Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Break Me

Rate this book
The moment she walked into my classroom I knew she was trouble.
Beautiful and mysterious, she’s the kind of girl who is used to getting what she wants.
And what she wants is me.
I never thought I would cross that line with a student.
Until she forces me.
My life is turned upside down and there’s nothing I can do to stop her.
It’s her word against mine.
I’m trapped, cornered, a pawn in her sick, twisted little game.
I have no idea why she’s doing this.
Or when she will stop.
The crazy thing is, even with everything I stand to lose,
I’m not sure I want her to.

Book one in a series of dark, age gap novels.
Each book in this series is a COMPLETE, FULL LENGTH novel.

Unknown Binding

First published December 9, 2021

39 people are currently reading
300 people want to read

About the author

Ivy Arnold

11 books120 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
33 (17%)
4 stars
55 (29%)
3 stars
61 (32%)
2 stars
25 (13%)
1 star
13 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for kat.
604 reviews243 followers
Read
October 4, 2023
tw : sexual assault, child sexual abuse (flashbacks), on consensual sex, rough sex, and mental health issues.

I thought I had posted this review, but instead, it's been sitting in my drafts for two years...

❛ 𝐒𝐀𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃 ❜
our perverted hero is married and has a kid. in his spare time, he searches for his missing sister on porn sites, hoping he will find her there. later on, he stops looking for her and starts looking at women with schoolgirl outfits. now, sam says he's not addicted to porn, but he is. his wife knows he has a thing for women in schoolgirl outfits and their marriage is falling apart. but they still want to fix it, like, no, just get a divorce, and put me out of my freaking misery.

❛ 𝐂𝐇𝐋𝐎𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃 ❜
the heroine has serious mental health issues and she's his student. I don't remember this part—it's like my mind blocked it out—but for some reason, chloe wants revenge for whatever it is that sam did to her in the past, and her brother is in on the plan as well because they need the money.

❛ 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 ❜
chloe pays someone to beat her up and frantically calls him. he comes, takes care of her, and while she pretends to sleep, he takes a picture of her.
“That's the second time I've caught you staring at me, Mr. Reed,” she murmurs, her voice raspy, covering herself up. I feel my cheeks heating. “Sorry.”


❛ 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 ❜
chloe forces herself to hyperventilate and calls him telling him someone drugged her at the party. he picks her up and takes her back to the hotel. she offers him a drink and he accepts it but what he doesn't know is that his drink is drugged. he passes out, and when he wakes up, he realizes she is raping him.

later, I find out all of this was his wife's plan because she wants custody of their child, so she tells the heroine to get pregnant with his kid. she needs proof to show to the court that he's a predator, but alas, chloe kills her before she can do anything. bummer.

and, at the end of the book, chloe gets released from the psych ward. they confess their undying love to each other and live happily ever after—the way the story unfolded made me think there won't be a happily ever after in this book, and to be honest, I wanted it to go in that direction.

oh, and her brother? yeah, he's dead. she imagined him in her head all this time. okay, this I didn't see coming. I didn't pay much attention to her brother. oh, and chloe? she gets pregnant with sam's kid.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jenn (The Book Refuge).
2,679 reviews4,499 followers
June 13, 2022
I don't quite know what was happening with this one.. Student/teacher taboo Romance, with blackmail and mental illness and PTSD thrown in as well.

Kind of thriller-y and it definitely was spicy.

3 star
4 on the spice scale

TW: mental illness, PTSD, drugging, dubious consent
Profile Image for daemyra, the realm's delight.
1,311 reviews37 followers
September 15, 2024
Excellent!!! All is right in the world when I find a dark smutty romance that seems as though it was written for me. I don’t think I’ve come across an ending just like that in a romance! Chef’s kiss to the heroine: You are a lunatic and you must be protected. Hero is introduced in funny/sad way (the only thing he’s got going on is p0rn 🤣 and the way he’s fuming that his wife called him out on it) but really comes into his own quickly on, hot and caring.
Profile Image for Valentina.
1,182 reviews413 followers
December 30, 2021
3.5 stars

Forbidden teacher-student, age gap with a twist

Teacher Sam Reed's marriage is in shambles. His home life is caustic, and with a callous, snarky wife he often finds himself drowning his problems at his best friend's bar. The only good thing in his life is his daughter and porn (lol). New student Chloe arrives into the picture. She is recently released from mental health care and re-starting her life and studies after a traumatic childhood. Finding herself in trouble, she calls upon her teacher for help. Sam is drawn to her -- for good and forbidden -- and for altruistic reasons, he feels compelled to care for her. But everything is not as it seems.

This premise of this book was so good -- taboo / teacher-student, a sweet (manipulative?) Chloe, conniving wife, secrets and twists, and I couldn't put the book down. Set at a progressive pace, I especially liked that a lot of it twas old from Sam's point of view. Add in some surprising, unconventional dubious-consent, forbidden attraction, and heady steam, the story's unfolding was engaging, and definitely entertaining.

The execution, however, faltered a bit because it required more story development. It was insta-love and a lot of references of Chloe's being just older than teenager (emphasizing the taboo presumably), and while intended to be sexy and forbidden, it mostly felt cringy and somewhat manufactured. The spice, while welcome and appreciated, was simple, not so descriptive; and the actions, repetitive for each scene. A bit of cringe too in engaging in relations with a person in the middle of a mental breakdown, who seemingly cannot be of the state of mind to understand consent. But hey, I liked that Sam and Chloe shared a special kind of kink and props for Chloe’s blackmail / coercion, very original.

Some extremes -- villainous events, Sam's wife Marissa and machinations lent to over dramatic rather than suspenseful intrigue. And a number of loose ends remained, e.g. what of Chloe's studies and Sam's teaching at the school if they were in a relationship? What about Sam's sister?

Overall, the story moves so quickly as to have missed development that would have made it more realistic and plausible. Still, one of the more entertaining and certainly original storylines I've read in a while. I would read more by this author.
Profile Image for Violet.
420 reviews67 followers
December 28, 2021
Break Me was an interesting read. I wasn't sure how I felt about the characters early on, but then things came to light, and my mind was utterly blown. My heart broke for all Chloe had been through in her short life. The suspense kept me turning the pages and delivered quite a little mindf*ck. Break Me is not your typical forbidden age gap, so if you're looking for something unique, this might be the one for you.
Profile Image for Renee.
5,222 reviews73 followers
December 29, 2021
I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author to review for Stephanie's Book Reports.

The moment she walked into my classroom I knew she was trouble. Beautiful and mysterious, she's the kind of girl who is used to getting what she wants. And what she wants is me. I never thought I would cross that line with a student. Until she forces me. My life is turned upside down and there's nothing I can do to stop her. It's her word against mine. I'm trapped, cornered, a pawn in her sick, twisted little game. I have no idea why she's doing this. Or when she will stop. The crazy thing is, even with everything I stand to lose, I'm not sure I want her too.

This is a age gap dark, I guess that is the right word, romance. What started out as a student/teacher romance quickly turned into something really dark and twisted and just....gosh I don't even have a word for it. This is the story of Chloe and Sam. Chloe is a eighteen year old girl who has no family. Her foster homes where the places that horrible things happened to her and landed her in Preston Meadows, Psychiatric Unit. When she gets out though her one and only plan is to get revenge on Sam since she thinks that he has hurt her in the past. Sam is a guy who was in a loveless marriage and has a two year old daughter who loved him very very much. He was also a high school teacher. When he first met Chloe I think he just honestly wanted to help a girl that he could see was suffering through bad situations. But she also reminds him of his sister. No matter how bad thought he wanted to help Chloe he could never in a million years risk losing his daughter and that is what might happen because things take a turn quickly. Now here is where I need to warn you that I am a reader of dark books. It seems like lately that is all that I read and I love them. But this one really pushed me out of my comfort zone if you ever really get into one with a dark romance. This one has some really twisted, messed up things happening in it and I couldn't lay it down. If you have triggers you might want to seriously consider the warnings on this book. I really liked that and then that made me really question my own self. It isn't the first time that has ever happened but on occasion it does and then I have to just lose myself in another book and not think about it.
Profile Image for Ashley Cestra.
1,355 reviews32 followers
February 9, 2022
Woww! I am obsessed with the angles this story took! It wasn’t just your average teacher/student story!! Well done! Points for uniqueness!
This is my first time reading this author but I will absolutely be looking her up again!!!
Profile Image for ZUI-NOAN.
261 reviews30 followers
January 2, 2022
♣First my cast for this♣

♣CHLOE
Mean-Biodegradable-Chafer-size-restricted

♣The Girl with secrets of her own.

♣SAM
cea4d6446d8a2401665088c4a76efb6a

♣The Man who is tired of life.

♣REVIEW♣
NOW this book is fire ahhhhh. I loved every second of it. I mean an psychopath student who blackmails her teacher to be with her....Excuse me , yessssssss.
It starts with such an psychological thriller vibes and I loved it.

Sam our hero who is tired from his relation and life , as his relations with his wife are very bad and the only entertainment in his life is porn and Alcoholic drinks but the dude is baring it all because he loves his little daughter.
one day he and his wife came across his new student at front of an Hotel and there , his 18 year old student stood soaking wet in rain.
[image error]

AND from there the psychotic thriller starts.

Chloe is an full on psychotic mood girl. No one can get in her way of achieving her goal. She wants Sam she will get sam by all means.
40yP

tied-up-men

Sam character was great too and he was strong and the battle between two was great.

But I am not giving more spoilers as it will spoil the fun duh but the book is must read.
It also had tender moments which was a good light in it.

giphy

♣HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT
♣FIVE STARS.
♣HEA
3,311 reviews70 followers
December 29, 2021
Age gap and teacher Student are two of my absolute favorite tropes in romance . Break me by Ivy Arnold does not disappoint. What a perfect combination of dark and twisted in all the best ways . I genuinely felt for Sam . A high school student stuck in a loveless marriage. He has a beautiful two tear old daughter and because of her and only her he stays married . Chloe is a 18 year old whom has recently released from a psych ward due to a lot of trauma she went through as a child . Due to certain circumstances of which I’m not going to go into detail about because you really need to read this amazing book , Chloe thinks Sam is responsible for all the heartache she has endured and sets out to destroy him .Whaf neither expects are the feeling they Start to develop for one another . What will Happen ? Well you will just have to find out for yourself . Wow , I felt like I was on a emotional rollercoaster the entire time I was reading . I cannot even express what a phenomenal job ivy did writing this flawless story with characters you will completely fall in love with
Profile Image for Sarah.
Author 2 books35 followers
December 27, 2021
Oh My Freaking God!!

Forbidden and age gap are two of my absolute favourite reading tropes, and Ivy Arnold does not disappoint with this amazing read! It was dark and twisted in all the best ways!

Sam is a high school teacher and is living in a loveless marriage. The only thing keeping him there is the love for his 2 year old daughter. But when he tries to help a new student he soon finds his life spiralling out of control.

Chloe is 18 and has just been released from a psych ward after suffering through a huge amount of trauma as a child. She's got a plan to ruin Sam's life, believing he is partly responsible for what happened to her, however not everything is as it seems.

I absolutely loved this book. It was extremely well written and fast paced, and I absolutely loved the twists and turns it took. They had me hooked and turning the pages to figure it all out
Profile Image for Joanna.
1,068 reviews11 followers
December 30, 2023
What a freaking crazy ride 😳 but. . . I really enjoyed it 😳😳

This is my second time reading something from this author and I got really curious with the blurb and to be honest, the story got me entertained since the beginning.

This book got a LOT of crazy twists that got me curious to know more about what was going on and don't get me started on the hot parts of it 🥵
Sam and Chloe were so crazy good together and I really enjoyed every moment of these two.

▬ 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: dark romance, taboo, forbidden romance, revenge, age gap, teacher x student
▬ 𝐭𝐰: abuse, death, dubious consent, suicide, cheating, mental health disorders
Profile Image for J. Ockenhouse.
1,743 reviews18 followers
December 29, 2021
Not your typical age gap/student and teacher romance. This one is a bit more crazy than I expected and enjoyed that. Chloe and Sam dig deep into a dark romance where things are not as they appear, each character is far from perfect and innocent thoughts are far from their minds.

Revenge takes a ride but truth pumps the brakes and these two find solace in each others twisted minds.

I received an ARC for an honest and voluntarily review.
Profile Image for Tammy.
9,119 reviews49 followers
December 29, 2021
Entertaining taboo/age gap read. Sam is a high school teacher who is unhappy in his marriage but loves his daughter. Chloe is 18 and was just released from a psych ward and is out for revenge and Sam is her target. Fast-paced read with lots of twists and turns as well as dark and twisted. Entertaining, intense and dark, be prepared. I liked it.
Profile Image for Laura.
392 reviews83 followers
May 18, 2023
I just couldn't get into this at all. It just didn't capture my attention at all
Profile Image for Helen Snakenberg.
42 reviews7 followers
January 9, 2022
I like age gap books and I also like teacher-student books, but this book was not it for me. Sam is a teacher who is having gonna get divorced. Chloe is a troubled girl who ends up R*ping Sam because of something that happened in her past. Her and her brother need money so she is blackmailing Sam. I stopped at 48%. I couldn’t read anymore it was gross. I can’t see a romance or relationship after this.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Nanasbookreviews.
1,828 reviews53 followers
May 26, 2022
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu-kR...
Blog: https://nanasbookreviews.wordpress.co...

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Break Me by Ivy Arnold is a forbidden age-gap romance. It's not your average dark romance. It started with the teacher-student trope and then it became very twisted pretty quickly. This book isn't for everyone but if you like to experience with
different genres give it a try.

Chloe Stanford is an eighteen-year-old girl who had no family. She had experienced something horrible in one of the foster homes that sent her into Preston Meadows Psychiatric Unit. When she got out her only plan was to get revenge on Sam believing that he had hurt her in the past.

Sam Reed was a high school teacher. He was in a loveless marriage and had a two-year-old girl who loved very much. When he met Chloe, he wanted to help her because she reminded him of his sister. Things took a turn for the worst between them quickly. He wanted to save Chloe but couldn't risk losing his little girl either. He had to make a choice before it was too late.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I love the tropes but it was way too dark at times for me. The end was incredible though.
I will rate it with 4 stars.
Profile Image for Vicki.
1,911 reviews58 followers
December 30, 2021
And here we go again.... with me befuddled as to how to review a book clearly, but I will do my best to get some thoughts across. This was my first book by this author and I almost didn't make it but this book does take an unexpected turn so I encourage people to read past 20-25% if they are feeling like giving up like I was in the beginning.

The strength of this book is not the romance (I never felt their emotional connection/love, it seemed to come out of nothing and nowhere), not the teacher/student aspect (it has almost none of the typical aspects of that trope), and though I liked the steamy bits a lot they were really just bits (disappointingly so) and thus weren't long enough to be a listed strength either. The book is mostly telling/internal monologue (dual POV), with very little actual scenes/interactions shown, but at least that monologue was interesting, and was part of what kept me reading.

The biggest strengths were things that are both 1) better for not knowing them before going in, so I want to be vague here and not list them specifically to preserve that for others and 2) one thing/concept in particular is one of my personal "triggers" for lack of a better word: main character(s) being under someone else's thumb/trapped, but it was really integral to the best part of the plot so as much as it made my chest tight with the injustice it was a clear strength of the book. There are some dark elements but I wouldn't consider it dark on my personal scale, though it will be for others.

As I said, this was my first book by this author but immediately after I did read a short story (Dirty Little Secret) by the same author that I enjoyed a little more than this book, due to personal tastes. I like the writing and there are just a few errors, so I do plan to read other books by the author under this pen name and the other one mentioned in the back of this book.
771 reviews
September 25, 2022
- um dude. Speak up. Tell everyone it was your wife’s idea to drop the student home??
- tbh. This guy is getting all worked about about his wife taking the kid and how much he loves his daughter. But. I have yet to read him do anything to take care of her….
- maybe… just maybe…. You should have called the police?
- I mean. He’s horrible. He had so many other choices and he always chose the perverted one. But also she raped him. So…
- tbh marissa seems right when she says she doesn’t care about his daughter. He just went an entire weekend without even trying to see her. When IS the last time he saw his daughter?
-I don’t like the vibe between her and her brother
- dude. You can’t say you’re attracted to her because you see your missing sister in her. That’s EXACTLY how you sound creepy wtf
- omgggg. I was not expecting that
- a creepy man. A delusional girl. It’s hard to feel bad for either of them. But I feel more bad for the girl than him for sure
- oomgggg another twist. I like it
- the police just let his student go with him…?
- what explanation did the police believe about Chloe being with marissa?
- oh ok so everything is in the open and they know what Marisa did. Good good
- well. That was crazy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Katrina.
887 reviews16 followers
December 31, 2021
Break me was a very quick and fun read. These taboo stories are so juicy and I just keep wanting more. The only negative comment I can say about break me is that there was one thing that let it down for me. The book is set in Melbourne, Australia yet there are several references that make it seem like it’s set in America. “Soda” is an American term. The mention of a trip to Vegas is also a standout. There are other terms that are definitely not Australian and this for me is why I didn’t give the book 5 stars.
That said, ignore this and you will still enjoy the book. Let your mind relax and welcome Sam and his student Chloe into your life
Profile Image for Tylia.
133 reviews4 followers
December 13, 2022
wow

What intrigued me the most about this book was the small snippet I got. Teenage girl blackmailing her teacher , it’s a story line that is a hit or miss depending on where the author takes it. BUT THIS ONE!!! Wow was it a high stakes roller coaster. The twist and turns that Ms. Ivy Arnold but in here had me on the edge of my fucking seat just itching to know more. This was an excellent read and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Profile Image for Sam.
256 reviews
November 14, 2023
I was excited to read the next book after the others being so good. I thought I knew what the story was gonna be, but pleasantly surprised with some twists I didn’t see coming. I was hooked, and had no idea where the story was going, it’s not like anything I’ve read before. Definitely trigger warnings for different things that happened, but I actually really enjoyed it and didn’t want to put it down.
Profile Image for Jane Who Reads.
591 reviews2 followers
November 21, 2024
2/5 ⭐️ rating
1.5/5 🌶️ rating

Thoughts:

I have read a lot of dark romances, but this book is a first for me. I almost stopped when the FMC drugged and raped the MMC. I don’t know why since I have read other books where something similar has happened. However, this felt a lot more nc in the beginning than cnc in the moment.

Glad it had a HEA. I just felt disconnected with the FMC and MMC.

This is the third book in the Age & Innocence books. I enjoyed the second the most out of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
70 reviews1 follower
December 29, 2021
I’m typically not someone who won’t finish a book but I had to with this one. Nothing against the author Ivy Arnold but the storyline was difficult for me.

I wish this book came with a trigger warning as the main character drugged and raped her teacher. As a victim of sexual assault that was caused by my drink being drugged it brought back too many flash backs for myself.
Profile Image for Sarah (thehireader).
483 reviews57 followers
Read
January 6, 2022
what the hell did I just read????

I enjoyed the author’s other books but this one isn’t romantic—it’s…a lot. I’m going to need time to process it but definitely click the link with the TWs that the author provides at the beginning because there are a lot.
Profile Image for Lucy Scrupps.
Author 5 books10 followers
February 22, 2022
loved it!

This book was so good. I couldn’t put it down, at the same time I didn’t want it to end. I went in blind and was not disappointed. The twists had my head reeling.
498 reviews
October 8, 2022
Meh.

Break me…. I didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. I don’t know what else to say about this book. I could have done without reading it. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Profile Image for Yaneth.
244 reviews2 followers
February 19, 2023
DNF @ 22%

I didn't understand. What the hell was happening?
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.