Like Real People Do

Breakaway, Book 1

By: E.L. Massey

Narrated by: Lance West

Nineteen-year-old hockey phenom Alexander Price is the youngest-ever captain in the NHL. With a polarizing social media presence and a predilection for dirty play, he typifies the stereotype of young, out-of-control athlete. But away from the cameras, Alex is a kid with an anxiety disorder and the expectations of an expansion franchise on his shoulders. And maybe he tries too hard to fit the part of asshole playboy, but it's better than the alternative; in his line of work, gay is the punchline of an insult, not something he can be.

Eighteen-year-old vlogger Elijah Rodriguez is a freshman in college recovering from an injury that derailed his Olympic figure-skating dreams. Mixed-race, disabled, and out of the closet since he was fourteen, Eli is unapologetically himself. He has no qualms about voicing his disapproval of celebrity jocks who make homophobic jokes on Twitter and park their flashy cars in the handicapped spaces outside of ice rinks.

After an antagonistic introduction, Alex and Eli's inexplicable friendship both baffles and charms the internet. But navigating relationships is hard enough for normal teenagers. It's a lot harder when the world—much of it disapproving—is watching you fall in love with your best friend.

©2022 E.L. Massey (P)2022 Tantor Media

Love these characters so much!

I’ve read and reread this whole series more times than I can count. And as someone who loves these books, this audiobook adaptation is outstanding. The narrator gave a great performance that added a new dimension to the experience for me as a reader/listener. Can’t wait for the next one to come out (no pun intended).

Love this book <3

I have loved this book for years and was beyond thrilled for it to finally get an audiobook. I adore Alex, Eli, and the entire complement of lovable side characters. It is such a sweet, heartwarming romance but is also funny and touches on serious topics like seizures and anxiety while remaining light and uplifting. Can’t wait for the rest of the books in this series to get their audiobooks as well!

Love it.

Just as wonderful as the book itself. I love these two. Can’t wait for the rest of the series, especially Matts’s book.

A sweet HEA story

I selected this book based on a recomendation from a Youtube vlogger. I had some confusion about character names early on and stopped to try and figure out the problem. Previous reviewers explained that the narrator did use the wrong name. Also, I had a lot of difficulty with who was speaking because it seemed like voices were not distinctive to each character. I don't know if this book was self-published, but it really needed a thorough editor. And shame on the prodction editor for not stopping and correcting the mistakes during recodring. That's a terrible thing to do to a wtiter and to the listener.

Great book, very subpar narration

I feel like tantor did EL Massey dirty with this audiobook. The narrator made an astonishing number of mistakes, and also had a pretty insufferable habit of over enunciating EVERYTHING. it’s like every word had a period after it, sometimes every syllable. It was a bit less noticeable when the speed was increased, but still drew me out of the story frequently bc the tone and emphasis would be so wildly off for the emotion of the scene. Zero accent work, which I guess is better than a poorly done accent, but disappointing. I hope the next book has a different narrator.