Breaking and Holding

Author: Judy Fogarty

Publisher: Lake Union

Release Date: August 2, 2016

Rating: 3 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A story of love, betrayal, and what to do when you find love but can’t have it.

 Set in the summer of 1978, Patricia Curren finds out her husband has had an affair.  Instead of approaching him about this and dissolving her marriage, Patricia decides to spend the summer alone on Kiawah Island.  She has always been a loner, hiding away in her books.  On the island, she ventures out and meets Terry Sloan, a college tennis player working at the country club for the summer.  It is an instant attraction for them both that quickly turns toward obsession.  They both have secrets, some worse than others, and the summer is quickly coming to a close.  Terry is trying to turn pro and has a sponsor interested in him who is about to bring their relationship to the edge of imploding.  Between the sponsor, Patricia’s husband coming to the island, and so many other problems, they are about to face more than either of them can handle.

 Breaking and Holding had a lot of potential that didn’t fully hold up for me.  There were several good points that I want to highlight first.  My biggest praise would have to be that this book had some of the best character development of any I have read in a long time.  From beginning to end, the characters fully change and develop into who they are at the end of the story and not the same as at the beginning.  I didn’t think it would happen but the end was satisfying for how it played out throughout the novel.  Even with those positives, there were several negatives for me.  The language bothered me.  I got very, very tired of seeing the F word.  It was just not necessary so much of the time.  Most of the novels I read don’t have that kind of language, and that’s how I prefer it.  But there are a rare few that have language that are written so well that it doesn’t bother me, especially if it isn’t overused.  The story is told from several different viewpoints, mostly Patricia and Lynn (Patricia’s husband’s assistant), and a few instances of the view point of Terry.  This could bother some readers, but I had no problems with following who was talking and how it shaped the story.  Overall it was an okay story but not one I will be picking up again.

 I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.  The views and opinions expressed within are my own.