Barely Breathing (Breathing #2) by Rebecca Donovan
This is a young adult contemporary romance novel (Rated R)
♥♥1/2
(Two and a Half Emotional Hearts)
Book Summary
Emma’s struggle with an abusive home life came to a heart pounding conclusion in the final chapters of Reason to Breathe. Now everyone in Weslyn knows Emma’s secret, but Carol can’t hurt Emma anymore. Some are still haunted by the horror of that night, and some must face the repercussions of their choices. Fans of Rebecca Donovan’s debut novel will discover there’s still much to learn about Emma’s life.
My Review
Wow, this book was very disappointing. I struggled with why
the author went the route of cliché plotlines in books done before. There was
really nothing unique about this storyline or told in a unique way. And that’s
about all I can say before spoilers. So if you haven’t read, skip to the end of
the spoiler to read overall opinion.
SPOILERS
There is just no way around it in order to explain.
First let me say YAY Drew. I really like him in the last
book even with the drunken fight I couldn’t mention in my previous book review. I
still didn’t understand after the fight, how the author didn’t even mention
what happened in school that Monday. Evan would have been livid. And I don’t
see Drew not saying anything. What the hell? Anyway, all that is explained now.
But too late in my opinion.
One of my major beefs with this book is NEW GIRL. Really????
I mean we already had a NEW BOY in the first book, Evan. And if you think about
it, there was no real reason this “conflict” couldn’t be a girl already at the
school. It’s a tired storyline beaten to death by many authors before. And I
get why Evan had to be a NEW BOY. No one else would have broken through to Emma
already having preconceived notions about her. It took someone new to be the
one she’d let in. But this NEW GIRL wasn’t necessary. Didn’t someone advice
this author????
Another gripe, this author beats to death in this story.
INTERUPTIONS. At every turn, there is an interruption as a means to further the
plotline, create conflict, or hide truths. And it got old pretty fast.
First interruption. The sex thing. Emma had decided this is
what she wanted. Hell, this isn’t my story. So I’m going with the facts laid
out before me. They are interrupted once and sex isn’t thought of for weeks.
Yet, Emma had been determined and talked to Sara about it. She told Evan and
came onto to him hard. They spent much time alone after that one interruption, but
nothing. Again, it doesn’t matter to me. The author shouldn’t have said Emma
was so determined to do this. It wasn’t necessary. But since she did, she
couldn’t avoid this storyline until it was convenient.
And when was it convenient,
they choose not to go to his hotel where he could kick out his brother. But
hers. So of course I knew it was a no go once he said hers. It was too damn
obvious. And someone was there of course. Did they leave and find another place? NO. The
way Emma and Evan wanted this, they could have done it. These interruptions
made the story unbelievable. Again, I didn’t write that the characters wanted
each other like rabbits. They had time and opportunity, the author choose
flimsy interruptions and conveniently placed people when she decided they should
act. It was a weak attempt.
Another big complaint was something happens to Evan in
class. He leaves abruptly without saying anything to Emma. It is not Evan
behavior. Emma is calling him trying to find out what was going on with him. When she finally speaks to
him, he says he will tell her. Of course, they are interrupted. And yes folks,
after the interruptions, she drops asking him what happened. REALLY? This
happens early in the first half of the book. He doesn’t say I don’t want to talk
about. I could have understood her leaving the topic alone then because that is
how she handled things and couldn’t ask someone different. But he didn’t. He
says will talk about it later. LATER is months. REALLY???? We don’t find out
until nearly the end of the book the reason. Not believable.
Then there is this time when Jonathan is revealing something to her. And not using words no or yes, the author chose to have him “shake” his head three different times. Normally when an author doesn’t follow up with shakes his head yes or shakes his head no, you assume shake is no, nod is yes. However, on the third shake of Jonathan’s head, it becomes apparent he actually meant yes. So I’m left guess what the hell the other two shakes meant. It pissed me off to no end because he was another trick by the author to not give us information because she again reveals it later.
I could go on, but this review would go on forever. So I won’t. The Jonathan storyline really pissed me off. Emma’s choices with all that stuff just made this book a total downer.
Then there is this time when Jonathan is revealing something to her. And not using words no or yes, the author chose to have him “shake” his head three different times. Normally when an author doesn’t follow up with shakes his head yes or shakes his head no, you assume shake is no, nod is yes. However, on the third shake of Jonathan’s head, it becomes apparent he actually meant yes. So I’m left guess what the hell the other two shakes meant. It pissed me off to no end because he was another trick by the author to not give us information because she again reveals it later.
I could go on, but this review would go on forever. So I won’t. The Jonathan storyline really pissed me off. Emma’s choices with all that stuff just made this book a total downer.
END OF SPOILERS
Audio Review
Kate Rudd continues to do a fabulous job of making me feel
the story.
Overall, the author still pulled on my emotional strings.
Despite the tired storyline and plot holes, I still had to read this through.
That says a lot.
Although I love Evan…
My book boyfriend is Drew.
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