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119th out of 531 books
—
547 voters
Breathe: A Novel of Colorado (The Homeward Trilogy #1)
by
Lisa Tawn Bergren (Goodreads Author)
Devastated by the loss of four sons to tuberculosis and his wife in childbirth, a Philadelphia patriarch sends his three living children west in 1883 to make a new life in the clean mountain air of Colorado Springs. Odessa is struggling to survive consumption; Moira is beautiful and dangerously headstrong; and pugnacious Dominic is charged with establishing a new arm of th...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
June 1st 2009
by David C. Cook
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"I am not usually fond of writing reviews for books, neither do I find myself being able to find the right words and emotions to express what I truly find on my journey's with the characters of each book. But with Waterfall I couldn't help but reveal my two cents." - AnnieRL
Not being a bookworm, nothing fit my categories. When I picked up Breathe, I couldn't put it down! Every word played through my mind with passion, fear and excitement.
Please take note that I will be including spoilers withi...more
Not being a bookworm, nothing fit my categories. When I picked up Breathe, I couldn't put it down! Every word played through my mind with passion, fear and excitement.
Please take note that I will be including spoilers withi...more
I believe this one was a free Kindle download. That said, it's a very nice find. Very nice.
First of all, the book is aptly titled. The heroine is a consumptive whose main goal in life is to be able to breathe easy again, and there is just something imperative in that single word —it's like a command to grab life by the neck and lungs, go forth, and take it all in. BREATHE. It's the 1880s, and for a consumptive to be able to do just that, she must go to a sanitarium in Colorado for treatment. Thi...more
First of all, the book is aptly titled. The heroine is a consumptive whose main goal in life is to be able to breathe easy again, and there is just something imperative in that single word —it's like a command to grab life by the neck and lungs, go forth, and take it all in. BREATHE. It's the 1880s, and for a consumptive to be able to do just that, she must go to a sanitarium in Colorado for treatment. Thi...more
Our Library here in Lone Tree is much smaller than our Taylorsville, they have maybe a quarter of the books. I am learning to be a little more open in my book selection. One thing they do here that I really like is that every shelf is topped with books recommended by the librarians. It is like the "Reader's Choice" table back in Salt Lake,but much more extensive, and constantly changing. This book "Breathe" says it is a "Story of Colorado", as I am trying to immerse myself in all things Colorado...more
David C. Cook publishers has started putting a "Good Read Guarantee" on certain books and "Breathe" is one of those books. My belief is that they will not be giving any money back on this book - it is a good read and much more! "Breathe" is the first book in a new trilogy about Dominic and his two younger sisters and their travels to the new town of Colorado Springs in around 1860 in search of healing for his sister Odessa who is near death from consumption. They Dominic and Moira take her to a...more
Apr 30, 2010
Molly
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Molly by:
Lisa T. Bergren
Shelves:
book-review
Absolutely, postively WONDERFUL! Wow! I loved this start to Lisa's series, The Homeward Trilogy.
From page 1, I was captured. The first chapter immediately starts with the sadness angle of the story. I felt Odessa's struggles with consumption as if I had taken a step back into time and was the one who was sick. It was in the beginning, during Dess's hardships, that I felt the tug at my heart for her. She quickly became my friend. I was praying for her in the beginning to get well, over come the...more
From page 1, I was captured. The first chapter immediately starts with the sadness angle of the story. I felt Odessa's struggles with consumption as if I had taken a step back into time and was the one who was sick. It was in the beginning, during Dess's hardships, that I felt the tug at my heart for her. She quickly became my friend. I was praying for her in the beginning to get well, over come the...more
This is one of the most beautiful and romantic books I've ever read. There is so much to say and it will be difficult to do without giving away spoilers. But I will try.
Briefly, this is a heartwarming story of two young, TB patients who fall in love in the late 1800's in a sanitorium in Colorado Springs. The story is how they survive their disease, fall in love with all the proper societal views in place, learn to love and more importantly, breathe in the fresh air their bodies have denied them....more
Briefly, this is a heartwarming story of two young, TB patients who fall in love in the late 1800's in a sanitorium in Colorado Springs. The story is how they survive their disease, fall in love with all the proper societal views in place, learn to love and more importantly, breathe in the fresh air their bodies have denied them....more
A little slower at first which helps to develop characters. The St. Clair siblings, Dominic, Odessa, and Moira,are headed west to Colorado from Philidelphia to "chase the cure" for consumption, a breathing condition. Odessa barely makes the train ride and then at the sanitorium, she makes the acquantance of Bryce McAllan, Sam O'toole a miner who after his murder gives Odessa and Bryce the clues to finding his mine. Others are after the mines wealth also and this put bryce and odessa in danger. M...more
Breathe by Lisa Bergren is the first in the Homeward Trilogy about the St. Clair siblings. This volume features Odessa, a beautiful consumptive heading to Colorado Springs to take a treatment at a special sanatorium. Her father has sent his last three remaining children West in the hopes that they will escape the family curse of tuberculosis that has taken the life of four other children. Odessa's life revolves around survival, just taking one breath at a time. Moira, her younger sister, has a p...more
What I liked about this book was that it included a key element of what populated the West (1800's), people in pursuit of better health. Escaping Eastern cities filled with polution (the 20th century did not invent environmental abuse) and it's plagues of Consumption was very real. Often people traveled for days to reach better climates to heal and the fact that people often did get better is a testiment to how much clean air should be valued.
The book gave nearly equal time to the three sibling...more
The book gave nearly equal time to the three sibling...more
This book was a great historical fiction. Learned about how Colorado Springs was formed and history about the state I live in. HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER (notice the all caps?) this book lost me in the last 3-4 chapters. They could have taken this story and ran with it, had fun with it...I felt as if they were not only trying to get the story done because the author was late for the deadline or just sick of writing about the characters, OR they were trying to shove as much "Christian" wr...more
The St. Clair siblings are on the move! Their father sent them to Colorado to seek a cure for the White Death. Odessa is running from the White Death - consumption - that stole her mother and four brothers. Dominic is charged to use his brains and his brawn to protect his sisters and set up a bookshop. Moira assists Dominic in setting up the bookshop while staying away from beaus. Shortly after arriving, Odessa witnesses a murder, Dominic gets thrown in jail for brawling and Moira catches the at...more
I liked other books by this author and the title of this series caught my attention. This is the first book and like her other series I had issues with the writing style, but the book was good and I tried not to let that bother me. The movement from one point in time to the next is not done well and the movement from one character to the next is not done well. There should be a chapter about one sister then and chapter about the other and the brother put in where he fit. There is just no rhyme o...more
Step back into another time and place with this Christian based historical fiction novel, with real characters taking you to a by-gone era filled with a good solid storyline (sometimes you can predict what is coming next though!) and a lovely romance including, of course, the evil character trying to bring it all down. You immediately feel for Odessa, a consumptive woman in the 1880s, with the story revolving around her and her brother and sister who moved with Odessa to Colorado where the sanit...more
This is a pleasantly different Christian historical, full of characters with flaws and often unsteady faith. There is no sickening sweetness here; we have real characters - including a few truly evil ones - but the novel never steps into the arena of including evil or worldliness just for it's own sake. The main plot is that of a consumptive woman in the 1880s. ("Consumption" being the old word for TB.) As she recovers in an sanatorium in the clear Colorado air, she thinks she may have witnessed...more
The Colorado frontier comes to life in this first book of Lisa T. Bergren's "Homeward Trilogy". Siblings Odessa, Dominic, and Moira come to Colorado Springs for the fresh mountain air, as Odessa suffers from the often-deadly consumption (now known as tuberculosis). Indeed, consumption has ravaged their family and they hope Colorado will provide a new start in more ways than one.
While all three of the St. Clair siblings share this story, "Breathe" focuses primarily on Odessa. Breathing is somethi...more
While all three of the St. Clair siblings share this story, "Breathe" focuses primarily on Odessa. Breathing is somethi...more
Odessa has consumption. She travels to Colorado Springs, CO to a sanatorium along with her brother, Dominic, and sister, Moira. The year is 1883--consumption had already taken the lives of their mother and several siblings. Their father has sent them to get treatment for Odessa.
Odessa is admitted to the sanatorium where she befriends Sam O'Toole and Bryce McAllen. Moira is courted by the local sheriff. Dominic is supposed to open a bookstore (their father is in publishing) but does so reluctantl...more
Odessa is admitted to the sanatorium where she befriends Sam O'Toole and Bryce McAllen. Moira is courted by the local sheriff. Dominic is supposed to open a bookstore (their father is in publishing) but does so reluctantl...more
I got Breathe for free on my Kindle, and I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. For a long time, I loved Christian historical fiction. In fact, it was my go-to genre when I was just looking for something to read. Then, something strange happened. I started to get frustrated with how often I could predict exactly what was going to happen in the novel - including what lessons God was going to teach them. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Christian novel, but I hate when the "Christianity...more
A more unusual topic for a historical novel that touches on romance and has a dash of Christianity. I liked the writing, and most of the characters were well-drawn but unfortunately the villain was too completely villanous, and a couple of others seemed to be merely plot constructs. The latter I could live with, but the first... I kept expecting moustache-twirling or similar. He had absolutely no redeeming features, and no real explanation for how he'd managed to stay there that long.
It was a good book - but there were times when I didn't want to read about the sub-characters as much. Wished it focused on the main characters more. Since there was some POV jumping, it was a bit long. But it was a wonderful story, and I loved the main characters very much! The characters were all very well crafted.
On a side-note, I read this book while on vacation in the mountains in Colorado! That made a nice fun touch, too! ;)
On a side-note, I read this book while on vacation in the mountains in Colorado! That made a nice fun touch, too! ;)
Fictional romance novels about Colorado. Set in Colorado Springs and in the mountains south and west (Wet Mountains, Sangre de Cristos). A woman comes from Philadelphia to take the cure for consumption. She is miraculously cured and solves a mystery and falls in love and gets married. It was just OK. There were occasional flashes of something really good, but the dialogue was pretty bad.
Breathe was a decent story. But it wasn't great. It seemed to last a bit too long for me. I finished it and that means it didn't bore me to tears. There were situations where the author did a great job when it came to tension and showing abusive situations, and there were times when I was worried the characters would get hurt. But I didn't connect with them as much as I would have liked to. I did appreciate the realism when it came to romantic scenes including those after marriage. Those scenes...more
This was a typical Christian historical fiction. It took me awhile to get into the book but the ending was good and I'd like to read the next two books in the series to find out what happens to the siblings on their adventures. I did like reading about Colorado Springs as I visited there last summer and saw many of the places spoken of in this book.
So, the books were easy reads. They were wholesome and had a christian twist. they were about 4 stars as I read them, but now a week later I find myself missing the characters and wanting to hear from them again! I really liked this trilogy. Maybe because it remids me of Sarahs Quilt. if you like sarahs quilt you will love these books.
This book has a more interesting premise than some of the other free xian novels I've read for the Kindle. The setting is in small town Colorado, where three siblings move to have the elder girl take "the cure" (for TB). Once their father back East dies, each child is free to pursue his/her dreams, showing that one must make some unpopular decisions to live the life you want.
Great read, wonderful storytelling, and well-drawn characters! I don't usually read romance, but my mom keeps handing me Begren's books, and they are really well-written historical adventure romances. There is usually a mystery to solve, an adventure to be had, and a heroine who catches my attention.
This book tells the story of three siblings that move to Colorado, for one sister's illness. The story was good and you can see how all three of them are very different and have different goals and dreams. I will read the other two to find out what happens to the rest of the St. Clairs.
I liked this book. But I thought some of the characters were so self centered and stupid. But, they stayed true to the character. I bought the whole series, and opened the second book to read and it starts on page 33, so I have to send it back. Kind of disappointing!
I love historical fiction and this was no different. You easily learned about and admired the characters. Each book in this series highlights of the the St. Claire children. Each one had a tough journey's but they all found God's reward at the end of the trials.
this was a great an awesome book with historical markings which showed the trials and tribulations that early settlers had to deal with and endure. i gave this book high markings due to the extent of background into the affliction presented and great storyline.
I loved this book! While my favorite books by Lisa are still the River of Time series, I greatly enjoyed these as well. They're so different! These are centered in Colorado. The heroine of this book, Odessa, is one of three siblings (the others are in the next two books). Odessa has consumption, and the whole book is about her illness, recovery, and of course, meeting a special young man. It was great, and I can't wait to finish the series! If you loved River of Time, try this series too. :)
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About
Lisa Tawn Bergren is the best-selling, award-winning author of over 35 books, with more than 2 million copies sold. She recently finished a teen series called River of Time (WATERFALL, CASCADE and TORRENT) and soon will release a follow-up e-novella called BOURNE. She's currently writing a New Adult series called The Grand Tour, and the first release is GLAMOROUS ILLUSIONS (June 2012).
Lisa’s...more
More about Lisa Tawn Bergren...
Lisa Tawn Bergren is the best-selling, award-winning author of over 35 books, with more than 2 million copies sold. She recently finished a teen series called River of Time (WATERFALL, CASCADE and TORRENT) and soon will release a follow-up e-novella called BOURNE. She's currently writing a New Adult series called The Grand Tour, and the first release is GLAMOROUS ILLUSIONS (June 2012).
Lisa’s...more
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“And sometimes, God asks us to wrestle with the unfamiliar until it becomes our new familiar.”
—
9 people liked it
“I believe this country has already been painted by the hand of God. We can cover it over with our own creations, but it will merely mar what is already perfect”
—
8 people liked it
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