Monday, February 23, 2015

Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally Review


"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.

"Breathe, Annie, Breathe is an emotional, heartfelt, and beautiful story about finding yourself after loss and learning to love. It gave me so many feels. Her best book yet." — Jennifer Armentrout, New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You"

Netgalley again. Thanks for the copy.

I think I'd read Miranda Kenneally's books before. Just need a quick check through my little database of books I'd already read (guess where's the database. Goodreads!). And it turns out, yes! I did read one book. Catching Jordan. The football girl is what instantly comes to mind. And Breathe, Annie, Breathe is centered on running.

Football. Running. I will have to check with all of the other books, but I suspect that Kenneally is running a pattern here. What is next? Golf (oh, please don't tell me she already written one of those. On second thought, if she did, please send me the title).

Breathe, Annie, Breathe isn't exactly the usual story. It is sort of Chick-lit. (Okay, it is definitely that). But in my opinion, it is a really good book. There is plenty of wit and banter. There is a lot of amusing parts to balance out the more serious issues (like dying and death and Kyle's death). It is really interesting, and I really like the little notes (that list of training dates and miles Annie needs to run) the author added on the side. (But let's be honest. It is a bit slow to load, because there is a whole bunch of data in that single page). 

Annie is easy to empathize with. She pushes people away, because she... Okay, maybe it is best not to get too much into spoilers at this point. Annie has a particular strong will, and she is an amazing character. 

Jere is much more humorous, but he is able to pull off the more serious parts of the book. He is an adrenaline junkie, and yes, he does get pretty crazy at times. His wit with his brother, Matt, is really hilarious, and I almost want to read through the rest of the series to find out if Matt is a character (like a main character) in Kenneally's other books. 

(Hey, I can remain hopeful!)

Overall, Breathe, Annie, Breathe is an excellent book. It maintains a beautiful balance of lightness and darkness, seriousness and amusement. It is very smooth, and I swear that Breathe, Annie, Breathe is amazing from beginning to the end. I love its characters. I love how amazing it gets at some points and how realistic it is. It definitely gets emotional (but I didn't cry). 

Rating: Four out of Five

No comments:

Post a Comment