I hate thought-provoking books for making my head spinning with overly-thinking about them and for the conflicted monologues I keep having even hours after finishing them. My head still hurts.

I don't honestly know how I am truly feeling about The Breakaway, I can't tell if I liked it or not. One thing is for sure: I have never felt so outraged, angered at a character my whole reading-life.

This is the first book I read about abduction and Stockholm Syndrome, I usually steer clear from books that deal with heavy subjects and know would eventually make me uncomfortable, they are in fact at the top of my Out-of-Comfort-Zone list. However it wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be. It didn't have the abuse or constant violence, her captors treated her like she was part of the family but they couldn't/won't let her go; but that didn't stop me from feeling bewildered and sometimes even repulsed by what I was reading.

Full review to come. ( )

Must. Think. On. This. Before. Writing. Review.

I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's either a 2.5 or a 3. Can't make up my mind. ( )

The Breakaway is not your typical kidnap kind of story where the victem is watched, kidnapped and brutally abused. The main character Naomi only gets taken because of something the kidnapers think she saw, she didn't. Naomi finds herself in a satuation where her kidnappers treat her better than he own parents. She finds herself in confusion of if she really wants to escape, or stay with people who might actually care... Worst of all her plan of making one of her kidnappers, Jesse, fall in love with her backfires because she starts to actually have feeling for the person who is taken her, but who might have also saved her.

I really enjoyed the plot to this story, it was interesting and intriguing reading about Naomi's story. I loved the confusion and how Naomi developed Stockholm's Syndrome because I honestly found that facinating to read about. What I found creppy is the whole "we kidnapped you and want to make you part of the family" thing. It is part of the plot and it added more to the book but it was still creppy....

I didn't really liked the characters in this book. Naomi, I didn't find her to be a strong character. I just found her weak and depending, and annoying at times. I just couldn't really connect to her. Jesse, the love interest, I didn't find him attractive in a personality and in the way she described him. He couldn't make any of his own decisions, he felt like a pushover to me, just like Naomi. So I guess they are perfect for each other. Eric, the kidnapper, he was just crazy, I mean I couldn't understand how Naomi could stand him. Evelyn, she was also a major pushover even thought she was the most caring one.

The romance was the whole Stockholm syndrome. She didn't love him, she just got used to him. In a lot of books that does happen and it feels real, but in the Breakaway it just felt wrong and creppy. In the end you couldtell he did care for her, but my question is did she?

Overall, I thought the book was an okay read, I really liked the plot and the whole idea behind the book, but I just couldn't relate to the characters. I think a lot of people might enjoy it because it is different from the most kidnapping related books. ( )

As the story begins, Naomi Jensen find herself waking up in a motel room with a strange man looking at her. She doesn't understand why she is there, but soon realizes she has been taken because of something she might have seen. What that may be, however, she has no clue. Unfortunately, her kidnappers don't believe her. Eric is the rougher of the two captors and hits her when she doesn't give him the information he wants. Jesse, however, is not, and he is very kind, wanting to make sure she is okay. In fact, Jesse is the reason Eric didn't kill Naomi in the beginning. Naomi soon finds herself the unwilling guest at the home of Eric, his sister Evelyn, her husband Steve, and also Jesse. The Breakaway chronicles her experience, thoughts, and feelings during the year she was held captive, and the events shortly following.

Though Eric is gruff and threatens to kill her if she tries to leave, he also has a kind side. His sister Evelyn is also very kind to Naomi. She is kept in a locked bedroom and gradually, as she earns the trust of her kidnappers, is allowed more freedom. Naomi is an only child and her parents are very wealthy. They have provided her with everything she needs and wants, except their time and love. This confuses Naomi even more when her captors tell her and show her how much they want her and care for her, causing her to have mixed feelings about them, and eventually caring for them and trusting them to. Naomi has always been a bit of a loner, and the only real friendship/relationship she has had is with her boyfriend Brad, which was really dysfunctional. Brad loved Naomi, but he was very rough and abusive, first sexually, and then he eventually hit her. In her naivety and denial, she always justified him. Jesse, one of her captors, is very, very kind to Naomi and they end up falling in love, and she enters into a relationship with him. During the course of her time there, Naomi comes to think of these people as her family, believing her parents don't really care about her anyway, using this twisted analogy to justify things in her own mind.

It isn't until almost a year later when she accidentally sees her mom on the television, that she comes to the realization that her parents actually do care for her. Distraught and confused, she has to rethink everything about who she really trusts and who she really wants to be, but when the opportunity presents for her to finally escape, Naomi isn't sure that is what she wants anymore.

I found The Breakaway to be an interesting story and even though Naomi was labeled as having Stockholm Syndrome, the circumstances were different than you would see in a typical case where this occurred, because her captors truly did care about her. I found Naomi's character to be a little too gullible, but her circumstances also could have caused this, along with her background of being in an already abusive relationship. As far as the love interest, I could see the good side of Jesse and was rooting for him to do the right thing. The irony of it all was that Naomi never saw anything related to the crime her kidnappers committed, which was the reason she was taken. In fact, it was quite some time into her kidnapping before she even realized why she was there. The ending was bittersweet, setting things up for the second book in this two-part series. ( )

Michelle Davidson Argyle’s THE BREAKAWAY is a powerful and emotionally charged novel of a kidnapped victim struggling to find herself.

Naomi Jensen just wanted to take photographs of the fog, but when she is kidnapped by jewel thieves, nothing will be the same. As she leans on her weakness to survive, she learns to trust her new family in ways she never imagined, but escape still beckons. She must decide whether to find the strength to break out from her prison or to be content with her kidnappers.

THE BREAKAWAY stirs so many emotions. Naomi is unlike any main character I’ve read. She’s a quiet, weak young woman, but Argyle peels apart the layers to show Naomi’s inner strength. Half the time I was begging Naomi to do something, to flee, and the other half, I wanted her to remain with her kidnappers and have a happy life with them. It’s these conflicting characteristics that reveal the brilliancy of this novel. The reader becomes invested in the plot and all the characters as we learn more about them and who they are. Argyle’s writing style is also beautiful and lyrical. Sometimes the descriptions are breathtakingly wonderful that I would read them again.

Prepare for THE BREAKAWAY by Michelle Davidson Argyle to kidnap you into its gut-wrenching world. ( )