Breakaway

Catherine Gayle

Dec 2013 · Bons Mots, Inc.

About this ebook

USA Today bestselling author Catherine Gayle presents the first novel in the emotional Portland Storm hockey romance series.

Portland Storm captain Eric “Zee” Zellinger knows how to get the job done, but leading his once elite team to victory is fast becoming a losing battle. He can’t lose focus now—not with his career on the line. But when his best friend’s little sister makes him an offer he can’t refuse, Eric could lose the drive the team relies on from their captain.

Still in a downward spiral after a life-altering event in college, Dana Campbell is desperate to try anything to break away from the horror of that fateful night—even enlisting the help of the only man she trusts completely.

No matter how irresistible she is or how tempting the offer, Eric might not be able to cross that line—especially with the team’s chance at the playoffs on the line. Now, Eric has to take one last shot, but will he choose Dana’s Breakaway chance at happiness or the move that could secure his career?

The Portland Storm series reading order:

1. Breakaway

2. On the Fly

3. Taking a Shot

4. Light the Lamp

5. Delay of Game

6. Double Major

7. In the Zone

8. Holiday Hat Trick

9. Comeback

10. Dropping Gloves

11. Home Ice

12. Mistletoe Misconduct

13. Losing an Edge

14. Game Breaker

15. Defensive Zone

16. Power Play

17. Neutral Zone

18. Free Agent - coming soon

19. Journeyman - coming soon

20. Sleigh Bells & Slap Shots - coming soon

The Portland Storm series is a hockey romance series, but it is about a lot more than just hockey. Serious themes are explored in each book, including rape, cancer, addiction, miscarriage, molestation, grief, and many others. If you have triggers, please be aware that some or all of these books could contain material which would trigger you. Even if you don't have triggers, consider this your tissue warning. You could ugly cry while reading them.

KEYWORDS: sports romance, hockey romance, athlete, tearjerker, emotional romance, brother's best friend, forbidden romance, rape, ptsd, panic attacks, free sports romance, free ebook, free, first in series, free first in series, jock

Ratings and reviews

Victim of a brutal rape decides, with the help of the only man she trusts, to reclaim her life. Incredibly handled showing the trauma, the effect a rape has on those who love the target of the attack and the courage it takes and work involved in relearning to trust, to laugh, and to love again. Set against the hockey world (hunky and protective men, Yum!), informative, romantic, and yes even fun.

I love sports romance. I eat it up and this book was no different. This is the first book in the Portland Storm series and I'm going to be waiting on the edge of my seat for the next one. Dana Campbell went through a terrible tragedy 7 years ago and she is still trying to work her way through the emotions and scars, both emotional and physical, from that experience. She has panic attacks and anxiety, so she decides that she has to find a way to get past this hurdle that is beginning to define her life. Enter Eric Zellinger, a member of the Portland Storm and Dana's brother's best friend. Eric is trying to prove himself on the ice while he's been asked by Dana to help her overcome the fears that have been plaguing her for years now. Does he have it in him to split his focus between his job and this woman who desperately needs his help? Does what starts out as a favor turn into something more for Dana and Zee? How will they both handle it if it does? Catherine Gayle does an incredible job of showing the reader how Dana has handled her situation and shows the growth she experiences as she deals with her recovery and how friends, family and the right guy can make all the difference

Breakaway hit home with me on so many levels, and it made me appreciate the story all the more. Dana is a young woman that had a bright future in hockey until one terrible night after a game when she was brutally raped by a group of men. She is a former shell of herself for the obvious reasons, but she knows that she needs to overcome her fear of men to live again. After seven years of self-imprisonment she has come up with a plan to begin the healing process. She travels to visit her brothers best friend, Eric to enlist his help. Eric has always loved Dana but knows that nothing could ever come from that love, but when she shows up asking for help he cannot say no. What is supposed to be a courtship of healing becomes a full-out romance that neither Dana or Eric can prevent from happening or the heartbreak that could come from it. Breakaway is very emotional, and you feel for Dana every step of the way. Your heart breaks for her when she try’s to overcome the things we take for granted; like receiving a touch on the arm. Eric is a wonderful man that wants to do right by the woman he secretly loves, his best friend (her brother) and the hockey team he is captain of. Not everything

About the author

Catherine Gayle is a USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty contemporary hockey romance and Regency-set historical romance novels and novellas, with more than half a million books sold. She’s a transplanted Texan living in North Carolina with two extremely spoiled felines. In her spare time, she watches way too much hockey and reality TV, plans fun things to do for the Nephew Monster’s next visit, and performs experiments in the kitchen which are rarely toxic.

Sign up for her newsletter to receive a free Portland Storm short story called ICE BREAKER, available only to newsletter subscribers. http://eepurl.com/GXcwr