Reviewed by Lianne on
Suffice to say, I could not put this book down once I started reading it; forget class or sleep, I just needed to know what was going to happen next! The novel pretty much grabbed me from the first chapter and once the story got moving and Eva travelled back to Tasmania to visit her husband’s family and come to terms with her grief, it’s been one just one shocker after another (another reason why it was so difficult to put down; you tell yourself one more chapter and then there’s a shocker at the end of the chapter and it’s like “Well, I have to read the next chapter now!”).
Some of the developments were a little predictable and expected but the mystery, revelations and complications were entertaining to read and unravel. It could have gotten a bit overly-melodramatic but it wasn’t; the progression of events felt natural and the questions raised along the way were legitimate ones. Some of the decisions that some of the characters faced were handled in a very adult and reasonable manner, which was encouraging.
I really felt for Eva, her grief was quite raw and palpable and pretty realistic. And then to find out over the course of the novel what was really going on with her husband led her through such a topsy-turvy whirlwind of emotions, it’s a shock that she made it through without losing her mind completely. The rest of the characters in this novel were great; there were a few that could have easily had fallen flat or two-dimensional but there was more than meets the eye in both cases and added to the overall intrigue of the story. The location was also put into good use, an interesting choice to which the drama plays out. The ocean is always in the backdrop somehow, serving as a place of solace and a place to escape to.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading A Single Breath, it kept me wondering up to the very end. I highly recommend this book, it's the perfect summer read :)
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 15 May, 2014: Finished reading
- 15 May, 2014: Reviewed