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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I always feel that I should preface, in books like this, that neither romance nor new adult are really my forte when it comes to my book obsession.
I'm not entirely sure what it is, honestly, but lovey dovey stories, even when set against the backdrop of heartache and struggle, just don't keep my attention. And, unfortunately, BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE really wasn't a big exception.
On the flipside, though, this novel really made me want to get out and RUN. And I am most DEFINITELY not a runner. And, in reality, I highly doubt I'll actually get up from this laptop and put on some running shoes, but it has to be the sign of a pretty book if it almost makes me want to get up and tackle something that never interested me before, right?
So, in case you missed the blurb on the back -- or the plethora of glowing reviews on any number of book sites, BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE is the story of a young woman who has recently lost the love of her life, Kyle, in a tragic accident --- one that she ultimately deems her own fault. Devastated as she struggles with such a huge loss in her life, Annie sets out to train for a country music inspired marathon, which was Kyle's ultimate goal prior to the events that took his life so soon.
The only problem, of course, is that Annie is really just not a runner. Even after she enrolls in a decently prestigious running course, led by an older, sexy man named Matt, Annie continuously feels overwhelmed and helpless in her training. Her body and her mind are exhausted and confused, and it sure doesn't help that Matt's younger brother, Jeremiah, is a amazing temptation, with his muscles, wit, and charm (both on and off the track, of course).
Annie wants nothing more than to honor the memory of her deceased boyfriend, but there's just something about Jeremiah that she doesn't want to forget....
Overall, honestly, I did really enjoy the premise of the story -- a heartbroken girl overcoming her grief by training well beyond her comfort zone to honor a lost love. I didn't even mind the introduction of Jeremiah, who served both to guide Annie in her journey to healing and to challenge her to find new love at the close of a painful chapter of her life.
But once the focus really shifted to the whole lovey dovey thing between Annie and Jeremiah, I can't deny it -- I just got bored.
I loved reading about Annie's training, her struggles, her trainer/trainee relationship with Matt, her pain/grief/guilt over Kyle's death, etc. But once it came to the touchy/feely/kissy/sexy between A and J, the book just felt SO long and SO slow to me.
Although I totally get it that Jeremiah was an adrenaline junky, whose family seemed to always want to stage an intervention to save his life from his reckless behaviors, he just felt like an overdramatized little druggy -- minus the actual drugs, of course. It felt overdone and even a little irritating, and I was honestly expecting a larger scale revelation than the little shoulder injury near the end of the book.
And then there is Annie. I understand her grief, hesitation, insecurity, and guilt -- but the rest just felt very repetitive and dull after a while. Matt is hot. Jeremiah is hot. Running is hard. Lather, rinse, and repeat -- up until the very last page of the book.
Sure -- the whole point of the story is that Annie was able to overcome huge obstacles and to train herself to seemingly impossible lengths to memorialize love and to embrace the possibilities of new love. But, did she finish the race? Did she sneak off at the 10 mile mark for another quickie with J? Did that whole weak knee thing come to fruition?
Who knows. I give the author kudos for an awesome story line and a strong, relatable voice throughout the novel.
I just, for whatever reason, didn't click with this one.
I'm not entirely sure what it is, honestly, but lovey dovey stories, even when set against the backdrop of heartache and struggle, just don't keep my attention. And, unfortunately, BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE really wasn't a big exception.
On the flipside, though, this novel really made me want to get out and RUN. And I am most DEFINITELY not a runner. And, in reality, I highly doubt I'll actually get up from this laptop and put on some running shoes, but it has to be the sign of a pretty book if it almost makes me want to get up and tackle something that never interested me before, right?
So, in case you missed the blurb on the back -- or the plethora of glowing reviews on any number of book sites, BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE is the story of a young woman who has recently lost the love of her life, Kyle, in a tragic accident --- one that she ultimately deems her own fault. Devastated as she struggles with such a huge loss in her life, Annie sets out to train for a country music inspired marathon, which was Kyle's ultimate goal prior to the events that took his life so soon.
The only problem, of course, is that Annie is really just not a runner. Even after she enrolls in a decently prestigious running course, led by an older, sexy man named Matt, Annie continuously feels overwhelmed and helpless in her training. Her body and her mind are exhausted and confused, and it sure doesn't help that Matt's younger brother, Jeremiah, is a amazing temptation, with his muscles, wit, and charm (both on and off the track, of course).
Annie wants nothing more than to honor the memory of her deceased boyfriend, but there's just something about Jeremiah that she doesn't want to forget....
Overall, honestly, I did really enjoy the premise of the story -- a heartbroken girl overcoming her grief by training well beyond her comfort zone to honor a lost love. I didn't even mind the introduction of Jeremiah, who served both to guide Annie in her journey to healing and to challenge her to find new love at the close of a painful chapter of her life.
But once the focus really shifted to the whole lovey dovey thing between Annie and Jeremiah, I can't deny it -- I just got bored.
I loved reading about Annie's training, her struggles, her trainer/trainee relationship with Matt, her pain/grief/guilt over Kyle's death, etc. But once it came to the touchy/feely/kissy/sexy between A and J, the book just felt SO long and SO slow to me.
Although I totally get it that Jeremiah was an adrenaline junky, whose family seemed to always want to stage an intervention to save his life from his reckless behaviors, he just felt like an overdramatized little druggy -- minus the actual drugs, of course. It felt overdone and even a little irritating, and I was honestly expecting a larger scale revelation than the little shoulder injury near the end of the book.
And then there is Annie. I understand her grief, hesitation, insecurity, and guilt -- but the rest just felt very repetitive and dull after a while. Matt is hot. Jeremiah is hot. Running is hard. Lather, rinse, and repeat -- up until the very last page of the book.
Sure -- the whole point of the story is that Annie was able to overcome huge obstacles and to train herself to seemingly impossible lengths to memorialize love and to embrace the possibilities of new love. But, did she finish the race? Did she sneak off at the 10 mile mark for another quickie with J? Did that whole weak knee thing come to fruition?
Who knows. I give the author kudos for an awesome story line and a strong, relatable voice throughout the novel.
I just, for whatever reason, didn't click with this one.
Never thought I'd see the day that a Hundred Oaks book would top Catching Jordan for me. BUT OMG THIS BOOK. There is so much to love- Annie with her determination to train, Jeremiah with his amazing charm, all the cameos, all the new characters, the writing, the fact that I related so damn much, the little things, the feels, the romance, the running. EVERYTHING. I love it all. Full review to come.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This review may contain spoilers.
I really enjoyed this book. I didn't expect myself to be so interested in the ins and outs of marathon training, but after reading this book, I realized it's an incredibly grueling process! I admire Annie in this book for the journey she took and the growth she made as a character. It was sweet to see her be able to love again after losing her boyfriend. She's also a likeable character, and Jeremiah is also a good love interest. I think they meshed together really well.
The writing was clear and simple; I read this very quickly without any problems or hiccups. After reading this and another of Miranda Kenneally's books, I find myself wanting to read all of her books - they're sweet, cute, easy to read, and just a joy!
Easy to recommend this one!
I really enjoyed this book. I didn't expect myself to be so interested in the ins and outs of marathon training, but after reading this book, I realized it's an incredibly grueling process! I admire Annie in this book for the journey she took and the growth she made as a character. It was sweet to see her be able to love again after losing her boyfriend. She's also a likeable character, and Jeremiah is also a good love interest. I think they meshed together really well.
The writing was clear and simple; I read this very quickly without any problems or hiccups. After reading this and another of Miranda Kenneally's books, I find myself wanting to read all of her books - they're sweet, cute, easy to read, and just a joy!
Easy to recommend this one!
i'm constantly at war with the thought of running, one one hand the thought of using it to relieve stress sounds nice and on the other i really don't want to look like a dying fish.So finally reading a book where the protagonist isn't an amazing athlete is a breath of fresh air. This is definitely my favorite Miranda Kenneally book and was great for a light read
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
I had super high hopes for this book going into it. It's been on my radar/tbr wishlist forever (aka at least 5 years) and finally reading it had me all excited. The book itself was good! There were some moments that felt a little dull but I do like the slow moving romance (and it definitely paid of, I was a lot more invested in the romance than I usually am). The entire "preparing for a marathon"-stuff was also pretty interesting, though it seems almost excessive the amount of services Matt provides? I've never trained for a marathon before or had a semi-personal coach so I can't actually attest to anything, obviously.
The ending managed to squeeze a tear from my eye, which is why this gets 4 stars from me instead of 3.5. I'm happy I finally read it.
The ending managed to squeeze a tear from my eye, which is why this gets 4 stars from me instead of 3.5. I'm happy I finally read it.
I'm not giving this book two stars because I didn't like it, I did like it, I just was kinda bored with it.
I really enjoyed this book but I feel like it ended so abruptly
I’m pretty sure Miranda Kenneally and the Hundred Oaks books just keep getting better and better. I was really surprised by Catching Jordan, loved Racing Savannah, but turned into a big puddle of mush within the pages of Breathe, Annie, Breathe. I loved it the most of all. Plus it’s always great fun to see the older characters show up in the newer books. My only complaint is this: while the cover of this book is beautiful and I love it as its own cover, it STILL doesn’t match the other books! I know they went through several covers and this is by far my favorite and an absolutely beautiful cover, I don’t understand why they didn’t want to give us a cover that matched the other four books in this series. But now that I’ve said that, let’s move on and talk about how amazing this book is!
Breathe, Annie, Breathe introduces us to Annie. She’s a senior graduating from high school and lost her boyfriend of three years after they broke up. In order to honor his memory, she has decided to train for the marathon he was meant to run before he died. But Annie isn’t a runner like Kyle was and training is very difficult. She is introduced to a training group and starts on a program that is guaranteed to get her to finish the marathon. While training, she meets Jeremiah. He is completely different from Kyle and Annie is still dealing with a lot of leftover emotions from their relationship and his death but Jeremiah makes her feel things she never thought she’d feel again. Training becomes more difficult as the miles increase and injuries happen and the feelings she has around Jeremiah make her feel guilty and alive, and then guilty again. Annie needs to learn how to remember Kyle without feeling guilty and figure out how to move on and love again.
I want to first talk about the characters because they make up the most important part of this story and without the characters being who they were the story would not have affected me the way it did. Annie is the main character and felt so real to me. Her sadness and her guilt over Kyle’s loss was moving and complex. She continued to dwell on the guilt of the breakup and blamed herself for his death for much of the book. And I could understand why. Though as both an adult and an outsider to her story I would never have blamed her, if I had been in her situation I know I would have felt exactly the same way. Also, I really loved her determination and the way she dedicated herself to her new lifestyle and finishing the marathon in honor of Kyle. It was heartbreaking to see her blaming herself and not being able to move forward and reliving both their high and low moments. But all of it created such a real and deep relationship that it was impossible not to feel all of the emotions along with Annie.
Then we have Jeremiah. One thing I do wish is that we could have gotten a better feeling for his past. He is such a great guy to Annie but I got the impression that he was not always that way. We get some information from his family but a lot seems to be implied by his tattoos and the way he dresses and his addiction to adrenaline. I just wish we could have learned more about his past and how he became the way he was. But we plenty of information about his past and present to fall for him. And I think my feelings stem from just wanting more of him in any form. From the moment he sees Annie on the trails to the last moment in the book, he was a great guy. My favorite things about their relationship were how slow it went, their real attraction to each other without falling into the insta-love trap, and that they seemed quite honest with each other about their needs. Jeremiah knew why Annie was running the marathon and she was upfront about her needs from their relationship. He showed her how he felt and honored her wishes. Even though their relationship might not have started off on the greatest foot and their were times that Annie was probably leading Jeremiah on a bit too much, their relationship is one of my favorites and Jeremiah is an amazing book boyfriend.
I also want to talk about the story. It was a truly amazing and inspiring story and one I definitely plan on rereading. When the book opens we have Annie already dealing with the loss of what she believes was her soul mate. I can’t imagine dealing with a loss like that at 18. The growth that Annie makes over the course of the book is amazing. It’s also heartbreaking and difficult and inspiring. It (almost) made me feel like going out for a run. And the way Annie and Jeremiah meet and start to care about each other and the friendship that develops between them is beautiful. Sometimes we just happen to meet the right people at the right time. I love how both Annie and Jeremiah seemed to come into each other’s lives at just the right time and became the person that helped them through some difficult times.
Overall, this was my favorite Hundred Oaks book so far. It’s also a great ya contemporary romance that could be read completely on its own. If you’re looking for an inspiring, hopeful, emotional book that will also leave you feeling all kinds of swoony, I highly recommend Breath, Annie, Breathe.
*A HUGE thank you to Miranda Kenneally for the opportunity to read this book and XPresso Book Tours for letting me be a part of the blog tour. I received a free copy of this book for review purposes but I promise that had no affect on my feelings or rating of this book.*
Breathe, Annie, Breathe introduces us to Annie. She’s a senior graduating from high school and lost her boyfriend of three years after they broke up. In order to honor his memory, she has decided to train for the marathon he was meant to run before he died. But Annie isn’t a runner like Kyle was and training is very difficult. She is introduced to a training group and starts on a program that is guaranteed to get her to finish the marathon. While training, she meets Jeremiah. He is completely different from Kyle and Annie is still dealing with a lot of leftover emotions from their relationship and his death but Jeremiah makes her feel things she never thought she’d feel again. Training becomes more difficult as the miles increase and injuries happen and the feelings she has around Jeremiah make her feel guilty and alive, and then guilty again. Annie needs to learn how to remember Kyle without feeling guilty and figure out how to move on and love again.
I want to first talk about the characters because they make up the most important part of this story and without the characters being who they were the story would not have affected me the way it did. Annie is the main character and felt so real to me. Her sadness and her guilt over Kyle’s loss was moving and complex. She continued to dwell on the guilt of the breakup and blamed herself for his death for much of the book. And I could understand why. Though as both an adult and an outsider to her story I would never have blamed her, if I had been in her situation I know I would have felt exactly the same way. Also, I really loved her determination and the way she dedicated herself to her new lifestyle and finishing the marathon in honor of Kyle. It was heartbreaking to see her blaming herself and not being able to move forward and reliving both their high and low moments. But all of it created such a real and deep relationship that it was impossible not to feel all of the emotions along with Annie.
Then we have Jeremiah. One thing I do wish is that we could have gotten a better feeling for his past. He is such a great guy to Annie but I got the impression that he was not always that way. We get some information from his family but a lot seems to be implied by his tattoos and the way he dresses and his addiction to adrenaline. I just wish we could have learned more about his past and how he became the way he was. But we plenty of information about his past and present to fall for him. And I think my feelings stem from just wanting more of him in any form. From the moment he sees Annie on the trails to the last moment in the book, he was a great guy. My favorite things about their relationship were how slow it went, their real attraction to each other without falling into the insta-love trap, and that they seemed quite honest with each other about their needs. Jeremiah knew why Annie was running the marathon and she was upfront about her needs from their relationship. He showed her how he felt and honored her wishes. Even though their relationship might not have started off on the greatest foot and their were times that Annie was probably leading Jeremiah on a bit too much, their relationship is one of my favorites and Jeremiah is an amazing book boyfriend.
I also want to talk about the story. It was a truly amazing and inspiring story and one I definitely plan on rereading. When the book opens we have Annie already dealing with the loss of what she believes was her soul mate. I can’t imagine dealing with a loss like that at 18. The growth that Annie makes over the course of the book is amazing. It’s also heartbreaking and difficult and inspiring. It (almost) made me feel like going out for a run. And the way Annie and Jeremiah meet and start to care about each other and the friendship that develops between them is beautiful. Sometimes we just happen to meet the right people at the right time. I love how both Annie and Jeremiah seemed to come into each other’s lives at just the right time and became the person that helped them through some difficult times.
Overall, this was my favorite Hundred Oaks book so far. It’s also a great ya contemporary romance that could be read completely on its own. If you’re looking for an inspiring, hopeful, emotional book that will also leave you feeling all kinds of swoony, I highly recommend Breath, Annie, Breathe.
*A HUGE thank you to Miranda Kenneally for the opportunity to read this book and XPresso Book Tours for letting me be a part of the blog tour. I received a free copy of this book for review purposes but I promise that had no affect on my feelings or rating of this book.*
This book was cute and still had some depth. My main issue with it is that I felt like the ending was a bit rushed.
I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Nearly makes you want to take up marathon running. Except for the pain and the more pain and the other pain.