Cocktails and Books
Written on Jul 9, 2015
FIGHTING TO BREATHE was one of those books that just pulls you in, deep, while packing a huge emotional punch. It made it very hard to put it down.
Lea and Austin, high school sweethearts who knew they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, were torn apart when Lea's father died in a boating accident. She fled Alaska and everything it represented, hoping to hide away from the pain of every having someone she loved ripped away from her again. So it was no surprise that Lea found herself right back in Alaska having to face another family tragedy. Of course, this also means dealing with the mess she left with Austin, since he never left.
Lea was a mess, but I could understand her fears and why she suddenly left when she was eighteen. Austin had the same career path as her father and she was terrified he was going to end up with the same fate. So I understood why she would run. And I understood why she avoided Alaska at all costs, because she thought he'd moved on and couldn't deal with it. I felt sorry for her. I was sorry that she let her fears rule her life and force her into a life that was no where near filled with everything she should have had.
Austin was one of those alpha males that I love. Hard and gruff on the outside, but oh so gooey on the inside. Austin absolutely loved Lea. He was mean to her when she came back, but you knew he did it more in a self-preservation kind of way rather than truly being mean to her. But he knew, now that Lea was back in Alaska, he was going to do everything he could to make sure she stayed...with him. You have to love a man who's willing to fight for what he wants. Even if who he has to fight the most is the woman he's trying to keep.
If you're looking for an angsty read, FIGHTING TO BREATHE is definitely one to pick up. Aurora Rose Reynolds packs a lot of angst and emotion into 176 pages, but it's worth it when you get to the epilogue.
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