Beautiful Romance Revealing Itself

So I just did a reread of this for about the 5th time. The book is on audio for the first time and I was blessed enough to be asked to listen and review the audio.

This story has stuck in my mind since I first read it in 2018. It was one of the first MMF romances I ever read and it moved me so much. We have a married couple you has been perfectly content in their routine. Even though our heroine Liberty has severe OCD, her and her husband, Mason, are able to cope and get along just fine.

Things are just starting to change and evolve for them when Mason's ex-partner, Sean comes to town after losing his father. He didn't know the man he loved was married to a woman, let alone this odd but gorgeous goddess.

What follows is a beautiful story of learning who we really are, giving up control, and trusting ourselves to people who love us. I am always stunned by the trust and growth in these characters and this time was no different.

However, since I was reviewing the audio this time.. I have to be honest that I did not mesh with the performance of the narrator for this one.. It was stilted and awkward at many times. I was constantly adjusting the speed to try and settle in and it was a rough go. Once I got about halfway through... I actually had to put down the audio and pick up my paper copy to finish my reread in peace.

I stand by loving this story with all my heart, but as an audio lover... this was not for me.

1 person found this helpful

Worth the listen

I went into this one pretty much blind. Saw the word menage and was like say no more! With a book of this length I go in expecting a little build up before anything of spicy nature takes place and this one was not like that at all. You're thrown in right out of the gate and I'm not complaining!

So, so much happens in this book and I thought that the way Michaels handled this book and the intricacies of trauma that were displayed within were well done. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors of polyamorous relationships because she doesn't shy away from the struggles and make things easy peasy like some others do. I enjoy that nitty gritty and realness! You can still have that and a HEA.

I listened to the audio book and... how does Lance West speak so slowly? Don't get me wrong, his voice is really soothing and calming but I listened to this at 2x speed just to get it too what seemed like a normal reading speed. You can even brave 3x speed if you want without having to focus overly hard.

His voices are great, and his shifts between characters is clean and even the perspective he's narrating can be picked up with this alone. He's clean, precise, and somehow those aspects made it seem more dirty to hear him reading some of these scenes. I'm newer to audio books so all the filth I've read has been in my own head. This one made me blush. I don't know if it was the almost innocent vibes of Lance's voice or that I'm just not used to hearing other people read the spicy bits, but oof. All of that is funny seeing as I follow other narrators who are super spicy but I've only ever heard short clips (that, yes, are also blush inducing). New k*nk unlocked? IDK 😂

Sexy, moving, and loving

I have read a few other books by this author that were a little more on the sweet drama side so when reading this one it was a lot more erotic than I was expecting. It is a poly story and filled with lots of scenes of intimacy. The characters all had things they were battling from their past and it made the storyline interesting to follow. I struggled a little with the narration since the change in character is often making it hard for 1 person to clearly change to three making me slightly lost at times. Overall I loved the connection the characters had and the intimacy was hot.

*I received this audiobook for free in hopes for an honest review. I wrote this review willingly

Totally Unexpected and Steamy! Elizabeth @ Carolina Chic’s Read

I have loved everything about this book. It is emotional, sexy and full of so much chemistry.. it was flowing out of me as I was reading. I got an opportunity to review via audio and at first I was ok with the narration but as the story develops this narration is spot on… smooth and hard when needed.

Emotional, sexy, riveting

Wow! Breaking Perfect is so much more than just an erotic romance. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's sexy - to be more accurate, it's scorching hot, like set the curtains on fire hot. But this book is a lot more than that. It's an emotional journey that is absolutely riveting. Liberty's journey is a little dark, a little gritty, completely gripping, and intense - yeah, that's the word that sums it up. Intense. Of course, I expect an emotional journey from a Lydia Michaels book. She always pulls out all the feels, so I'd have been surprised if that were missing. I've listened to a few Lydia Michaels books at this point, but I'm still fairly new to her work, so I don't know if this is her first menage/poly story or not, but it's one of the best I've had the pleasure of reading. These characters are absolutely lovable, and Liberty's guys are the best of both worlds. I usually end up favoring one guy over the other in these kinds of stories, but I really don't think I could choose a favorite here. That may have fluctuated throughout the book, but by the end, it was pretty equal, and I loved them both for different reasons.
Lance West narrated Breaking Perfect, and to be totally honest, the narration is the only reason this book was knocked down a star. He sometimes felt a little dramatic to me with pauses and emphasis in some odd places. Then around the mid-point of chapter 15, he clears his throat. Now, I'm sure that's an honest mistake that was just missed, but it's pretty distinct on the audio. West did grow on me as the story progressed, and he did a good job of giving each character a distinct voice, which I appreciated greatly.
To sum it up, Breaking Perfect (a perfect title, by the way) is a terrific story, and as I mentioned, I don't know if Michaels is new to menage/poly romances or not, but I sure hope she has more to come.

new to me author

This was my first book by this author and also the first time reading about a poly relationship.

I like that this book covered the POV of all three characters. I feel like that helped develop all of the characters well and give the reader a deeper look into each character. I really liked Liberty and was glad that Mason was so supportive and willing to help Liberty through her OCD and panic disorders.

Liberty, Mason, and Sean all had great chemistry together.

I think the narrator did a really good job of voicing three different characters and making sure each one sounded distinct so the listener could tell everyone apart.

A Masterclass In Menages

Breaking Perfect is hands-down a masterclass in the menage genre. Michaels expertly crafts a tangled web of characters and dynamics that coalesce into a brilliant narrative. Do yourself a favor and read this!

Absolutely phenomenal poly book

Lydia Michaels wrote an absolutely phenomenal poly book with such heart and heat it blew my mind! The characters are so stunningly perfectly written you can’t help but feel like you know them. The story is so achingly beautiful with it’s real life emotions and struggles it breaks your heart and remakes it all in one! 10/10!
I don’t normally care for solo narration but The narrator Lance West does an exceptional job with all three characters and his inflections are on point!

So steamy

This is my very first book by Lydia and I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for hot and steamy this book is for you. Lance West did an amazing job at narrating! I like his soothing voice.

Great storyline + off the chart heat!

Got a little more than I bargained for with this Lydia Michaels book. I've read her last several that have come out, but she obviously wrote straight up erotica in her earlier books. This is a 5 flame for heat book.

The storyline was very good. Liberty suffers from OCD and a panic disorder that causes her to want to hurt herself when her life isn't absolutely perfect in her eyes. Her husband, Mason, has learned to do things to help her with the conditions and tries so hard to keep her safe. When a man from Mason's past shows up at their door, it could drive Liberty over the edge, but Sean seems to have just the opposite effect on her. All three of them have their issues to deal with and they help each other throughout the story and the "bedroom scenes" play a huge part in that.

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Lance West and the narration was superb.

I was gifted a copy of this audiobook by Valentine PR. All thoughts are my own.