The Breathless by Tara Goedjen
My Rating: 4 Stars!
Publisher: Random House Children’s
Publish Date: October 10th, 2017
Received: Netgalley provided an e-arc in exchange for an honest review
Purchase: Amazon
Synopsis:
For fans of the dark family secrets of We Were Liars and the page-turning suspense of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Breathless is a haunting tale of deeply buried secrets, forbidden love, and how far some will go to bring back what’s long dead.
No one knows what really happened on the beach where Roxanne Cole’s body was found, but her boyfriend, Cage, took off that night and hasn’t been seen since. Until now. One year—almost to the day—from Ro’s death, when he knocks on the door of Blue Gate Manor and asks where she is.
Cage has no memory of the past twelve months. According to him, Ro was alive only the day before. Ro’s sister Mae wouldn’t believe him, except that something’s not right. Nothing’s been right in the house since Ro died.
And then Mae finds the little green book. The one hidden in Ro’s room. It’s filled with secrets—dangerous secrets—about her family, and about Ro. And if what it says is true, then maybe, just maybe, Ro isn’t lost forever.
And maybe there are secrets better left to the dead
*subject to change*
Opening Sentence: “It isn’t a night for raising.”
Musings:
The Breathless, the ones who cannot join us in the living, the dead, and sometimes the dying. The Breathless is mixture of dark magic, death, and what happens when you love too deeply. It sheds light on the darkness we sometimes have in our souls and how hope can sometimes lead you to do bad things.
What I enjoyed most was that this book was a big mystery to me at first. From page one I didn’t exactly know what to expect and what began to unfold before my eyes ended up being a dark and turbulent chain of events that blurred lines between right and wrong. However, there were some times I got confused about the storyline (which is admittedly my own fault for only glancing at the synopsis and not getting myself acclimated with how this story was going to go). I was expecting this to be a bit more paranormal, but instead it was very witchy and I was pleasantly surprised by the storyline I got.
I felt very in the mood for Halloween while reading this and the spookiness of it made me very happy. I think that the best way to experience this novel is going in only knowing the synopsis and just a little bit about the general vibe this book has.
With atmospheric descriptions, a unique storyline, and a old spell book connecting past and present, The Breathless will delight and scare you until the very end. This book will jar you and make you question what is really going on and even what you would do if you had a chance to bring a loved one back from the dead.
Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.
-Till next time!
The Book Raven 
This one didn’t work for me Tiana, but I’m so glad you enjoyed it.☺️
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This looks interesting. Thank you for this review, Tiana!
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I’m glad you liked it!
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Whoa! Its’s been SOOOO long… I have been meaning to catch up on your posts, Tiana. ;P ;P
BUT THIS REVIEW— Well, you had me at WE WERE LIARS – goddd!!! THAT BOOK BROKE ME!! I can’ even BEGIN to explain how and why BUT IT DID. And ugh…..I NEED TO BE BROKEN AGAIN!! xD xD Apparently, I like being emotionally wrenched. ANYWAYYY….I AM SOO GOING TO READ THIS BOOK. NO DOUBT AT ALL ABOUT THAT.
Loved you review. 🙂
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Thanks so much! I actually haven’t read We were liars yet and it sounds like a book that I MUST READ! It sounds amazing! I’m so happy you enjoyed my review!
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Great Review, Tiana 🌸
This sounds really good and right up my alley, I love a good mystery and this sounds really mysterious, spooky and dark – something which I’ll definitely enjoy!
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I hope you get to read it soon. I think you would really enjoy it! 😃
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I’m glad you enjoyed it but I couldn’t get through it. I stopped halfway but at the same time I want to know how the rest of the story plays out. If someone can tell me the ending of this novel, I would be grateful. Is Ro really dead? If it was a murder who did it? What happens to Grady and Hanna in the end? How did magic play a role in the rest of the book?
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Yeah Ro is dead. Her death was an accident. Lance in a rage kills cage (also Lance was trying to use magic in order to bring roe back). I don’t remember what happened to Grady and Hanna. Magic essentially made lance and Mae do some things they never should have to try and bring Ro back from the dead as the person they loved simply because it was an option.
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So cage dies?!?! And do they bring Ro back?
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Nope. Ro remains dead they stop the ritual from happening.
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Why did they stop? This reminds me of a Buffy episode
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Mae stopped them but I don’t remember the how. Honestly, it feels like it’s been too long since I’ve read this.
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That’s fine lol I was just curious because I’ve given up on the book
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It’s understandable, no worries! 😊
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