Donovan, Rebecca (Novelist)

"Emma Thomas is hiding.  From everything and everyone...including herself.  But she can't hide forever.  Her past will find her, and her secrets won't remain quiet--not if she wants to be forgiven.  Emma learns that honesty can hurt worse than betrayal, and the truth may cost her the only love she's ever known"--Back cover.

Out of breath

Rebecca Donovan

Out of Breath by Rebecca Donovan is the much-anticipated, explosive and stunning finale in The Breathing Series. Reason to Breathe and Barely Breathing , the first two books in the trilogy, are both US bestsellers. All fans of Jodi Picoult and new adult authors such Colleen Hoover, Tammara Webber and Abbi Glines will love Rebecca Donovan's incredible writing. A must-read. Those she trusted betrayed her. Her broken heart still wounds her. Only love can save her. Emma can't even think about trusting others in her life again. She can't let anyone in, not when she knows all they'll find is darkness. But some people won't let go; won't take no for an answer and Emma has to decide whether the hidden truths and painful secrets are enough to let go of the possibility of love. Forever. www.facebook.com/thebreathingseries www.rebeccadonovan.com @BeccaDonovan

Out of Breath (The Breathing Series #3)

Ari 😚

Gisela Ayala 

It took me a while to write this review, mostly because I needed a day or two to just really understand and think about the series as a whole, which I will say, exhausted me... in a good way. Rebecca Donovan really made me feel all the emotions that Emma and Evan go through in Out of Breath. I felt everything, every time Emma wept, or was angry, the hurt that Evan felt at being abandoned, and the guilt that they all felt. It was a lot to take in. It goes to show you how one moment in your life, one decision, can effect everything.

The last book, isn't many readers favorite, but I still enjoyed it. It was mostly about how Emma has to deal with the guilt and the consequences of the final chapter from the second book. I hope anyone who reads this book, knows that there will always be hope no matter how dark your situation may seem.

Megan Williams

I absolutely fell in love with this series. It describes the life of a girl who’s mother ran away, father died on her birthday, and when she comes into the care of her aunt she is abused daily. This story is just so heartbreakingly real and it makes you wonder who else is going through this. This third installment of the series was the icing on the cake to a fantastic series. I felt like the emotions running through this book were so painstakingly real that I ended up crying during some parts of the book. I loved how the author used imagery to create the most beautiful scenes in this book. I literally felt like I was a part of this book. I thought that the author did a great job making this book from not only Emma’s perspective but also Evan’s point of view. Sometimes when the perspective switches it gets really confusing and disorienting but this book was almost masterful in the way it was pulled off. This book was just great.

Emma. I’m not going to lie, when she left Evan I was really frustrated and angry, not to mention confused. Luckily this book ends up explaining it and I was like….that totally fits. Emma is a character that seems to think she knows what is what, but always manages to get it wrong. She doesn’t always see things for what they are because her mind is so twisted by the abuse that was handed to her. She has this clouded way of looking at things and sometimes it drove me crazy. I loved her character in this book because of how she reacts and how she tries to get better. Her character really shone in this book and I felt like she became even more real to me.

Evan. I loved this book from his perspective! He added such insight to the story and I loved how I got an inside look on his feelings and thoughts. Everything about him made this book ten times better. The way he interacted with Emma was really amazing. I loved how they managed to recover from being totally heartbroken. I also fell in love with Emma’s roommates. They were so protective of her and each one brought out a new side in her that wasn’t really seen in the other books. I loved how they pushed her to recover and made sure that she was always safe. They made the book really interesting.

Overall this book was a great read and I really do love the series. I can’t wait to read more books by Rebecca Donovan! Be sure to check it out if your into New Adult.

It hurts to say, but I was a little disappointed in this book. I thought it dragged on and on and on with very little actually happening. I enjoyed Cole... and you can't NOT love Evan. Some of Emma's actions were really hard to believe. Overall it just didn't leave me with the same feeling that the first two books did.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

SERIES REVIEW:

This. Series.

*sigh*

What a roller-coaster! This is the type of series that I felt needed to be reviewed together, all in one review, rather than each book separately. Each book ends with a cliffhanger of sorts. Definitely left me hanging enough that I instantly downloaded the next book each time. Which also means each book kind of runs right into where the prior one left off. It definitely had the flow of one really long book, rather than three separate books. Man, this series was GOOD!

What first made me want to read this book, honestly, was that it takes place in Connecticut. We don’t see that very often. I’ve only read maybe two books prior that took place near home, and I love that. I’m a sucker for hometown stories, apparently. ;) The second thing? Becca’s love for this series. She read this series some time last year, I believe, and I still remember her fangirling over how amazing they were. I know sometimes people’s interests change after they start blogging and reading more, and maybe books they loved prior and rated 5 stars would be rated differently now. Not this series though. Becca STILL to this day raves about this series. Since we have such similar taste, that was all the push I needed to start this series.

In Reason to Breathe we meet Emma, who is living a pretty horrific life. One that NO ONE would chose to live. After the death of her father, her mother went into a depression, drinking heavily, barely functioning, and was in no shape to parent her daughter. Emma was placed at her aunt and uncle’s house to live with them and her little cousins. Let’s just say this house wasn’t a happy one for Emma. She dealt with some pretty heinous behavior, felt completely unwanted in the house, and was counting down the days until she could go off to college.

In Barely Breathing Emma’s mom re-enters the picture. After not being a mother to Emma most of her teenage years, Emma is a bit hesitant about letting her back in. But with the hopeless feeling that is consuming her, she gives in and gives it a try. I’m sure you can imagine the messiness this situation will bring. Trust me, this book is a toughy.

Lastly, in Out of Breath, just when you think poor Emma can’t possibly face any more grief and tragedy in her life… BAM! She’s struck again.

This series constantly has twist and turns, slapping you in the face with a pillow when you least expect it. Warning: a lot of the behaviors in these books, by certain people in particular, are pretty horrifying. It was very difficult to read at times, and I was overcome with vast amounts of frustration, grief, and anger. This series definitely brought out the worst in me as far as feelings were concerned. It isn’t a happy, pretty, warm-and-fuzzy type of story. It’s harsh. It’s terrifying at times. It’s wicked. And you know what… it’s also realistic. It’s sad to say, but it’s true. There are children and teenagers that are living lives similar to this story. It’s heartbreaking, really.

That’s not to say there aren’t happy moments in this series too, because there are. Emma makes some pretty amazing friends along her journey, friends that will prove to have her back when it’s needed most. She also has a lot of fun and even meets a few interesting guys she gets to know better. ;) But Emma is a mess. She’s doesn’t always make the right decisions. She is a teenager, of course, and she definitely acts like one. But this girl is dealt a pretty crazy hand, which she’s going to have to grow as a person and figure out who she is, or who she wants to be, and how she’s going to get there. It’s a story about hope. A story that you CAN be better than the life you’re stuck in. That you CAN persevere even if it seems hopeless at first. It’s about change, and learning to be a better person. It’s also about love.

I’ll leave it at that. I don’t want this review to be too spoilery because I want you ALL to read this series. Be in the right frame of mind for it. Know that it’s going to mess with your mind a bit. But give it a shot. It’s worth the read, for sure. I know it’s usually listed as NA, but it can definitely fall into the YA category because of the characters being in their teens. Now that I’ve flown through this series like a madman, I’m definitely hoping to get to my copy of What If asap. :)


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Out of breath

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