Friday, January 25, 2019

{Review} Only a Breath Apart by Katie McGarry

Would you dare to defy destiny?Are our destinies written in stone? Do we become nothing more than the self-fulfilling prophesies of other people's opinions? Or can we dare to become who we believe we were born to be?

“A gorgeous, heartfelt journey of redemption and love” (Wendy Higgins), ONLY A BREATH APART is a young adult contemporary novel from critically acclaimed Katie McGarry. “Haunting, authentic, and ultimately hopeful” (Tammara Webber), order your copy of ONLY A BREATH APART now!



About ONLY A BREATH APART:
They say your destiny is carved in stone. But some destinies are meant to be broken.
The only curse Jesse Lachlin believes in is his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year.
A fortuneteller tells Scarlett she's psychic, but what is real is Scarlett’s father’s controlling attitude and the dark secrets at home. She may be able to escape, but only if she can rely on the one boy who broke her heart.
Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings, but as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…


I have been a fan of Katie McGarry since Pushing The Limits. In fact, I loved that book so much that it was my very first review for this blog!! Talk about blast from the past and also, I'm so glad I have matured with reviews. They were almost embarrassing (okay lets be real, they were totally embarrassing)!!! 


So back to this new one, Only a Breath Apart. I went into this book completely blind. Yes, I did receive a notification from Ink Slinger to review it but all I saw was the cover and that it was by Katie so I already knew I wanted to read it. I didn't read the synopsis, I didn't go looking for early reviews. I just started with the first page and the first word and I couldn't put it down!


This story is so much more than the synopsis and banging cover. It is raw, gritty, at times it's dark, but it's also hopeful, whimsical, serious, and I was rooting for the protagonists from the very first page to the very last. 

This book is about triumph, facing your fears, and what can happen when you have the right amount of help. It is everything you want in a book, all rolled into one gorgeous package. 

I fell in love with all the characters and even some I am really hoping will get their own story because I felt a little bereft that I didn't get to know more about them. 

Fingers Crossed!!!

The setting is in small town Kentucky where everyone knows everyone and the "bad guys" are rooted out from the beginning before becoming social pariah. It's always the same, the last name of someone becomes a curse and anyone who hangs with them are damned by the same fate. Even though I thought this would be like other small town stories, it was more. The whimsical approach Katie wove into the plot line was what set it apart from the rest. I'm vague-booking here because I son't want to say what makes this book whimsical, I'll let you figure that out on your own. 



I have to say this is one of the best books I have read in a LOOOOONNNNG time. Yes, it is dark and has trigger warnings for people who cannot handle physical, verbal, and emotional abuse but the overall message makes this book sooooo worth it. I want to say other things about the way the abuse was handled as a future therapist but I will leave it out because I don't want to ruin it, but I will say that the way the author wrote it was more realistic than most books I have read in the past!! 

If you get to the end of this review and I haven't convinced you to read it yet, then I don't know what will. It is amazing and I can't wait to see if there is more from these characters in the future!! 

I give this book a 5 "I never wanted it to end" stars!! 

Buy this book below!

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2M7Sn7f
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2M6S24K
B-A-M: http://bit.ly/2M2na5h
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2tnkyXZ
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2K0iAE4
Katie McGarry Bio:

Katie is the author of the PUSHING THE LIMITS series, THUNDER ROAD series, SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME, and the upcoming YA novel, ONLY A BREATH APART. Her novels have received starred reviews, critical acclaim and have won multiple awards including being a multiple Goodreads Choice Award Finalist for YA Fiction, multiple RT Magazine's Reviewer's Choice Award Finalist for Best YA Fiction, including a win in the category, and she was a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick.

Links:
Twitter: @katiemcgarry

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