Breathe into Me

Written by Sara Fawkes

Narrated by Mackenzie Harte

From New York Times bestselling author Sara Fawkes, Breathe Into Me is an edgy New Adult novel that follows a young woman who finds redemption in love.

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?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Apr 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781427241269

Sara Fawkes

SARA FAWKES is the USA Today bestselling author of Anything He Wants, which was originally self-published as an e-serial novel and sold hundreds of thousands of copies.  She lives in California, where she writes full time.

Reviews for Breathe into Me

[simplykelina · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to love this, and I really thought I was going too as I started to read. However; I was left a little disappointed. If you can think of a plot device I feel it was in here. There was almost too much going on in this one. I wanted more of certain sub plots, but they all fell a little short for me. There were too many thrown into the story and not enough information around any of them. Even the side characters had intense stories surrounding them, and I found myself rolling my eyes when a new story was revealed. I think this would have been an outstanding read if the author only focused on the home life of Lacey. All the other things just took away from the story.Overall, this was a disappointment.

[bette_hansen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book! Fascinating characters,interesting setting, and a story line with a great balance of angst and joy. This is the first book I have read by the author but I will definitely be watching for the next one. Great NA book that I highly recommend.

[katsmiao · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If the author wanted me to feel bad for the main characters, Lacey and Everett, and at the same time cheer them on, feel sympathy and hope their life turns around, then she succeeded.

This book was an emotionally charged read about young people going through a very rough life and trying to find a way out. They bring out the best in each other.
I really loved Everett's character, he is so sweet and genuine.

[schatzi_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lacey St. James isn't looking for trouble when she walks into a bar that night; she already has plenty of that in her life with her dysfunctional family, her abusive boyfriend, and secrets that the whole town knows. That night, she finds Everett Ward, a good-looking guy who doesn't seem to fit into the rural Mississippi town. A friendship develops between them, and then more, but the secrets that they are keeping from one another threaten to tear them apart.I wavered between giving this book two and three stars. I ultimately decided on three stars because, while the book DID have some issues that could/should have been taken care of and/or addressed, it did keep me interested. The characters are overwhelmingly one-dimensional. Lacey is the consummate victim. being brutalized by her boyfriend Macon (who is a consummate abuser), verbally and physically abused by her grandmother, neglected by her mother, and other things that are discussed later in the book - as in, being raped by three guys after having something slipped in her drink. The whole thing was videotaped and passed around, but no charges were brought - in fact, SHE was the one who was blamed. One of the cops "investigating" her case said that she seemed to be enjoying herself, and word got around town fast that she was nothing but a slut trying to ruin the boys' reputations. Ultimately, nothing came of her reporting the crime except a heaping load of shame. Everett is the perfect knight in shining armor, at least for most of the book. Ashley is the cold-hearted bitch who cares for no one but herself. Etc, etc. Not one of the characters particularly had any personality, and there wasn't much character growth, to be honest - even Lacey, who matures a little, but not nearly enough, by the end of the book. Lacey, as a character, was incredibly hard to relate to and understand, at least for me. I understand that she has had a rough and difficult life, particularly in the last five years since moving from Oregon to Mississippi, which sometimes primes a person toward future abuse. However, her mindset is strange and hard to follow; she is aware of being abused, but doesn't seem to care enough to do anything except put up with it. Even after almost being raped by two of her boyfriend's friends in a parking lot, with her boyfriend's "approval," she still wants to dial him when things are going badly for her, even after being away from him for weeks. I don't understand that. I grew up in a very shitty environment with some very shitty parents and very shitty friends, and once I got away from all of that crap for a few weeks, there was no way in hell that I would have ever gone back. Lacey seems to want to go back because she just doesn't want to try; she wants everything to be easy, and unfortunately, when put in these circumstances, you have to be a fighter.Another problem I have with the book is the pacing. It's rather slow at the beginning, which I don't necessarily have a problem with, but, towards the end, there were just too many things thrown in at once - Skye, Everett's sister, making an unexpected appearance in Mississippi; what happened with Everett's ex-girlfriend, who committed suicide after nude pictures of her were leaked by Everett's sister; what happened with Davy, Lacey's younger brother, who was being physically abused by their grandmother and mother; Macon's final attempt to "get back" at Lacey for leaving him; Lacey establishing contact with her "Oregon family," (her adopted father's relatives) and realizing that they still wanted her in their lives; etc. All of these happened within the last fifty pages or so, most of which really could have been better placed throughout the book to make it seem less like an avalanche of loose ends that needed to be tied up quickly and neatly at the end of the book. It led to the book feeling extremely rushed at the end.And let's talk about the rape thing.I feel sorry for Lacey, and I can honestly believe crap like this would happen. It's a small town; I've lived in those before, and I know how things can unfortunately work. I don't find it too hard to believe that a rape case, even one that was obviously videotaped and sent around to others, would lead to nothing. I mean, look what happened to Rehtaeh Parsons, who was driven to suicide after pictures of her rape were being circulated, and nothing happened to anyone involved in that case. Even after her death, people were still trying to blame her for what happened, which just makes me sick and filled with rage. And then there was the Steubenville rape case - a case that, I honestly believe, would have never been prosecuted without Anonymous stepping into the picture and making it a national headline. Adults were trying to cover up the situation and blame the victim, which is absolutely DISGUSTING. I know exactly where Steubenville is; I grew up in a town not too far away, and I know of similar cases in other nearby towns where nothing was done. Such is life in rural America at times, unfortunately. So I know that some readers can't believe that what happened to Lacey would be used against her, but oh I can. Oh I can. I think it's highly realistic.And the sex honestly scared me a little. Eek! There was so much pounding and stabbing, all with very little foreplay. Ouch. It make me seriously glad that I am a lesbian! But, like I already said, this book did keep my interest; I read the book pretty quickly, and I kept wanting to read "just one more chapter." So I did end up giving the book three stars. I'd probably read more from this author in the future, but I don't think this is a great work of art. If you're looking for some new adult to lose yourself into that walks down familiar paths, this might be for you.

[books007_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lacy has issues. Raising her little brother in a trailer park while she works, bad reputation, stalker ex-boyfriend...life is tough. Enter Everett. After coming to her rescue one night, she soon realizes he is interested in really getting to know her. She starts to trust again. Until she realizes Everett is not who he seems. I read in a review a line that sums this book up so well, I'm quoting it. "- a girl that needs saving and a boy who has the world on his shoulders" - this is that book! A broken love story. Interesting plot, good read. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[ladybug75-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was incredible. Lacey's world is torn apart when her step father dies and the feeling of total distruction is all that seems to be in site.She's desperate to change her life and has a change of pace when a cute stranger crosses her path but can she trust anyone.Everett feels that his past is consuming him and that no matter what he will never deserve anything good in his life so his secrets are better kept hidden. One Night at a club will change the course of his summer more than he thought he could ever envision being possible.Great story. Loved it

[darkfaerietales_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Steamy new adult book full of heartache, romance, and forgiveness. It had some frustrating moments but overall it was a good read.Opening Sentence: A handsome boy was lying in bed behind me, but the condescending leer on his face made me want to run away.The Review:Lacey St. James feels stuck. She is stuck living in a crappy trailer, in a gossipy small town, working at a dead end job. But she doesn’t know how to get out. She didn’t graduate from high school and if she left who would look after her little brother? Certainly not her drunk mother or her abusive grandmother. No, Lacey will just have to make do with what she has, but then Everett walks into her life.Everett isn’t from her small town and he doesn’t know about Lacey’s past. He is just visiting for the summer and for an unknown reason he seems to be interested in Lacey. But Lacey doesn’t trust men, they are only looking for one thing and there are no exceptions. But every time she is around Everett he is a complete gentleman and Lacey is starting to wonder if he could really be different. Then she learns about his secrets and maybe he is just as terrible as everyone else in her life.I had very mixed feelings about Lace. There were parts that I loved about her and other parts that frustrated me. She has been both physically and mentally abused for the last few years of her life but instead of rising above it she has let it crush her. She lets everyone treat her like dirt and she does nothing to stand up for herself. I understand to some extent that she is damaged but I guess it is hard for me to relate to her because of how she handled everything. I guess I just couldn’t ever see myself letting others treat me like that so from a personal stand point it was really hard for me to connect with or respect Lacey. But on the flip side of things I felt that she stayed very true to the type of character she was designed to be. Lacey is a very cautious person and even though she lets people use her she doesn’t really let them into her heart. In so many books I have read girls like Lacey will just throw out common sense and give their heart away to the first guy that asks for it. I was so happy that Lacey made Everett work for her. She keeps him at a distance for quite a while and their relationship developed slowly. That made it so much more believable and helped me to like Lacey a little bit more. Overall, I would say Lacey was a good character, I just didn’t love her as much as I would have liked.My feelings for Everett were the total opposite, I absolutely adored the guy. I felt like I completely understood him and everything he did made sense to me. Because of that, I developed a much deeper connection with his character. Also, I have a thing for a hot guy that knows how to be a gentleman and can show respect for a girl. Even though he really likes Lacey he never in anyway pushes her to do anything she doesn’t want. But he is always there for her even if it is just as a friend. Sure he has a gorgeous face and a charming personality, but what really made him sexy was how he treated Lacey with respect. I thought he was a fantastic love interest and he really improved the story.Breathe Into Me was an emotional read full of passion, heartache, and forgiveness. While I obviously didn’t love everything about this book it was still a very good read that I did enjoy. The plot was extremely predictable and unfortunately it was very similar to a lot of other new adult books I have read. That doesn’t mean it was a bad read it just didn’t really bring anything new to the genre like I was hoping it would. I did like the romance, it was steamy and sweet at the same time. I enjoyed Fawkes writing and would read other works by her. Overall, this was a good read and if you like new adult romance books, I would suggest you give this one a try.Notable Scene:< Maybe. >It was all I could commit to at this point. While I could talk to him via text, I couldn’t bring myself to trust anyone just yet.Especially a boy.The reply came almost immediately.< Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there. >I read the text several times, trying to see what the ulterior motive could be with this boy. Was he being nice just to get close to me? And if so, why? There was only one reason in my mind why a boy like that would want to get close to a girl like me, and I was tired of that.“Because you’re the most interesting person I’ve met since coming here.”I wanted to believe him, but couldn’t afford to be wrong again.FTC Advisory: St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Breathe Into Me. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[bookshellz_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lacey doesn't exactly have a picture perfect life. She lives in a trailer park with her little brother, alcoholic mother, and hateful grandmother. Her ex-boyfriend has turned into a stalker and she has a bad reputation to top it all off. Then one night she meets Everett and he comes to her rescue when her ex-boyfriend starts harassing her. He always seems to be there for her and she wants so badly to trust him, but she always seems to trust the wrong guy. Now, when she's completely involved with him, she finds out he lied to her. Will she ever find her happily ever after when her world always seems to crumble around her?I really enjoyed Breathe into Me and couldn't seem to put it down! The characters were great, especially the hero and heroine. All the others played an integral part and Ms. Fawkes seamlessly wove them into the story. It was so romantic the way Everett was always there for Lacey and wanted her so much. I loved that he helped her study for her GED (what a sweetheart!). They both has so many obstacles to overcome, but Ms. Fawkes gives us the ultimate romance here, readers! The awesome hero, great sex, romance to the hilt! Who could ask for more?! I highly recommend it and look forward to more!

[deserie4comfort · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 StarsNew Adult RomanceRelease: April 8, 2014ABOUT THE BOOK: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? MY REVIEW:This was very unusual from a typical romance or NA book out right now. And now, unusual is a strong word, but in this case it’s good. I say that because I don’t think you’ll find another NA book on the market like this one. The characters are intriguing in the sense that the author creates very raw and real issues with them. Some could say that they don’t like the heroine, but I have a feeling that if they really understand what the author is trying to communicate—which she did very well—then many would see the astounding effect it could have on how characters are portrayed. The overall story was very complex and highly engaging. You have this girl who has this really horrible life and still tries to keep her head up no matter what comes her way. She has no one to escape to, no family, no friends, and her boyfriend is an absolute hellion. Then Everett comes in the picture, and he sees right through everything. But see, even he has some secrets and our heroine has trust issues. Explosive. That’s the word I’d use to describe this story. It’s good and will have you staying up long into the night reading it. Still, after you’re done, you’ll keeping of the characters. It’s all that, and then some. Get your copy today.