Breathe, Annie, Breathe - Miranda Kenneally

Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally
Genre: YA Contemporary

Blurb (on back of book): From the bestselling author of Catching Jordan comes a contemporary YA you won't forget.
The finish line is only the beginning…
Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can't escape the guilt that if she hadn't broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.
But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she's at war with her body, her mind-and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms...and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

MY OPINION: *****

THE BEST BOOK EVER

Okay, so this was one of those one day reads. Actually, almost-two-hour reads.

I needed some summer reads. Those quick romantic ones that are thrilling, easy to read, and short. And amazing.

I haven't found a good contemporary novel lately and I was starting to think about giving up. So I went to the library and picked up about three. No, four.

I started reading a lot of them but none of them were good enough for me after the first couple of chapters. I wanted a one day read... just for fun and also to get caught up on my Goodreads reading challenge, which I am pitifully behind on and keep lowering gradually so I can feel better about myself...

Yeah.

Then I picked up this one and the font was that type of typeface that is really easy to read. I know that sounds weird, but I honestly judge books by the font. Not the covers, not the first chapter, not the blurb. I judge them by the font AND DO NOT JUDGE ME

:D

Okay, so this book was amazing. Wonderful. Beautiful. Sad. Happy. Romantic. Gorgeous.

Yeah. I have a whole list of adjectives about this book.

This book is about a girl named Annie whose boyfriend passed away in a fatal accident. She kind of blamed herself because she broke up with him? But they got back together before the accident! I really don't understand that part but maybe because it was about 11 at night and my brain was sleepy and unfunctional.

So she starts training for this marathon that her boyfriend, Kyle, always wanted to run in but never got to...

The thing is, she was/is a horrible runner.

So she finds this trainer named Matt who has an expensive fee but is a really good coach (I LEGIT WROTE COUCH).

She soons starts to run really well, though she has stomach and muscle problems, as well as a runner's knee.

But she meets Matt's brother, Jeremiah (SWOON), who she soon feels drawn to.

Yeah, so that's the climax.

Basically, Annie feels like she can't date anymore after what happened with Kyle, but she really likes Jeremiah (AND SO DO I). Jeremiah is an adrenaline junkie who constantly hurt himself doing really dangerous things.

The one thing that I didn't like about this book was...

Jeremiah and Annie went REALLY fast in the beginning. I mean, they were legit almost doing IT when they didn't even know each other's LAST NAMES. 

Jeremiah was so sweet, amazing, gorgeous, and brave. He was really nice and I REALLY NEED HIM TO BE REAL. How come all of the best guys only exist in books and then we get to REAL LIFE and almost all of them are like BLARGH.

Annie was so determined and brave and I actually liked her! I know, that sounds mean or weird, but I almost NEVER like the main character.

The thing that I really connected with in this book was the fact that I am a HORRIBLE runner. Maybe I'm not as bad as Annie was but no, I am terrible. My mile times are legit in the eleven-minute zone and I can barely run one lap at my neighborhood park. So yes, this book kind of inspired me to TRY to run better once school starts and we have to start those dreaded mile runs every two weeks again.

And also, I think this book could have used some flashbacks. That would have helped a lot when I am trying to understand Annie's past relationship with Kyle. We got a few, but I needed a few more... But that's just me. :D

And Kelsey, she seemed rude at first, but when you read more, you could really start to understand her personality.

I really loved this book and I really need to read more books by this author or I will spontaneously combust. I loved this SO much and I would recommend this book to contemporary lovers who need some quick, amazing summer reads.

Main Character: Annie
Sidekick(s): Jeremiah, Matt, Kelsey, Vanessa, Savannah, etc
Villain(s): Running, etc
Contemporary Elements: This book was all of that Contemporary YA book that we all secretly love.