Breathe Into Me by Sara Fawkes

Author: Sara Fawkes
Publication: April 8, 2014
By: St. Martin's Press
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How did my life get so broken?  

It’s a question Lacey St. James asks herself every day. Stuck raising her little brother in a trailer park while she works a dead end job at a grocery store, she has a stalker exboyfriend, a bad reputation, and no way out. 

And then, she meets Everett, who changes her entire existence.

Everett is an outsider who’s housesitting his family’s mansion off the coast, and for reasons Lacey can’t understand, he’s completely transfixed by her. He seems determined to show her that life can offer more than she’d ever hoped for, if only she believes in herself. She desperately yearns to trust him, but what happens when she finds out that everything he’s told her is a lie?





I received this eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

This is a tough review to write because I wanted to like this book, I tried to like this book, but there was just too much that didn't work. 
 
The writing isn't bad and the story has potential, but giving Lacy every hardship known to New Adult was drama overkill and made it difficult to connect with her or any of the characters. The biggest issue, the reason Everett is so insecure about their budding relationship, would have packed a better emotional punch if it didn't have to compete with everything else they both had going on. As a result, when the reveals did take place, I found myself too distracted to care the way I should have. I way I wanted too.  

I also didn't buy the romance between Lacey and Everett. There wasn't enough time or tension and it felt forced and awkward. 

I'm a huge fan of dual POV, however, switching from first person past tense to third person half way into the book was not a good choice. I'm guessing the author was going for edgy and creative but it came across messy and confusing and pulled me completely out of the story.