Breathe [Kindle Edition]

Abbi Glines (Author)

Book Description

Sadie White's summer job isn't going to be on the beach life-guarding or working at rental booths like most kids her age. With her single mother's increasing pregnancy and refusal to work, Sadie has to take over her mother's job as a domestic servant for one of the wealthy summer families 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 hadn't spent her life raising her mother and taking care of the house she might have been normal enough to be excited about working for a rock star.

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. Relationship's never work in his world and as badly as he wants Sadie, he believes she deserves more. By the end of the summer, Jax discovers he can't breathe without Sadie.

But can their love overcome the disparity in their lifestyles? Or will they have to learn how to without each other breathe again?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Abbi Glines is the author of The Vincent Boys and The Vincent Brothers in addition to several other YA novels. A devoted booklover, Abbi lives with her family in Alabama. She maintains a Twitter addiction at @AbbiGlines and can also be found at AbbiGlines.com.

Product Details

• File Size: 321 KB
• Print Length: 164 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1617980048
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Wild Child Publishing (May 16, 2011)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0051BJSRO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,251 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 84 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I just wasted 6 bucks on this. July 17, 2011

By I love books!

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The premise of this book drew me in. The description made it sound so interesting and the sample I read was pretty good too. I soon found out, however, that this book isn't as good as I thought it was going to be.

Jax and Sadie fell in love waaaay too fast.They had only met like 3 times and already Jax was talking about how she was his "air" and he had a difficult time breathing without her around. And somehow Sadie felt the same way, too! Normally, I don't have a problem with such talk but they barely knew each other! The novel was filled with their ridiculous claims of love for each other too. "You're the reason I get up in the morning." or "You're the only reason my heart beats." or "You're my soul." SERIOUSLY?!?! WTF?!?! All that for a person you've only met a few times?!?! I can stand love at first sight books as long as they're done properly. This was not done properly.

Sadie had about as much personality as a cardboard box and I kept wondering why all these guys liked her so much. I couldn't help but agree with her when she said she was dull and boring. The only defining thing about her was her love for Jax and that got real old, real fast. Not to mention that she would take it as a compliment that the only thing her world revolved around was Jax. Jax was the same way too but he seemed to have a little more life than Sadie did.

They, Jax and Marcus, must've liked her for her looks because I did not understand what was so appealing about her. Which brings me to another point: her looks. Everyone kept repeating how breathtakingly beautiful she was, especially Jax. It seemed like that's the reason he fell so hard for her.... And if it wasn't her looks, it was how she was so refreshingly different from the other shallow girls her age or how she seemed so much older because of her maturity. Marcus played a huge part in that one. I got that they were madly in love with her because she had the looks of an angel so naturally they would lather her with compliments from time to time. But this wasn't occasionally, this was an every time she talked to one of them, constant, 24/7 thing. There wasn't one conversation they had where they weren't giving her multitudes of compliments or telling her how much she means to them.

They dialogue was strange too. No one spoke in contractions and it was hard to imagine anyone, let alone teenagers, talking like that. It felt very awkward and was another reason why I don't like this story.

The plot was disappointing. Nothing ever really happens except what you would expect. Rock star and average girl fall in love -> Blissful happiness along with average girl fearing she doesn't fit into rock star's world -> Something terrible happens which makes rock star think average girl isn't safe in his world -> Rock star leaves -> Average girl becomes suicidal and something terrible happens again -> Rock star comes back -> Happily ever after
Throw some rivals and secondary characters in and that's the story. There isn't any sort of character development. Sadie's mom is the only one who seems to have changed. Sadie is a lot like she is at the beginning of the book: a boring person who takes care of people. At the end she is a boring person who takes care of people with her ultra hot and super famous boyfriend.

So, between Jax and Sadie always nauseatingly declaring their undying love for each other, everyone complimenting Sadie on how unique she was to be gifted with ethereal beauty, compassion, and down-to-earthness, and the disappointing plot with contractionless characters, I got little to no enjoyment from this book. Not once did I feel the least bit depressed about Jax and Sadie's "tragic" love. The only reason I'm giving it 2 stars is because sometimes I felt warm fuzzies when Jax and Sadie were together, doing couple things. There were also some parts I actually liked reading like when Sadie takes care of Sam or when Jax stays with Sadie after her accident. That was a warm fuzzy moment and I thought it was pretty cute. I should've waited until this book goes down in price though. It felt like more of a $2 or $3 book than the $5.99 I paid for it. Read more ›

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Cute premise - needs a good editor! October 3, 2011

By kerykes

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The idea of this book is cute, but needs good editing. The language sounds forced and artificial, not the way teens (or any people!) talk. Even with that, the beginning was charming; it reads like a teenager's perspective, at least.

However... it gets more and more ridiculous and melodramatic as the story continues. The misunderstandings and over-the-top statements from the characters come even faster than in a piece of fan fiction. The relationship between the hero and heroine shapes up to be creepy and codependent, and the whole thing is wrapped up too quickly.

28 of 36 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Blah blah, another Cinderella tale with horrible writing July 20, 2011

By lhmcmullen

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Honestly, the title about sums it up. The plot line (poor maid falls for sensitive, misunderstood rock star)has been done to death, and while I am the first to admit that when done WELL, this tired plot can knock your socks off, Breathe was not done well. Nothing new is brought to the table, there are no twists, turns or surprises here, if you can't see where the story is going, you'd have to be desperately trying NOT to pay attention. Again, a predictable plot is not always a deal breaker with this type of book, if you can connect to the characters, be drawn in, have a vested interest in their relationship. The most poignant (only) scene in the book was an encounter between the rock star and a young fan, all of the other scenes designed to give you insight into the characters and give the story emotional depth felt tired and contrived, with the author resorting to tired romantic phrases that seemed overwrought and intense.

Honestly though, this book could have been an ok way to spend $3 and an hour or 2, had it not been for the ridiculously formal language the author used. The dialogue between the teenagers was just absolutely ludicrous, hardly a contraction in sight, and it seemed the teen rock idol was trying to channel one of Jane Austen's characters. I'm addicted to reading, will read almost anything, and have slogged through some really bad YA fiction, and this writing was right there in the bottom with some of the worst offenders. I literally had to roll my eyes during every conversation and grit my teeth to get through it. Teenagers do not talk like this. Most adults don't talk like that, and reading it felt absurd. If there had been an accomplished editor involved with this story, it could have been saved.... Fixing the stiff, totally unbelievably language and giving some depth to the faster than fast love story could have made this a decent read for teens. As it is, please don't waste your time or your money.

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Edited 1/11/2012:
Completely by accident I purchased another (I would have NEVER purchased it if I had known) Abbi Glines book "The Vincent Boys", and I loved it. It seems that Breathe may have been her disastrous freshman offering and has since picked up some great writing tools such as strong first readers and a good editor. So, skip this one, and go find "The Vincent Boys" for a fun, flirty and at times heart tugging read. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing authentic about this love story August 25, 2012

By S.t.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love YA romance, and i take it lightly, but I really couldn't relate or believe this love story- two guys fall in love totally with a dull young girl, after only brief chats with her... come on....
the dialoges are also so unfit to 19 years old fellas. Too serious too soon.
The story defenetly needed a "build up"

26 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Emotional Wringer! July 6, 2011

By Andrea Thompson

Format:Kindle Edition

It's not often that I read a young adult novel that doesn't have a single paranormal element. Much of the time, I need that little "something extra" to hold my attention. That was SO not the case with Breathe. Author Abbi Glines has written a beautiful, emotionally charged book about falling in love for the first time.

In Breathe, I found characters that were easy to love, and root for. Main character, Sadie, is a girl who has lived a hard life. Practically raising her own mother, working to provide for them, and all the other responsibility forced onto her has left no room for friendship, or love, in her life. Sadie manages to be vulnerable at moments, but never pitiful. Jax Stone, the world's heartthrob, tries to unwind from his hectic life by spending summers incognito, in coastal Alabama. And guess what, he is a nice guy! No games, no secrets and lies. So nice to read about a great, up-front guy. Jax is charming, but never smarmy. He's kind to the people who work for him, taking an interest in them and their lives. Not what Sadie expected from a world-famous star. The secondary characters were as easy to embrace as Jax and Sadie. They all managed to partake in the story in a meaningful way, not just space-fillers.

Breath was such an easy book to get sucked into. The atmosphere is so richly described, I felt as if I were a part of the scenes. The way coastal Alabama is portrayed, the sand and surf, blazing sunsets, the sweet tea always at the ready, makes me even more excited that I'm going to actually be where the book is set, very soon.

So, here's what I LOVED about Breathe. This book managed to put my heart through an emotional wringer.... By the end I felt as if my heart had been lifted up, then yanked back down to Earth, twisted up like a sponge, then stomped on. And just maybe, lifted back up. I loved every breath-stealing second of it. This book made me feel so much. I was reminded of what it felt like to be a young girl falling in love for the very first time. Breathe made me smile wistfully, cry at the poignance, tear up with the emotional pain, and laugh with relief. I went through a gamut of emotions in the few hours it took me to read this book. It only took a few hours because I could not put this book down.

I think Breathe, while it is perfect to read anytime, is an ideal summer read. So if, like me, you're headed to the beach soon, get this lovely book to read while enjoying the ocean. I think I just may have to re-read this when I head to coastal Alabama...

*I received this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.* Read more ›

More About the Author

When I'm being forced up a mountainside with a backpack weighing me down, terrified of meeting a bear around the next corner or when I'm being hauled out into choppy waters holding on for dear life afraid I'll be pitched over at any moment, I wonder why, exactly, I married my crazy husband. Then again having an adventurous if somewhat insane spouse has been the best muse a writer could ask for. My debut novel, Breathe - a YA contemporary romance, was released May,17, 2011 by Wild Child Publishing and it's thanks to one of those spur of the moment boat trips that sparked the idea for Breathe. I've been writing all my life but it wasn't until I tried my hand at YA fiction that I found my groove. Apparently I never really grew up, which may explain my marriage to a dare devil. I've recently signed the contract on my first YA paranormal titled Existence to be released this Christmas. On October 21, I will be releasing The Vincent Boys - an older YA romance with an edgier feel. It will be available in digital format on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can find me on Twitter @abbiglines I have a slight addiction....

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#27 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#7 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Contemporary

#8 in Books > Romance > Contemporary

#11 in Books > Romance

#11 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance

#19 in Books > Teens

#7 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Contemporary

#8 in Books > Romance > Contemporary

#11 in Books > Romance

#11 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance

#19 in Books > Teens