---
product_id: 4201588
title: "Barely Breathing"
price: "₱1778"
currency: PHP
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.ph/products/4201588-barely-breathing
store_origin: PH
region: Philippines
---

# Barely Breathing

**Price:** ₱1778
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- **What is this?** Barely Breathing
- **How much does it cost?** ₱1778 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ph](https://www.desertcart.ph/products/4201588-barely-breathing)

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## Description

Barely Breathing is the second book in the million-copy bestselling Breathing Series. “ I’ve spent most of my life trying to make it to a future that still hasn’t happened, or avoid a past that won’t let me go. I don’t remember when I’ve ever just stopped to live in the present, to hold on to the seconds I’m in .” Emma Thomas’s struggle with an abusive home life came to a heart-pounding conclusion in the final chapters of Reason to Breathe , the first installment of the Breathing Series―Rebecca Donovan’s bestselling romantic-thriller ( USA Today ). Now her secret life has been exposed, and her tormentor can’t hurt her anymore. Yet some are still haunted by that night. The bruises may have faded, but scars and fears remain. How will she reclaim her life when she’s barely breathing?

Review: Wow!!!!!!!!! - ** spoiler alert ** If you have not read Reason to Breathe . . . STOP NOW! This will have spoilers from the first book. Go read the first book. Run. Don¡¦t walk. Hurry! It¡¦s that good! Here is the link to my review to get the ¡§gist¡¨. http://www.desertcart.com/review/RYBAR5LGMO5JR/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm OK. Ready? 3-2-1. Did you hear it? Did you? That was the sound of my head exploding. Oh. My. God. I don¡¦t OMG much, really, I don¡¦t but this is the second time I have had to use it with Rebecca Donovan and I am pretty sure that I will have to use it in the third book as well. Let me start by saying that I thank my lucky stars that I had this second book was readily available after Reason to Breathe. Not that it helps with the ginormous whole she left in my heart for the third one. Seriously, Rebecca you are a remarkable writer. Your story lines are just . . . mind-blowing (ha). No seriously. Wow. This story starts off about six months after the horrid night that we were left with after that monster of an aunt almost killed Emma. Time has gone by. Carol is in jail, George and the kids went on to live with his mother. (Also Emma¡¦s grandma) Emma went on to live with Sara and her parents, Anna and Carl, who have custody of Emma until she turns 18. I If you didn¡¦t fall in love with Sara and her parents in book 1, you will in book 2. What an amazingly loving and caring set of parents. They love Emma as if she was their own. She is playing basketball, too and trying to have a social life. Life went on. Recovery... healing... time... and surrounded by her loving friends, Emma got herself to a better place. Things began to change and for once there was a glimmer of hope that maybe things might turn out okay. And Evan, of course, who is the most perfect boyfriend and is there for her every step of the way. I shook my head and mouthed, "Where did you come from?" "What?" he laughed."How did I end up with you? I mean, my life's so messed up and then... And then there's... you. I couldn't have made you up if I'd tried." ~Emma ¡¨You are amazing.¡¨ I could feel my cheeks changing color and my lips stretched out into an embarrassed smile. ¡§What did I do?¡¨ ¡§Just you, everything about you ¡V you¡¦re amazing.¡¨ He stated simply. ~ Evan *sigh* *Swoon* "I'm here, Emma. I'll never let you go," he whispered in my ear, holding me tighter." ~Evan *Swoon* "We can contemplate the meaning of your life all you want, but know that you're my meaning¡K the reason behind just about everything I do - and I would never want to change that." ~Evan *sigh* *Double swoon* "I breathed for you¡K I begged for you to breathe with every breath I gave to you. I kept pleading for you to breathe over and over again. And then¡K then you did." ~Evan Put a fork in me. I¡¦m done. Heart melted. Head. Over. Heels. In. Love. Moving on. Emma has A LOT to deal with and she doesn't talk about it to anyone, she keeps it bottled up which leads to nightmares as well as a strain on her relationship with Evan because she doesn't let him in. He is the most understanding patient boyfriend ever and she just won¡¦t let him in. Then we get hit the curveball, despite how she feels, she finally decides to move in with her less than responsible mother, Rachel, who has come back into her life, thinking that it would be a chance to ¡§fix¡¨ their relationship before she heads out to college. Being the overachiever she is, she dove right in with the decision instead of getting to know her first. That may not have been the smartest decision she makes but let¡¦s face it, this book is based on a lot of Emma¡¦s bad decisions. And boy did she make a good amount of them! Well, starting with the decision to move in with her mother. Emma soon realizes this will not be easy because her mother is an alcoholic who likes to get drunk and crazy and then brings home random guys from bars for sex. Even though she is clearly not in a good situation again, Emma begins to hide things from Sara and Evan but they are not easily fooled. Another bad decision. Things get a little more complicated when Rachel hooks up with a younger boyfriend Jonathan, who befriends Emma. They spent many nights talking, avoiding their nightmares. Jonathan and Emma soon realize they have a few things in common that includes being abused by someone who should love you instead of hurt you and nightmares that haunt them filled with pain. They understand each other. They feel each other¡¦s pain. They make a connection because he is the only one that can truly relate to what her nightmares are all about. A relationship starts to build with Emma and Jonathan that she can't explain and doesn¡¦t even try to. More bad decisions. I hated this part. She seeks him, confides in him. I hated Jonathan because I felt as if he was taking Emma away from Evan. No. No. NO! There was something about Jonathan I didn¡¦t like. He gave me the creeps. He felt like a very dark and twisted character that is going to mess everything up between Evan and Emma. "I like this," Jonathan said suddenly, before I could walk away, "talking to you. I feel like I can tell you things¡K things I usually keep to myself. Most people don't understand." ¡K Until that moment I hadn't realized what was happening. I was able to share the demons that wrestled with me in the night, and Jonathan understood in a way that no one else did. He was fighting with them himself, and that had drawn us together. ~Emma. ¡§You asked why I stayed when I had every reason to leave ¡V I stayed for you. I was drawn to you almost instantly without really understanding what was happening. I will always be here for you Emma.¡¨ ~Jonathan Grrrrr. No! I refuse to accept it. And of course, Rachel never takes the initiative to make things better! She gets drunk, creates a scene, apologizes and repeated the same pattern the next day! You will loathe her, want her to disappear once again from Emma¡¦s life when you realize the things that she did! She is no good. Poor Emma. She can¡¦t catch a break. Her bad decisions coming back to bite in the you know where. Things get worse as more bad decisions are made and Emma continues to leave Evan out in the dark and she finds herself getting much more than she ever bargained for and not in a good way. This book, like the first one, was full of angst. I found myself cussing at my iPad, mainly at Emma for making bad decisions and getting all riled up for the things that were falling into place. The emotional rollercoaster took on a whole new aspect with this book. Rebecca Donovan's famous cliffhanger, the mother of all cliffhangers, gave life and meaning to the phrase . . ."left hanging" for the first one, but she absolutely destroys you with the total shocker ending of this book. I never saw it coming. And I knew that waiting for the third book was going to be pure torture. At this point, you are so emotionally invested in their lives, that the cliffhanger for this book rips your heart out. We've become somewhat greedy with these characters and we want more!!!!I literally stared at my iPad for a good half hour after I read the last word. I didn¡¦t know whether I wanted to scream or cry or laugh in pure hysterics because I literally thought I would lose my mind waiting for book three. I had a major book hangover and couldn¡¦t write about or even talk about it for days. I replayed it in my head over and over and the more I thought about it, the more it drove me nuts. I don¡¦t think that I have EVER been so emotionally invested in a series the way I have with this one. It was so aptly named, Barely Breathing. Emma wasn¡¦t the only one whose breath it took away and I loved every angst-y minute of it. A-ma-zing. Lucky for you all, Out of Breath is already out, so hurry on over and check this series out. I promise that you won¡¦t regret it. Rebecca, you did it again. Brilliant. It¡¦s a powerful, solid 5 stars for me . . . again. º
Review: Another Emotional Read.... - First Thoughts: This book took place 6 months after the ending of "Reason to Breathe" and immediately the reader was sucked right back into Emma's life. So much more happened in this book; both emotionally and physically. There were a lot of rough edges to the emotions that makes me seriously consider why I put myself through these kinds of books but then I slowly remember why; they inspire me. This book will test your limits and see how far it takes till you reach your breaking point; it will bring you to understand a little bit more about Emma and what's running through her mind. This was a book that I didn't want to put down; be prepared for an emotional journey once again. Plot: The plot was good, it had all of the elements that you expect to be there and it kept my interest throughout the entire length. One thing I felt unsure of was that parts of the story felt a little random, like a few scenes didn't blend in well with the rest of the story, like some of the transitioning between days were rough and needs a little tweaking. Don't get me wrong I loved the story, we were privileged more into Emma's mind it's just some of the transitions between scenes seemed off and it took me awhile to adjust to the style. But overall the rest of the plot seemed really good, the conflicts seemed to be explained and allowed time to soak in all the new information and reactions. The ending in this one wasn't near as bad as in "Reason to Breathe". I think I can seriously wait for this next book without being so anxious; the cliffhanger was so much more gentle (thank you Donovan). The pace of this book was intense at times and smooth at others, there wasn't really one set pace, it varied off and on depending on what point of the book you were at. And as far as the story itself went it was really good and had some deep lining issues being addressed, this isn't a book to read if you're just wanting to have fun and chill, this is something to read if you want to be inspired and to experience what's its like to be Emma...to see exactly why she ended up living with her Aunt and Uncle and what led to her deep lining emotions; this book will really open your eyes to the world around you and see exactly what happened to Emma. So overall with just a few minor issues with the plot I really did enjoy the story. Romance: There isn't much I can go into in this book in this department without ruining the book for you but I can assure you the romance is definitely amped up in this book so be prepared for the ride of your life. Be prepared to shout, yell and scream because if you're like me you'll going to want to. But overall I loved the scenes between Emma and Evan and really could feel the love and attachment between the two; it'll melt your hearts. Characters: The characters were created perfectly, it was easy to connect with them and follow alongside them. Emma didn't seem to be different from the first book, of course she might be a little more emotional in this book (but I think you'll understand why). Evan and Sara are just as adorable as they were in the previous book and I still love them! As far as new characters introduced I found Jonathon to be a little creepy; there's so many layers to him that I think it'll be a long time before I'll ever calm down about him. And as far as the other minor characters like Jill and her other various friends, I found they fit perfectly where they were placed, so overall the characters did this book some great justice. Transformation of the Character: There was a major transformation in this book and I was blown away, it was so perfect and so amazing to experience and watch. The changes slowly built on top of one another till the breaking point and all of the changes came into one and the beginning of the transformation took place, I still think there's going to be more added to the transformation in the last book to come but being able to see the beginnings of it was fun and amazing to see. So overall the transformation aspect of this book was beautiful. Description: The descriptions in this book did a great job on allowing the reader to really feel all the crazy emotions this book evoked in the reader. I loved the use of language the author chose to describe the inner mind of Emma, it was amazing to see how she really felt and all the crazy things she was thinking not only about herself but about the people and things around her. As far as the way the author chose to describe the landscape I really loved the way she used to images to contrast with the inner feelings of the main character. The use of the color yellow on the house she was staying at was really symbolic and clever. And as far as dialogue goes, though it seemed awkward at times it was an overall good aspect to the story because there was both outer and inner dialogue; it allowed the reader to better connect with the characters. So overall I really enjoyed the description. Style: The author's style didn't really change from the first book; her writing is just as beautiful and intoxicating as the first book. I liked only seeing from one POV (Emma's) because it allowed us to be able to perceive the conflicts better through her eyes. But overall the author's style was just as good and nothing really changed. Quote of the Book: "Sometimes people hurt more than they can handle...And sometimes they don't know how to ask for help. They're so caught up in their own pain; they end up hurting everyone around them. I wish you didn't keep getting hurt." Goodreads Summary: Emma's struggle with an abusive home life came to a heart pounding conclusion in the final chapters of Reason to Breathe. Now everyone in Weslyn knows Emma's secret, but Carol can't hurt Emma anymore. Some are still haunted by the horror of that night, and some must face the repercussions of their choices. Fans of Rebecca Donovan's debut novel will discover there's still much to learn about Emma's life. Last Thoughts: I would recommend this to fans of "Reason to Breathe" and to anyone who is in need of an inspiring and eye-opening read. This book is for a somewhat mature audience so I advise going to it with care...some of these issues are hard to see. But overall though I felt "Reason to Breathe" was a little better than this book, I will still keep this book in my heart and continue to keep re-reading it for years to come.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #266,986 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #7 in Teen & Young Adult Loners & Outcasts Fiction #245 in Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 8,321 Reviews |

## Images

![Barely Breathing - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41yG3TyMmSL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wow!!!!!!!!!
*by A***R on August 12, 2013*

** spoiler alert ** If you have not read Reason to Breathe . . . STOP NOW! This will have spoilers from the first book. Go read the first book. Run. Don¡¦t walk. Hurry! It¡¦s that good! Here is the link to my review to get the ¡§gist¡¨. http://www.amazon.com/review/RYBAR5LGMO5JR/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm OK. Ready? 3-2-1. Did you hear it? Did you? That was the sound of my head exploding. Oh. My. God. I don¡¦t OMG much, really, I don¡¦t but this is the second time I have had to use it with Rebecca Donovan and I am pretty sure that I will have to use it in the third book as well. Let me start by saying that I thank my lucky stars that I had this second book was readily available after Reason to Breathe. Not that it helps with the ginormous whole she left in my heart for the third one. Seriously, Rebecca you are a remarkable writer. Your story lines are just . . . mind-blowing (ha). No seriously. Wow. This story starts off about six months after the horrid night that we were left with after that monster of an aunt almost killed Emma. Time has gone by. Carol is in jail, George and the kids went on to live with his mother. (Also Emma¡¦s grandma) Emma went on to live with Sara and her parents, Anna and Carl, who have custody of Emma until she turns 18. I If you didn¡¦t fall in love with Sara and her parents in book 1, you will in book 2. What an amazingly loving and caring set of parents. They love Emma as if she was their own. She is playing basketball, too and trying to have a social life. Life went on. Recovery... healing... time... and surrounded by her loving friends, Emma got herself to a better place. Things began to change and for once there was a glimmer of hope that maybe things might turn out okay. And Evan, of course, who is the most perfect boyfriend and is there for her every step of the way. I shook my head and mouthed, "Where did you come from?" "What?" he laughed."How did I end up with you? I mean, my life's so messed up and then... And then there's... you. I couldn't have made you up if I'd tried." ~Emma ¡¨You are amazing.¡¨ I could feel my cheeks changing color and my lips stretched out into an embarrassed smile. ¡§What did I do?¡¨ ¡§Just you, everything about you ¡V you¡¦re amazing.¡¨ He stated simply. ~ Evan *sigh* *Swoon* "I'm here, Emma. I'll never let you go," he whispered in my ear, holding me tighter." ~Evan *Swoon* "We can contemplate the meaning of your life all you want, but know that you're my meaning¡K the reason behind just about everything I do - and I would never want to change that." ~Evan *sigh* *Double swoon* "I breathed for you¡K I begged for you to breathe with every breath I gave to you. I kept pleading for you to breathe over and over again. And then¡K then you did." ~Evan Put a fork in me. I¡¦m done. Heart melted. Head. Over. Heels. In. Love. Moving on. Emma has A LOT to deal with and she doesn't talk about it to anyone, she keeps it bottled up which leads to nightmares as well as a strain on her relationship with Evan because she doesn't let him in. He is the most understanding patient boyfriend ever and she just won¡¦t let him in. Then we get hit the curveball, despite how she feels, she finally decides to move in with her less than responsible mother, Rachel, who has come back into her life, thinking that it would be a chance to ¡§fix¡¨ their relationship before she heads out to college. Being the overachiever she is, she dove right in with the decision instead of getting to know her first. That may not have been the smartest decision she makes but let¡¦s face it, this book is based on a lot of Emma¡¦s bad decisions. And boy did she make a good amount of them! Well, starting with the decision to move in with her mother. Emma soon realizes this will not be easy because her mother is an alcoholic who likes to get drunk and crazy and then brings home random guys from bars for sex. Even though she is clearly not in a good situation again, Emma begins to hide things from Sara and Evan but they are not easily fooled. Another bad decision. Things get a little more complicated when Rachel hooks up with a younger boyfriend Jonathan, who befriends Emma. They spent many nights talking, avoiding their nightmares. Jonathan and Emma soon realize they have a few things in common that includes being abused by someone who should love you instead of hurt you and nightmares that haunt them filled with pain. They understand each other. They feel each other¡¦s pain. They make a connection because he is the only one that can truly relate to what her nightmares are all about. A relationship starts to build with Emma and Jonathan that she can't explain and doesn¡¦t even try to. More bad decisions. I hated this part. She seeks him, confides in him. I hated Jonathan because I felt as if he was taking Emma away from Evan. No. No. NO! There was something about Jonathan I didn¡¦t like. He gave me the creeps. He felt like a very dark and twisted character that is going to mess everything up between Evan and Emma. "I like this," Jonathan said suddenly, before I could walk away, "talking to you. I feel like I can tell you things¡K things I usually keep to myself. Most people don't understand." ¡K Until that moment I hadn't realized what was happening. I was able to share the demons that wrestled with me in the night, and Jonathan understood in a way that no one else did. He was fighting with them himself, and that had drawn us together. ~Emma. ¡§You asked why I stayed when I had every reason to leave ¡V I stayed for you. I was drawn to you almost instantly without really understanding what was happening. I will always be here for you Emma.¡¨ ~Jonathan Grrrrr. No! I refuse to accept it. And of course, Rachel never takes the initiative to make things better! She gets drunk, creates a scene, apologizes and repeated the same pattern the next day! You will loathe her, want her to disappear once again from Emma¡¦s life when you realize the things that she did! She is no good. Poor Emma. She can¡¦t catch a break. Her bad decisions coming back to bite in the you know where. Things get worse as more bad decisions are made and Emma continues to leave Evan out in the dark and she finds herself getting much more than she ever bargained for and not in a good way. This book, like the first one, was full of angst. I found myself cussing at my iPad, mainly at Emma for making bad decisions and getting all riled up for the things that were falling into place. The emotional rollercoaster took on a whole new aspect with this book. Rebecca Donovan's famous cliffhanger, the mother of all cliffhangers, gave life and meaning to the phrase . . ."left hanging" for the first one, but she absolutely destroys you with the total shocker ending of this book. I never saw it coming. And I knew that waiting for the third book was going to be pure torture. At this point, you are so emotionally invested in their lives, that the cliffhanger for this book rips your heart out. We've become somewhat greedy with these characters and we want more!!!!I literally stared at my iPad for a good half hour after I read the last word. I didn¡¦t know whether I wanted to scream or cry or laugh in pure hysterics because I literally thought I would lose my mind waiting for book three. I had a major book hangover and couldn¡¦t write about or even talk about it for days. I replayed it in my head over and over and the more I thought about it, the more it drove me nuts. I don¡¦t think that I have EVER been so emotionally invested in a series the way I have with this one. It was so aptly named, Barely Breathing. Emma wasn¡¦t the only one whose breath it took away and I loved every angst-y minute of it. A-ma-zing. Lucky for you all, Out of Breath is already out, so hurry on over and check this series out. I promise that you won¡¦t regret it. Rebecca, you did it again. Brilliant. It¡¦s a powerful, solid 5 stars for me . . . again. º

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another Emotional Read....
*by L***Y on May 4, 2012*

First Thoughts: This book took place 6 months after the ending of "Reason to Breathe" and immediately the reader was sucked right back into Emma's life. So much more happened in this book; both emotionally and physically. There were a lot of rough edges to the emotions that makes me seriously consider why I put myself through these kinds of books but then I slowly remember why; they inspire me. This book will test your limits and see how far it takes till you reach your breaking point; it will bring you to understand a little bit more about Emma and what's running through her mind. This was a book that I didn't want to put down; be prepared for an emotional journey once again. Plot: The plot was good, it had all of the elements that you expect to be there and it kept my interest throughout the entire length. One thing I felt unsure of was that parts of the story felt a little random, like a few scenes didn't blend in well with the rest of the story, like some of the transitioning between days were rough and needs a little tweaking. Don't get me wrong I loved the story, we were privileged more into Emma's mind it's just some of the transitions between scenes seemed off and it took me awhile to adjust to the style. But overall the rest of the plot seemed really good, the conflicts seemed to be explained and allowed time to soak in all the new information and reactions. The ending in this one wasn't near as bad as in "Reason to Breathe". I think I can seriously wait for this next book without being so anxious; the cliffhanger was so much more gentle (thank you Donovan). The pace of this book was intense at times and smooth at others, there wasn't really one set pace, it varied off and on depending on what point of the book you were at. And as far as the story itself went it was really good and had some deep lining issues being addressed, this isn't a book to read if you're just wanting to have fun and chill, this is something to read if you want to be inspired and to experience what's its like to be Emma...to see exactly why she ended up living with her Aunt and Uncle and what led to her deep lining emotions; this book will really open your eyes to the world around you and see exactly what happened to Emma. So overall with just a few minor issues with the plot I really did enjoy the story. Romance: There isn't much I can go into in this book in this department without ruining the book for you but I can assure you the romance is definitely amped up in this book so be prepared for the ride of your life. Be prepared to shout, yell and scream because if you're like me you'll going to want to. But overall I loved the scenes between Emma and Evan and really could feel the love and attachment between the two; it'll melt your hearts. Characters: The characters were created perfectly, it was easy to connect with them and follow alongside them. Emma didn't seem to be different from the first book, of course she might be a little more emotional in this book (but I think you'll understand why). Evan and Sara are just as adorable as they were in the previous book and I still love them! As far as new characters introduced I found Jonathon to be a little creepy; there's so many layers to him that I think it'll be a long time before I'll ever calm down about him. And as far as the other minor characters like Jill and her other various friends, I found they fit perfectly where they were placed, so overall the characters did this book some great justice. Transformation of the Character: There was a major transformation in this book and I was blown away, it was so perfect and so amazing to experience and watch. The changes slowly built on top of one another till the breaking point and all of the changes came into one and the beginning of the transformation took place, I still think there's going to be more added to the transformation in the last book to come but being able to see the beginnings of it was fun and amazing to see. So overall the transformation aspect of this book was beautiful. Description: The descriptions in this book did a great job on allowing the reader to really feel all the crazy emotions this book evoked in the reader. I loved the use of language the author chose to describe the inner mind of Emma, it was amazing to see how she really felt and all the crazy things she was thinking not only about herself but about the people and things around her. As far as the way the author chose to describe the landscape I really loved the way she used to images to contrast with the inner feelings of the main character. The use of the color yellow on the house she was staying at was really symbolic and clever. And as far as dialogue goes, though it seemed awkward at times it was an overall good aspect to the story because there was both outer and inner dialogue; it allowed the reader to better connect with the characters. So overall I really enjoyed the description. Style: The author's style didn't really change from the first book; her writing is just as beautiful and intoxicating as the first book. I liked only seeing from one POV (Emma's) because it allowed us to be able to perceive the conflicts better through her eyes. But overall the author's style was just as good and nothing really changed. Quote of the Book: "Sometimes people hurt more than they can handle...And sometimes they don't know how to ask for help. They're so caught up in their own pain; they end up hurting everyone around them. I wish you didn't keep getting hurt." Goodreads Summary: Emma's struggle with an abusive home life came to a heart pounding conclusion in the final chapters of Reason to Breathe. Now everyone in Weslyn knows Emma's secret, but Carol can't hurt Emma anymore. Some are still haunted by the horror of that night, and some must face the repercussions of their choices. Fans of Rebecca Donovan's debut novel will discover there's still much to learn about Emma's life. Last Thoughts: I would recommend this to fans of "Reason to Breathe" and to anyone who is in need of an inspiring and eye-opening read. This book is for a somewhat mature audience so I advise going to it with care...some of these issues are hard to see. But overall though I felt "Reason to Breathe" was a little better than this book, I will still keep this book in my heart and continue to keep re-reading it for years to come.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review of Book one and two
*by C***L on March 4, 2013*

REASON TO BREATHE AND BARELY BREATHING by rebecca donovan I have spent the last four days doing nothing but reading these two books. As I have mentioned before my major reading time is spent at the gym from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.. What gets me out of bed and to the gym is BOOKS. When I am reading a good book I have no trouble rousing myself up at 4:15 to get in the car and get to the gym. So I have decided that I should rate my books by their ability to get me out of bed and these two were excellent gym incentive!!! 5 barbells! I have to admit there were times when I was reading that I wanted to just scream at the characters and say wake up! or Spill it already! And there were instances when I thought there was way too much detail being given about someones home, resturant, and or bedroom. But over all I was drawn into these characters lives and I fell in love with them. My biggest complaint is the thrid book doesn't come out until July 2nd. SERIOUSLY!!! I don't think I can wait. So if Rebecca hears my plea, please send me an advanced copy and I will give you the praise you deserve. :) On to the story: These are YA contemporary novels. The main character is Emma. She is lives with her aunt and uncle and is a junior in High School. Her aunt is abusive and Emma spends the book trying to hide the effects of the abuse. Emma is an excellent athlete and uses her talents as an avenue to get her out of her situation. Hoping to some day attend Stanford. Her best friend Sara is mostly a catalist for conversations that give us a bit more insight into Emma. I never really felt connected to her but appreciate the need for her in the book. Evan is the love interest. Now Evan is tricky. I don't really feel like I know who he is. There isn't a lot of sharing going on between the characters but for some reason I totally fall in love with him. I guess that is an example of good writing. The first book ends with a major blow up between Emma and the aunt. I won't give any spoilers so I will leave it at that. Basically the first book gives us an idea of the strength Emma has to live the life she's been given but also the need to be loved and accepted. So as the second book starts she decides to move in with her mom, who gave her up and is an alcoholic. She wants to forgive her and build some kind of a relationship. We get to see that the life she has lived has left her with scars and misconceptions and the hurtful words she's been told did more damage than she imagined.The second book has many more screaming moments of JUST GET OUT YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS, but I understand that is easier said than done. I was sad through the book that Evan seemed to be moving away and she found solice with her mom's boyfriend. And another character kept showing up that made me want to scream because Emma wasn't telling her to take a hike. But the story kept me riveted and I am AGAIN! frustrated that these characters are going to be stuck in my head until July. Rarely do I find a book that keeps those characters running around in my head and even more rare is the feelings in the pit of my stomach when thinking of how they are doing now. I give this a HUGE 5 stars. I haven't been so engrosssed and touched by the characters in a book since I read J.R. Trumble's books.

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*Product available on Desertcart Philippines*
*Store origin: PH*
*Last updated: 2026-06-01*