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Just Breathe Trilogy #1
Just Breathe
Librarian's Note: This is an alternate cover edition of ASIN: B00AVLTKFE
Ever Harding, an average teenager with a passion for swimming is about to turn eighteen. Out of the blue she has been dumped by her long time boyfriend, which is the ultimate of tragedies in her life. Little does she know that on that fated eighteenth birthday, she will have to make a choice that will change her life as she knows it, forever.
A month before her birthday, Ever meets Jack, a mysterious new boy with mesmerizing eyes. He affects her like no one else. This meeting sets things into a whirlwind she never would have dreamed. With Jack's guidance she discovers a family line that leads her to the sea. She must make the ultimate choice, stay on land where life as she knows it, won't change, or go and live in the sea as a mermaid with Jack.
Ultimately her choice sets into motion an even bigger decision, in which she has the fate of a race of people, in her hands. The people in the sea are in a feud, she will tip the balance. She must battle the ageless moral delimma of prejudice and race. Once she comes to terms with her life changing choices, she must ask herself, did I make the right decisions? and Is Jack really who I think he is?
Ever Harding, an average teenager with a passion for swimming is about to turn eighteen. Out of the blue she has been dumped by her long time boyfriend, which is the ultimate of tragedies in her life. Little does she know that on that fated eighteenth birthday, she will have to make a choice that will change her life as she knows it, forever.
A month before her birthday, Ever meets Jack, a mysterious new boy with mesmerizing eyes. He affects her like no one else. This meeting sets things into a whirlwind she never would have dreamed. With Jack's guidance she discovers a family line that leads her to the sea. She must make the ultimate choice, stay on land where life as she knows it, won't change, or go and live in the sea as a mermaid with Jack.
Ultimately her choice sets into motion an even bigger decision, in which she has the fate of a race of people, in her hands. The people in the sea are in a feud, she will tip the balance. She must battle the ageless moral delimma of prejudice and race. Once she comes to terms with her life changing choices, she must ask herself, did I make the right decisions? and Is Jack really who I think he is?
293 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2012
191 people are currently reading
2276 people want to read
About the author
Heather Allen
10 books190 followersHeather Allen is the author of The Just Breathe Trilogy, Feeling This, The Sound of Shooting Stars, Storm of Ekkos and The No Regrets Series. Heather realized her dream of becoming an author with her mermaid trilogy. She savors every moment on her author journey and the wonderful friends she has met along the way. She has many more books planned. More ideas pop up than she has time to write about.
Heather currently resides in the scorching hot state of Florida. She holds degrees in education. She is a hopeless romantic who loves to read just about anything. When she isn’t teaching, writing or reading, Heather can be found at the beach or out on the water paddle boarding.
Heather currently resides in the scorching hot state of Florida. She holds degrees in education. She is a hopeless romantic who loves to read just about anything. When she isn’t teaching, writing or reading, Heather can be found at the beach or out on the water paddle boarding.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
May 31, 2015
Another book that I couldn’t finish. I got about halfway before I had to put it down and I have no desire to pick it back up.
This could have been so great, the plot was interesting and the detail to it could have been so amazing. But it wasn’t. While the plot was good, it was the writing that really turned me away. It was so simple, in fact it was too simple.
I did this. They did that. She and I did this. While simplicity is great and all, sometimes it’s just too much. I felt like this was just a rough draft and instead of fixing it up, adding a little detail here and there, they just submitted it. I can understand doing rough drafts and turning them in…for school. For books, not so much.
That’s a way to lose readers because while the plot may be a great idea, if you don’t have a way to describe anything and it’s just a bunch of simple sentences, then what’s the point?
And it was another case of drama with the plot feeling like background noise. I don’t know, maybe it would’ve gotten better but the writing would have stayed the same and I just couldn’t take anymore.
I guess maybe because of the other mermaid books I’ve read, I was expecting something like those, with details that I could see in my head but, I was disappointed. I have another book by her in my list, so I’m going to give her another chance. Completely different genre so, maybe completely different writing style? Hopefully.
Thank you for reading my review.
-Sam
This could have been so great, the plot was interesting and the detail to it could have been so amazing. But it wasn’t. While the plot was good, it was the writing that really turned me away. It was so simple, in fact it was too simple.
I did this. They did that. She and I did this. While simplicity is great and all, sometimes it’s just too much. I felt like this was just a rough draft and instead of fixing it up, adding a little detail here and there, they just submitted it. I can understand doing rough drafts and turning them in…for school. For books, not so much.
That’s a way to lose readers because while the plot may be a great idea, if you don’t have a way to describe anything and it’s just a bunch of simple sentences, then what’s the point?
And it was another case of drama with the plot feeling like background noise. I don’t know, maybe it would’ve gotten better but the writing would have stayed the same and I just couldn’t take anymore.
I guess maybe because of the other mermaid books I’ve read, I was expecting something like those, with details that I could see in my head but, I was disappointed. I have another book by her in my list, so I’m going to give her another chance. Completely different genre so, maybe completely different writing style? Hopefully.
Thank you for reading my review.
-Sam
April 16, 2014
I didn't mind the concept of this book, but the plot jumped around, things were talked about that I thought I'd missed but went back and just hadn't happened, and the writing was just bad. This was the worst thing for me. There were commas in the wrong spot or missing altogether, and poorly structured sentences. It felt amateurish and rather than me getting into the story and the world I felt like I was being told a story, and with no concept of the audience.
I felt like Gabbi - Ever's best friend - was a complete bully, a gossip, and felt she was superior in everything, even things she knew nothing about. I got sick of reading about 'wills' and felt like the idea was being explained every time they were brought up.
Now I don't know much about mermaids, but I didn't realise they had so much magical ability. I don't know if Allen wanted to write about witches but thought the mermaid thing was more original and so merged the two.
The book finished abruptly also. To me it felt like 'stop here and you can drag the story out to make it into a trilogy'. It didn't wrap up or resolve anything. I did contemplate going forward with the next one just to find out what happens - as I said I didn't mind the concept - but I don't think I could get through two more books of the writing style.
I felt like Gabbi - Ever's best friend - was a complete bully, a gossip, and felt she was superior in everything, even things she knew nothing about. I got sick of reading about 'wills' and felt like the idea was being explained every time they were brought up.
Now I don't know much about mermaids, but I didn't realise they had so much magical ability. I don't know if Allen wanted to write about witches but thought the mermaid thing was more original and so merged the two.
The book finished abruptly also. To me it felt like 'stop here and you can drag the story out to make it into a trilogy'. It didn't wrap up or resolve anything. I did contemplate going forward with the next one just to find out what happens - as I said I didn't mind the concept - but I don't think I could get through two more books of the writing style.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2016
Let's just say you meet this guy in History class. You have a love/hate thing going on (let's be really clear, you've only known him a week or so) and he suddenly tells you - You're a mermaid.
Yeah, you're totally a mermaid of mermaid lineage and a total special snowflake that will change the whole course of this whole mermaid world! Just ask your grandma. Now, tell me you wouldn't distance yourself from this guy and seriously avoid him.
Ever is surrounded by friends - she seems popular. And has a great best friend who really takes care of her even though Ever seems to complain about her constant babbling and chipper attitude. This best friend drags Ever to parties and even drags her out of the house when she thinks she might be too sad/grumpy/hermit-like for her own good. She even has cool parents that let her go off swimming in lakes. attending parties, throwing a huge party for turning 18!
And yet, she seems so poised to just walk away. Jack seems to be the end all, save all of her "horrible" life. I just did not get into the story - the typos and mis-matched incoherent sentences frustrated me and the heroine was pretty unlikable and near nonsensical in how easily she transitioned to "I'm just your average kid" to "I'm a special mermaid."
meh. just not for me.
Yeah, you're totally a mermaid of mermaid lineage and a total special snowflake that will change the whole course of this whole mermaid world! Just ask your grandma. Now, tell me you wouldn't distance yourself from this guy and seriously avoid him.
Ever is surrounded by friends - she seems popular. And has a great best friend who really takes care of her even though Ever seems to complain about her constant babbling and chipper attitude. This best friend drags Ever to parties and even drags her out of the house when she thinks she might be too sad/grumpy/hermit-like for her own good. She even has cool parents that let her go off swimming in lakes. attending parties, throwing a huge party for turning 18!
And yet, she seems so poised to just walk away. Jack seems to be the end all, save all of her "horrible" life. I just did not get into the story - the typos and mis-matched incoherent sentences frustrated me and the heroine was pretty unlikable and near nonsensical in how easily she transitioned to "I'm just your average kid" to "I'm a special mermaid."
meh. just not for me.
February 25, 2014
This book was very poorly written. There were spelling and grammar errors galore, and the writing was terribly choppy. I was really hoping for a good old fashioned mermaid tale based on the gorgeous cover, but what I got was a terribly cliche YA paranormal romance.
There really was nothing new here. Just Breathe was the very definition of cookie-cutter writing. I was expecting it to be a bit repetitive because of the mermaid aspect; in my experience, mermaid novels tend to not to branch out in their plots as much as other paranormal novels, but this was a bit more than I bargained for. I would read something and think, "Hey, that's like in Daughters of the Sea, Emily Windsnap,etc. etc.
Secondly, the writing was really choppy, and at times, the dialogue sounded extremely unreal. The run-on sentences didn't help matters either.
(This last paragraph is just full of spoilers, so if you want to read the book, I wouldn't recommend reading this.) And lastly, I didn't find it wise that Ever just gave up her life on land to be with some guy she hadn't even known that long. It was an extremely dumb decision. She met him a month ago. A month. SPOILER: Thank goodness she was able to go back to land.
Just Breathe was disappointing for me. I will not be continuing the series unless I have absolutely nothing else to read.
December 30, 2013
This was the first “people of the sea” book that I read and I was excited to read something different. The plot sounded interesting and it really could have been a terrific book but the whole thing was executed so poorly that I wondered if anyone actually read this book over and gave the author any advice on how to make it better?
One question that really bothered me throughout this book is: Why is the character named “Ever”? It is an uncommon name, yet we get no explanation to the oddity of having a name like that.
Even though we spend the entire novel inside of her head, I do not feel as though I know her, nor do I really care about her. She has no depth, she is shallow, boring, self-absorbed, makes no sense and has strange reactions to some events (ex: Ever puts on a school mascot shirt, knowing that her BFF Gabbi would get a kick out of it. When Gabbi sees it, she doubles over in laughter (another strange reaction by a character) and Ever stares at her quizzically – wondering why Gabbi finds the shirt so funny. Ever knows why Gabbi finds it funny – she mentioned it after she put the shirt on!).
The novel is told in the first person, present tense and the writing is awkward. Dialogue is choppy and boring. At times, it is completely unnecessary and doesn’t add much to the plot.
There are many grammatical, punctuation (missing marks, wrong marks inserted, too many commas, not enough commas, no question marks when needed, no periods when needed), spelling and formatting mistakes throughout the book. There are missing words, run-on sentences, sentences that need to be broken up and made into two or three sentences and sentences that need to be reworded so that they make sense (Example #1: ‘I sit on the computer’- is she really sitting on top of the computer because that was how I read it. Example #2: She tells me with downturned eyes shaking her head – are her eyes actually shaking the woman’s head?)
The novel lacks excitement, thrill, real fear and suspense. I had no reaction to when anything “major” happened because the author was so nonchalant about everything that she wrote.
It feels as though this is a first draft and the author just wanted to get it out there without the benefit of having an editor take a run through.
The author repeats information over and over again, making me wonder if she thinks that the reader cannot remember basic facts (like James is Ever’s younger brother) or that she has not read through the book to take out the repetitive information. It felt like that information was added in there to refresh the author’s memory while writing the novel. Also, the author tends to repeat information in sentences that are close to one another (sometimes, the author repeats words that were just written in a previous sentence – these clearly could have been rewritten to sound better).
The author should have worked harder on this plot. Many things just do not make sense. I do not understand why mer-people have "wills", why some people can do certain things and others can't. None of this is explained very well. It’s like: “look over there, see those swings moving? I did that.” Yeah, okay. So the fact that you have telekinesis makes you a mer-person? Why? What does telekinesis have to do with mer-people?
Here are some other examples of things that did not make sense in the story:
Error: page 169 – Back in Amber’s dwelling, Ever asks her if she could have air. Amber makes the water go away and then Ever “wills” her legs to come back. Amber starts to speak but Ever does not let her finish. “I swim to the room with the blue blanket and close the door.” Why would Ever have to swim to the room? She has legs and the room is now filled with air, not water! She should have just walked to the room!
Pages 172-173: Ever is discussing her recurring dream with Amber and Ever tells her that in her dream, Jack is in a cave. Amber says, “I have never heard of someone having “wills” within their dreams. That displays… a lot of power.” – since when did Ever display any sort of “wills” in her dreams? She has been having premonitions. I would never consider that a “will” unless I am missing something. And while I am on the subject of “wills”, I have yet to see anything amazing coming from Ever. Yeah, she can clear a small, circular area of sea grass to reveal only sand, she can immediately call a school of fish to her side in an instant and she can use her arms to raise large objects. Big whoop. Nothing dramatic there.
Page 173: Ever is thinking: I am not familiar with the California landscape, but I’m guessing Jack parked his car near the beach and hiked up into the mountains nearby, that overlooked the ocean.” – didn’t Ever see Jack’s car when she parked her car at the beach? YES! On page 141 – “I pull into a spot at the same beach as the last two visits. I glance around and spot the familiar yellow car. My heart skips a few beats. I get out, leaving the jeep on, and run over to the car to look inside the windows. Everything looks the same with one thing missing, Jack.”
But here is a stupid question. The last time Ever saw Jack was when they were both at the lake and those boys with the yellow eyes were coming after him. Ever was told to swim off and while Jack was “willing” rocks to be thrown unsuccessfully at the boys. Then, all three of them disappeared. How the heck did Jack’s car get to the beach, all the way in California when he was supposedly kidnapped from wherever the heck Ever is living??? (Pahrump, Nevada) That did not make any sense when I was first reading it and it makes no sense now, when Ever is “guessing” that Jacked parked his car near the beach.
Run-on sentence: “Bam, right in the chest, there’s that word again, I’m feeling so ashamed.” – page 201
Extra commas: “Except we don’t actually go into the city, as we near the immense structures that I still can’t believe, exist under water, the Erebus takes the lead.” – page 212
Why does Ever constantly “lose energy” whenever she is doing something insignificant or processing information? This happens quite often throughout the story. I would assume that as an avid swimmer, and one who is actually on the swim team, that she would definitely have stamina and the ability to store energy in her body.
What is up with all the "smirking"? The characters seem to do this frequently. One or two times should be enough for a book but it seems as though all the characters have this annoying trait. There were 15 instances in Just Breathe.
I give the author credit for “fulfilling a life-long dream by completing and publishing her first book,” but I don’t think that she actually gave it the completion it deserved. A professional editor should have been consulted to eliminate the spelling, punctuation and grammatical mistakes. Then, the editor could have helped her fix the plot holes and clear up any confusing parts in the story.
I give this book 2.5 stars but I will generously up it to 3 stars, with the hope that these problems will be fixed in the second book.
One question that really bothered me throughout this book is: Why is the character named “Ever”? It is an uncommon name, yet we get no explanation to the oddity of having a name like that.
Even though we spend the entire novel inside of her head, I do not feel as though I know her, nor do I really care about her. She has no depth, she is shallow, boring, self-absorbed, makes no sense and has strange reactions to some events (ex: Ever puts on a school mascot shirt, knowing that her BFF Gabbi would get a kick out of it. When Gabbi sees it, she doubles over in laughter (another strange reaction by a character) and Ever stares at her quizzically – wondering why Gabbi finds the shirt so funny. Ever knows why Gabbi finds it funny – she mentioned it after she put the shirt on!).
The novel is told in the first person, present tense and the writing is awkward. Dialogue is choppy and boring. At times, it is completely unnecessary and doesn’t add much to the plot.
There are many grammatical, punctuation (missing marks, wrong marks inserted, too many commas, not enough commas, no question marks when needed, no periods when needed), spelling and formatting mistakes throughout the book. There are missing words, run-on sentences, sentences that need to be broken up and made into two or three sentences and sentences that need to be reworded so that they make sense (Example #1: ‘I sit on the computer’- is she really sitting on top of the computer because that was how I read it. Example #2: She tells me with downturned eyes shaking her head – are her eyes actually shaking the woman’s head?)
The novel lacks excitement, thrill, real fear and suspense. I had no reaction to when anything “major” happened because the author was so nonchalant about everything that she wrote.
It feels as though this is a first draft and the author just wanted to get it out there without the benefit of having an editor take a run through.
The author repeats information over and over again, making me wonder if she thinks that the reader cannot remember basic facts (like James is Ever’s younger brother) or that she has not read through the book to take out the repetitive information. It felt like that information was added in there to refresh the author’s memory while writing the novel. Also, the author tends to repeat information in sentences that are close to one another (sometimes, the author repeats words that were just written in a previous sentence – these clearly could have been rewritten to sound better).
The author should have worked harder on this plot. Many things just do not make sense. I do not understand why mer-people have "wills", why some people can do certain things and others can't. None of this is explained very well. It’s like: “look over there, see those swings moving? I did that.” Yeah, okay. So the fact that you have telekinesis makes you a mer-person? Why? What does telekinesis have to do with mer-people?
Here are some other examples of things that did not make sense in the story:
Error: page 169 – Back in Amber’s dwelling, Ever asks her if she could have air. Amber makes the water go away and then Ever “wills” her legs to come back. Amber starts to speak but Ever does not let her finish. “I swim to the room with the blue blanket and close the door.” Why would Ever have to swim to the room? She has legs and the room is now filled with air, not water! She should have just walked to the room!
Pages 172-173: Ever is discussing her recurring dream with Amber and Ever tells her that in her dream, Jack is in a cave. Amber says, “I have never heard of someone having “wills” within their dreams. That displays… a lot of power.” – since when did Ever display any sort of “wills” in her dreams? She has been having premonitions. I would never consider that a “will” unless I am missing something. And while I am on the subject of “wills”, I have yet to see anything amazing coming from Ever. Yeah, she can clear a small, circular area of sea grass to reveal only sand, she can immediately call a school of fish to her side in an instant and she can use her arms to raise large objects. Big whoop. Nothing dramatic there.
Page 173: Ever is thinking: I am not familiar with the California landscape, but I’m guessing Jack parked his car near the beach and hiked up into the mountains nearby, that overlooked the ocean.” – didn’t Ever see Jack’s car when she parked her car at the beach? YES! On page 141 – “I pull into a spot at the same beach as the last two visits. I glance around and spot the familiar yellow car. My heart skips a few beats. I get out, leaving the jeep on, and run over to the car to look inside the windows. Everything looks the same with one thing missing, Jack.”
But here is a stupid question. The last time Ever saw Jack was when they were both at the lake and those boys with the yellow eyes were coming after him. Ever was told to swim off and while Jack was “willing” rocks to be thrown unsuccessfully at the boys. Then, all three of them disappeared. How the heck did Jack’s car get to the beach, all the way in California when he was supposedly kidnapped from wherever the heck Ever is living??? (Pahrump, Nevada) That did not make any sense when I was first reading it and it makes no sense now, when Ever is “guessing” that Jacked parked his car near the beach.
Run-on sentence: “Bam, right in the chest, there’s that word again, I’m feeling so ashamed.” – page 201
Extra commas: “Except we don’t actually go into the city, as we near the immense structures that I still can’t believe, exist under water, the Erebus takes the lead.” – page 212
Why does Ever constantly “lose energy” whenever she is doing something insignificant or processing information? This happens quite often throughout the story. I would assume that as an avid swimmer, and one who is actually on the swim team, that she would definitely have stamina and the ability to store energy in her body.
What is up with all the "smirking"? The characters seem to do this frequently. One or two times should be enough for a book but it seems as though all the characters have this annoying trait. There were 15 instances in Just Breathe.
I give the author credit for “fulfilling a life-long dream by completing and publishing her first book,” but I don’t think that she actually gave it the completion it deserved. A professional editor should have been consulted to eliminate the spelling, punctuation and grammatical mistakes. Then, the editor could have helped her fix the plot holes and clear up any confusing parts in the story.
I give this book 2.5 stars but I will generously up it to 3 stars, with the hope that these problems will be fixed in the second book.
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April 1, 2013
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3.5 out of 5 stars
Just Breathe by Heather Allen is a story about teenager Ever Harding. Ever is in her senior year of high school and an avid swimmer. The story starts with a break up scene with her boyfriend of three years, Michael. I have to say that the emotion in the scene was palpable and I think Heather Allen did a wonderful job of conveying the heart break Ever felt in those opening pages. Ever certainly wasn’t expecting Michael to break up with her, and it is the start of many unexpected things that Ever must come to terms with.
The early stages of the story deal with Ever’s recovery from the break up, including having to face Michael out on a date with another girl. Ever then encounters Jack: mysterious, gorgeous, eye-colour changing Jack. I appreciated the ‘recovery’ period for Ever as it made the beginning of her relationship with Jack a little bit more believable. I wouldn’t have bought her starting to have feelings for another guy quite so soon after the devastation from Michael if some effort hadn’t been placed on her getting over him.
Ever is a very capable swimmer and has a strong connection with water. She uses her swimming to take time out and gain space from everything going on around her and it’s not until she ventures to the beach with Jack that she truly discovers the depth of her bond with the water.
Jack is a rather elusive character and I will confess to not really feeling a connection with him. There was a bit too much mystery for me to believe he was everything I think he was supposed to be. Ever and he definitely had something going on, the warm tingly feeling between them was just the tip of the iceberg, but I had this underlying question mark on Jack which meant I was never fully cheering for him and Ever.
There is a lot to this story, lots of important detail, and I found myself having to flick back and re-read bits because I felt like I was missing something a couple of times. On re-reading I realised that I’d missed the significance of a particular detail, so from that point I tried to ensure I read a lot more carefully. If your preference is to not have to concentrate closely when you read, Just Breathe may not be an ideal choice for you.
As the synopsis of the book says, Ever is forced to make a choice between a life on land and a life in the sea. I really felt for her in having to make that choice as it seemed to me that she was given very little information by the ones that were supposedly going to tell her all she needed to know. Both her Gam-aw and Jack told her very little and this had me questioning whether someone in her situation would actually choose as she did. This might have been because I didn’t fully trust Jack (there was just something about him that I was wary of) but it didn’t seem to me that Ever fully understood the consequences of the choice she was making. There was also much made about ‘no going back’ once the choice was made and yet it didn’t actually seem to be the case – which I found a little bit confusing.
As I neared the end of the book I found myself watching the percentage complete on my Kindle, and kept thinking “man, there’s a lot to wrap up in not a lot of time”. I read the final paragraph and moved on to the next chapter, only to discover it was the Acknowledgements from the Author and I had to flick back to see if I’d accidentally skipped two pages rather than one. I was really frustrated with where the story ended as I didn’t feel like anything was truly wrapped up. The ‘About the Author’ page promises that the Just Breathe novels will be a trio when finished, which is a plus, although I think a teaser for book two would have been beneficial to give some sense of closure to the first book. I understand that book two, Barely Breathing, is very close to release.
Overall I enjoyed Just Breathe, the story is intriguing and the world of the mer-people created by Allen is one that I would like to know more about. I’m also keen to know what happens next for Ever, for Jack, for her brother James, for Jack’s sister Amber and not to mention more about the new ‘hottie’ Alex, who we meet in the last stages of Just Breathe.
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3.5 out of 5 stars
Just Breathe by Heather Allen is a story about teenager Ever Harding. Ever is in her senior year of high school and an avid swimmer. The story starts with a break up scene with her boyfriend of three years, Michael. I have to say that the emotion in the scene was palpable and I think Heather Allen did a wonderful job of conveying the heart break Ever felt in those opening pages. Ever certainly wasn’t expecting Michael to break up with her, and it is the start of many unexpected things that Ever must come to terms with.
The early stages of the story deal with Ever’s recovery from the break up, including having to face Michael out on a date with another girl. Ever then encounters Jack: mysterious, gorgeous, eye-colour changing Jack. I appreciated the ‘recovery’ period for Ever as it made the beginning of her relationship with Jack a little bit more believable. I wouldn’t have bought her starting to have feelings for another guy quite so soon after the devastation from Michael if some effort hadn’t been placed on her getting over him.
Ever is a very capable swimmer and has a strong connection with water. She uses her swimming to take time out and gain space from everything going on around her and it’s not until she ventures to the beach with Jack that she truly discovers the depth of her bond with the water.
Jack is a rather elusive character and I will confess to not really feeling a connection with him. There was a bit too much mystery for me to believe he was everything I think he was supposed to be. Ever and he definitely had something going on, the warm tingly feeling between them was just the tip of the iceberg, but I had this underlying question mark on Jack which meant I was never fully cheering for him and Ever.
There is a lot to this story, lots of important detail, and I found myself having to flick back and re-read bits because I felt like I was missing something a couple of times. On re-reading I realised that I’d missed the significance of a particular detail, so from that point I tried to ensure I read a lot more carefully. If your preference is to not have to concentrate closely when you read, Just Breathe may not be an ideal choice for you.
As the synopsis of the book says, Ever is forced to make a choice between a life on land and a life in the sea. I really felt for her in having to make that choice as it seemed to me that she was given very little information by the ones that were supposedly going to tell her all she needed to know. Both her Gam-aw and Jack told her very little and this had me questioning whether someone in her situation would actually choose as she did. This might have been because I didn’t fully trust Jack (there was just something about him that I was wary of) but it didn’t seem to me that Ever fully understood the consequences of the choice she was making. There was also much made about ‘no going back’ once the choice was made and yet it didn’t actually seem to be the case – which I found a little bit confusing.
As I neared the end of the book I found myself watching the percentage complete on my Kindle, and kept thinking “man, there’s a lot to wrap up in not a lot of time”. I read the final paragraph and moved on to the next chapter, only to discover it was the Acknowledgements from the Author and I had to flick back to see if I’d accidentally skipped two pages rather than one. I was really frustrated with where the story ended as I didn’t feel like anything was truly wrapped up. The ‘About the Author’ page promises that the Just Breathe novels will be a trio when finished, which is a plus, although I think a teaser for book two would have been beneficial to give some sense of closure to the first book. I understand that book two, Barely Breathing, is very close to release.
Overall I enjoyed Just Breathe, the story is intriguing and the world of the mer-people created by Allen is one that I would like to know more about. I’m also keen to know what happens next for Ever, for Jack, for her brother James, for Jack’s sister Amber and not to mention more about the new ‘hottie’ Alex, who we meet in the last stages of Just Breathe.
April 9, 2013
We meet Ever Harding as her boyfriend, Michael, decides he wants to break up. They have been together for three years and Ever is heartbroken. Who wouldn’t be? He is her first love and she didn’t see this coming at all! Heather drew me in at the very beginning. Her words broke my heart along with Ever’s and actually took me back to my teenage years. *sigh
She is about to turn 18, a senior in high school and her plans for the future just came to a screeching halt. Ever is miserable but does her best to keep a smile on her face that only her best friend, Gabbi, can see through. Working past her pain, she is finally starting to feel better. Arriving at school one morning she finds Gabbi waiting and ready to tell her the new gossip. Michael is dating again. Great! He’s moved on and she’s trying to get through the day without crying. More miserable than before, she’s extra moody and snapping at everyone around her.
Gabbi decides to take matters into her own hands and makes Ever go out one Friday night. Not happy about this, she complains the entire way. “Ever, this is for your own good. The only way you are going to move on, is to face up to it.” To that I would say, what the whaaaat?? Best friend or not, I might have to hurt someone if they made me watch my ex while on a date! Ever is furious and very uncomfortable.
The weeks are finally passing and Ever is doing her best to forget about Michael. Her passion is swimming and that is where she feels she is in her element. Her favorite spot is at a lake that few people populate and it’s perfect when she wants to work out her frustrations. This particular day she feels she isn’t alone. Not seeing anything she continues her laps. She finally spots something that looks like lights jumping around. Curious, she gets out and dressed. Determined to find the source, she starts walking toward the lights. She spots a boy lying in the grass and the lights are coming from his fingers. Again, what the whaaat?? Frightened, she takes off running before she can be seen. This day marks the start of some very realistic dreams about running away from someone chasing her.
The next day starts just like any other but this time while sitting in class, someone takes the empty seat that was vacated by Michael. Risking a glance she sees the guy from the lake next to her. Jack Tanner is his name and she can’t take her eyes off him! I love her reaction to him! When he turns his blues eyes on her, she forgets everything else. Breathe Ever!! They have a couple classes together and she’s been asked to help him, so he can catch up on his work. Any opportunity to see his blues eyes is fine by her. Wait, did I say blue? Now his eyes are green. No, they are blue again! What’s that about?
They begin to see more of each other, and she’s noticing that Jack is holding something back. He remains cryptic and she is confused. That’s OK; he is taking her to the beach for the first time and Ever is determined to get answers. From Jack, she learns that when she turns 18 she has an important choice to make. Remain on land and have no memory of Jack and anything he’s shared with her or choose to live in the sea. Her love of the water is making sense to her now but this will mean giving up everything she loves on land. Heather begins to paint us a beautiful picture of a world under the sea. And what Ever thought to be black and white is not the case at all. What she does know, she’s fallen in love with Jack but he always seems to disappear when she needs him the most. Through Jack’s sister, Amber, Ever learns she has a huge role to play in the future of all the mer-people. Both sides have appealed to Ever, hoping she will choose them. In the end, she decides she is going to choose Jack. She loves him and will fight for him. If only she can find him! What she finds is lies and deceit from Jack. Replaying everything in her head from the beginning, she feels foolish. Blinded by his good looks and choice words, a disaster is going happen and it could be all her fault.
I loved the story Heather gave us. I was not expecting what came when the other shoe dropped. I am very much looking forward to see what happens in Barely Breathing!!
4.5/5 stars!!!
She is about to turn 18, a senior in high school and her plans for the future just came to a screeching halt. Ever is miserable but does her best to keep a smile on her face that only her best friend, Gabbi, can see through. Working past her pain, she is finally starting to feel better. Arriving at school one morning she finds Gabbi waiting and ready to tell her the new gossip. Michael is dating again. Great! He’s moved on and she’s trying to get through the day without crying. More miserable than before, she’s extra moody and snapping at everyone around her.
Gabbi decides to take matters into her own hands and makes Ever go out one Friday night. Not happy about this, she complains the entire way. “Ever, this is for your own good. The only way you are going to move on, is to face up to it.” To that I would say, what the whaaaat?? Best friend or not, I might have to hurt someone if they made me watch my ex while on a date! Ever is furious and very uncomfortable.
The weeks are finally passing and Ever is doing her best to forget about Michael. Her passion is swimming and that is where she feels she is in her element. Her favorite spot is at a lake that few people populate and it’s perfect when she wants to work out her frustrations. This particular day she feels she isn’t alone. Not seeing anything she continues her laps. She finally spots something that looks like lights jumping around. Curious, she gets out and dressed. Determined to find the source, she starts walking toward the lights. She spots a boy lying in the grass and the lights are coming from his fingers. Again, what the whaaat?? Frightened, she takes off running before she can be seen. This day marks the start of some very realistic dreams about running away from someone chasing her.
The next day starts just like any other but this time while sitting in class, someone takes the empty seat that was vacated by Michael. Risking a glance she sees the guy from the lake next to her. Jack Tanner is his name and she can’t take her eyes off him! I love her reaction to him! When he turns his blues eyes on her, she forgets everything else. Breathe Ever!! They have a couple classes together and she’s been asked to help him, so he can catch up on his work. Any opportunity to see his blues eyes is fine by her. Wait, did I say blue? Now his eyes are green. No, they are blue again! What’s that about?
They begin to see more of each other, and she’s noticing that Jack is holding something back. He remains cryptic and she is confused. That’s OK; he is taking her to the beach for the first time and Ever is determined to get answers. From Jack, she learns that when she turns 18 she has an important choice to make. Remain on land and have no memory of Jack and anything he’s shared with her or choose to live in the sea. Her love of the water is making sense to her now but this will mean giving up everything she loves on land. Heather begins to paint us a beautiful picture of a world under the sea. And what Ever thought to be black and white is not the case at all. What she does know, she’s fallen in love with Jack but he always seems to disappear when she needs him the most. Through Jack’s sister, Amber, Ever learns she has a huge role to play in the future of all the mer-people. Both sides have appealed to Ever, hoping she will choose them. In the end, she decides she is going to choose Jack. She loves him and will fight for him. If only she can find him! What she finds is lies and deceit from Jack. Replaying everything in her head from the beginning, she feels foolish. Blinded by his good looks and choice words, a disaster is going happen and it could be all her fault.
I loved the story Heather gave us. I was not expecting what came when the other shoe dropped. I am very much looking forward to see what happens in Barely Breathing!!
4.5/5 stars!!!
April 13, 2013
Cute story!
I've never been a huge fan of the merfolk, but the way Heather detailed her side of the ocean was great!
Going through her first break-up with her first love, life at 17 seemed to be at it's worse for Ever. Her brother has been getting moody and her best friend is finally with the guy she has been wanting to be with for a couple of years.. who is also best friends with her ex - and watching Michael with his new girlfriend?!?! GAH!
Ever tries her best to pretend like she's ok. for everyone else's sake.
But when the new guy shows up and sits in Michael's old seat in class, she can't help but feel excited as those little shivers of electricity run though her body. That can't be real!
Not only is the new guy hot - he's kind of weird. She saw him at the lake the other day. She was swimming, and something had caught her eye from the water. Sneaking up, she saw this same guy laying on his back with light coming out of his hands?!? Seriously? Was she imagining it or what?
Jack feels the same electric charge when they're close together. and when they actually touch? WOWSERS!
There is defiantly something about Jack that Ever doesn't know.
When Jack ask's ever to drive up to the ocean with him, she gets even more excited. She had never been to the ocean before.
Swimming for competition was what Ever loved. Being in the water was just refreshing for her.
Things couldn't be more perfect. Until she opened her mouth and started asking questions. Jack was very truthful with his answers.
And he told her about his life under the water.
Well yeah that's a bit much for anyone to take in. but then he throws in the big whopper... She's just like him. When she turns eighteen in a few weeks, she is going to have to make the ultimate decision. To live on land, and forget she knew about the Merfolk, or join the sea folks and forget about her life on land.
Thta's going to be a hard decision for any girl her age. But luckily her Gram-aw was the same as she was, and was able to help her make her decision... well pretty much Gram-aw demanded that Ever stay on the land and have nothing to do with the Mer-folks again.
But Ever didn't know if she could stay away from Jack.
The dreams were getting more intense and she had no idea what they meant. But she knew she couldn't leave Jack. Not when he needed her the most.
I loved the world Heather Allen created under the water. This isn't just a girl turning into a fish and living happily ever after. She has her work cut out of her. No one wanted her in the sea - there is something bout her that scares all the others, and they will stop at nothing to make sure she doesn't cause problems.
Looking forward to the next book. there is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, - well ok it's very unfinished and I'm ready to find out what happens :)
I've never been a huge fan of the merfolk, but the way Heather detailed her side of the ocean was great!
Going through her first break-up with her first love, life at 17 seemed to be at it's worse for Ever. Her brother has been getting moody and her best friend is finally with the guy she has been wanting to be with for a couple of years.. who is also best friends with her ex - and watching Michael with his new girlfriend?!?! GAH!
Ever tries her best to pretend like she's ok. for everyone else's sake.
But when the new guy shows up and sits in Michael's old seat in class, she can't help but feel excited as those little shivers of electricity run though her body. That can't be real!
Not only is the new guy hot - he's kind of weird. She saw him at the lake the other day. She was swimming, and something had caught her eye from the water. Sneaking up, she saw this same guy laying on his back with light coming out of his hands?!? Seriously? Was she imagining it or what?
Jack feels the same electric charge when they're close together. and when they actually touch? WOWSERS!
There is defiantly something about Jack that Ever doesn't know.
When Jack ask's ever to drive up to the ocean with him, she gets even more excited. She had never been to the ocean before.
Swimming for competition was what Ever loved. Being in the water was just refreshing for her.
Things couldn't be more perfect. Until she opened her mouth and started asking questions. Jack was very truthful with his answers.
And he told her about his life under the water.
Well yeah that's a bit much for anyone to take in. but then he throws in the big whopper... She's just like him. When she turns eighteen in a few weeks, she is going to have to make the ultimate decision. To live on land, and forget she knew about the Merfolk, or join the sea folks and forget about her life on land.
Thta's going to be a hard decision for any girl her age. But luckily her Gram-aw was the same as she was, and was able to help her make her decision... well pretty much Gram-aw demanded that Ever stay on the land and have nothing to do with the Mer-folks again.
But Ever didn't know if she could stay away from Jack.
The dreams were getting more intense and she had no idea what they meant. But she knew she couldn't leave Jack. Not when he needed her the most.
I loved the world Heather Allen created under the water. This isn't just a girl turning into a fish and living happily ever after. She has her work cut out of her. No one wanted her in the sea - there is something bout her that scares all the others, and they will stop at nothing to make sure she doesn't cause problems.
Looking forward to the next book. there is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, - well ok it's very unfinished and I'm ready to find out what happens :)
April 14, 2013
Just Breathe by Heather Allen was such a refreshing read. I have been a bit removed as of lately from this young adult genre. If you haven't guessed from the synopsis, this book is clearly about the world of mermaids or as they say in he book mer people, and Ever's entrance into a world she never knew existed. With the help from her friends and family she has some major decisions concerning her life.
We meet Ever in the beginning of the book. We quickly learn that her boyfriend of three years has broken up with her. She is just a couple weeks from turning eighteen, and then she meets Jack. He is a mysterious boy from her history class. Unfortanately Ever has no idea what she wants. She feels things for Jack that she can't explain. They get to know one another and she ends up falling hard for this perfect boy. Then Jack drops the bomb on her and her life changes drastically. Ever is a descedant of the mer people and he is her gaurdian. He is supposed to protect her until she is to make her decision of sea or land. What they both didn't expect was to feel so much for one another. With only two weeks till her eighteenth birthday and the biggest decision of her life looming, she has no idea what to do. There is so much to the world in the sea that she never imagined was possible. Along with special powers associated with being a mermaid she also is able to swim like no other. Being immersed in this new world has given her a sort of happiness she never expected. Meeting Jack is one of the most amazing things that could of happened to her. Her happiness just may be short lived when she finds out some of the people she has trusted the most have been keeping her in the dark. Now how is this girl supposed to make an informed decision without all the facts? When she makes her decision will she regret it? Will she chose Jack and the sea? or will she chose the only life she has ever known?
Ever is such a likeable character in this story. I could seriously relate to her she was so brave and fearless. She was also the perfect heroine. Jack was so sweet and understanding, so easy to fall in love with. If I had to make the kind of decision she was expected to I have no idea how I would choose. I will tell you this it does come down to the wire and her decision is not taken very lightly. My recommendation is to give this a good read. It is such a wonderful story and the writing is very good as well. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series to find out where Ever's story is heading. That book is called Barely Breathing and will be released on April 15th.
We meet Ever in the beginning of the book. We quickly learn that her boyfriend of three years has broken up with her. She is just a couple weeks from turning eighteen, and then she meets Jack. He is a mysterious boy from her history class. Unfortanately Ever has no idea what she wants. She feels things for Jack that she can't explain. They get to know one another and she ends up falling hard for this perfect boy. Then Jack drops the bomb on her and her life changes drastically. Ever is a descedant of the mer people and he is her gaurdian. He is supposed to protect her until she is to make her decision of sea or land. What they both didn't expect was to feel so much for one another. With only two weeks till her eighteenth birthday and the biggest decision of her life looming, she has no idea what to do. There is so much to the world in the sea that she never imagined was possible. Along with special powers associated with being a mermaid she also is able to swim like no other. Being immersed in this new world has given her a sort of happiness she never expected. Meeting Jack is one of the most amazing things that could of happened to her. Her happiness just may be short lived when she finds out some of the people she has trusted the most have been keeping her in the dark. Now how is this girl supposed to make an informed decision without all the facts? When she makes her decision will she regret it? Will she chose Jack and the sea? or will she chose the only life she has ever known?
Ever is such a likeable character in this story. I could seriously relate to her she was so brave and fearless. She was also the perfect heroine. Jack was so sweet and understanding, so easy to fall in love with. If I had to make the kind of decision she was expected to I have no idea how I would choose. I will tell you this it does come down to the wire and her decision is not taken very lightly. My recommendation is to give this a good read. It is such a wonderful story and the writing is very good as well. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series to find out where Ever's story is heading. That book is called Barely Breathing and will be released on April 15th.
April 15, 2013
Ever has just been dumped. So the year her and Michael were to rule the school has been squashed the minute he says he wants a break. How could she know, in the midst of her depression, that her savior would be soon entering her life. From the moment Ever makes eye contact with Jack she is taken. Those gorgeous blue eyes do something to her and she loves the warm feelings he brings about when he smiles at her. But Jack is a bad boy with a police record. Her friends and brother want her to stay far away. Only thing is...she can't. She won't.
Days before her 18th birthday, Ever learns she will have to make a decision that will greatly impact her life: stay with her family on land or go live in the sea as a mermaid. The choice is one that is thrown upon her and she must make a decision quickly. But Jack and Gam-ah leave out crucial information that might have sealed the deal and helped with her choice. Since the choice has been made, Ever must make the best of it and just deal with it. It is not going to be easy, but Ever is bound and determined to be with the one she wants. Sea/Land laws be darned. Sheesh. What has she gotten herself into?
This would have been a rather quick read for me, but I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer last night when I went to finish the book. No. Definitely not the book or the author's fault. It was all on me. Because this book was so good and had my attention throughout. I like the author's writing style and it was easy to fall into. Such a good read. And since it is about mermaids I knew I would just adore it. There is just something about mermaid stories that I go crazy for.
I really liked Ever’s character in the story but her parents are a little odd for me. Or maybe I am a little jealous my parents weren’t like hers; barely batting an eye when she calls them after being gone missing several days. I think they would have been a bit more believable if they acted a bit…I don’t know…parental?
I liked where the story went and how the plot played out. I think with how it ended was the perfect way to lead into the next one. Readers are going to be a flabbergasted with the ending and will be itching to know what happens next. I know I am eagerly anticipating what happens to Ever, Jack, and James. So much could happen…so much could go wrong…and what about Alex? Hmmm??!! Guess we will just have to continue on in the series to find out.
Days before her 18th birthday, Ever learns she will have to make a decision that will greatly impact her life: stay with her family on land or go live in the sea as a mermaid. The choice is one that is thrown upon her and she must make a decision quickly. But Jack and Gam-ah leave out crucial information that might have sealed the deal and helped with her choice. Since the choice has been made, Ever must make the best of it and just deal with it. It is not going to be easy, but Ever is bound and determined to be with the one she wants. Sea/Land laws be darned. Sheesh. What has she gotten herself into?
This would have been a rather quick read for me, but I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer last night when I went to finish the book. No. Definitely not the book or the author's fault. It was all on me. Because this book was so good and had my attention throughout. I like the author's writing style and it was easy to fall into. Such a good read. And since it is about mermaids I knew I would just adore it. There is just something about mermaid stories that I go crazy for.
I really liked Ever’s character in the story but her parents are a little odd for me. Or maybe I am a little jealous my parents weren’t like hers; barely batting an eye when she calls them after being gone missing several days. I think they would have been a bit more believable if they acted a bit…I don’t know…parental?
I liked where the story went and how the plot played out. I think with how it ended was the perfect way to lead into the next one. Readers are going to be a flabbergasted with the ending and will be itching to know what happens next. I know I am eagerly anticipating what happens to Ever, Jack, and James. So much could happen…so much could go wrong…and what about Alex? Hmmm??!! Guess we will just have to continue on in the series to find out.
December 21, 2013
More like a 2.5
I had so many issues with this book, starting with the fact I didn't really connect with Ever. She came off much younger than 17, turning 18. She's gone through her first heartbreak, and that's a very hard experience, especially of such a long relationship. My next issue came right away in the form of best friend, Gabbi. I found her to be pushy, and not a real friend at all. Gabbi forced Ever to go out with her, because she'd moped long enough over the breakup. Oh,and surprise, we're going to go to the cafe everyone goes to, by the way, your ex is going to be there on a date. And we're going to sit with them because the guy I want to flirt with is sitting there, and you can't run away. Yeah, some friend. Where's the chick flicks? The ice cream?
Then there's Jack. There were several times I wanted to tell Ever that he just wasn't that into her. I didn't feel this great love between them. If there was to be a love story between them, I needed to see more with them. I just wasn't convinced.
The choice that Ever had to make...
The grammar was an issue for me. Commas were misused, quotes left out, it made it a hard read at times. All of this combined to leave me with no desire to continue with the trilogy.
I had so many issues with this book, starting with the fact I didn't really connect with Ever. She came off much younger than 17, turning 18. She's gone through her first heartbreak, and that's a very hard experience, especially of such a long relationship. My next issue came right away in the form of best friend, Gabbi. I found her to be pushy, and not a real friend at all. Gabbi forced Ever to go out with her, because she'd moped long enough over the breakup. Oh,and surprise, we're going to go to the cafe everyone goes to, by the way, your ex is going to be there on a date. And we're going to sit with them because the guy I want to flirt with is sitting there, and you can't run away. Yeah, some friend. Where's the chick flicks? The ice cream?
Then there's Jack. There were several times I wanted to tell Ever that he just wasn't that into her. I didn't feel this great love between them. If there was to be a love story between them, I needed to see more with them. I just wasn't convinced.
The choice that Ever had to make...
The grammar was an issue for me. Commas were misused, quotes left out, it made it a hard read at times. All of this combined to leave me with no desire to continue with the trilogy.
January 27, 2013
I am giving this book 4 stars because the writing was very good. I did have a hard time at the beginning of the book connecting with the main female character Ever. That could be due to the fact that I am far removed from being a 17 year old girl who just had her first heart break. As the book went on and the choices Ever had to make became more adult I started to connect with her. There is really nothing special about the plot of this book but it was still a good YA read. I do stress the YA in this because it is definitely written for a younger (15-17) audience. There are a few plot twists that will keep you guessing. This book is the beginning of a series and there is a cliff hanger.
Ever is the main heroine in this book and when we meet her she is experiencing her first heartbreak. She eventually meets our main male character Jack. Jack is there to help Ever make a decision that will change the course of her life forever.
Jack is Ever’s guardian she is told. They form a “forbidden love” that goes against all the rules. Jack is supposed to be there to help Ever make the “right” choice. There is more than one choice Ever has to make and Jack is there to help with both choices.
We also meet Ever’s brother James who ends up being a bigger part of the family line than Ever and Jack’s sister Aubrey who learns things about her own family that will shock her.
This book was a good quick read. It only took me a couple of hours from start to finish. I recommend this book for anyone who loves YA books.
Ever is the main heroine in this book and when we meet her she is experiencing her first heartbreak. She eventually meets our main male character Jack. Jack is there to help Ever make a decision that will change the course of her life forever.
Jack is Ever’s guardian she is told. They form a “forbidden love” that goes against all the rules. Jack is supposed to be there to help Ever make the “right” choice. There is more than one choice Ever has to make and Jack is there to help with both choices.
We also meet Ever’s brother James who ends up being a bigger part of the family line than Ever and Jack’s sister Aubrey who learns things about her own family that will shock her.
This book was a good quick read. It only took me a couple of hours from start to finish. I recommend this book for anyone who loves YA books.
July 7, 2013
All I can say is...wow. The story had plot twists and turns by the zillion, yet they were all carried out in such a tactful way that it didn't confuse or annoy me. As a matter of fact, I was poised on the edge of my seat for the entirety of this book, which I finished in record timing because I simply could not put it down. When I first began to read this story, I'll admit I had no idea what it would be about. I often pick up books before reading a blurb or anything. Then, once I began getting into the story, I admit I thought “oh no, this is going to be that same old new age paranormal romance crap.” I know, I'm so ashamed I even thought it. This is not the same old new age paranormal romance crap.(I'm honestly a fan of the paranormal romance thing, but I feel some things have been way over done). This book is amazing. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is that a little bit of the wording was a bit hard to read. Not much, but a little. Truthfully, I'd give it a four and a half if possible. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance, and I think it would actually be appropriate for everyone around age 13 and up. It is not a graphic romance, but rather sweet...and definitely shocking.
dnf
October 27, 2013I don't know, I'm not sure I want to finish this book. Everything happens way too fast. The female main character, who's name is Ever (I don't like it, by the way), is kind of... I don't know, weird? Here comes this strange guy, she falls for him in a week (even though she just broke up with her boyfriend of 3 years), then he says she's a mermaid and she has to decide if she wants to live in the sea or keep her normal, human life. The explanations are not enough, but I guess they'll come farther ahead.. It's just that, I don't know... Maybe the story was lacking of something (sense, maybe?).
It's not interesting or believable enough for me to keep reading, (obviously I know this is fiction or fantasy or whatever, but it has to make you want to believe its real, or make you feel something). Sorry.
It's not interesting or believable enough for me to keep reading, (obviously I know this is fiction or fantasy or whatever, but it has to make you want to believe its real, or make you feel something). Sorry.
December 22, 2013
I would have given this 3 stars but there were some typos (I have an ebook) and the ending REALLY left you hanging. I know this is the first of a trilogy, but come on! It was a total NON ending. I thought the ebook just put the authors biography in the wrong place.
There was a lot of angst and drama in this story of a girl having to choose life as a mermaid or life on land, and I'm not at a place where angst in a story is good for me, but for the most part I liked the book and the construction of the mermaid world, though the rules were quite odd and the timeline maybe a bit off as well.
Get to at least a decent stopping place and I'd forgive the typos.
There was a lot of angst and drama in this story of a girl having to choose life as a mermaid or life on land, and I'm not at a place where angst in a story is good for me, but for the most part I liked the book and the construction of the mermaid world, though the rules were quite odd and the timeline maybe a bit off as well.
Get to at least a decent stopping place and I'd forgive the typos.
June 5, 2013
This first book in the trilogy leaves me wanting MORE! I find myself really relating to Ever, the protagonist. As a reader, you wish you could just sit down with Ever and help her workout some of the major life changes she is experiencing. I'm amazed at her courage and faith in what will become of her. I've already started the next book in the series, Barely Breathing, as I couldn't wait to find out about Jack. The universal feelings of love are definitely present with their relationship and I'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops.
June 10, 2013
3.5 stars out of 5
The lines between land and sea collide for Ever Harding on her 18th birthday when she is faced with making a decision that will not only affect her life but the life of the Mer-people she has now come to realize truelly exist along with Jack the mer-man she has fallen in love with and can not picture her life without, But is Jack everything he portrays himself to be? or is he using her as a pawn in this mer-man agianst mer-man war or will there love survive?
Great story and very engaging lite read, does end on a mild cliff hanger, so be warned, overall great story
The lines between land and sea collide for Ever Harding on her 18th birthday when she is faced with making a decision that will not only affect her life but the life of the Mer-people she has now come to realize truelly exist along with Jack the mer-man she has fallen in love with and can not picture her life without, But is Jack everything he portrays himself to be? or is he using her as a pawn in this mer-man agianst mer-man war or will there love survive?
Great story and very engaging lite read, does end on a mild cliff hanger, so be warned, overall great story
May 19, 2013
Ever, her choices between sea and land, mer-people, and love all come together to create a completely engaging, fantastical story. I was drawn into the story from the very first chapter and stayed enthralled until the last page. I can't wait to begin the second book of the trilogy and I am dreading the wait for the final book because I just don't want to have to wait for the rest of the story.
*I received a signed copy of this book through a goodreads giveaway.
*I received a signed copy of this book through a goodreads giveaway.
February 4, 2015
Congratulations on writing the worst book I've read in two years. The lack of grammar skills, the lack of decent characters... I felt like this was a terrible fanfiction that I wrote ten years ago. Save yourself the trouble and don't read this book. Even if it's free, like mine was. It's not worth your time. The only occasion I would suggest reading this book is if you're in the zombie apocalypse and every other book has been destroyed.
April 10, 2013
Be submerged into the magical world of a mermaid! You will be pulled into the depths of the sea with beautiful images swimming through you mind.
I was struck stupid by how good this book was! You know that feeling you get in your gut that makes a huge grin appear while you are reading and you can’t wipe it off your face? Well I got that with this story, big time!! 5/5 stars!!
I was struck stupid by how good this book was! You know that feeling you get in your gut that makes a huge grin appear while you are reading and you can’t wipe it off your face? Well I got that with this story, big time!! 5/5 stars!!
February 17, 2014
sometimes, when I start reading a book I know immediately it will be a struggle, because of a writing style that just doesn't pull me in. even if the story is good I can't really enjoy it, because it just doesn't read right, this is one of those books for me. Also just not into mermaids.
January 24, 2014
So glad its finally over. Worst thing I've subjected myself to in a long time. Needless to say, I won't be reading the rest of the series.
June 13, 2015
Start 2015 with a good old mind fudge plot twist.....?
December 8, 2015
Couldnt read it until the very bitter end
November 13, 2024
I've had this book in my Nook library for quite some time, and just randomly chose it to read. I wasn't aware when I started that it was a mermaid book, had I known or remembered that, I'd likely have read it a lot sooner as I LOVE mermaids! This world of mermaid lore the author has created was quite different than any I've read before. I love the idea of certain families having the choice when they turn 18, and the idea of having both light and dark mermaids was new to me as well. This being the first book in a series, there is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, so reader beware!
I think young adult readers and readers who love mermaids and fantasy will love this book.
I think young adult readers and readers who love mermaids and fantasy will love this book.
March 21, 2020
Read during the Great Social Distancing of COVID-19.
I was not impressed by the writing nor the characters in Just Breathe. There are numerous grammatical errors - unnecessary commas, spelling errors, poor sentence structure, which truly hindered my connection with Ever as a character. The insta-love between Ever and Jack was unconvincing. While Ever had a chance to develop into a more mature personality over the course of the novel, she becomes whiny and entitled. She accepts the sea as her destiny, yet does not take on their conflict, and perhaps that is a deficit in the world-building. In speaking of world-building, most of the conflict between sea and land was also underdeveloped, only popping up to inform Ever at the last minute and normally through her Gram-aw. The novel is plagued by underdeveloped backstory, world-building, and characters. I am not intrigued enough to continue the series.
I was not impressed by the writing nor the characters in Just Breathe. There are numerous grammatical errors - unnecessary commas, spelling errors, poor sentence structure, which truly hindered my connection with Ever as a character. The insta-love between Ever and Jack was unconvincing. While Ever had a chance to develop into a more mature personality over the course of the novel, she becomes whiny and entitled. She accepts the sea as her destiny, yet does not take on their conflict, and perhaps that is a deficit in the world-building. In speaking of world-building, most of the conflict between sea and land was also underdeveloped, only popping up to inform Ever at the last minute and normally through her Gram-aw. The novel is plagued by underdeveloped backstory, world-building, and characters. I am not intrigued enough to continue the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2019
Usually I don't like leaving bad reviews. However, I think it's in the author's best interest to listen to readers. Like other reviewers, I noticed multiple comma splice/run on errors throughout the dialogue and first chapter. It was difficult to continue reading.
Some resources I recommend:
ProWritingAid.com
Grammarly.com
I think there is potential for this story, but a thorough editing is needed.
Some resources I recommend:
ProWritingAid.com
Grammarly.com
I think there is potential for this story, but a thorough editing is needed.
September 4, 2020
Teenage mermaid drama
I think because of the title I wasn't really expecting this to be a story where a teenage girl turns into a mermaid. But I really did enjoy the book and would like to read the rest of the series. I think that now that I have the background and set up of ever being a mermaid and how the two sides of the merworld feel it will be hopefully a tale where ever overcomes, and there is a true happy ending and she finds herself.
I think because of the title I wasn't really expecting this to be a story where a teenage girl turns into a mermaid. But I really did enjoy the book and would like to read the rest of the series. I think that now that I have the background and set up of ever being a mermaid and how the two sides of the merworld feel it will be hopefully a tale where ever overcomes, and there is a true happy ending and she finds herself.
February 3, 2020
I picked this book because I needed something that I didn’t need to think a lot to read and that had romance too... so good book for that and I had a good laugh with my friends about it. There were plot holes that bugged me and a female getting dumped and being depressed forever until she has another man in her life bugs me a lot! It is very good at showing unhealthy behaviors! I would recommend this book to anyone that likes mermaids, or needs to read something that won’t hurt your brain or think a lot...
I would not teach this in middle school but if I must then I would teach it in high school to show what not to do and maybe have the kids try to fix it, like fill in the plot holes.
Sex: Nope
Drugs: Nope
Rock and Roll: 🤷♀️
Language: maybe some
Violence: a bit but not really
I would not teach this in middle school but if I must then I would teach it in high school to show what not to do and maybe have the kids try to fix it, like fill in the plot holes.
Sex: Nope
Drugs: Nope
Rock and Roll: 🤷♀️
Language: maybe some
Violence: a bit but not really
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