3.5 stars, being a middle book is so hard.

Rory and Houston. Houston and Rory. Once again, they're torn apart by Houston's sister, Hallie. Hallie committed suicide and the truth of why has finally come out, but Rory and Houston can hardly handle it, let alone handle everything else happening in their lives. Suddenly family is involved, their parents, their friends, and Houston's wife. Rory uses the big explosion from book one, Hallie committed suicide because of her love for Rory's father, Houston's wife attacked Rory, and Houston went after her, to make a quick decision to go with Liam to California. Liam was the gentle, handsome, lumberjack of a man that stood by as Rory's friend as she tried to figure out what she wanted. California is not just sunny and golden however, there's jealousy, a book to finally complete, and Houston working behind the scenes to help Rory out. Liam is not all he seems to be and Rory may find that listening to her heart is better than listening to her head.

If you think you know what is coming in this book, you don't. Cassia Leo has done it again with even more twists you wouldn't expect, both the good and bad kind of twists. The characters are even better in The Way We Break, the relationships are more believable, the tones of voices different, and they all have such a specific role in the plot you wouldn't believe any are considered secondary. Rory has grown in leaps and bounds since book one, her thought process is different, her reactions make more sense, and the way she carries herself, even with indecision on her mind, is so much more realistic. I really rooted for Rory in this one, I didn't like Liam at all at first, but I wanted Rory happy. Of course, Liam is a jerk, Rory isn't happy, and Houston gets to be a hero. I loved watching the progress of the book, the relationship between Hannah and Rory as authors, and the blooming friendship between Patricia, Kenny, and Houston was so cute. Yes, cute.

Unfortunately, middle books are just hard to make the best. They're stuck between an awesome first book and the knowledge that all the answers are found in the third. Cassia Leo did an excellent job of wrapping up plot holes from The Way We Fall in The Way We Break and introduced new plot lines. Unfortunately, some of the unbelievable stuff that happens seems too good to be true, or too bad to be true. Liam's change is the most drastic, and while believable in book two, I couldn't see him being like this in The Way We Fall. The relationship between Rory and Liam was the hardest for me, even before the twist. Rory doesn't seem to like Liam much, except when they have sex, and even then she's comparing. I know she made a split second decision to move to California, but it doesn't seem like she committed to it more than used it as a way to run away. The jumping around in this book was still difficult at points, especially in two different locations now.

Overall, The Way We Break was a good connection between book one and book three. The new plot will hold you in, because it answers a lot from book one, but not everything. You'll root for Rory and Houston and you'll root for Houston the most, he's been through so much. ( )