Review: Loved!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 5, 2013
I gave Every Breath 4.5 Stars.*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*Ever since I laid eyes on the synopsis of this book I couldn't wait to read it! I will admit it was most likely the soldier element that had me interested but who doesn't dream of striking up a hot pen friend relationship with a man in uniform? No one? Just me? *blushes* Okay moving on...Makenna died two years ago, correction: Makenna's fiancé Shane died two years ago but it might as well have been Makenna that went with him. Makenna struggles on a daily basis to survive this thing known as life, but with the better half of you gone how do you carry on living? So to appease her parents and her best friend Callie, Makenna put on a front and tells the outside world that she is fine. So eager to convince everyone that her head and heart are both in agreement with her moving on, Makenna agrees to date Drew, he's sweet and charming and is happy to take things at Makenna's pace. He doesn't even mind waiting months on end for even a kiss. The guy must be a saint right?So Makenna is "dating" Drew if it can even be labelled that when she receives a letter from a soldier as part of a class project. Makenna emails Sawyer in thanks for sending the letter to her class and for making the children happy, never for one moment did she think a new friendship would blossom.It was clear to see from the beginning that Sawyer was a good guy. For some unknown reason Makenna felt like she could open up to sawyer and they spent endless nights emailing, messaging and skyping. All the while Makenna couldn't face the thought of furthering a relationship with Drew. The signs were there that Drew wasn't the one for Makenna but she was determined that she needed a stable relationship to prove she was ready to move on even though her heart wasn't clearly in it.This story was about Makenna learning to live again. She was so focused on giving Shane up, she didn't release she could take Shane's memory with her and move on to the happiness she deserved. Thankfully Sawyer was on hand to show her that she was worthy of loving again and in fact she was one of the lucky ones as she got to feel deep unconditional love twice in one lifetime.I really liked Makenna, her actions and thoughts were believable, she was a really strong yet vulnerable girl. She experienced more heartache than one should in a lifetime yet she still carried on regardless.I loved Sawyer, I really did, from the very first letter he sent, my heart was with him, I just had a good feeling. So of course I had no reason to fault Drew who was all sweet and perfect in the beginning, but he was kicked to the kerb in my eyes. He needed to move over for Sawyer! I am not a fan of love triangles and if it's not your thing then there is no need to worry it wasn't like that at all. Sawyer and Makenna's relationship blossomed over the internet but when the sexy soldier turned up in the flesh I was a goner! Sawyer was by no means perfect, he witnessed death and destruction and no one can live through that unscathed in some form, so even though he opened up to Makenna there were still some things he wasn't willing to share.At one point when Sawyer's secret was revealed I had the horrible thought of "Oh no please not the culprit scenario" (trying to keep this spoiler free also means it will make no sense ;)) but I was so glad Tasha took it the other way and Sawyer was actually the good guy. P.s I also loved the thought of everything coming full circle. Just Perfect!This story was littered with great secondary characters. I loved them all. Makenna's best friend Callie was a true best friend, even her actions that may have came across as bitchy and harsh were coming from a place of love. Everyone who loved Makenna just wanted her to come back to life as the vibrant girl she used to be. I loved William, without a doubt he stole the show for me, he had a lot to do with Makenna and Sawyer's relationship and his character was a great addition. Even the cat! Yes that's right I'm reviewing the cat! Tasha managed to make Darcy an integral character, namely with her acceptance of Sawyer as Makenna's companion. I loved that little fur ball.I really could go on as there were so many things that happened in this book, huge events and tiny ones all woven together and somehow always connected.  The chemistry between Makenna and Sawyer was palpable even through computer screens. And what I loved was the focus wasn't on the smexy times (don't get me wrong when it happened it was hot) but the emphasis was on the connection between Sawyer and Makenna and they really were building a strong relationship.I enjoyed Tasha Ivey's first book but Every Breath blew that out of the water, the character development and story telling was fantastic. I got lost in this book and it made me feel every type of emotion. I am glad this has been made into a series, as I would love more from this great bunch of characters.If you are looking for a heart felt emotional journey of personal growth and acceptance  with action, suspense and lots of drama thrown in then you must read Every Breath! ~Ava