Too Beautiful to Break

by Tessa Bailey

Sage Alexander has been in love with Belmont Clarkson since they met at his sister's rehearsal dinner. Their tentative friendship became a unique bond that night. But as much as she wants to join him for the rest of his cross-country trip, she's needed at home. So Sage returns to Louisiana to pay back her parents' debt. She never expected Belmont to follow her, or to volunteer to face his biggest fears to save her.

• ISBN10: 1455594229
• ISBN13: 9781455594221
• Publish Date: 28 September 2017 (first published 26 September 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 August 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Forever
• Format: Paperback (A-Format (178x111 mm))
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[thebookdisciple]

Too Beautiful to Break is the story of the last Clarkson sibling, Belmont. Belmont has always been a loner; he feels cut off from his siblings and struggled with addiction in the past. However, he has built a solid business for himself and wants nothing more than to share it with his sister Peggy's best friend, Sage. Sage has her own secrets though, and they will tear these 2 apart.

Belmont and Sage made me feel TOO much. The tears that fell were unavoidable because my heart broke for these two. Neither wanted to speak up about their feelings and they buried it all until it explodes in Sage leaving. Thankfully, even though Belmont doesn't really understand whats happening, he realizes that he has to tell Sage she is his whole world. These two are so stubborn through. Belmont doesn't deal well with change, large groups, and a large list of other triggers. Sage feels like a fraud who abandoned her parents when they needed her. She refuses to abandon them again and feels that her relationship with Belmont is toxic because they are using each other. Belmont has always loved Sage but had no idea how to tell her. It made me so sympathetic with their struggles. Belmont reminded me of so many of my students on the Autism spectrum. Sage reminded me of so many girls from poor towns who want better. These two were so real to me because Bailey has written two damaged, secretive, lonely, stubborn people that tugged at me on such a deep emotional level.

If you want a book that will pull you in so deep you never want to leave, Too Beautiful to Break is that book. I want to follow Sage and Belmont for the rest of their lives because they have come to mean that much to me.

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: so many....


• Trope: best friends brother, virgin


• Triggers: none


• Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series (you get the build up of Belmont and Sage in the stories of the other siblings)


• Cliffhanger: spoiler


• HEA: spoiler

Ok, Disciples, I was lucky enough to get my HERO Tessa Bailey to answer some of my questions! SQUEEEEE! Check out my interview:

Where do you get your ideas for your yummy alpha male characters?

Inspiration comes from everywhere! Men I see on the street or in movies. But a lot of the time, they just come from my imagination. I take a male with a physical appearance that attracts me and then I give him vulnerabilities, flaws and a sense of humor. And tattoos!

I am a proud member of Bailey's Babes and I want the world to know about PMBs. Can you explain to my readers why these pouty man bears are awesome?

Thank you for being a member of the amazing Babes! And yes, I can absolutely explain what a Pouty Man Bear happens to be and why they’re amazing! Think of a husky man with a perpetual frown, chest hair and a protective streak. A man who will carry you to the bedroom in one arm and a six pack in the other. He’s gruff. He likes steak, Sportscenter and making his woman happy. Voila! You have a PMB!

What are some of your writing rituals?

I write in thirty minute stints and I have an hourglass on my desk that I turn over each time. For some reason, a digital clock doesn’t motivate me, but sand filtering through glass does! Another weird ritual of mine is plucking my eyebrows when I get stuck on a particular scene. The solution usually comes to me.

So, Duke is my favorite Tessa Bailey character, and since he married Samantha, and my name is Samantha that makes Duke mine, right?

YES!!! IT IS SO! I HAVE DECREED IT! (you guys see this!? I got it in writing!!!!!!!! #DukeIsMine)

What do you have coming up that I need to preorder now? What hunky alpha men can we anticipate meeting?

I have a couple of exciting things in the pipeline! I’m plotting a book with another author—Eve Dangerfield—for the first time, which I am hugely stoked about. She’s quickly become one of my favorite authors. I’m also planning on self-publishing for the first time at the end of OCTOBER! It’s called FOLLOW and it’s a hot, contemporary standalone with lots of action.

I'm so thankful to Tessa for taking time to answer a few of my questions! She is one of my auto buy authors and you all really need to check out her books! I linked to Bailey's Babes above. Her reader group is, hands down, my favorite place on the internet! So many hot guys pics (including PMBs) and even some flash fiction from Tessa! Also, feel free to check out my review of Worked Up and see why Duke is mine!



Fighting for Flight by JB Salsbury, The Outskirts by TM Frazier, Drumline by Stacy Kestwick...then you will probably like Too Beautiful to Break!

 

Too Beautiful to Break

See full review on The Book Disciple

[stacey_is_sassy]

Too hard to rate…I'm allocating a halfer

***3.5 Stars***

Ladies and gentlemen, I can’t commit. Bloody Hell!! Up until the 63% mark, I was convinced that this was my favourite in the series and it would be a 4 or 5 star read. My love for Too Beautiful to Break plummeted so fast that I contemplated giving up. I was squinting and scowling, crossing my arms in frustration but I knew that I was invested in Belmont’s happiness. I persevered until 75% and at that point, I was cursing Tessa Bailey to the moon and back.

You wouldn’t believe what made me go on? I went onto Goodreads to have my DNF or 1-star convictions reinforced by other ARC readers and my friend Geri Reads, called me out. Well, she didn’t really call me out, but she made me feel like a quitter. I AM NOT A QUITTER!! Actually, she didn’t call me that either, she actually said…” some readers might be put off by it”. Well, Geri, while my knees may have trembled for a bit, I finally found my backbone and found the strength to go on.

How on earth can I give a bad rating to a book that I loved up until 63%, stumbled and crawled along until the 80% and then went back to enjoying it until the end? Well, this little ducky can’t. Of course, it can’t be a 5-star read (Hello, Tessa Bailey went to the moon and back) but it was definitely a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 star read.

I’ll give you a little glimpse into why the beginning was so good. First off, Belmont is special. He’s the kind of hero where on paper can seem almost perfect. HE’S DEVOTED!! I mean REALLY devoted. Now, off paper, there’s this little part of me that can’t help but put my kindle down and contemplate if he’s just a little TOO devoted. Like, to the stalkerish, watching you pee kind of devotion (doesn't happen, but I wouldn't have been surprised). The further I go on, the more I start to understand Belmont and why he acts the way he does. He’s got something to prove, can’t help himself and needs the connection. His journey of discovery is not an easy one to watch but it’s beautiful to see him grow and learn.

Now, Sage, well, unfortunately, she comes off as a little wishy-washy and a pushover. She has enabled Belmont and then swept away the security she offered him in the name of…*for his own good*. Yeah, yeah…tell it to the judge. Mind you, I am forever finding fault in the heroines, and should probably feel guilty about it (I don’t, can’t change my spots this late in the game).

So, Too Beautiful to Break was at times a hard slog. I started with a smile and ended with a smile. What I went through in between made me scowl, smirk, blush and sigh. I ended up awarding it 3.5 stars but to be honest at any particular time it could have been a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 star read.

Tessa Bailey writes really HOT and steamy with love that you can't help but believe in. Fans of DEVOTED heroes will LOVE THIS ONE!!

Stacey is Sassy, received a complimentary copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.

[leelu92]

I've been reading Tessa Bailey's books for so many years and this is the book that I always felt like she was destined to write.

I fell in love with her dirty talking, alpha heroes and I've watched those kinds of characters evolve and I've wanted that. I've also wanted her to write books with a larger word count so she would have more room to stretch her "writing wings". I wished for this years ago and here we are, with Belmont, one of Bailey's most (if not the most so far) complex characters that she has ever created.

There is a danger in saving a character like Belmont for last. Will he live up to the build up? The short answer for me is YES. Is it an easy journey? No, not at all. There are so many layers to Belmont and why he is the way he is and the reader needs to be patient with him.

As for Sage, she has her own journey to take and I wasn't exactly prepared for the depth of that journey either and how it influences her relationship with Belmont.

The relationship between Sage and Belmont has also been built up. Readers always knew that their relationship was super intense and their connection runs deep. But how would that relationship be impacted when it finally reached a physical connection? Personally, I enjoyed the exploration into the physical part of their relationship and how it created another level of connection and depth. It was extremely intense and SEXY. Good lord.

Too Beautiful to Break is the bookend to the Clarkson's New Year's Day journey to the Polar Plunge that was laid at their feet by their mother, Miriam. While it was hard for her children to understand on a deeper level why she sent them on this pilgrimage, at first, when you look at it as a whole and with Belmont's role in it, it makes sense.

TBtB highlights just how much Bailey's writing has developed and how far she has come since those first Line of Duty books.