Break Me Like a Promise (Once Upon a Crime Family #2)
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: June 7th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Retellings, Contemporary
Rate: 4/5 stars
Synopsis:
No one is unbreakable.
All Magnolia Vickers has ever wanted was to follow father’s path as head of the Family Business. But new legislation is poised to destroy the Family’s operations in the black-market organ trade and Maggie’s recent behavior has wrecked the business-savvy reputation she’s worked her whole life to build.
She’s given an ultimatum: shape up or step aside.
Then Maggie messes up: she downloads a virus onto her father’s computer, and must sneak it off-estate for repair. When Alex, a tech whiz, uncovers the type of information on the machine, he offers Maggie a choice: her Family can give him a kidney, or he’ll irreparably scramble the data. Maggie agrees, but has no intention of keeping her promise or every seeing him again. That night Alex shows up at her Family estate with copies of confidential Family files and a shocking revelation—the kidney is for him.
The Vickers aren’t willing to let Alex out of their sight, so he moves onto their estate and Maggie is assigned to be his keeper. A task she resents and he enjoys making as challenging as possible. But procuring black market organs is becoming increasingly difficult, and as Alex’s health declines, she’s surprised to find herself falling for him.
Like it or not, Maggie must accept that if she wants to save Alex’s life and carve out a place in the new legalized organ business, she’s going to have to fight for both.
I had heard about the first book in the series, Hold Me Like a Breath, last year when it first came out, but I didn’t get the chance to read it until recently. I absolutely loved that one, and I was so excited for the chance to read and review this book, as well. If you haven’t read the first book in the series, you should, because it’s amazing, and this one is as well.
Maggie Vickers wants to follow after her father, who is the head of a crime family that sells organs. Yep, that’s right – they sell organs illegally on the black market, making a ton of money. Interesting way to make a living, I suppose, but definitely makes for a great book. However, Maggie has been giving her father and the others a hard time with things lately, and they pretty much tell her that she needs to stop acting like a diva or she will not get to part of the business.
When Maggie accidentally downloads some questionable stuff onto her father’s computer, she needs to find someone to help her wipe it clean and fix the damage she’s done before her family tells her that she’s done with the business. So she enlists the help of tech-savvy Alex, but when he finds out what is on that computer, he isn’t too happy. So, she gets another ultimatum: she gets her family to give him a kidney or he’s going to destroy the data on the computer that her family relies on.
Maggie obviously has to agree, because she can’t completely mess up the business for her family, and from there things kind of get a little crazy.
It’s a bit predictable, the things that happen between Maggie and Alex, but it still kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it, which I loved. This is definitely an amazing thriller, and those of you who follow my blog or read my other reviews probably already know that I’m a sucker for thrillers. This one really didn’t disappoint, and the entire series has such an awesome premise that I just found myself really drawn to it. I’ve read a lot of books, but this was just so original.
The characters are written with such a depth that you can’t help but fall in love with them from the very first time you meet them. I loved that the most about the book – they were so easy to connect to and develop feelings for, that I found myself really enjoying this book, and was kind of sad when I had finished it.
Note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Tiffany Schmidt lives in Pennsylvania with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous puggles. She’s not at all superstitious… at least that’s what she tells herself every Friday the thirteenth.
SEND ME A SIGN is her first novel. BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE will follow in Winter, 2014. The ONCE UPON A CRIME FAMILY series begins with HOLD ME LIKE A BREATH in 2015. You can find out more about her and her books at: TiffanySchmidt.com, TiffanySchmidtWrites.Tumblr.com or by following her on Twitter @TiffanySchmidt.
I love when authors can create characters to love and that seem real to the reader. Plus, this book has lots of exciting things happening that I hope never to be involved with–just while I’m reading this exciting series!
Haha, same…I sure wouldn’t want to be involved with any of those things, either! But it certainly does make for a great read!
I was a big fan on Hold Me Like A Breath! I can’t wait to read this book!
I have been seeing this book around a lot lately. It looks really cool and I think I’m going to have to pick it up! I enjoy a good thriller and selling black market organs sounds incredibly interesting! And I love that you think the characters are so wonderful, that definitely makes me want to read it even more! Thanks for a great review! I will definitely be picking this series up!
Thanks! It definitely is a good book…kind of a little unsettling though, lol. I hope you enjoy it if you pick it up!