Learning to Breathe

by Janice Lynn Mather

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

In her home village, they referred to Indy as "Doubles". They said she looked like her mother and probably shared her promiscuity as well. She thought Nassau would be a new start, a place she could escape her mother's reputation, but it seemed that trouble followed her from her home village and brought even more with it.

• Pro: Indy was so damaged by her past, and she lost her support system, when she left her grandmother for Nassau. Her fear and loneliness broke my heart, but I never lost faith in her, because there was always this spark and strength inside of her.

• Pro: Mather gave Indy some unlikely allies, and I loved that she did that. There were a few characters I wasn't sure about, but they ended up being some of Indy's staunchest supporters. I like surprises like that.

• Pro: The yoga retreat was one of my favorite places in the book. It was not only an sanctuary for Indy, filled with some really wonderful people, but it sounded like it was a really beautiful place too. There was food as well, and Mather had my mouth watering for some of that retreat food.

• Pro: Churchy really annoyed me at first, but he grew on me as I got to know him better, and I really loved him by the end of the book.

• Pro: Indy's inner struggle regarding her situation was so real. Her emotions were all over the place, and she experienced many highs and lows. She even went through the whole blame cycle. It pained me when she tried to blame herself, and I am glad she had some reliable people in her life to help her see that she was blameless in this situation.

• Pro: This is not an easy book. It deal with sexual assault and harassment among other things, but Mather integrated each topic in such as thoughtful way. It made me sad that Indy was forced to grow up so soon, but I thought she more than rose to the challenge.

• Pro: The ending left me in a good place. I was happy with the outcome Mather gave Indy.

Overall: This story was about not letting circumstances break you. Indy had so many setbacks, and many times it appeared as if there was nobody on her side, but she kept dusting herself off and pushing through until she found her "family".

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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