Hi there, and welcome to my stop on the BREAK IT UP blog tour sponsored by AToMR Book Tours. If you’d like to stop by the other tour sites, click here. Today’s book, BREAK IT UP, is a YA Romance by E. M. Tippetts and it’s a solid read.

What’s it all about?
Kyra Armijo is making a few changes in her life. One of them being, she’s no longer going to give it up to every guy who looks at her twice. And she’s putting her hopes and dreams for her future first. When the aspiring photojournalist gets the opportunity of a lifetime to tag along with international boy band sensation, Triple Cross, she can’t pass up the chance.

The only problem is that she’s in love with one band member, dodging the unwanted attention of another, and desperate to keep her turbulent past under wraps. Triple Cross have “nice guy” appeal, approved of by parents the world over, but have just let go their longtime manager, who controlled their clean image and media exposure with an iron fist. When Zach Wechsler, the object of Kyra’s affection, begins to show interest, she has to be careful.

Surely one girl can’t destroy a band that’s been together for ten years… only what if she can? Kyra knows she’s one bad decision away from ruining everything she’s worked for, and taking the hottest act of her generation down with her.

My Review:
I liked this one from the start. Kyra is a witty, savvy narrator who takes us on her redemption tale–only to have her whole life go up in tabloid. The low-down: Kyra’s mother abandoned her at birth and her father raised her. Despite his best intentions Kyra was a wild child. She carries the baggage of her promiscuous ways, and, at 18, is only just seeing the value in valuing herself.

She has a tremendously supportive family, including her step-mother Jen and her step-uncle, Jason Vanderholt–Jen’s twin and (also) a movie star. In fact her oblique celebrity through Jason is what gets Kyra and a couple friends invited for dinner with Triple Cross when they layover in Albuquerque. It’s problematic, in that Kyra’s a fangirl. She’s so nervous she’s unaccountably shy, which appeals to Zach, soulful center of the band. They sleep together–operative word SLEEP–and not long after Zach begins to text her up.

See, he’s kinda lonely. Now that his mother’s isolating influence is gone, Zach realizes he doesn’t know the first thing about managing his band–or his band mates, his brother Logan and cousin Ben. Kyra had been such a good listener over their night together, he continues to lean on her. It’s sweet and not at all sassy. In fact he’d really like Kyra to go on their new European tour to hang out and help out with the tour movie–if she’s interested.

Actually Kyra isn’t interested. She feels unable to control her attraction for Zach, and senses that he’d never consider her romantically if her knew her sordid sexual history–something Ben makes crystal-clear. Because Ben is all about the bad girls and want Kyra to get on board/on bed (?). It’s a twisted love triangle. In the face of Zach’s pleading, and against her better wishes, Kyra caves.

Each step along the way Kyra gets deeper into the murk. Zach clearly has an  attraction, and Ben isn’t even subtle about his desire. Triple Cross struggles as Ben goes AWOL and shows up late for concerts–only Kyra can rein him in. And the videographers are taking unlimited footage of the wheels coming off this wagon.  Meanwhile Kyra’s desperate to stay out of the limelight and tabloids. Unsuccessfully.

In truth, I loved the strength that Kyra exhibited in her trial-by-media. For someone so young she behaved in an admirable way. Throughout her redemption she made her boundaries clear, and kept her relationships professional–something few girls in her position might have even contemplated. It’s a story of self-love, and finding the strength to succeed when the whole world (quite literally–you should have seen the flame wars!) is against you. While the book is marketed for New Adult, I’d recommend it to older teens and above. It really felt YA to me.

Interested? You can find BREAK IT UP on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble—TOMORROW! (I will come back and update with the Live links…when they ARE live!)

About the Author
Emily Mah Tippetts writes romance as E.M. Tippetts and science fiction and fantasy as Emily Mah. She is a former attorney with degrees in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University and business law from UCLA, and currently lives in her lifelong home state of New Mexico with her family. For more information or to sign up for updates on future book releases, visit her website, follow her on twitter or Facebook.

***GIVEAWAY***
(5) Print copies of Break It Up – International
(1) Swag pack including a temporary tattoo of Kyra’s tattoo from the book – International
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! and as always, keep reading, my friends!