Blog Tour: Review, Playlist and Giveaway: Lori Clark's "I Breathe You."

@clarkelori  @BookEnthusiast1

Blog Tour:  4 star Review of "I Breathe You" by Lori L. Clark Plus Playlist and Giveaway: 

Synopsis: 

When a tragic accident leaves Rhane Evans -- lead vocalist for the rock band Fate's Crazy -- permanently unable to speak above a whisper and kills the love of her life, she moves across the state to pick up the pieces. Shattered, Rhane struggles to understand what happened the night of the accident, an accident everyone blames her for, even though she wasn't driving the car.

Enter Ian Callahan. He's the one person who may have a more tumultuous past than Rhane. Though they try hard to deny the sizzling attraction between them, it proves nearly impossible. When Ian's troubled past threatens to tear them apart, they begin to believe happiness isn't in their cards.

Because Fate's Crazy that way...

Review: Surj Harvey

When I read the synopsis for "I breathe You," I was expecting quite a heavy read but that's not what I got. Don't get me wrong though, it's not a bad thing. I mean books don't have to rip your heart out and leave you broken for you to enjoy them right? And that's what I found with Rhane Evan's story. This book kept me engrossed and as much as I thought I'd be able to put it down at 50% and pick it up again the next morning, it was more like 65% by the time I finally managed to part with it!!! But I was up again at the crack of dawn desperate to see where the story would lead and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.

Rhane Evans had her whole life mapped out for her. She was the lead singer of "Fate's Crazy" a rock band that was about to hit the big time and she had a boyfriend who she loved:

As much as he knew how to push my buttons and infuriate me, 

I loved Dalton Morgan to the edge of time and back.

But fate was not on their side and one night, a car crash took the love of her life but also stole her voice:

What I've become is a broken twenty-three year old, barely able to speak above a whisper. 

An out of work woman mourning the death of the only man I've ever loved. 

The book didn't go into the details of the accident. One minute I was reading about the bands imminent success and the next, it was six months on and Rhane's life had been turned on it's head. Yes my heart hurt for her . She knew exactly what she'd lost and what the future now held for her and she was angry. Holy hell was she angry. Mix that with frustration, feistiness and sarcasm and and I got myself a right little firecracker. On the surface, Rhane appeared brave and together. She appeared to be coping:

Losing my voice was akin to losing my identity, and although 

I try to put on a brave front, inside I am anything but. 

It was the moments where she broke down that my heart went out to her, where the anger spilled to the surface and she lashed out. It didn't matter who or what was in her path, her fury knew no boundaries!!! 
As well as angry, Rhane was stubborn. She wasn't the kind of woman to back down and when she dug her heals in, that was it, her mind was made up. This frustrated me at times because if she just heard people out, if she just stopped and thought things through, the good things in life might have come to her sooner. Rhane did bring some humour to the story though, her sarcastic attitude and feistiness made me laugh and her quirky personality... her hair colour matching her mood or season (I mean green and red at Christmas.... really??? lol) was hilarious as was people's reactions to it. 

As much as this was a romance, for me Rhane's uncle T and Gwen played such a huge part in this book that I couldn't begin to call them secondary characters. T understood his niece and was always there for her when her parents had let her down. He loved Rhane and was so protective over her. I loved that he called her "baby girl." When times called for firmness with Rhane, he wasn't a push over  and when he could see the anger bubbling inside, he knew what he had to do because he's been there himself. And Gwen, this woman was tough and to the point. I loved seeing the relationship develop between Gwen and Rhane. As much as she pretended she didn't need the company, I could see that Rhane was growing to enjoy it. Rhane needed someone to say it how it was, who didn't pander to her every need and Gwen was definitely that woman:

Gwen heaves a heavy sigh, "Oh, boo hoo. 

She called you names. So what? You need to grow a pair.”

And so we come to Ian Callahan, the hunky twenty-three year old who started young!!! I liked his character but he held so much back. His life hadn't been easy:

"My life has been one big cluster fuck after another. I fact, 

I can't remember a time when something I touched didn't turn to shit."

I could see why he tried not to get involved with Rhane but when the connection is there, sometimes you've just got to roll with it. I know he should've been honest from the start but how do you bring up the mess that was his life. At least he was upfront about their relationship:

Sunshine. When it happens between me and you, I promise I won't be able to 

walk away from you. And right now, that's a promise I can't make."

This book was easy to read and it flowed well. I could have read it in one sitting but because I started it late, I had to stop in order to sleep!!! lol The story definitely kept me hooked and the characters left me wanting to make sure they got their HEA. Although "I Breathe You" didn't elicit those heavy emotions from me, I still really enjoyed the book. I think it's because of my love for the characters, particularly Rhane, Gwen and Uncle T. This is a standalone so no cliff hangers!!! 

I rated this book 4 Hearts

Playlist for Lori Clark's "I Breathe You."

Giveaway: 
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