Breaking Skin

By: Debra Doxer

Narrated by: Sarah Puckett

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Dancing is like magic. It makes me disappear. When I dance I'm not a sister or a daughter, not a lover or a friend. I exist in the moment, onstage, where I turn pain into art and pretend the illusion is real. My past is an abomination and my future is unwritten, but my present is pure, fluid, and focused. I'm content, or at least I think I am, until the night I meet a man who makes me want more.

He's broken, just like me, but in different ways. He's older and nothing like the men I'm used to. Compared to him, they're all boys, immature and insipid, while he's a force of nature, confident, and virile. Virile is a word I've never used before, and I only use it now because he embodies it so completely.

At first, he fights the attraction between us almost as hard as I do. But when words like destiny and soulmate whisper through my thoughts, how can I ignore them? He can have any girl he wants, but he looks at me as if I'm the girl he's waited for his whole life. How can I tell him I'm not that girl? I wish I were enough for him, wish I were whole. But beneath my facade, I've been falling to pieces for a long time, and I don't know if I'm strong enough to resist the downward momentum.

©2016 Debra Doxer (P)2017 Debra Doxer

Enjoyable but not much chemistry

The good: likable characters, the writing, the dog, the children, the "mystery."

The bad: I didn't feel much chemistry b/w the main characters. I would have given this 4 or 4.5 stars had I felt that spark.

The narrator: I actually stopped listening (and moved to my kindle) not too far in b/c she is very robotic sounding. She has a nice voice, she just needs practice.

Love HEA's

I really liked the way this story went. It had a HEA, which I love!! ❤️❤️
The narrator really made the story come to life!!! I highly recommend this book!!!

Breaking Free

Nikki‘s a ballerina, but her love of dance is turning to hate due to a nagging knee injury, an injury that Nikki tries to keep under wraps from her ballet company. In need of a distraction, a girls night out at a local bar is in order. Nikki goes against her usual cautious nature and picks up a handsome stranger, Cole, a former hockey player forced by injury to retire. Months later a trip to her hometown finds her one-night stand is now her sister’s neighbor… Awkward!

I was pleasantly surprised by this story. It’s well written. Part romance and part mystery. Author Debra Doxer takes her time building this beautiful story, filled with familial angst, childhood abuse, and betrayal by those closest to you. It‘s the tale of a good man who tries to helps Nikki face her demons and find answers.

Sarah Puckett narrates this fully voiced production. I loved her voice and she did this book justice. I did get confused at times trying to figure out who was talking in the narrative portions. I lost track of whether it was Nikki or Cole’s point of view, there wasn’t enough variation in the characters tone to easily tell the difference. I had to rewind some parts to figure it out. The strong story easily overcame the temporary frustration and I enjoyed this 11-hour audiobook immensely.

This audiobook was received in exchange for an unbiased review!

Robotic Narration

I just couldn’t listen anymore. The narration was too robotic. It was like listening to someone reading a textbook. She has a nice voice but the delivery was lacking.

It's a great story

If you could sum up Breaking Skin in three words, what would they be?

Clear Good Full

What did you like best about this story?

I really liked the story line of this book! I found the characters completely described and fill out well as the story proceeds.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Sarah Puckett?

At this point, I'm not sure, but I LOVE the tone of her voice, so I'm hoping that the mechanical sort of reading will smooth out as she reads more.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

To fight or not to fight.....

Any additional comments?

I really liked the story in the book, and I thought the Debra Doxer did a wonderful job describing and rounding out both that and the characters. Although I like the sound of Sarah Puckett's voice, the throaty rasp in her voice is pleasant to listen to, I didn't feel like she connected with the story. It was hard to feel the connection between the characters for me. And it was also difficult at times to tell who was "speaking" but that was not constant.

5 Believing Stars

What a beautiful love story. Both Cole and Nikki are broken in their own ways and this is their story of finding their path, forging through all of the obstacles that will hopefully lead back to each other. There are a few twists and turns throughout the story that keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

I enjoyed Sarah Puckett's narration of this story and her ability to bring the emotions of this love story to life.