Review: Just Breathe by Rachel Brookes
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Book Review,
Rachel Brookes
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Title: Just Breathe
Series: Breathe #1
Author: Rachel Brookes
Published: July 3rd 2013
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: eARC provided by author for honest review
Rating: 5/5
BLURB:
For Savannah Rae, living life without her parents was unimaginable. But being blamed for her first love’s suicide? That destroyed every part of who she was.
Gone were the days of innocence, happiness, and dreams. Now her days simply meant attempting to survive. In her mind, her only means for that was replacing her grief with men, booze and the fast life. And for five years, it worked.
When an opportunity to leave the nightmares of her past in Australia opens up, she takes it. Los Angeles beckons - with hopes of late nights, new beginnings, and the promise of a string of endless men to distract her, she can’t wait to dive in.
One thing she didn’t count on was meeting her match.
In the eyes of outsiders, Tate Connors has it all; the ultimate LA bachelor who is content with his lifestyle of wild nights, women and one night stands. He's Mr. Unpredictable with looks that could destroy any woman with one glance.
The craziness of Los Angeles throws them into the chaotic path of each other. Savannah becomes the perfect game, and Tate becomes the ultimate prey. Lines are crossed, emotions are smashed, and the idea of who they truly are begins to be tangled.
However, one thing will become clear.
They are more alike than either one could ever have imagined.
REVIEW:
The story:
As Savannah boards the plane to L.A. it's her intention to start over and begin a new life, leaving her old demons behind in Australia. But she starts realises it's not quite that simple and soon Sav is back to her old destructive ways. But after spending time her her new best friend Tanzi, her brother Tate and some new friends, she starts to build a new life for herself. Tanzi has a very positive influence on Sav, encouraging her to make the most of her new opportunities. Tate on the other hand is both a help & a complication to Sav - she knows she's attracted to him, and he could be really good for her. But the issues from her past make it difficult for Sav to believe she deserves to be happy. They both struggle to accept their attraction and Tate & Sav share some awesome flirty arguments, that just build the sexual tension between them, until you know something has got to give…and when it does, phew, it was HOT!!!!
The characters:
Savannah is the kind of character that we'd all like be sometimes - she's feisty, sassy, confident and isn't afraid to go after what or who she wants. She has a wicked sense of humour and some of her lines are just pure awesome! She's not afraid to have a wild night out and knows how to party. But underneath that tough girl persona there is an insecure girl, hurting & struggling to deal with her past and afraid to fall in love…enter Tate Connors!!!
Tate, oh Tate, is one hot sexy hunk of a man that will have you swooning, sighing and drooling all over the place. He's a player, he's arrogant and he's incredibly temperamental. But this just makes him all the more sexy! He's had drama in his past too that makes him steer clear of commitment, but all that changes when he sets his eyes on Sav.
For me, the supporting characters made a huge difference in this story - with Sav's best friend & Tate's sister Tanzi, her boyfriend Jack. Tanzi would be a kick-ass best friend, and the kind of person you know would always be there for you. And of course we can't forget Mr Davenport, Sav's sexy older boss, who is the only real father figure she's had as an adult and is always there to support her. All these characters have positive influences on Sav & Tate's lives and they also setup some hilarious situations - every time Jack walked in on Tate & Sav I burst out laughing!
The romance:
The romance between Sav & Tate is one of those I-Hate-You-And-Insult-The-Crap-Out-Of-You-But-I-Acutally-Really-Like-You kind. And the sexual tension was flying all over the place between these two! They are both so alike - neither feel deserving or capable of a loving relationship and hide behind a string of meaningless one nighters. It's not until they meet each other that they start to see the possibility of a real relationship.
"I'm into this, Sav. I am into you and this isn't just a weekend fling to me. You are my girl and now that I've got you, I'm certainly not letting you go."
The Writing:
What I loved about this book was the great balance of drama & humour. With both Sav & Tate dealing with heavy issues, you'd expect this to be a very moody read, but Rachel has done a wonderful job of using sarcasm and clever dialogue to give some light to what could have been a very dark story. And I also LOVED all the Aussieisms scattered throughout the book! Everyone so needs to start calling in Fairy Floss!!! :D
FINAL WORD:
I loved this book, the characters are different from a lot of the other NA romances out there. And the Australian elements gave this book a really unique feeling. This book "is going straight to the pool room!" (yes that is an Aussie phrase). I challenge you to read this book and not fall prey to The Tate Connors Effect!!
CONTENT:
Sexuality: medium-strong / descriptive sex scenes
Violence: mild / some punch ups
Language: medium / several f*ck
Drugs & alcohol: medium
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YAY! I'm so glad you loved this as much as I did! Tate and Sav, Jack, Tanzi, and Mr. Davenport all won my heart! Not only has Rachel created kickass characters, but the sexual tension and overall yumminess is off the charts! Great review Amy!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jess! I so want to be friends with all these characters - can imagine how awesome that would be!! I can't wait to find out what happens next with them all! :)
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