Laura and Lauren's Review of A Reason to Breathe by C.P. Smith

If you have read and enjoyed Wicked Ties (Wicked Lovers, #1) by Shayla Black, For You (The ‘Burg, #1) by Kristen Ashley, and Law Man (Dream Man, #3) by Kristen Ashley then you will LOVE this book!!

Basic Summary

             Love at first sight was never so dangerous.

     

              Jack Gunnison has a problem, well, two actually, one is 5’5’’ and the other is a killer. Jennifer Stewart needs a change after losing her husband, and sending her daughter off to college.  Moving to the high country of Colorado to restart her life, and follow her dreams, Jenn gets more than she bargained for, when she attracts the eye of a killer.  Together, Jack and Jenn must figure out his identity, before he strikes again. 

First Impressions

                I have read other books that take place in Colorado and they have made me seriously want to move there, but this book has sealed the deal once I can afford it I am moving to Colorado and finding myself a sexy mountain man!   Jack Gunnison is spectacular, I love his alpha-male ways and how he just bulldozes past Jenn and gets exactly what he wants.  I love Jenn too; I love when she is talking to herself giving herself a pep talk because that’s exactly what I would do.  This book is great and it is filled with awesome characters.  I love how the beginning of some chapters starts with the point of the view of the killer and how the point of view changes between Jenn and Jack in each chapter.  I’m probably about 20% of the way through and have cracked up laughing a good three times! 

What I Loved

              This book was freaking awesome!  I loved each and every one of the characters in this book and by the time I was done I actually missed them.  I really liked the protagonist in this book a lot; she had such tenacity and energy in each and every scene.  Jenn is very easy to love and from the very beginning you instantly root for her.  Her interactions with Jack are hilarious and I love how she just kind of stumbles upon trouble each and every time she disobeys Jack’s orders.  I loved that she packed up her stuff and moved to a place she always dreamed of being and finds her soul mate there. 

            Jack Gunnison is amazing; I have completely fallen head over heels in love with him right off the bat.  I love alpha males that boss people around take control of a situation without asking.  They just bulldoze right into your heart and permanently take up residence there.  He is totally the knight in shining armor in this book and it’s even better that he has handcuffs handy.  I am a total sucker for a man in uniform; especially they are full of testosterone and go after exactly what they want.  Jack fits right into this category for me and he never lets me down! 

            I really liked that this wasn’t just a love story; it’s also very much a murder mystery.  There is so much going on all at once in this book that the story never becomes boring.  This story is definitely filled with many suspenseful moments, and it just fueled me to just keep reading.  I love that this book although is suspenseful is also filled with funny moments that had me laughing out loud.  It’s so great when a book can add comic relief to a story that has very serious situations in it because it gets me more emotionally involved of what’s going on and it helps to lighten the mood. 

Not So Much

                I wish there was more background details in the book, I felt like I just got vague descriptions of things but nothing that reflected the characters the way it should.  For example, Jenn’s cabin is barely described in the book all I really know is that it has wooden furniture in it and I know it has a kitchen and a bedroom.  But that’s kind of it, I would’ve liked to have known lay out of the house, I think at a certain point it was mentioned that it was one bedroom but that’s all I got.  I like when the decorations in a house are described, what kind of furniture is in the dining area is there is one, what the living room looks, where is in the house, what does the bathroom look like.  The same can be said for Jack’s house I have no idea if his house is two stories, one story, how many bedrooms it has, and again the general lay out of the house.  I have no idea that when I walked into his house from the front door what I see and what room I’m in.   I felt that it was a little inconsistent when it came to details because when Jenn is describing the look and feel of the Lumberjack Steakhouse there was all kinds of descriptions and it was only in one scene.  I wish that much attention was paid to the actual places the characters were in living in.

            Also I kind of felt like at the end it was a little too much.  People get kidnapped every day, but it’s kind of ridiculous to survive one be in a coma for a week and soon after get kidnapped again.  I get serial killers have weird obsessions with people and they fixate on that and then do crazy stuff, but when you add another crazy person into the mix it gets to be unrealistic.   I understand that Jenn is beautiful person and all but what are the odds that not one but two psychos obsess over her because of the same exact reason and kidnap her.  I thought was a pushing it a little, but I will say it gave the book some great adventures and definitely some heart racing moments. 

Overall

                I think I am officially in love with C.P. Smith and cannot wait to read her other books.  This was such a great story and the characters in it were awesome.  I loved how Jenn was able to easily make a life for herself in a new town and had a family of friends there for her.  The book is filled such great scenes that range from violent to heartwarming that you just can’t put it down because you need to know what will happen next.  I am a total Jack fan now and I want more of him!  I think the character development in the book was great; it was so wonderful to see the growth of Jenn from widower to new wife and mother.  I love when the bad boys decide to settle down and piss all their exes off, it makes for an interesting story and this one definitely delivered.  The pace of the book was wonderful, I never got bored and I never felt like there holes in the plot that I had to piece together myself to understand what was going on.  C.P. Smith wrote these characters so well you really wish they were real because it’s totally not fair that they aren’t.  I cannot wait to find more books by C.P. Smith because I now officially a fan.  

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Lauren’s Review of A Reason to Breathe

 

Rating: 4 Stars

What I Loved About this Book: I love when I pick a book and have zero expectations and end of falling in love with it.  After reading a few ARCs that were meh, I was not expecting much from this first time author. However, I really enjoyed this book and actually finished reading it in a weekend which is quite an accomplishment with hectic schedule.  So what’s to love…

If you have read some of my reviews, you know that I love a strong female lead.  I immediately respected Jenn because it takes a courageous woman to pack her bags, jump in her Jeep and head into the unknown.  Even though it was later in her life, she followed her dreams.  I was actually cheering Jenn on every time she defied Jack or one of the male characters and did what SHE wanted to do (even though she found trouble almost every time).

Let’s talk plot. Suspenseful, gripping and riveting are just a few words I would use to describe what is happening in this small town in Colorado.  As Laura said in her review, the characters are all loveable and some of my favorite moments in this book are when Jack and Jenn banter back and forth.  

I know some people had issues with Jenn moving on so quickly from Doug but I think we need to take into consideration that Doug has been gone for awhile now and even though he was a mellow, easy going husband, Jenn married him when she was only eighteen and only because she was pregnant with Bailey.  I see no problem with Jenn falling for Jack and the pace of their relationship did not bother me. With that being said, nothing bothers me more than when an author drags out a story so I have no complainants about the pace of the story.  

Cons: Ok two small pet peeves. First, I don’t think it was a good idea to name two close friends Ben and Gerry. The whole time I was thinking about the ice cream and I think I would have avoided using such a common pair. And finally, I have to agree with Laura, which makes me feel better that I am not being too picky, I think it was a bit much to have a psycho serial killer attack you and then a week later get kidnapped. Yes, I think Jenn is a loveable girl but to have everyone fall instantly in love with you is improbable.