A new book in the Hundred Oaks series by Miranda Kenneally is always something that I look forward to reading. I can quickly lose myself in her books and Breathe, Annie, Breathe is no exception. Many thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the chance to read the advanced readers copy of this book.
Description: 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.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Breathe, Annie, Breathe. The writing and the characters have matured in this book, which is always a great sign for a writer. Annie is instantly likable. Many would relate to her lack of athleticism, but admire her strength to pursue a dream of her dead boyfriend. What I love most about Annie, however, is her focus on her future. She never dwells upon the melodrama surrounding high school but rather struggles to wait tables to pay for her classes and her upcoming college career, all while balancing her grueling marathon training along with juggling her wide range of emotions when it comes to Jeremiah, Matt's possibly unstable, sexy, charming adrenaline-junkie younger brother.
Jeremiah is the quintessential love interest. He admires Annie's purpose of running the marathon. He is able to put his feelings for Annie on pause when he clearly knows that she needs a friend first and foremost. Though I would have liked to understand his reckless Xtreme sport attitude, I adored Jeremiah and thought he complimented Annie quite well. The romance with Annie and Jeremiah is expertly paced and realistic as they try to adjust their lust with friendship and a slow burn romance.
As we follow Annie’s training, with helpful guides to track her progress inserted every few chapters, we can see her grow stronger as a person, watch her grieve for Kyle, and finally open her heart to a hopeful beginning with Jeremiah. I also appreciated the slow unveiling of how Kyle died. Like any of the Hundred Oaks series, this book can be read as a standalone, however, it is really nice to see characters from the other books make a special appearance. Breathe, Annie, Breathe is another great book about dealing with grief of a loved one and healing.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There is some strong language and allusion to sex. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.
If you like this book try: Summer series by Jenny Han, The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
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.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Breathe, Annie, Breathe. The writing and the characters have matured in this book, which is always a great sign for a writer. Annie is instantly likable. Many would relate to her lack of athleticism, but admire her strength to pursue a dream of her dead boyfriend. What I love most about Annie, however, is her focus on her future. She never dwells upon the melodrama surrounding high school but rather struggles to wait tables to pay for her classes and her upcoming college career, all while balancing her grueling marathon training along with juggling her wide range of emotions when it comes to Jeremiah, Matt's possibly unstable, sexy, charming adrenaline-junkie younger brother.
Jeremiah is the quintessential love interest. He admires Annie's purpose of running the marathon. He is able to put his feelings for Annie on pause when he clearly knows that she needs a friend first and foremost. Though I would have liked to understand his reckless Xtreme sport attitude, I adored Jeremiah and thought he complimented Annie quite well. The romance with Annie and Jeremiah is expertly paced and realistic as they try to adjust their lust with friendship and a slow burn romance.
As we follow Annie’s training, with helpful guides to track her progress inserted every few chapters, we can see her grow stronger as a person, watch her grieve for Kyle, and finally open her heart to a hopeful beginning with Jeremiah. I also appreciated the slow unveiling of how Kyle died. Like any of the Hundred Oaks series, this book can be read as a standalone, however, it is really nice to see characters from the other books make a special appearance. Breathe, Annie, Breathe is another great book about dealing with grief of a loved one and healing.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There is some strong language and allusion to sex. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.
If you like this book try: Summer series by Jenny Han, The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
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This sounds like an all around winner Rummanah! I love that Annie doesn't get caught up in unnecessary drama and that Jeremiah is able to put his feelings on hold because he knows Annie needs a friend more than anything. Definitely looking forward to picking this up:)
This one sounds like a good read. I like how Jeremiah becomes a great friend. I think I want to pick it up for that. Brilly review!
I'm behind in her books but I've been hearing this one is great. And it has the best cover. I might just skip some cause I'm anxious to pick this one up!
I've only read Catching Jordan but I really enjoyed that and hope to get around to reading another of Kenneally's books soon. I think I'd really relate to this one because I've just started to get into jogging on a regular basis. I hated running but now that I've started doing it consistently (despite finding it challenging), I think it's a great way to just clear my head. I also like seeing the progress in my fitness :)