Only a Breath Apart - Review

Only a Breath Apart

By: Katie McGarry

Publication: January 22nd 2019 by Tor Teen

368 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

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Goodreads description--Are our destinies written in stone? Do we become nothing more than the self-fulfilling prophesies of other people's opinions? Or can we dare to become who we believe we were born to be?

Jesse Jameson is in line to inherit the land that's been in his family for generations--there's just one catch: to prove his maturity, he has to win the approval of his former best friend, Scarlett Copeland, and her father. But when Jesse finds out that Scarlett's father is abusing her, he must decide what truly matters most: his family's land or helping the girl he's fallen in love with.

I finished Only a Breath Apart several days ago*, but I put off writing my review because I just wasn't sure what I was wanted to say. This turned out to be one of those "it was good but..." books for me.

"It was good but..." It wasn't what I was expecting. While each of the things the book is focused on is mentioned in the description, I guess I thought there would be less surreal/fantasy (i.e. the curse and psychic stuff), less controlling father, and more midnight meetings.

"It was good but..." The plot left me wanting more. While I enjoyed the controlling, abusive father storyline from one standpoint... It's real. It's sad. It happens entirely too frequently. I wish there had been a happier theme running throughout this story. While Scarlett and Jesse both work to overcome their issues and move forward with their lives the majority of the book was kind of sad to me rather than hope-filled. The ending had hope and I guess that's what really counts.

The romance "was good but..." I wanted more. Jesse and Scarlett have a lot of history to work through before they can get to the juicy stuff.

I'm not sure there was exactly anything wrong with Only a Breath Apart beyond not being what I expected it to be. Katie McGarry is still a favorite author of mine. And in truth Only a Breath Apart does have a deep and important message. I particularly liked the inclusion of Pastor Hughes. Only a Breath Apart gets 3.5 Stars. Have you read Only a Breath Apart? What did you think? Let me know!

*Review first written February 2019, but first published on Somewhere Only We Know December 2019.