Barely Breathing

** spoiler alert ** If you have not read Reason to Breathe . . . STOP NOW! This will have spoilers from the first book. Go read the first book. Run. Don¡¦t walk. Hurry! It¡¦s that good! Here is the link to my review to get the ¡§gist¡¨. http://www.amazon.com/review/RYBAR5LGMO5JR/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm OK. Ready? 3-2-1. Did you hear it? Did you? That was the sound of my head exploding. Oh. My. God. I don¡¦t OMG much, really, I don¡¦t but this is the second time I have had to use it with Rebecca Donovan and I am pretty sure that I will have to use it in the third book as well. Let me start by saying that I thank my lucky stars that I had this second book was readily available after Reason to Breathe. Not that it helps with the ginormous whole she left in my heart for the third one. Seriously, Rebecca you are a remarkable writer. Your story lines are just . . . mind-blowing (ha). No seriously. Wow. This story starts off about six months after the horrid night that we were left with after that monster of an aunt almost killed Emma. Time has gone by. Carol is in jail, George and the kids went on to live with his mother. (Also Emma¡¦s grandma) Emma went on to live with Sara and her parents, Anna and Carl, who have custody of Emma until she turns 18. I If you didn¡¦t fall in love with Sara and her parents in book 1, you will in book 2. What an amazingly loving and caring set of parents. They love Emma as if she was their own. She is playing basketball, too and trying to have a social life. Life went on. Recovery... healing... time... and surrounded by her loving friends, Emma got herself to a better place. Things began to change and for once there was a glimmer of hope that maybe things might turn out okay. And Evan, of course, who is the most perfect boyfriend and is there for her every step of the way. I shook my head and mouthed, "Where did you come from?" "What?" he laughed."How did I end up with you? I mean, my life's so messed up and then... And then there's... you. I couldn't have made you up if I'd tried." ~Emma ¡¨You are amazing.¡¨ I could feel my cheeks changing color and my lips stretched out into an embarrassed smile. ¡§What did I do?¡¨ ¡§Just you, everything about you ¡V you¡¦re amazing.¡¨ He stated simply. ~ Evan *sigh* *Swoon* "I'm here, Emma. I'll never let you go," he whispered in my ear, holding me tighter." ~Evan *Swoon* "We can contemplate the meaning of your life all you want, but know that you're my meaning¡K the reason behind just about everything I do - and I would never want to change that." ~Evan *sigh* *Double swoon* "I breathed for you¡K I begged for you to breathe with every breath I gave to you. I kept pleading for you to breathe over and over again. And then¡K then you did." ~Evan Put a fork in me. I¡¦m done. Heart melted. Head. Over. Heels. In. Love. Moving on. Emma has A LOT to deal with and she doesn't talk about it to anyone, she keeps it bottled up which leads to nightmares as well as a strain on her relationship with Evan because she doesn't let him in. He is the most understanding patient boyfriend ever and she just won¡¦t let him in. Then we get hit the curveball, despite how she feels, she finally decides to move in with her less than responsible mother, Rachel, who has come back into her life, thinking that it would be a chance to ¡§fix¡¨ their relationship before she heads out to college. Being the overachiever she is, she dove right in with the decision instead of getting to know her first. That may not have been the smartest decision she makes but let¡¦s face it, this book is based on a lot of Emma¡¦s bad decisions. And boy did she make a good amount of them! Well, starting with the decision to move in with her mother. Emma soon realizes this will not be easy because her mother is an alcoholic who likes to get drunk and crazy and then brings home random guys from bars for sex. Even though she is clearly not in a good situation again, Emma begins to hide things from Sara and Evan but they are not easily fooled. Another bad decision. Things get a little more complicated when Rachel hooks up with a younger boyfriend Jonathan, who befriends Emma. They spent many nights talking, avoiding their nightmares. Jonathan and Emma soon realize they have a few things in common that includes being abused by someone who should love you instead of hurt you and nightmares that haunt them filled with pain. They understand each other. They feel each other¡¦s pain. They make a connection because he is the only one that can truly relate to what her nightmares are all about. A relationship starts to build with Emma and Jonathan that she can't explain and doesn¡¦t even try to. More bad decisions. I hated this part. She seeks him, confides in him. I hated Jonathan because I felt as if he was taking Emma away from Evan. No. No. NO! There was something about Jonathan I didn¡¦t like. He gave me the creeps. He felt like a very dark and twisted character that is going to mess everything up between Evan and Emma. "I like this," Jonathan said suddenly, before I could walk away, "talking to you. I feel like I can tell you things¡K things I usually keep to myself. Most people don't understand." ¡K Until that moment I hadn't realized what was happening. I was able to share the demons that wrestled with me in the night, and Jonathan understood in a way that no one else did. He was fighting with them himself, and that had drawn us together. ~Emma. ¡§You asked why I stayed when I had every reason to leave ¡V I stayed for you. I was drawn to you almost instantly without really understanding what was happening. I will always be here for you Emma.¡¨ ~Jonathan Grrrrr. No! I refuse to accept it. And of course, Rachel never takes the initiative to make things better! She gets drunk, creates a scene, apologizes and repeated the same pattern the next day! You will loathe her, want her to disappear once again from Emma¡¦s life when you realize the things that she did! She is no good. Poor Emma. She can¡¦t catch a break. Her bad decisions coming back to bite in the you know where. Things get worse as more bad decisions are made and Emma continues to leave Evan out in the dark and she finds herself getting much more than she ever bargained for and not in a good way. This book, like the first one, was full of angst. I found myself cussing at my iPad, mainly at Emma for making bad decisions and getting all riled up for the things that were falling into place. The emotional rollercoaster took on a whole new aspect with this book. Rebecca Donovan's famous cliffhanger, the mother of all cliffhangers, gave life and meaning to the phrase . . ."left hanging" for the first one, but she absolutely destroys you with the total shocker ending of this book. I never saw it coming. And I knew that waiting for the third book was going to be pure torture. At this point, you are so emotionally invested in their lives, that the cliffhanger for this book rips your heart out. We've become somewhat greedy with these characters and we want more!!!!I literally stared at my iPad for a good half hour after I read the last word. I didn¡¦t know whether I wanted to scream or cry or laugh in pure hysterics because I literally thought I would lose my mind waiting for book three. I had a major book hangover and couldn¡¦t write about or even talk about it for days. I replayed it in my head over and over and the more I thought about it, the more it drove me nuts. I don¡¦t think that I have EVER been so emotionally invested in a series the way I have with this one. It was so aptly named, Barely Breathing. Emma wasn¡¦t the only one whose breath it took away and I loved every angst-y minute of it. A-ma-zing. Lucky for you all, Out of Breath is already out, so hurry on over and check this series out. I promise that you won¡¦t regret it. Rebecca, you did it again. Brilliant. It¡¦s a powerful, solid 5 stars for me . . . again. º

First Thoughts: This book took place 6 months after the ending of "Reason to Breathe" and immediately the reader was sucked right back into Emma's life. So much more happened in this book; both emotionally and physically. There were a lot of rough edges to the emotions that makes me seriously consider why I put myself through these kinds of books but then I slowly remember why; they inspire me. This book will test your limits and see how far it takes till you reach your breaking point; it will bring you to understand a little bit more about Emma and what's running through her mind. This was a book that I didn't want to put down; be prepared for an emotional journey once again. Plot: The plot was good, it had all of the elements that you expect to be there and it kept my interest throughout the entire length. One thing I felt unsure of was that parts of the story felt a little random, like a few scenes didn't blend in well with the rest of the story, like some of the transitioning between days were rough and needs a little tweaking. Don't get me wrong I loved the story, we were privileged more into Emma's mind it's just some of the transitions between scenes seemed off and it took me awhile to adjust to the style. But overall the rest of the plot seemed really good, the conflicts seemed to be explained and allowed time to soak in all the new information and reactions. The ending in this one wasn't near as bad as in "Reason to Breathe". I think I can seriously wait for this next book without being so anxious; the cliffhanger was so much more gentle (thank you Donovan). The pace of this book was intense at times and smooth at others, there wasn't really one set pace, it varied off and on depending on what point of the book you were at. And as far as the story itself went it was really good and had some deep lining issues being addressed, this isn't a book to read if you're just wanting to have fun and chill, this is something to read if you want to be inspired and to experience what's its like to be Emma...to see exactly why she ended up living with her Aunt and Uncle and what led to her deep lining emotions; this book will really open your eyes to the world around you and see exactly what happened to Emma. So overall with just a few minor issues with the plot I really did enjoy the story. Romance: There isn't much I can go into in this book in this department without ruining the book for you but I can assure you the romance is definitely amped up in this book so be prepared for the ride of your life. Be prepared to shout, yell and scream because if you're like me you'll going to want to. But overall I loved the scenes between Emma and Evan and really could feel the love and attachment between the two; it'll melt your hearts. Characters: The characters were created perfectly, it was easy to connect with them and follow alongside them. Emma didn't seem to be different from the first book, of course she might be a little more emotional in this book (but I think you'll understand why). Evan and Sara are just as adorable as they were in the previous book and I still love them! As far as new characters introduced I found Jonathon to be a little creepy; there's so many layers to him that I think it'll be a long time before I'll ever calm down about him. And as far as the other minor characters like Jill and her other various friends, I found they fit perfectly where they were placed, so overall the characters did this book some great justice. Transformation of the Character: There was a major transformation in this book and I was blown away, it was so perfect and so amazing to experience and watch. The changes slowly built on top of one another till the breaking point and all of the changes came into one and the beginning of the transformation took place, I still think there's going to be more added to the transformation in the last book to come but being able to see the beginnings of it was fun and amazing to see. So overall the transformation aspect of this book was beautiful. Description: The descriptions in this book did a great job on allowing the reader to really feel all the crazy emotions this book evoked in the reader. I loved the use of language the author chose to describe the inner mind of Emma, it was amazing to see how she really felt and all the crazy things she was thinking not only about herself but about the people and things around her. As far as the way the author chose to describe the landscape I really loved the way she used to images to contrast with the inner feelings of the main character. The use of the color yellow on the house she was staying at was really symbolic and clever. And as far as dialogue goes, though it seemed awkward at times it was an overall good aspect to the story because there was both outer and inner dialogue; it allowed the reader to better connect with the characters. So overall I really enjoyed the description. Style: The author's style didn't really change from the first book; her writing is just as beautiful and intoxicating as the first book. I liked only seeing from one POV (Emma's) because it allowed us to be able to perceive the conflicts better through her eyes. But overall the author's style was just as good and nothing really changed. Quote of the Book: "Sometimes people hurt more than they can handle...And sometimes they don't know how to ask for help. They're so caught up in their own pain; they end up hurting everyone around them. I wish you didn't keep getting hurt." Goodreads Summary: Emma's struggle with an abusive home life came to a heart pounding conclusion in the final chapters of Reason to Breathe. Now everyone in Weslyn knows Emma's secret, but Carol can't hurt Emma anymore. Some are still haunted by the horror of that night, and some must face the repercussions of their choices. Fans of Rebecca Donovan's debut novel will discover there's still much to learn about Emma's life. Last Thoughts: I would recommend this to fans of "Reason to Breathe" and to anyone who is in need of an inspiring and eye-opening read. This book is for a somewhat mature audience so I advise going to it with care...some of these issues are hard to see. But overall though I felt "Reason to Breathe" was a little better than this book, I will still keep this book in my heart and continue to keep re-reading it for years to come.

REASON TO BREATHE AND BARELY BREATHING by rebecca donovan I have spent the last four days doing nothing but reading these two books. As I have mentioned before my major reading time is spent at the gym from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.. What gets me out of bed and to the gym is BOOKS. When I am reading a good book I have no trouble rousing myself up at 4:15 to get in the car and get to the gym. So I have decided that I should rate my books by their ability to get me out of bed and these two were excellent gym incentive!!! 5 barbells! I have to admit there were times when I was reading that I wanted to just scream at the characters and say wake up! or Spill it already! And there were instances when I thought there was way too much detail being given about someones home, resturant, and or bedroom. But over all I was drawn into these characters lives and I fell in love with them. My biggest complaint is the thrid book doesn't come out until July 2nd. SERIOUSLY!!! I don't think I can wait. So if Rebecca hears my plea, please send me an advanced copy and I will give you the praise you deserve. :) On to the story: These are YA contemporary novels. The main character is Emma. She is lives with her aunt and uncle and is a junior in High School. Her aunt is abusive and Emma spends the book trying to hide the effects of the abuse. Emma is an excellent athlete and uses her talents as an avenue to get her out of her situation. Hoping to some day attend Stanford. Her best friend Sara is mostly a catalist for conversations that give us a bit more insight into Emma. I never really felt connected to her but appreciate the need for her in the book. Evan is the love interest. Now Evan is tricky. I don't really feel like I know who he is. There isn't a lot of sharing going on between the characters but for some reason I totally fall in love with him. I guess that is an example of good writing. The first book ends with a major blow up between Emma and the aunt. I won't give any spoilers so I will leave it at that. Basically the first book gives us an idea of the strength Emma has to live the life she's been given but also the need to be loved and accepted. So as the second book starts she decides to move in with her mom, who gave her up and is an alcoholic. She wants to forgive her and build some kind of a relationship. We get to see that the life she has lived has left her with scars and misconceptions and the hurtful words she's been told did more damage than she imagined.The second book has many more screaming moments of JUST GET OUT YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS, but I understand that is easier said than done. I was sad through the book that Evan seemed to be moving away and she found solice with her mom's boyfriend. And another character kept showing up that made me want to scream because Emma wasn't telling her to take a hike. But the story kept me riveted and I am AGAIN! frustrated that these characters are going to be stuck in my head until July. Rarely do I find a book that keeps those characters running around in my head and even more rare is the feelings in the pit of my stomach when thinking of how they are doing now. I give this a HUGE 5 stars. I haven't been so engrosssed and touched by the characters in a book since I read J.R. Trumble's books.

I can’t even think straight right now!!! If you think it was a lot to deal with in the first book, then you better get ready, because this is a whole other level of... of... I don’t even know. It’s just that intense as the first one. All I can say is.... 1st my head is a mess, and I can’t stop thinking about the book since I’ve finished it. 2nd WTF why, just why did it have to end the way it did. It has me so upset and such a mess. And it’s just a book, a book! 3rd and last I’m going to guess I’ll be up way later than I should be again, with this last book because, I can’t wait another minute to read it. “Not to sound too deep, but I’ve been considering how just one little thing can drastically affect so many different things. Cause and effect. Choices and consequences. Is there a reason behind it, or is it just chance? I can’t even give a review on this because it’s just to hard and I don’t even know what to say without giving anything away except that.... Gosh I feel like my chest is getting tight, and I keep saying no, no, no again with Emma, but for different reasons this time. What is she thinking. Gahhhh! -One I still love Sara, she is the best and really like a sister more than anything to Emma. Her parents are also the best. They truly care for her like she’s just one of there own and it’s nice that they are there for her, fighting for her and taking her in. I really loved how Anna, Sara’s mom just sat with Emma and hugged her, letting her know it was going to be ok. “I’m so tired,” I told her, the ache in my chest sucking the will out of me. “I don’t want to do this anymore.” “Do what?” Sara whispered, helping me up so she could pull back the covers. “Hurt,” I muttered, tears seeping between my quivering lips. “You don’t have to,” Sara soothed, guiding me down on the bed. “Emma, it’s going to get better. You don’t have to do this alone. I’m here, okay?” “Sometimes people hurt more than they can handle,” she soothed, observing me. I had a hard time meeting her eyes. “And sometimes they don’t know how to ask for help. They’re so caught up in their own pain, they end up hurting everyone around them. I wish you didn’t keep getting hurt.” -Evan also as always is the best. I feel bad for what he must be going through himself after reveling what he doesn’t to Emma about that awful night at home. I also feel bad for him and Sara for going through what they have gone through themselves, seeing things from the outside looking in when it came to Emma. Knowing everything was not ok! -Surprisingly I also love Vivian, Evans mom she actually is a truly nice lady who loves Emma and is happy that Evan and her are together. I wasn’t sure what to think of her in the beginning or what she really felt or thought of Emma, and I’m glad she is the way she is. I just can’t say the same for Evans father. He’s not exactly accepting as his mother and isn’t as welcoming. Of course I’m sure he cares for his son, he’s just that typical kind of “we have money kinda person,” thinking things should only be a certain way. -Then there’s Emma’s mother. I feel bad for Emma, I don’t want to really say I hate her mother but I don’t like her either. I feel like sadly, she truly has a mental disorder that is the reason for why she is they way she is, and is what truly causes her to do and say the things she does. I think she really needs professional help and that she wouldn’t be as bad as she is if she had it. And for Emma she shouldn’t blame herself for any of it, because none of it’s her fault. I know she wishes things would change and be different but sadly I don’t think it will ever get better with her mother. -And last there is Johnathan, Rachael’s (Emma’s mother) boyfriend. In the beginning he truly seems like a nice person and I didn’t want to dislike him, but as time went on, boy was I squirming and thinking no, no, no just like in the first book. Except for different reasons. What I really don’t like the most is how you can plainly see he’s really feeling more than just a friend for Emma. And the worst part to me is that, he knows she’s WITH EVAN! Seriously he makes me want to scream. All he’s doing is just confusing Emma, when she’s already got enough going and to deal with. Why can’t he just be a truly caring friend and that’s it, leave it to that. Seriously sheesh. “I knew how much Evan loved me. And I knew I didn’t deserve it. But I also knew he was the only one I loved. The only one I would ever love.” Well again for me this book, just like the first one, if I could would be a review with infinity stars. It truly is that good and a must read. I can’t even wait another second to start the last book, and I really have a feeling that I’m going to be way up past a decent bedtime hour again, because I’m unable to put it down. Lol. I’m also starting to think after reading this series that Rebecca Donovan is now my new favorite author. I’m really going to have to check her other book now, after this.

Left breathless in "Reason To Breathe", I quickly picked up "Barely Breathing" and got immersed in the story. For a while, I was even able to breathe again because it looked like Emma was on the mend and growing in so many ways. Whew! I don't want to go into too much detail about "Barely Breathing" because readers just have to read "Reason To Breathe" in order to go on to this one and try to figure it all out. For this reader/writer, the single word that describes "Barely Breathing" is heartbreaking. And, for me, this inevitable heartbreak takes place over the course of the novel in this slow agonizing way. Once again, I have to say that I am so impressed with Ms. Donovan's writing and her patience in allowing the story to unfold. As a writer, the thing that I was most amazed by was Donovan's talent in letting her readers in on what is about to happen. Her ability to draw her readers in was so subtle and so well done it's incredible. There isn't so much as surprise in this novel as there is this ever increasing build of tension as readers must feel, as I did, this overriding sense of dread as well as this acute helplessness that there is "nothing" I can do to prevent the bad from happening. It's a heavy feeling--this angst--accompanied by this ever present concern for Emma that I think most readers must feel for this particular character throughout the book. Truly? At times, Emma was so frustrating and I just wanted to scream at her: Stop what you're doing right now! At other times, my heart ached right along with hers, especially when it was clear that all she wanted was to be loved and try to love those closest to her in return. What was interesting about all these characters, that we've come to know from "Reason To Breathe" and now here in "Barely Breathing", is that life goes on and people can be so self-absorbed and miss the very pain and suffering of those around them. Just completely miss it. That happened again in this book. Donovan's last chapters of "Barely Breathing" will bring the story to yet another cliffhanging moment. As a reader, I felt that I truly understood where Emma was at and could vaguely understand why she did what she did. But, it didn't make me happy. And now, I'm just sad, plagued by the angst of the storyline, and more than impatient for the release of the third book. I can't wait for Out Of Breath. Can't wait. Readers will be drawn into "Barely Breathing", disappointed when it's over, and a little bothered by the heartbreak within this storyline. And yet, this invisible thread of hope for these two will wend its way through to you, ensuring your return for the third installment in the series. But, like me, you'll just have to wait and see what happens next. As I've said before, I am in awe of Ms. Donovan's writing talent and her ability to weave complicated storylines and the fearlessness with which she crafts each one and the inevitable questions she leaves readers with at the end of each novel. Brilliant, once again, Ms. Donovan. Brilliant! Katherine Owen ~ Author of "Seeing Julia", "Not To Us", & "When I See You"

Rating: 6/10 Synopsis: Emma survived death and is still recovering emotionally, unsure of how to deal with the sudden upheaval in her life. She struggles to rebuild a relationship with her alcoholic mother before leaving for college. But she’s only just finding out that changing households doesn’t mean everything has changed, especially not for the better. Plus, Emma’s finding out more about her childhood than she may have ever cared to know… Barely Breathing continues Emma’s tragic story, but with unnecessary drama and a rather slow moving plot at times. While Emma’s perspective was a great view into her strength in Reason to Breathe, now it feels like listening to an upset child. In some ways, I think that’s probably exactly where Emma is at in her journey to maturity and processing her abuse, yet in other ways, I think Donovan could have left off some of the immaturity that seems uncharacteristic of the heroine we grew to love. Barely Breathing picks up about 6 months after Reason to Breathe ends, which I felt was incredibly frustrating. Emma has just survived death, yet we learn nothing about how she deals with it, how her aunt’s family is torn apart, or anyone’s reaction to the horrific experience. I feel like Donovan has glossed over a major chance to go in depth on the emotional damage Emma has taken. Instead, Emma’s main focus is now on Evan, Stanford, and her mother, Rachel, who is a not-really-recovering alcoholic. Emma tries to rebuild their relationship, only to have Rachel’s new (really hot) boyfriend enter the picture and turn life upside down. I wanted to love Barely Breathing like I loved Reason to Breathe – but about halfway through the novel, I stopped empathizing with Emma and started feeling like she was making bad choices on purpose. Emma hates that her mother is a drunk refusing to stop getting drunk. In the same way, I think Emma is a victim who refuses to stop putting herself in victimizing situations. This major flaw, along with the continued partying and boy-obsessing, made Barely Breathing a lower level read without deep insight, just drama. While I still enjoyed parts of it, it left me more frustrated at the end because I felt like Donovan took a great story and let it fizzle out. For more Young Adult book reviews, visit www.YABookReview.com !

I sped through Rebecca Donovan's Breathing series too quickly to stop and write individual reviews for each book in the series. I really loved this intense, heart-stopping series. I thought Rebecca Donovan did an excellent job characterizing Emma and writing about difficult subjects: abuse, mental illness, and addiction. Donovan approaches these issues without trepidation, and their inclusion in the series is what made the books so unforgettable and emotional. My recurring thought as I read these books was: how much can one person handle before they break? Emma has had so much loss, heartbreak and hardship in her life. She has no one who truly loves her, yet her circumstances never change who she is at her core: a good, loving, loyal person. Donovan excels at writing emotion, and it felt like the books got more emotional the more I read. Each book was so intense, and I found myself feeling so many of Emma's emotions. My heart would race as I read, desperate to find out what would happen to Emma next. I had a couple of complaints about the series. First, because of the heavy subject matter and intensity of the books, they were not always easy to read. There were a lot of hard times to get through, and I would have liked to read about more "good times" after the conflict resolution. What I mean is that I wanted to spend more time with Emma once she finally got her well-deserved happy ending. Speaking of endings, I loved that the endings of the books were realistic instead of your typical rainbows and sunshine happily ever afters. My second complaint is a minor one, but it recurred throughout the series and it started to bug me. The phrase "flipped her eyes to..." was overused. I've never even read or heard that phrase before, and every time I read it, the flow of the story stopped for me as I remembered, "oh, that's how Donovan describes a glance." Despite my two complaints, overall, I really enjoyed these books. I highly recommend this series, and I would definitely read Rebecca Donovan again. I'm glad I bought these books, and very glad I read them!

Barely breathing. My Self. It was after midnight, when I did finished reading book 1, Reson to Breathe, I couldn't sleep without knowing what happened, I was so build up, I had to read book 2, thank god, for amazon kindle, less then a minute and I was reading book 2's prologue then I fall a sleep crying, for the very first time, again without knowing that this was not my first night going to bed like this, I'm an intense reader, very intense. I get into the story so deep, and once again, I want it to be the Dexter, of fictional characters, in this sequel of The Breathing Series, Author Rebecca Donovan writes a powerful and superb story, a roller coaster of emotions, if you love the kids, as I do, you will suffer with the struggles that once again Emma endures, trying to make other people happy, giving them a second chance, and I find my self screaming at the character that really need it to be out of the story and Emma's life, and we get to meet someone, that some of my friends are like, Emma what are you thinking, and some reviewers really have a problem with this part of the book, I don't, is a plot twist, is a part of the story, and we need to comprehend and let Emma experience, telling about her demons. She has been abuse to the point of no return, since a young age, yes, her judgement is clouded but lets face it, is not an easy life she had, and from her point of view, she need it this. And it was a plot twist and I like it, she never did anything wrong, with this character again she was put in this situation by the adult of this story the one in charge of keeping her safe, to me Emma still is a child. An abused and manipulated child. In this book we find some answers, and get into more situations, the story unfolds into a littleBit better time for Emma only to bring her down again, oh well is life as in real life and fictional life, it is what it is, author Rebecca Donovan manage to keep me entertained and reading into way pass my bedtime, and I didn't mind it at all. I laughed and I cry and I got mad, and I want it some more so I read this over 900 pages of two books, and was ready for book, 3 several of my friends are reading it and loving it, several of my for ends and read it and loved it, if you want a read that will bring all you emotions afloat I highly recommend you buy am read the breathing series.

Secondo volume di una trilogia che si fa leggere con piacere e che ti tiene imprigionato fino alla fine. Ottima lettura.

It's really hard to write this review without spoilers, so let me just say that I hated Emma's decisions in this book and I spend most of the book angry. No only it is way too intense and depressing for my liking, but the author left us with yet another cliffhanger!

I will start my review by saying I truely love Emma's story. It's so gripping. I loved the first in the series, Reason to Breathe (The Breathing Series #1) and couldn't wait for this one. I have been waiting for months as I read the unpublished version of the first book. I recently read it again to remind myself of Emma and Evan's story. This book is amazing. I loved the story so much. I read Barely Breathing in under two days. It's a very long book being around 570 pages. I think it may be the longest book I own. You just can't believe the luck of Emma. In the first book she is horribly abused by her Aunt Carol. And then in this book things don't get much better. I love Rebecca Donovan's story. I will definitely be reading anything else she writes after Out of Breath (The Breathing Series #3) (which I have pre-ordered). I loved the way this book ended. Althought it wasn't what I wasnted for Emma and Evan, I was completely satisfied with it. I look forward to reading what will happen next. It will be great to have a different setting in the next book assuming its based in college. I 100% percent recommend this book and advise you to buy it! 10 out of 10!

We all wonder what happend to Emma after the end of the first book. To be honest, the first book was tougher to read and I really just wanted some joy for Emma. So I just couldn't stop reading because I wanted her to be "happy". The more I read it, the more I liked Evan. He's so there for her and it gives us hope about LOVE. But then the end of the book was expected but sad so I just couldn't wait for the last one of the series. To be honest, I read the 3 books in 3 days.

This is a great series. I've just started book number three. Any book that can make me both laugh and cry, is good in my opinion. The topic of abusive relationships is written with sensitivity. I only hope that the ending does the series justice. I've now finished Book number three. It's as good as the first two. I was sorry to see the series end.