I am so excited to be bringing another blog tour post to all of you guys! Today is all about Only A Breath Apart by Katie McGarry which is an absolutely amazing book that I enjoyed every second of. I was first introduced to Katie's works through her Thunder Road novels and absolutely fell in love with her writing and stories. When I was given the chance to read this book for the tour, I was simply ecstatic at the chance to finally read her newest book. I could go on and on in this section about how amazing it was, but I'll leave that for my review down below! What you can find in this post is a synopsis, praise for the book, an author bio, my review, links to where you can purchase it, and a GIVEAWAY!
SYNOPSIS
Bestselling author Katie McGarry’s trademark wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance is given a new twist in the gritty YA contemporary novel, Only a Breath Apart.
Jesse Lachlin is cursed.
So the town folklore says, but while Jesse’s had his fair share of tragedy, the only curse he believes is in his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year, Scarlett Copeland.
Scarlett Copeland is psychic.
Glory Gardner tells Scarlett she has hidden psychic abilities, but Scarlett thinks Glory is delusional. What is real is Scarlett’s father’s irrational fears, controlling attitude, and the dark secrets at home. Scarlett may have a way to escape, but there’s a hitch: she’ll have to rely on the one person she used to trust, the same boy who broke her heart, Jesse Lachlin.
Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings for each other. But as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…
PRAISE FOR ONLY A BREATH APART
MEET KATIE MCGARRY
“Katie McGarry knows what YA is, how it works, and what it can do better than anyone, but she always takes it one step further.” ―Hypable
"Fair warning: Picture-perfect Scarlett and misunderstood Jesse will have you in your feels." ―Girls' Life Magazine
“Beyond a haunted teen romance is a beautiful, moving exploration of domestic violence, forgiveness, and self-love. ...Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming.” ―Kirkus, starred review
“McGarry ably captures the feeling of desperately wanting to come home to a friendship that has radically changed. The novel manages to tackle domestic violence in a way that never feels clichéd, and the romance is sure to win over even the most cynical reader. This is a story you’ll want to read slowly, just to be able to stay with the characters for a moment longer.” ―Booklist
“A gorgeous, heartfelt journey of redemption and love.” ―Wendy Higgins, New York Times bestselling author
“Powerful, emotional, and ultimately hopeful. An unforgettable story that will leave its mark on your heart.” ―C. J. Redwine, New York Times bestselling author
“Gritty and real, Only a Breath Apart is a story of hope conjured from pain, strength drawn from innocence, and love earned from self-respect. Beautiful, poignant, and fierce.” ―Kristen Simmons, critically acclaimed author of the Article 5 series
“Meticulously weaves a fragile love story through a minefield of loss, broken trust, and familial curses both real and imagined. Haunting, authentic, and ultimately hopeful.” ―Tammara Webber, New York Times bestselling author
“A painful, beautiful, and utterly magical story about the family you’re born into versus the family you choose.” ―Trish Doller, author of In a Perfect World
“A touching tale of love and fate straight from the heartland.” ―Mindy McGinnis, author of The Female of the Species
“Scarlett and Jesse’s story will stay in your heart long after you finish the book.” ―Simone Elkeles, New York Times bestselling author
“Southern Gothic at its finest, this is Katie McGarry’s best book to date!” ―Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan and Breathe, Annie, Breathe
MEET KATIE MCGARRY
Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. She is the author of the Pushing the Limits and Thunder Road series.
MY REVIEW
GIVEAWAY
I loved this book, plain and simple. I've enjoyed all of Katie's books that I've read but there's something about this one that just hit me straight in the heart. I connected so much to these characters and I'm still thinking back to this book over a week after finishing it.
For starters, Katie's writing has always been so wonderful. From page one, I always am able to just fall into her stories. This book was no exception. I was only planning on reading one chapter of this book before I went to bed but the writing sucked me in and I ended up reading over 100. If that alone doesn't give you reason to pick up this book, just sit back and wait for the rest of this review.
Katie's characters and stories are so compelling. The characters in this book struggle with a lot, both in terms of their relationship but also with a lot of real-life stuff. From toxic family relationships, death, financial struggles, and more, these characters don't have it easy. Yet this isn't a depressing book. It's addicting because not only are the characters amazing but their situations are so real.
The main reason this book hit me so hard was because of the connections I made. I don't think I've ever seen myself as much as I have in this book. Now, this may be because I stick to fantasy books most of the time and I don't go off fighting in wars every day. But I connected with this book so hard. I don't have the exact same experiences as these characters, but a lot of the lessons and inner struggles they dealt with in this book were ones I had. I honestly had to put this book down at one point because I was crying over the fact that I could see my personal struggles in a book for the first time. Not only did I find myself in this book, but I am also able to take the advice these characters got...take their techniques...and apply them to myself moving forward.
I think this is why I loved this book so much. I loved the characters, the plot was compelling, the writing was wonderful...but more than any of that I connected with the struggles these characters went through and found healing processes I can try myself. I've never gotten that from a book before and I'm getting a little weepy just thinking about it.
This kind of turned into a rant about how much I loved the fact that I connected so hard with this book but even if I hadn't connected in this way, I still loved the characters and the story. It's a compelling story with no easy way out but it's such a wonderful journey with angst and hope and bright moments. I miss these characters and I wish I could revisit them again for the first time or somehow know how they're doing after this book.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It was phenomenal and Katie, like always, didn't disappoint. If you're a fan of contemporaries with a hint of something else, I'd definitely suggest picking this up.
TW for domestic abuse
Katie's characters and stories are so compelling. The characters in this book struggle with a lot, both in terms of their relationship but also with a lot of real-life stuff. From toxic family relationships, death, financial struggles, and more, these characters don't have it easy. Yet this isn't a depressing book. It's addicting because not only are the characters amazing but their situations are so real.
The main reason this book hit me so hard was because of the connections I made. I don't think I've ever seen myself as much as I have in this book. Now, this may be because I stick to fantasy books most of the time and I don't go off fighting in wars every day. But I connected with this book so hard. I don't have the exact same experiences as these characters, but a lot of the lessons and inner struggles they dealt with in this book were ones I had. I honestly had to put this book down at one point because I was crying over the fact that I could see my personal struggles in a book for the first time. Not only did I find myself in this book, but I am also able to take the advice these characters got...take their techniques...and apply them to myself moving forward.
I think this is why I loved this book so much. I loved the characters, the plot was compelling, the writing was wonderful...but more than any of that I connected with the struggles these characters went through and found healing processes I can try myself. I've never gotten that from a book before and I'm getting a little weepy just thinking about it.
This kind of turned into a rant about how much I loved the fact that I connected so hard with this book but even if I hadn't connected in this way, I still loved the characters and the story. It's a compelling story with no easy way out but it's such a wonderful journey with angst and hope and bright moments. I miss these characters and I wish I could revisit them again for the first time or somehow know how they're doing after this book.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It was phenomenal and Katie, like always, didn't disappoint. If you're a fan of contemporaries with a hint of something else, I'd definitely suggest picking this up.
TW for domestic abuse
GIVEAWAY
Giveaway is Open Internationally | Must be 13+ to Enter
5 Winners will receive a Copy of ONLY A BREATH APART by Katie McGarry
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren
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