Break My Fall (The Breaking Trilogy, #1)

I have to admit I have a fascination with Cults. I love to read about it, to understand how it works, how they can make so many people believe in their brainwashing. When I saw this book was about a Cult, I knew that I had to read it, and I’m so happy that I did.
I liked how we discovery about how the Cult worked in small pieces, without and out and out lecture about everything. How we could see everything working in Abe’s mind. All the conflicting emotions. How Myra doesn’t understand what she is part of, but at the same time is so strong!
This is a series that I completely intend on following.

This story was like no other book I’ve read before. I had no idea what to expect. Due to all the controversy surrounding cults, I didn’t know if I was going to get a darker read or maybe a lot of sadness. This story is neither dark nor extremely sad. It is the budding of what is going to be a great love story! It was nice to watch Myra slowly coming out of her shell with Abe. Abe’s tenderness and understanding with her, due to his own experiences/knowledge, makes your heart grow a size or two. I’m left wondering if Myra will be able to handle marriage number 2 and if Abe will be able to open her eyes to what was and what can be!

I loved this story!!! Mo Mabie’s writing goes to a whole other level with this story!! Don’t get me wrong, I love the angsty romance we get from her, but she went out of her comfort zone with this story, and I for one couldn’t be happier!! This is Abe’s and Myra’s story, two souls who’s worlds collide under unfortunate circumstances.
Abraham (Abe) is a young man trying to make a life for himself, away from the family he left behind more than a decade before. Unable to live any longer under the strict religious rules of his stern father, Abe decides leaving his family behind is the only way to become free and independent. Abe was living a quiet life, working hard in the mills, eventually buying some land. He was a proud man, reaching his goals on his own terms, free of the religious trustees who would have other wise had a say in his life. Unfortunately for Abe, circumstances beyond his control have him heading back home…..to Lancaster, where he’ll be reunited with his family. Knowing he wants to make this visit as short as possible, Abe finds he’s once again under prying eyes of his religious community, and most importantly his father. But that all seems to fade away when he crosses paths with a young woman with the most beautiful blue eyes he’s ever seen. The shy and innocent Myra doesn’t know quite what to make of Abraham,startled by his reaction to her at their first encounter. Myra is totally unsure of herself, and where her life is headed. Tragic circumstances have altered what she thought was her path in life, but meeting Abraham has left her feeling unsettled. Realizing who Abe is, she’s drawn to the site of him and his disheveled appearance, knowing this is the pastors son who left town long ago!!

M Mabie tells a compelling and riveting story of the dark side of the religious cult, and the control it takes hold of the people involved in it!! She gives us a intriguing and spellbinding look into the life of these two broken souls, who find themselves trying to navigate and mesh the two worlds their living in. I loved that their feelings for one another began slowly, this is not a book about insta-love!! M Mabie lets us see their feelings for one another build over time. It’s charming and romantic, and you are rooting for these two from the moment Abe decides Myra is his to protect!!
This is the first book in the The Breaking Trilogy, we get dual pov’s and of course Ms Mabie gives us a cliffhanger that leaves you on the edge of your seat!!

This was my first book by M. Mabie, and it was a fabulous read – there’s just something so different about a cult read that just draws me in, being so different from our world, I really find these intriguing and captivating – this was no different and was a fanastic read!

Abe left his cult family behind, his father being the big preacher of their cult in Lancaster, but he didn’t believe what he was being taught and set out to make a life on his own, never thinking he would ever have to go back. A phone call from his mother saying his brother has passed away changes this and he makes his way home to pay his respects to his brother, knowing, fearing and hating that he has to go back to Lancaster. He just wants to go and say bye to his brother, and get back out of there. Except he finds himself drawn to his brother’s widow, Myra.

Myra was born and raised in Lancaster and knows nothing of the outside world, taught to be submissive and serve the men folk, she has no idea what to expect now that her husband of less than a month is dead. Its not until Abe comes forward and steps in and defends her, giving her options and choices she never knew she had, that her thinking about the world starts to change.

Abe and Myra’s relationship is anything but a conventional one, but this works perfect for them, its not an insta attraction but a very slow burn and gradual build up as their relationship progresses. I loved the character changes in both Abe and Myra as the book moves forward, with Myra learning about the outside world and coming to terms with it, yet still trying to incorporate what she has learned in Lancaster into her new life. Abe is a really strong character, the feelings he develops for Myra testing the limit of his control as he doesn’t want to use her, he wants to set her free, little does he know how much Myra wants him in every way.

This book does end in a big cliff hanger, just as you are enjoying how well Abe and Myra are getting on, the book ends – I can’t wait to read the next 2 books in this trilogy to see what happens next – highly recommended reading!

Gripping. Unique. Enthralling. Unforgettable.

Those are just a few of the words that instantly come to mind when I think about Break My Fall by M. Mabie. As I sit here thinking about this book there are so many other positive adjectives that come to mind when I think of this story and what M. Mabie created within it. Raw, intensely real, and authentic. Emotional and all-feeling in every way. Exceptionally written and crafted through every page. Life changing, heart gripping, and utterly magnificent. Mind blowing and bursting with moments that will have you questioning everything. Phenomenal, outstanding, and just damn good.

I could seriously go on and on about this book and what it creates with Myra and Abraham.

Their story is unlike any other story I have ever read.

I have NEVER read a book like this one. I have NEVER experienced a book like this one. I have NEVER lived in a world quite like this one or met characters like the ones I found in this book. I have NEVER had writing completely transport me into a world or into a character’s head or into such consuming and unforgettable moments in such a way like I did while reading this book. I promise you have NEVER read or experienced or lived a story like this one, and that is just part of what makes this one of the most exceptional stories I have ever gotten my hands on.

What M. Mabie creates in this book, in the start of this trilogy, is wholly unique, encapsulating in its own spectacular way, and will take you into a world that you have never been a part of. A world made up of people with their own rules, their own laws, and their own way of doing things. A world made up of banding ceremonies and helpmeets, a world brimming with seclusion and oppression, a world where nothing is as it seems, yet no one knows the real depths and pulls of it all. A world of lies, of freedom, of fight and fire.

A world unlike any other I have been in while reading a book, and a world that I can’t wait to find myself back in as soon as humanly possible.

I am telling you, you have never read a book quite like this one. You have never met characters like the ones you will meet and love and discover in this book. You have never experienced a story like the one M. Mabie exceptionally crafts and brings to life in Break My Fall. You have never been in a world like Lancaster or met people like the ones who reside in that place.

You have never read a book that so meticulously, thoughtfully, and outstandingly meshes religion, romance, faith, emotion, family, longing and intensity and build quite like this one does.

What M. Mabie creates in this book is nothing short of everything. It is a slow burning romance that will push heart and your moral compass and your mind to places you’ve never been or felt before. It will have you wondering what in the world the rest of this series will bring about for Abraham and Myra and the world they call home. It will have you NEEDING to know what happens next. It will have you wondering what may or may not continue to grow between Myra and Abraham, all while you wonder and feel and live and breathe every ounce of what they gave you in this story. This book is their journey of faith, of family, of obligation, of fight and determination, of new beginnings, of things they never expected and more. It is their struggle, them giving it all for a triumph they don’t even know if they want or deserve or something they will even get to have, and it is them all the way through, from beginning to end, from pagp to page, in the most exceptional way.

Break My Fall is about what happens when one man’s journey home turns his life completely upside down and takes him back to a place he never wanted to see again. It is about what happens when faith and religion and newness and questions intersect in the most consuming way. It is about what happens when the one person who was supposed to mean nothing, turns out to mean EVERYTHING. And I mean everything. It is about the journey, the fight, the questions and wondering, the chances, the risks, and what it all means. This story is about what happens when two worlds collide, literally, figuratively, emotionally, physically, and in every other way possible. And when that collision happens y’all…well it makes for one of the most mesmerizing and unique and encapsulating reading experiences you will EVER have.

Trust me.

This book gave me life while I read it, and I do not say that lightly.

There were so many moments while reading where my breath was stolen because of the intensity of the moments in the pages of this book. There were other moments that shocked me to my core. Whether it was from the rules of Lancaster, what Myra or Abraham were doing or feeling, or whether it was from the moments they so vividly shared together, I was shocked. I felt that shock, the emotion and the physical effects that went with it, and I felt the changes that brought to these characters and what they shared. There were moments in this book where I practically swooned for Abraham and the goodness and the thoughtfulness of that man. There were moments when I practically cheered for Myra as she took chances that must’ve been so scary and felt so risky.

There were moments that had me practically YELLING at my kindle for one reason or another. Whether it was because I wanted and needed these characters to give into even just a morsel of what was so intensely and authentically building between them….or if it was the moments where things started to change and their worlds and perspectives and minds meshed and flip flopped and swayed in the most unforgettable and tangible of ways…or whether it was the moments that had me so vividly connected to these characters and their journeys and their feelings as they tried to wade their way through the murky waters of what is right, what is wrong, what is and isn’t okay, and as they came into their own…all of it had my heart and soul and mind and breath and voice in this story.

I lived this story as much as it gave me life and that is a true testament to what M. Mabie so phenomenally creates in every page of this book.

What I loved about this story was that as much as it is a slow burning romance that will give you the feels and emotion and heart and connection you crave in a love story, it will also give you a story that will make you think and question and wonder about everything.

The way that M. Mabie so incredibly weaves together a story that infuses faith and religion and morals and choice together made for a story unlike any other I have read before. I am not a religious person, I am not someone who even knows that much about religion, but I was fascinated by the way M. Mabie so carefully and thoughtfully brought religion, and every aspect of it, into this story. She finds a way to perfectly balance the religion and the pieces of this cult and the faith these characters have in way that isn’t too much, yet holds an exceptional level of meaning for them and their story as it all unfolds. The way religion and faith are almost their own characters and presence in this story is just one of the many amazing aspects this authors brings to life in Break My Fall.

That along with the moments that will make you question everything, that will have you wondering what you would do or what you would feel or what you would think, and those moments that will make you think long and hard about what is right and wrong, what is okay, what is a bad choice or a good choice, and what it means when control and consent and independence and choice mesh together will just give you it all. And then some.

That was this entire book. It was everything and then some. It was so much more, so much glorious more, and it just blew me away with everything it had.

I have never read a book like this, and as I read this story I found myself wanting to slow down my pace of reading because I never wanted it to end. I never wanted to leave what this author was bringing to life in me and in this world and in these characters. I never wanted to leave the intense and honest connection that was building so intricately between Abraham and Myra. I never wanted to leave this story that made me question and wonder about everything, every choice, every scripture, every word and feeling and moment. I never wanted to leave it all, and that just left me more than ready for the rest of this trilogy.

Break My Fall is hands down one of my top reads for the year and one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It was different, it was memorable, it was a world unlike any other I have lived in, and it gave me two complicated, real, and authentic characters that I immediately connected to. What you get within their heads, what you live and breathe with them in this story, and what you feel with them along the way as this all unfolds will break you in ways, will push you in others, will have every part of your mind and heart and soul with them through it all, and in the end, will have you knowing that what you’ve just experienced with them was nothing short of everything.

This book is one that I will never forget reading. And as I sit here writing this review, all I can think about is how much I want more of these characters, more of this unforgettable and dynamic world, and more of what M. Mabie so outstandingly created in this book. This author is a true writer with a talent that knows no bounds, and every bit of that shows in what she brings to life in Break My Fall.

Wow! What did I just read?!?! This book was everything and more. I was not one hundred percent sure what I was getting myself into with this book, but I just trusted that Mo has never let me down before and she did not this time either. Abe and Myra were just imperfectly perfect. I loved how real this story feels. I cannot wait for October. This is a must read and one of my top reads of 2018.

I have a secret to tell you; I am obsessed with cults like to a dangerous level. I find them fascinating and Break My Fall fed into my fixation, partly because I find cults based on biblical fallacies and call themselves Christians the most interesting. M. Mabie delivered an engrossing and complex world with Lancaster and The Banded Church of God.

I am a little in awe of how sinister M. Mabie was able to make the town, the church, and its members feel without delving much into who they were. She did a fabulous job of conveying how intrinsically evil everything that was going on in Lancaster was with short conversations, body language, and an eerie sense of perfection. Even the name she chose for the town, Lancaster, brings to mind a particular way of life I could never hope to understand, nor want to experience.

Both Abe and Myra were compelling characters. Abe had a darkness in him – a direct result of being raised by the leader of the cult – that called to me, he did a fabulous job of suppressing it, but I can feel the anger and need caused by those compulsions festering beneath the surface, and I can’t wait to see how it manifests. I’m sure he will do good with his rage, as his instincts are to help and save rather than hurt and destroy. Myra is a little more of a question mark, at this point in their story, since all her actions are still colored by the brainwashing teaching she received in the cult. The little glimpses we’ve seen of what her true personality are have been promising, though, and I have no doubt she’ll work with Abe to do whatever they can to prevent another generation of people to be abused by The Banded Church of God.

I loved that M. Mabie didn’t throw Abe and Myra headlong into a physical relationship. Their connection was evident from their first meeting, but they were both dealing with so many things regarding their families, the Church, and Myra forging a new life, they needed a minute to absorb everything, learn how to interact, and Myra had to have the time to begin to discover who she was when she was able to make all her own choices.

Break My Fall is the first book in M. Mabie’s Breaking trilogy. This book is not a standalone and does end with a bit of a cliffhanger. These books will all follow Myra and Abe, and the trilogy will need to be read in its entirety to experience the entire story. Break My Fall is written in dual first-person perspective, narrated by Myra and Abraham.

M. Mabie won me over with her Wake series and has yet to let me down. She writes intriguing, complex stories with fabulously sympathetic, flawed characters. I’m impressed with the originality of this story in particular and can’t wait to see what she has in store for us as the series continues.

M. Mabie has created an intriguing and unique story with Break My Fall. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!

Break My Fall is a very interesting, original and eye opening book. M. Mabie did an amazing job with writing an intense, heartfelt and engaging storyline that kept me wanting more and more. Abraham was born and raised in a extremely religious cult town called Lancaster and his father happens to be the pastor/leader of the cult. Abraham disagreed with the ideology and as one could imagine, this caused continuous arguments and fights amongst the two. As a result, Abraham moved away when he turned sixteen years old, he’s been on his own ever since and has never returned home. Several years later when Abraham learns that his younger brother has passed away, he returns for the funeral and during this time, he meets his deceased brother’s wife, Myra. Myra is the typical innocent, demure, faithful and submissive wife who knows nothing of the outside world. She and Abraham are drawn to each other from the moment they meet. Because of this connection, after the funeral she lingers heavily on Abraham’s mind and in his heart. He’s genuinely concerned for Myra’s well being and future in Lancaster. Unbeknownst to her, her situation will more than likely go from bad to worse.

Abraham marries Myra to rescue her from impending doom which is a pivotal moment in the story as this is where it truly develops and evolves in the best way. Break My Fall is a page turner as I kept wondering what was going to happen next. Poor Myra is so vulnerable and naive and my heart broke for her. I love how Abraham was patient with Myra and showed her kindness, friendship and tenderness. They have a slow-burn relationship but given their upbringing, I can certainly appreciate why it was written that way.

Break My Fall ends with a cliffhanger as it is book one of a trilogy and I’m already on the edge of my seat waiting for book two.

Break My Fall by M. Mabie was quite the surprise read. I was captivated by the story and characters. This was an original, emotional story and that ending! Wow! I cannot wait for the next book!

Abraham walked away from everything he did believe in. His father was a leader of a cult and he wanted nothing to do with it. But when his brother passes away, he returns, but cannot wait to leave again. But he never expected his reaction to his brother’s widow, Myra. Now he wants to save her, but who will save her from him?

Myra has only ever known one life. But Abe begins to show her another path. It was a slow burning story and I loved watching them together. Abe truly wanted to save her but was afraid of the man he could be. But as readers, we saw a good man with a big hear who was very caring. Could what started as a plan to save a woman become so much more? So excited to get my hands on the next book!

Read and reviewed for Reviews From The Heart.
Happy reading!