Review: Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Read from July 10 to July 13, 2014

Book: Breathe, Annie, Breathe (Hundred Oaks #5) by Miranda Kenneally
Publication Date: July 15, 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Number of Pages: 306
Genre/s: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley

Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

"Breathe, Annie, Breathe is an emotional, heartfelt, and beautiful story about finding yourself after loss and learning to love. It gave me so many feels. Her best book yet." — Jennifer Armentrout, New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You - (source)

A Contemporary novel can either be a hit or a miss for me. I find that I do have a different level of expectation when reading one. I don't know if this is because I assume that I will mostly end up not liking the book or if it is because I'm reading something so close to ordinary life that it's not as mindblowing or exciting as, say, a dystopian or a fantasy world. Either way, managing my expectations prior to reading, works almost perfectly well in influencing how I would feel about a Contemporary novel.

The problem comes in when a book doesn't do hit or miss. When the book just wants to plop right there in the middle grey area, waving its freak flag while saying, "YOU CAN'T CATEGORIZE ME WOMAN!" Breathe, Annie, Breathe is the perfect example of this kind of books.

As always, characters are a huge deal for me. The pacing could be dreadful, the world-building lacking, the writing lackluster, but as long as the characters can carry the story, you can still get me. And the thing is I felt so much conflicting emotions with Annie, our main protagonist. Sometimes I like her guts, sometimes she makes me want to kiss my feet—I'm not flexible so you should know how painful this is. She might have made some of her decisions due to grief and guilt, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. She just couldn't make up her damn mind all the freaking time, and I believe it would bug even the most patient readers.

And then she met gorgeous Jeremiah, the epitome of hotness, with yummy shoulders and holy ab muscles and piercing blue eyes, and... What? I'm just using Annie's description here. Can you feel the sarcasm radiating? Because let's be honest, I don't get it. I don't get it why they hooked up that time they were alone together even when they barely knew each other. I don't get it why they are attracted to each other except by their obvious inherent hotness (duh!). I don't get it why she needed Jeremiah so she could finish the race. I don't get it why it must be a boy, in the first place, that makes her feel alive again. Jeremiah doesn't make me swoon. He is a male protagonist I've read about before. A caricature of a great guy who would complement Annie. I even have to look up his name because I forgot it already.

But when I scratch all of those that I don't get and throw it out of my mind trash bin, I'm good. Breath, Annie, Breathe is a decent read. It's undemanding and accessible. It was almost heartwarming. I felt a slight tug in my heart in the end, although I'm not sure if it's because Annie finished the race, or because she finally got her HEA with Jeremiah. I admit I was more invested with Annie finishing her race than with her relationship with Jeremiah.

Of course, I have to recognized that I appreciated the overall theme of this book, which is finding yourself. Annie had let her deceased boyfriend Kyle and their relationship define who she is. Since all she needed was Kyle, when she had a falling out with her best friend, she just let it happened. She didn't realize she depended on him so much that's why when he unexpectedly died, she found herself lost and alone for the first time. 

That's why I love this line from Annie's mom so much: a guy should fit into your life, Annie not become it.

Isn't that the truth? That before everything else you should be your own person. There were also times, in the latter part of the book, that Annie surprised me. Like when she finally realized having a balance in life is important so she started hanging out with other people. Or when she accepted that she wasn't really the one to blame for Kyle's passing and turning him down was not a bad thing because it doesn't mean she didn't love him, but it's because she had a dream for herself. Seeing her like that is glorious, my friends.

Breathe, Annie, Breathe is my first Miranda Keneally novel. I'm kind of apprehensive because I didn't think I'd rip this book as much as I did. There were some good points, but ultimately my gripe with the characters got the better part of my reading experience, hence the rating. However, I am sure that many Contemporary fans would gobble this up and even love it, it's just wasn't able to grab me.

Cupid's Verdict:

3 Cupids

A copy was provided by the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Dream Boy by Madelyn Rosenberg and Mary Crockett

Read July 1 - 2, 2014

Book: Dream Boy by Madelyn Rosenberg and Mary Crockett
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Number of Pages: 336
Genre/s: Young Adult, Paranormal
Source: ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley

Annabelle Manning feels like she’s doing time at her high school in Chilton, Virginia. She has her friends at her lunchtime table of nobodies. What she doesn’t have are possibilities. Or a date for Homecoming. Things get more interesting at night, when she spends time with the boy of her dreams. But the blue-eyed boy with the fairytale smile is just that—a dream. Until the Friday afternoon he walks into her chemistry class.

One of her friends suspects he’s an alien. Another is pretty sure it’s all one big case of deja vu. While Annabelle doesn’t know what to think, she’s willing to believe that the charming Martin Zirkle may just be her dream come true. But as Annabelle discovers the truth behind dreams—where they come from and what they mean—she is forced to face a dark reality she had not expected. More than just Martin has arrived in Chilton. As Annabelle learns, if dreams can come true, so can nightmares. - (source)

“I've always been a dreamer. Daydreams. Night dreams. Dreams of grandeur and dreams of escape. If I were an onion and you pulled back the papery outside, you'd find layer after layer of eye-watering dreams. And in the center, where there's that little curlicue of onion heart? There'd be a puff of smoke from the dreams that burned away.” - taken from an uncorrected ARC 

What if what you dream about becomes a reality? Annabelle found out she has this unique power in the form of one, gorgeous boy. Clearly having a dream so powerful, it can bring a being into life, only happens in a SciFi show and easily makes for an interesting read. But alas, in Dream Boy, this is where the interest starts and ends. Because after the novelty of having your dream boy become a reality faded, the only thing this novel inspired me to do, is to take a nap myself. Twice. I can't even begin to tell you how a total snoozefest this book was.

I have no qualms in being this harsh because I tried so hard to like this book. However, Dream Boy made this too difficult, and it wasn't long until I gave up. The characters are abysmally dull, and the pacing is just dreadful. As I turn page after page, all I could think about was: I'm one page closer to the end of the book. I wanted to be done with it, so I can finally move on with my life. I've yet to not finish a book, but this one came so close.

Annabelle, our main protagonist, is so boring. I definitely get it why she has to dream people up so her life could become interesting. I believe there were so many opportunities for her to become likeable and engaging. For instance, if we had explored more about her Dad, or her drawings, or her friendship with Talon and Selena, then I might've grown to like her. Martin Zirkle, the dream boy, does not have any redeeming qualities, either. He's as flat as a cardboard. He's cluelessness is not endearing in anyway, much more his stalkerish, possessive behavior. This could be explained by his lack of social understanding, since Annabelle literally just dreamed him to life, but I won't make that excuse for him.

"I mean," Martin said, "how do you know Annabelle?"
"If you were close you wouldn't have to ask that question."
Martin grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap. "Close enough?"
Okay, forget the western. It was more like that thing where dogs pee on their property as a message to other dogs.

— Um, just no. *facepalm*

I'm trying to think of something positive to say about Dream Boy, but all I can come up with circles back to its captivating concept: Dreams and Nightmares—the reason I picked up this book in the first place. Annabelle did choose the right guy for her in the end, so I have to give credit where credit is due. Will can also be included in this very short list because he's the only character I cared about. He almost made me feel something at the end of the book. Almost.

I had high hopes about Dream Boy. I'm deeply disappointed because if you have this intriguing premise in your arsenal, you basically have a sure tool  in crafting a fantastic novel. A slight focus on the world-building in the dream world and having more fleshed-out, dynamic characters might have made this book better. The meaning behind Annabelle's dreaming powers was never adequately explained, too. The explanation was sloppy and prohibitive, and the readers are just left to swallow it up and pretend it all made sense. Also, let's be honest, if you write a story about a special girl, a chosen one, who has to battle an evil entity to save all those she holds dear, it needs to be a girl we can sympathize and root for. Unfortunately, Annabelle doesn't fit the bill.

Dream Boy failed to live up to its potential. Drab and lackluster, even Will is not enough to change how I feel about this novel. Now excuse me, while I dream away the bitter taste this book left in my mouth.

Cupid's Verdict:

2 Cupids

A copy was provided by the publisher at no cost via Netgalley
in exchange for an honest review.