Julia Finch is running away as usual. But after taking a detour due to a blocked road her car ends up breaking down in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Despite Julia's somewhat hostile manner a chance conversation leads to a man named Ed offering to pay to get her car fixed in exchange for a job and a room on the ranch he helps manage. Julia is not an animal person and loathes the idea of being in debt to someone but no car means no getaway so she reluctantly says yes.

Ranch owner Elena is not happy about some city slicker working on her ranch but then she sees that Julia has an instinctive touch with the horses and allows her to stay. Elena is a very guarded person, her wife died in a car accident leaving her a single mum to now-teenage Cole, and then when she opened her heart to previous ranch hand Penn, she suddenly abandoned them.

The brilliant thing about this book is the title about "breaking down her walls" applies to both of them, Elena's been hurt before and Julia's chequered past in foster care makes her unwilling to open up and both have trust issues. This was beautiful and I loved the slow-burn development of their relationship. I did want more of the after and I wanted to know more about the side characters, they weren't as well developed.

This is a good old fashioned romance novel. I don't mean that to sound derogatory. it just is a good romance one for a sunny day sitting in the sun.

The incredible scenery described sounds like heaven on earth. In the middle of nowhere on a ranch with some wonderful horses.

It's a story about breaking down the walls we are all guilty off for putting up when we get hurt.

It's also about breaking down age gaps. It's also about forgiving not only ourselves but also forgiving others.

It's really a nice read. So put your feet up, grab a coffee and relax.

Enjoy!


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4101344130

Breaking Down Her Walls wasn't what I expected, and all in all, it kind of let me down. I was excited when I found, what seemed to me like a lesbian Hallmark movie in book form and the story definitely had everything I was looking for. But, while the romance between the two characters kept me reading, I wasn’t in love with the way this book was written.

This book follows Julia as she attempts to escape her past and ends up stuck in small town Colorado without a working car. And wouldn’t you know it? She meets Elena Bennett, and begins a temporary job at Bennett Ranch. The first couple chapters were fine, but I found myself struggling to really get into the story and ignore the sometimes lack of descriptive writing. The language in this book felt a little cold to me and took away from the plot. I ended up feeling like I was slogging through much of this book and actually put it aside a couple times in order to read something else.

Don’t get me wrong, though the writing didn’t have a lot of warmth, Elena and Julia sure did. Both characters were guarded and this novel definitely had a bit of a slow burn, but it was also just as sexy as I expected it to be and didn’t take too long to get there. I enjoyed the romantic cheesiness of this book and the overblown drama the characters got into.

Overall this book wasn’t my favorite, but I still enjoyed reading it and will recommend to anyone looking for an easy (kind of cliché) read.

This might be due to my mood when I started reading this book, but I just couldn't get into it. I liked the characters but got a little bored reading this.

I love this author's work she draws you in. She really developed a friendship with Julia and Elena. I hope there is a part 2 I want to know what happens with these characters. Well written story that leaves you wanting more. Highly recommend.

This book is another solid read written by Ms. Zak. Like many other reviewers I struggled with the tense of this book and had a difficult time adjusting to it. With that aside, everything else was good for me....well written and developed characters and a nice romance. Overall good read.

Breaking Down Her Walls is a great read for the year. The only quirk might be getting used to the point of view. Otherwise this is well written and has great characters.

I had trouble with the tense that the novel was written in also - first person present tense is tough, and it took me a few chapters to feel the flow of the writing style. I just didn't like the flow

3.8 stars rounded up to 4.

This is my first book from Erin Zak and it was a pleasant enough read.

The main character Julia is a runaway young woman with a chip on her shoulder. At first, I had found her unlikeable because she seemed very immature for her 27 years and she made questionable decisions ((view spoiler) But I admit I did find myself warming up to Julia and her "useless lesbian" trope when it comes to being around Elena, our MC's love interest.

Elena is an older woman (45, if I remember correctly) with a son that you can't but fall in love with. She is the "ice queen" as many other reviewers has pointed out but she seemed more aloof and guarded to me because she does warm up to Julia fairly quickly.

The romance is a slow-burn and it was at times a bit too trying with the forced angst and drama with an ex that didn't do much to the plot. I didn't hate the coupling but Julia's and Elena's relationship didn't jump off the page for me but it was interesting enough for me to finish the book in one sitting.

My favourite character had to be Leia (the horse not the beloved Star Wars Princess- although she was named after her) and she was every inch a badass as her predecessor.

Erin Zak does a great job describing the ranch life and environment (even if it was just mostly shovelling manure into a wheelbarrow). There isn't an onslaught of just useless information that readers could care less so that's always a plus.

The writing is good and flows nicely enough. At some points of the book I found myself laughing out loud. While the book is a bit angst there is enough humour in it that keeps it from being too much.

All in all, Breaking Down Her Walls is a decent read and for readers who love f-f relationships that take place on a ranch with the age-gap trope.

I received this ARC from BSB via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The setting of this book made it so much fun to read and the characters were just as interesting to read about and get to know. My biggest problem with this book is that it was written in third person present tense, but that's my biggest issue with it. Love!

Short Spoiler Free Review
"When a meeting with her birth parents goes horribly wrong, Julia escapes on a hastily planned road trip and winds up breaking down in a Colorado town so small the cows outnumber the people. Completely out of her element, she takes a temporary job as a ranch hand at Bennett Ranch. She only has to survive long enough to get her car fixed, and then she's out of there for good.
Her bad luck continues when she meets the ranch owner, Elena Bennett. Elena is unhappy, abrasive, and annoyingly breathtaking. But the longer Julia stays, the more the ranch starts to feel like home, and her feelings for Elena become impossible to ignore. She's spent years building her defenses high and running from her past. Could a love worth staying for be the key to breaking down her walls?"
(Young Adult / Romance/ LGBT)
Big thank you to NetGalley for sending me this book to review.
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I.Loved.This.
That's it. Review over. I loved it. 😂
Romance is not usually my genre but I literally fell in love with this story and couldn't put it down for the life of me. Erin Zak is now one of my favourite authors, her writing style is incredible! The characters she has created are just infectious and I absolutely loved all of the flirtyness in this story. I'm literally a sucker for this story right now.
The story line was really good and there was also a lot going on in the background which kept it going too. I would definitely recommend this book if you like romance and it's a great story for the LGBT community 🙌🏼.
Anyway, now all I want to do is work in a ranch, get a horse and wear flannel shirts and cowboys hats so 🐴...

While Julia is endlessly running from everything to deal with her past, Elena is rooted to her ranch, trying to find some stability after a number of rocky years. Each woman's story is slowly dragged out by the other, and the beginning of their intimacy is one overshadowed by the return of Elena's ex, Penn, at the start of the ranching season(?) The depth of each character is brought out through often endearing events - Julia's instant and easy communication with the horses, her encouragement of and friendship with Elena's son, and her slow but steady acceptance into the ranch's family/friend group.

I loved most things about this book. The actual depth of the characters, the way that being gay wasn't made a super huge deal of and the instances of explicit intimacy that were sweet and playful. I know I do have some bias against romance, for a lot of reasons, but this is definitely a book to bring me around to the genre.

This was such a great read! I flew through it so fast that I might read it again. Such a heartwarming, emotional story with characters who grew on me instantly!

This is a novel that is wonderful from beginning to end. The main characters, Julia and Elena, are fully fleshed out. The plot is engaging and has no holes. If you are looking for a romance book that is a bit different than your typical books, I would recommend this. I don't want to give much away, but the typical event is a ex that does not want to leave. A great read!
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. Great writing, a good story and likeable main characters. I liked that the story focussed on character flaws rather than an external factor that the characters had to deal with. It meant that as you went along, you could connect with what they were feeling and how they were behaving, and it brought them to life. The setting was well described, took me onto the ranch in my cowboy hat watching the action close up. Well worth a read.

A fast read, I was really excited for it as a lesbian myself, but not sure it lived up to my expectations. The pace of the book was a little wonky and the characters were pretty plain and not 3D at all.

Personally I liked the setting more than the characters. Elena and Julia were not very original, and the thing with the past relationship?? That didn't work for me at all.

I enjoyed this book and read it more quickly than I expected. The two main characters were well developed, as was Cole. The conflict moved the pace and added a sense of 'will she bolt or won't she'. I loved how the horses were shown, treated and handled. It's clear to me (a former horse person) that the author knows a thing or two about rising, as was evidenced by the whole runners vs boots for riding. So kudos for knowing her stuff!
My only complaint is the cover. In my opinion, it didn't match the story at all. No, the pair of runners on the cover wasn't enough for me. This was a chance to show off the countryside where the ranch was supposed to be, or at least put some horses on there. So that was a bit disappointing.
But the writing inside the cover is sweet, slower paced (which is a relief to read sometimes) and a balm for a heart hardening by the real world.
I would absolutely read this one again and again.

Breaking Down Her Walls is another solid story from Erin Zak. Julia has always run from trouble rather than engaging and ends up in rural Colorado after leaving Chicago in some distress. Cue wonderful scenery, cowboys, and a fiery ranch owner – but will Julia run again? I liked the characters of Julia and Elena and their story but wasn't very keen on any of the other characters. Protective maybe but mean and not nice with it, at least at first. I learnt some new things about ranching and Colorado, which is a bonus, even though it is an alien world to me.
The writing is excellent, the story well-told, and there are some very hot scenes. I didn’t quite love it because of the supporting characters, but that’s just me. Overall four-and-a-half stars but rounded up - and highly recommended. Looking forward to more from Erin Zak.

I really enjoyed this. I was a little hesitant going in because everything about this book is foreign to me. I've lived outside of a large city my entire life and therefore the ranching world is something that I have no knowledge in. Zak's writing was so descriptive that I had no problem picturing what was going on on the ranch.

I love an ice queen so I had no issue liking Elena, although I do wish she had kept some more of the iciness as the book went on. Her son was a welcome addition. I typically prefer an older child in a romance book than toddler age. The secondary characters had well developed personalities and were enjoyable.

I appreciate that the appearance of the ex didn't cause huge issues. The two mains talked to each other and were mostly on the same page.

I definitely recommend this.

(A copy of the book was generously given to me by BSB through NetGalley)