Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally Pages: 320
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc. on July 15, 2014
Genres: Death & Dying, Love & Romance, Sports & Recreation, Young Adult
Source: Paperback ARC from Publisher
From the bestselling author of Catching Jordan comes a brand new contemporary YA you won't forget.
The finish line is only the beginning... Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can't escape the guilt that if she hadn't broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race. But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined.
Despite her coaching, she's at war with her body, her mind-and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms...and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.
“Breathe, Annie, Breathe is an emotional, heartfelt, and beautiful story about finding yourself after loss and learning to love. It gave me so many feels. Her best book yet.” — Jennifer Armentrout, New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You.
Breathe Annie Breathe is the 5th book in the Hundred Oaks series, but it can be read as a standalone. I am going to tell you guys a dirty dirty secret of mine…I haven’t read the books in the Hundred Oaks series yet. Shh! Please don’t throw tomatoes. I have the first two books sitting on my kindle, but review books just took over my life and they just haven’t been read yet. BUT, the good news is, I can attest that Breathe Annie Breathe can completely be read as a standalone. And I loved it! I am completely kicking myself in the butt for putting off the rest of the series for so long. I will be reading the rest of the books as soon as possible.
Annie is a tough young lady. That is what struck me the most about her. She had this amazing sweet sweet boyfriend for most of highschool, and he died. And she is carrying around guilt for that. I just felt awful for her. Before he lost his life way too soon, he was training for a marathon. So in his honor, Annie decides that she is going to train and run the marathon in his honor. Just reading about it made me tear up. I loved that this is how she chose to honor him. And I loved how the whole town got behind her. That takes strength and dedication. She signed up for a training coach.
I loved how the book progressed through her weekly runs with her running group and coach. It was nice to be able to meet some of the other runners in her group and get to know them a little as well. Liza was a nice surprise. I’m glad that the love interest was not her training coach, but rather his younger brother- little adrenaline junkie that he is. Their friendship was interesting to say the least. I loved watching the two of them interact. Jere is so fantastic with Annie. Kind and patient, I was so impressed with him.
I completely see what all the hype is with Miranda’s books. She is just a talented author. She writes characters that you just want to grab lunch with, be friends with and hug. I want to hug all of the characters. Annie comes such a long way from page one to the end of the book. Watching her life progress is such a treat. I also really appreciated the fact that we got to see her go from high school to college.
I can so see why this series is a must read for young adult. It is everything that I want my young adult books to be. Fun, moving, detailed and developed. The main characters shine just as must as the secondary characters. You will love Annie and Jere. If you are like me, and you are one of the few people left on this earth that have not discovered the magic of Hundred Oaks, don’t wait any longer! Grab Breathe Annie Breathe and fall in love. She even made me want to run… and that is no easy feat. I am going back to read the rest of the books now!
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Giselle
Oh em gee!!! you so have to read the rest of this series, Michelle! They’re all just as wonderful and character driven. Plus the cameos of the other characters in each book is just awesome. I’m so happy you liked this one! And every character is just the same as Annie – as in you love them so much you just wish they were your BFF!! Great review! 🙂
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I know Giselle. I really need to get on that. This book was the icing on the cake to convince me of that! I even have the first one on my kindle. It is shameful haha
Kim { Book Swoon }
This sounds like a wonderful YA book/series, Michelle! I like that Annie is a strong character, and the unique take on the running in the book. I need to check out the Hundred Oaks series some more. Thanks for the wonderful review 🙂
Michelle @ Book Briefs
If the rest of the series is like this one, (and I think they are) it is pretty awesome! I need to read the rest of the books asap
kindlemom1
I am so excited to read this Michelle! I have loved all the other books in this series and can’t wait to get to this one as well.
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I need to read the first 4 books. I have the first book on my kindle and everything. haha I hope you get to read this one soon. It was great!
Sarah
This sounds so good! I doubt it will make me want to run, but I’ll definitely check it out!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I am not a runner at all and it made me want to run, so that was interesting lol
Christy
*throws a big fat tomato at you* MICHELLE!! How could you not read the others first? -sigh- You’ve made me sad today. I just started this last night and love seeing how all the old characters fit in. READ THE OTHER BOOKS.
Michelle @ Book Briefs
haha! I know! I completely deserve that. It makes me feel like a failure. I will rectify this soon!!
Daniel M
sounds like a fun one!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
It is great Daniel. Thanks for stopping by!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I didn’t actually realize that this book was part of a series. I got it recently and was planning on reading it very soon, but now I don’t know if I should read the others first. I hate to read books out of order! BUT, you have kind of convinced me that I may be able to in this case. What to do, what to do. The pressure is killing me! 🙂
Thanks for your review!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Michelle @ Book Briefs
This book works great as a standalone, so I say go for it! And read the other books after because EVERYONE is shaming me for not reading this AWESOME series yet! I will be reading them soon 🙂
Lekeisha
I’ve heard so many great things about this book. Must Read Now!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
Yes, I am kicking myself for not reading the other books sooner!
Thanks for stopping by Lekeisha and I hope you get the chance to read it soon!
starryeyedjen
I’m in the same boat. I have the first couple of books on my Kindle, but I just borrowed this one from my library. I rarely read books out of order, but I’m going to test that whole “this book can be read as a stand-alone” theory. 😀 Great review!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I feel ya Jen. I normally do not read books out of order either, but I couldn’t pass this one up, and I promise- it completely works as a standalone. But it did make me want to read the rest of the books ASAP
Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun
I’m really drawn to this series because I’m a newbie runner and have done a few 5ks this year – not even close to ready for a marathon. But I think the idea of basing a book around that activity and the way it helps a person heal is so smart. I already have the first book on my TBR too, just need to get on it! Great review 🙂
Amanda Sakovitz
Thanks for the chance
Thomas Murphy
sounds like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway.
Margaret Appel
Breathe Annie Breathe sounds like a great read. I can’t imagine having the stamina to compete in marathons & admire those who do.