Laura’s Review of The Air He Breathes by Brittainy C. Cherry

Synopsis

I was warned about Tristan Cole.

“Stay away from him,” people said.
“He’s cruel.”
“He’s cold.”
“He’s damaged.”

It’s easy to judge a man because of his past. To look at Tristan and see a monster.

But I couldn’t do that. I had to accept the wreckage that lived inside of him because it also lived inside of me.

We were both empty.
We were both looking for something else. Something more.
We both wanted to put together the shattered pieces of our yesterdays.

Then perhaps we could finally remember how to breathe.

What I Loved

          There are no words to describe just how magical of a book this was.  From the very beginning your heart is smashed to smithereens barely able to wrap your head around the devastation Tristan goes through.  Plus, the sadness that seeps out of Elizabeth pours into your soul and doesn’t let go until the very end.   These are two seriously broken individuals who deserve to be happy and my heart just broke for both of them.  They’ve both lost so much which made them finding each other all the more sweet and precious.

 

          Even though Tristan is kind of an ass in the beginning there was probably very little he could do that would make me hate him.  The author wrote him so wonderfully that no matter his actions you love him anyway and that never changes.  It’s obvious just how damaged a man he truly is, a shell of a person who is just trying to make it through the day.

Elizabeth needed to get away from everything that reminded her of her husband and you are instantly crushed by her broken heart.  But she has a daughter to take care of and realizes at a certain point it’s time to start putting back the pieces of her life. She’s definitely a strong woman for her daughter but I loved how she still fell apart at times because it made her a more realistic character that anyone can relate to.  I think both of these characters were written beautifully with a strong foundation that immediately sucked you in to their plight and left you with a huge book hangover. 

Not So Much

         

           Obviously since this is a five star review this section is going to be short!  I really don’t have any complaints because I loved this story so much.  But I will say that the pace really picks up towards the end and I kind of wish it didn’t go so quickly because it left me wanting more.  This is such an emotional story that you just want more Tristan and Elizabeth and the ending really picks up and goes too quickly in my opinion.  But that’s because I really could never get enough of this story, it was just that amazing.

To Sum It All Up!

          Overall reading this book was an amazing experience.  The storyline captures your heart immediately building a strong but heart breaking foundation and just builds from there.  Tristan and Elizabeth’s past reaches out to the reader and you instantly fall in love with both of them.

 

I loved how Elizabeth kept pushing Tristan to break down the walls he built around his heart finding the man he truly is on the other side.  The chemistry between Elizabeth and Tristan was apparent from the moment they meet, even if it is under negative circumstances.  I loved how they consoled each other and walked each other through their grief so each day might get a little bit easier.

 

I absolutely loved that not only was this a beautiful love story there was elements of suspense towards the end that threw me for a loop.  There was definitely a couple bombs dropped, one I kind of predicted one I did NOT seeing coming at all.  I’m a huge fan of stories that keep me on my toes so the suspense definitely fell into that category.  The writing was amazing; great foundation and character development that made this story feel real and grounded.  The details were right on point painting a whole picture of their world and the pain each one feels.  I’m definitely hooked on this author and can’t wait to read any of her other books.