Stealing Breath by Joanne Brothwellebook
Published March 9th 2012 by Crescent Moon Press
My rating: EPIC
| Deep in the backwoods of North Dakota, twenty-one year old Sarah Ross is searching for a missing child when she is attacked by a glowing-eyed, transparent... creature. Sarah survives, destroying the monster by using mysterious abilities she didn't even know she had. Bloody and bruised, Sarah flees the scene and runs directly into Evan Valente, a handsome, charismatic stranger who helps her back to safety. But what is Evan doing out in the forest at five in the morning?Turning to a healer, Sarah is shocked to learn her eyes bear the mark of the Indigo Child-an evolved human with the ability to feel the emotions of others. But her indigo aura also makes her an easy target for those who wish to consume her powerful essence.Soon, Sarah is falling deeply in love with Evan and wants nothing more than to follow her heart and trust that he is the man he says he is. But she can't ignore the lingering feeling that Evan is hiding a terrible secret. The deeper she digs, the more danger she faces, leading her on a course that will force her to face the darkest, innermost parts of her soul.
I received a free copy of this book on the Bewitching Book Tour for an honest review.
At the exact moment I flicked to the white page on my Kindle signifying the end of this story, I knew there would be trouble. YES, TROUBLE! My husband, unfortunately, was the recipient of my bibliophilism wrath! I tend to get very dramatic when a book gets me this excited; and I wanted to break everything breakable when I reached the end of this journey. I did not expect to neglect my duties in favor of sneaking peeks at this book; and yet I did EVERY chance I got.
This book had:
♥ Native American folk lore
♥ Italian folk lore
♥ Magic
♥ Fighting
♥ Romance
♥ Betrayal
♥ Murder
♥ Mystery
♥ Italian folk lore
♥ Magic
♥ Fighting
♥ Romance
♥ Betrayal
♥ Murder
♥ Mystery
I absolutely refuse to spoil the story by telling too much (the synopsis tells enough), so here’s my abridged reaction:
YEEEEAAAAHHHH! The characters…I loved them all instantly. I want…scratch that…I’ve got to see more of them! Sarah is an empath that we later learn is so, so much more. Even, I cannot speak of, but once you discover his secret, you’ll be so glad you did. The other supporting casts members were also great without being self absorbed static. They really did act to enhance the main focus which was the plot.
The plot was freaking awesome. The pretense of the missing child and the follow through into the bigger story was a mind blowing experience....
Like free-falling 250-feet from a C-130……
wind in your ears……
heart in your esophagus…..
belly button touching your back…….
opening parachute flanked on either side…….*Gasps*...... yanks you back and you know very soon it will all end, but you keep wishing you could freaking pimp slap gravity just to say on this ride just a little longer.
Yeah! That’s how this book made me feel. (And this is after I've had a few days to calm down.)
Random Questions
1. What was the first scene you ever wrote for Stealing Breath?
The first scene of Stealing Breath was written when I still wanted it to be a Young Adult novel. She was a teenager at high school sitting at her locker. Very boring.
2. Did you have a scene that you loved but ended up cutting?
I had a scene where Sarah actually dies, and has an out-of-body experience and is looking down at herself, dead on the floor. It was a really cool scene, but it just didn’t work with the story, so it got hacked. I’d love to figure out a way to use it in a future novel!
3. I usually have an a-ha moment, where an insignificant detail becomes something really important. Did you have a moment like that? Will it spoil the plot to tell me what it was?
Not really, to be honest. I had a lot of critical feedback that lead to some pretty major insights into plot, character and writing problems, definitely. One of the biggest was when my critique partner told me she really hated the hero, to the point where she really wanted to kick him in the ‘nards. I realized he had to be completely revamped. That earlier character is gone, there is absolutely no semblance between him and Evan. Evan is awesome. I love him.
4. Are you surprised where the story took you? Or if ended up where you planned, were you surprised how you got there?
This story has been through so many different versions, it is nothing like where I thought it would end up. I’ve re-written it about four times, with major overhauls in between. All of the really big problems in its earlier forms have been resolved. I love where it has ended up!
5. While reading, I thought of "Slave Lake" as the Spirit Lake, North Dakota, where the Sioux reservation is located? Am I close? And if so, why there? What's special about North Dakota to you?
Yes, Slave Lake was inspired by Spirit Lake, North Dakota, which used to be called “Devil’s Lake”. My paternal grandmother was born there, and I always thought it was such an awesomely creepy name! I’ve never been to Spirit Lake, so I made up Slave Lake instead.North Dakota was chosen because geographically, it is the most similar to the setting I had in my mind. I’m from Saskatchewan, Canada, and when I imagined many of these scenes, they were in specific places I’m familiar with in my home province. I wanted to target a broad audience, North America wide, so I went with North Dakota. Because who would want to read about Saskatche-what?
6. The ending allows for you to walk away, but leaves the door open to come back. Are you planning a sequel?
I’ve already written the sequel, and I have just signed the contract for publication with Crescent Moon Press! The sequel, currently titled Silencing Breath, is far darker than the first. Sarah goes through some awful situations and has to make some morally difficult decisions. I tortured Sarah and Evan relentlessly!I also wrote part of it in third person (from a different character’s perspective), but I don’t know if that will stay. I quite like it, but not a single person in the world has read it yet, so I have no idea whether other people will feel the same way about it as me!
About the Author
Joanne Brothwell is the author Stealing Breath, a paranormal romance from Crescent Moon Press, who has also published Vicarious, the prequel to Stealing Breath. Joanne lives in the country with her family where her stories are inspired by the dead things that appear at her doorstep on a daily basis.
You can find her online:
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