Breathe, Annie, BreatheAuthor: Miranda Kenneally
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire, 306 pages
Publication Date: July 15, 2014
From Goodreads:
Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.
But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.
Review:
I really enjoyed this book and here's why:
1. It's about running. I trained (and ran) a half-marathon forever ago, and I enjoyed reading about Annie training. I enjoyed that she struggled with running. It's one thing to read a book about some natural athlete, but it made me relate to her so much more because she was just a normal girl.
2. The romance. Annie and Jeremiah were obviously attracted to each other, but Annie realizes that the time is not right, she's training to honor her boyfriend, and so they become friends. Loved all of their interactions, their banter, the sexual tension, and the fact that they got to know each other so well. They truly became friends, which was refreshing to read about.
3. High-school and college. During the course of this book, Annie finishes high school and then starts college. This book does a great job of portraying all of the emotions that go hand in hand with these things. It straddles that YA and NA line, and I enjoyed watching Annie transition from high school to college.
To be honest, I've read two other books by Miranda Kenneally in this series and while I liked them, they were just ok. So if you feel the same way, give this one a try because it's a lot better. And obviously, if you enjoyed the other books in the series, you will definitely enjoy this one. And if you haven't read any of the other books in the series, I don't think you need to in order to enjoy this book. There are cameos from characters in the other books, but it's such a small part of the book that you won't be confused or be missing out on anything.
Posted by: Pam
I'm so glad that you liked this one. I really enjoyed it too. I also liked how she struggled with running and how everything felt pretty authentic. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI've been straddling the fence on this book. Maybe now I'll check it out. It actually sounds good! Great review, as always. :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't run (not yet, anyway. Have to for school, ugh), I do enjoy a good book that deals with school, especially high school AND college. I'm glad you mentioned that because it has encouraged me to read this book even more. I haven't read her other novels, but I heard they're great as well. I added this to my TBR! Thanks for the review :)
ReplyDeleteTori @ Bookish Affairs
I was wondering if I needed to read any of the other Hundred Oaks books so thank you for answering my question! I'm glad I don't because I want to read just this one. I love books that have running in them (it motivates me) and I like the sound of the romance and how the story spans both HS and college. I'm excited!
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of her books--including this one--but have yet to read any of them. I love that her and the love interest develop a friendship, and how awesome that the transition from HS to college takes place in the story. I'll have to make room for this. Great review!
ReplyDeleteYou have convinced me that I need to read this book. I love the fact they get to know each other first. Do I need to read her other books before I read this or are they just companion books?
ReplyDeleteThey're just companion books so you don't need to read the other ones. Some of them show up or are referred to in the book, but it wasn't a big part of the book at all. ~Pam
DeleteI love that you point out the transition from high school to college - that was one of my favorite parts of the book, and it's handled really well. Jeremiah is SUCH a great love interest. He and and his brother are my favorites of Kenneally's boys. <3
ReplyDeleteI didn't even realize that this was part of a series. I've heard good things about this one, but I've been hesitant to read. Mostly because I hate running. Isn't that so dumb? lol
ReplyDelete