Review ~ Breathe ~ Kristen Ashley

Breathe by Kristen Ashley
Colorado Mountain #4
Release Date: December 11, 2012
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased on kindle
Rating: 5 Bookworms
Challenges: #COYER, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
There's nothing like the first time...

In Carnal, Colorado, Faye Goodknight is the town's quiet, shy librarian. She may also be Carnal's last remaining virgin. For years, Fay has had a crush on Chace Keaton, but the gorgeous cop has always been unattainable. She's resigned to live contentedly with only her books for company-until Faye suddenly meets Chace alone in the woods...

Chace doesn't think he's the good guy everyone believes him to be. He's made a lot of choices he regrets, including denying his feelings for Faye. Through his choices, he's come to believe the pretty librarian is too good for him, but after their time in the woods, Chace realizes that she may be his last chance for redemption. Soon, their long simmering desires grow to a burning passion. Yet always casting a shadow over their happiness is Chace's dark past...

Breathe - ah, Breathe. I have to admit that I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Chace. There are some things he did in his recent past that made me leery of him. Then again, he'd done some things that made me warm to him - so I was confused...at first. But he won me over. In a big way. He really was a kind and compassionate man even if he was gruff at times. He got caught in a situation *not* of his own making and he did what he thought was right. The fallout over some of it haunted him. And it broke my heart that these events - this set of circumstances he was trapped in - made him lose hope he'd ever get what he really wanted...a happy life with Faye.

Now Faye - she was always certain of Chace. She understood, to the degree she could, the situation Chace was living. And when the fallout affected him so greatly, she set out to free him of that. Faye was awesome. I adored her - her fierce protectiveness of someone she didn't even know if he knew she existed. Her goodness. Her kindness and intelligence. Her humor. Her love of books and nerdy t.v. She's my kind of gal!

I reveled in watching Chace and Faye come together - find hope, trust, and love. I cried over Faye's ability to change Chace's perspective on so many things. These two were literally the yin and yang to the other - perfect complements.

I also reveled in the double dose of suspense. It's scary to think of all the bad that can go on in a small mountain town where it would seem everyone knows everyone's business and everyone's friendly. But nope. Bad can take root anywhere. Thankfully, good tends to weed out the bad.

Breathe served as the perfect read at the exact time I needed it. It was a comforting escape even if it was suspenseful. I got to meet a few more residents of Carnal as well as visiting old friends. And I got to fall in love with Faye and Chace right alongside them. As always - a captivating story with enchanting characters - Breathe is another treasure from KA!