Name: A Breathless Place
ISBN: 9789887441588

Harper Bliss

The date is set. Six months from now, former superstar singer Isabel 'Izzy' Adler will die. Since she lost her voice ten years ago, Izzy's been to hell--and hasn't found her way back. She would rather die than live without the instrument that used to make her feel so alive. Enter Leila Zadeh, the journalist brought in to finish Izzy's biography, who will profoundly challenge her desire to leave this life. Best-selling lesbian romance author Harper Bliss brings you a deeply moving story about a wounded woman's emotional journey from wanting to die to choosing to live again.

A Breathless Place

When all hope is lost, can music be the ultimate lifeline? Isabel ‘Izzy’ Adler used to dominate the world’s stages with her vocal acrobatics. But since she lost her voice ten years ago, Izzy’s been to hell—and hasn’t found her way back. When journalist Leila Zadeh is brought in to finish her biography, Izzy’s dark plans for her life are challenged by the brilliant and gorgeous new woman in her life. Will the instant attraction between them be enough to stop Izzy from playing out her final song? Best-selling lesbian romance author Harper Bliss brings you a hopeful story about what it takes to choose life again—and the incredible power of artistic expression. ★★★★★ “There is so much hope and power in this story, it’s simply magnificent.” ★★★★★ “Beautifully written, powerful novel about the strength of your own voice.”

Lucia Correa

A Breathless Place by Harper Bliss, Narration by Abby Craden. 5 Stars for the audiobook and 5 star narration.

I am so glad I decided to listen the audiobook and Abby Craden and not read it myself. Now that I'm retired, I don't have commuting time and the 2-4 hours while I work to listen to audiobooks. Because my first choice is to read myself, I only listen to books I've read before – or in other words - as way to re-read books and it's no problem when its days between listening periods. So I don't know why I decided to listen to A Breathless Place instead of reading it. But I'm so glad I did. Abby Craden is in very fine form. Maybe the best I've heard of hers? Occasionally I would read along with her and when I read it, the words sound flat in my mind, while she puts all of Izzy and Leila's emotions on display. This book is certainly not emotionally flat. I highly recommend the audiobook.

We listen (or read) as Isabelle (Izzy) Adler counts down the days for her death. Yes, she plans to commit suicide on a specific day, now six months from when we meet up with her. Izzy was a mega superstar, stadium filling singer until a botched throat surgery takes away her singing voice. She wants to have her biography done before the day she has planned for her suicide. Unfortunately, her biographer gets into an accident and Leila Zadeh is brought in to finish the book. Izzy and Leila are attracted to each other. The question is, will Izzy be able to proceed with her suicidal plans when the book is finished? 

I wonder if Harper got her inspiration from Julie Andrews? She went through throat surgery in 1997 to remove nodules and she completely lost her 4 octave soprano range. Turned out she didn't even have nodules. She was also led to believe it was a completely safe surgery. No surprise she went into a depression. Luckily she found an outlet writing children's books with her daughters. Which is how I was able to "meet" her. My niece who was about 6 or 7 at the time was a huge Sound of Music fan and Julie was signing books at my local bookstore, so we went. Of course, Ashley tells Julie that her brothers groan and complain when it's her turn to pick the movie, because she always picks Sound of Music. I cringed, the others in the line giggled and Julie graciously said, her brothers would've reacted the same way. By coincidence, I got a text from Ashley today that she watched SoM for the first time in a very long time (She is now 26yrs old) and she said she realized that she didn't understand what it was all about until now and she cried through some of it.

A Breathless Place

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