Review of Dare To Breathe

Synopsis

Can you learn to forget?

Sam is plagued by nightmares she can’t understand with dark visions of a past she suspects may be her own. When she moves into a new co-ed house, she is drawn to the handsome but aloof Nathan. The housemates welcome in Sam but all withhold their own secrets from her which she knows she needs to unravel to truly understand Nathan. But her past is destined to torment her, can she find the strength to face her fear?

Review

This book follows a lot of the basic principles of a New Adult romance.  The hero and heroine are both in college, trying to stumble on with their lives despite their past, when they begin to develop feelings for each other.  

The back story for the hero seems a little off because his reaction to guilt over a woman in his past is to whore his way through women.  That doesn't make much sense to me but maybe that is because I am a woman. 

 

The back story for the heroine, on the other hand, is heartbreaking.  There is no absence of emotional investment in this book because it is impossible to not be drawn in.  

 

There were a couple of things about this book that I really liked.  First, I liked that things improved for the heroine following the initial traumatic events in her life. I've gotten kind of tired of reading about kids who have only experienced suffering.  The story is written so that, in order to move on with her life, the heroine has to figure out exactly what happened to her in the past and I found that to be a pretty realistic story line.  

 

Second, I like how the hero and heroine come to terms with the unhealthy aspects of their relationship. I don't know if it is realistic that they would be able to do so at the point in their lives where they did but I appreciated that they did.  Stories these days seem to gloss over how unrealistic it is for people to be able to maintain a relationship under unhealthy, obsessive conditions.  

 

Third, I liked that the author included one totally realistic character, Jess.  Authors put a heavy emphasis on heroes and villains but you rarely see a character who isn't inherently bad but is simply too selfish to be good.  This particular character trait is pretty common in people in this age demographic so I was happy to see it.

Overall, it was a good book and the element of suspense and danger in the end made it memorable.

*A copy of this book was received in exchange for an honest review.*

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Katie