Review- Breathe (Abbie Glines)

Synopsis  

In the shore town of Sea Breeze, Sadie discovers that fame is nothing in the face of passion. A steamy read from bestselling author Abbi Glines.

Sadie White’s summer job is at the beach, but she won’t be working as a lifeguard. Since her mom is pregnant and refuses to work, Sadie will be taking over as a domestic servant for a wealthy family on a nearby island.

When the family arrives at their summer getaway, Sadie is surprised to learn that the owner of the house is Jax Stone, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world. If Sadie were normal—if she hadn’t spent her life raising her mother and taking care of the house—maybe she’d be excited about working for a rock star. But she’s not.

Even though Sadie isn’t impressed by Jax’s fame, he is drawn to her. Everything about Sadie fascinates Jax, but he fights his attraction: Relationships never work in his world, and as badly as he wants Sadie, he believes she deserves more. Yet as the summer stretches on, Jax’s passion leaves him breathless—and Sadie feels like the only source of oxygen.

Can their love overcome the disparity in their lifestyles? One breath at a time, they’re going to find out…

 - Goodreads.com

My Review

The story begins with our main character Sadie White who has grown up, raising her hopelessly dependent and now pregnant mother.  She’s roped into spending her summer holiday cleaning houses in place of her mother, who can’t manage with her increasing pregnancy. Little does Sadie know that she is actually cleaning the house of the famous teen heart-throb Jax Stone, who happens to take a liking to her.  Their friendship/romance blossoms, but then runs into trouble when the media find out that the famous Jax Stone is dating the help.
 

“I know being with me is not easy. But I want you to understand no one has me, or has ever had me, except you.”- Jax Stone, Breathe (Abbi Glines)

One of the main things I loved about this book, is that Abbi Glines took time to develop the secondary characters. Sadies mom is the epitome of a terrible parent. She is self-absorbed and narcissistic never considering how her actions may have consequences.But while I often found myself resenting her I also felt sorry for her, she’s one of those people who can never get their shit together no matter how hard they try. While Ms. Mary the head housekeeper at the Stone Mansion, is kind and motherly and looks out for Sadie at every turn. Even lecturing Jax about not breaking Sadie’s heart because she has too much drama in her life already. And then there’s Mr Greg, the elderly gardener with arthritis who Sadie spends her afternoons playing chess with. The author created this nice atmosphere of family for Sadie in her workplace, which gave a nice contrast to her home life.

 There is a slight hint at a love triangle between Jax, Sadie and Marcus, a serving boy who befriends Sadie. But unlike many YA books with love triangles, Sadie knew who she wanted and there was none of this back and forth crap. She was clear from the start with Marcus that friends are all they were, despite him wanting more. However  if I had had the choice I would have hands down chosen Marcus *swoon*, there was just something about him that set him apart and definitely had me more excited than Jax did.
 

“He doesn't deserve it. He can have any girl in the world's love and he took yours. someone who deserves so much more than a summer fling”– Marcus Hardy, Breathe (Abbi Glines)

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Being summer here in New Zealand, I have been staying at the beach so this was the perfect getaway read, simple, romantic and cute.I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, ‘Because of Low’ which is a companion novel, focusing on Marcus *girly giggle*.

Things I loved about the book:

• The development of the secondary characters. Especially those at the Stone mansion, and how they become a great support system for Sadie.

 

Things I didn't enjoy so much about the book:

• The writing at times felt rather basic making me feel like I was reading a book aimed at a younger age group (but then the raunchy sex scenes had me thinking twice :P ) and the dialogue sometimes felt unnatural and forced.
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My rating: 4/5