kidnapping, I remember researching missing persons and kidnapping victims when I was writing and rewriting The Breakaway. It is shocking how many people in the world are reported missing every year. Some are never found. Some are found dead. Some are rescued and end up living normal lives afterward. I think the most interesting thing about kidnappings is the uniqueness of every single case. When people hear the word “kidnapping” they often think “hostage” and “ransom”, when so often that is not the motivation behind kidnappings. I think that’s part of why we find kidnapping stories so fascinating—there are so many possibilities to explore. It’s a great catalyst for an intriguing story.

I hope you guys liked the post. Until next time. x)  

With love, 

Kaede