Kristie J’s review of Barely Breathing by Brenda Rothert
Contemporary Romance published by Silver Sky Publishing 10 Nov 15

I read about 98% ebooks these days and this has opened a whole new world of self-published/ebook authors for me, and Brenda Rothert is one of the best I have found.  I’ve read a number of her books now and she continues to impress me with her writing ability and her wide range of story lines.  Barely Breathing is another very fine example of how good she is.  I pre-ordered this book when I read the synopsis and started reading it the day after it popped up on my Kindle.  Again, she has wowed me.

If I only had one word to describe this book, it would be raw.

Kane is one tough and gritty hero.  He’s a tattooed, shaved bald, owner/bouncer of a very successful nightclub and he’s about as earthy as they come.   He isn’t nice to anyone.  He’s crude. He has a huge ship on his shoulder, is a former drug addict who spent time in prison because of it and on the outside nothing about him says hero.  But oh my, on the inside is he ever hero material.

We begin to catch a glimpse of the true ‘underneath the tough guy exterior’ Kane when he rescues Viv from an attack and possible rape in an alley near his club.  Right away she sees his rather rough heroic qualities beneath his rough outer shell and she’s smitten with him from that moment on.  Kane is equally gob smacked with Viv but has such a poor opinion of himself and such a high one of Viv, he doesn’t see how it’s possible that someone like her – a beautiful, classy, successful lawyer – could have any kind of real feelings, other than possible gratitude, for someone like him.  So as much as Viv tries to get him, he relents a bit because of his feelings for her, then withdraws, afraid, once she sees what he’s really like, she will regret their relationship.

This is all very frustrating for Viv as they get quite…..close….. on occasion before Kane runs away, but I just find it very endearing.  I LOVE both Kane and Viv.  Kane isn’t nearly the bad guy he imagines himself as being and he is just so ‘gone’ for Viv.  I love a hero who is so over the moon for the heroine.  And I love Viv.  She knows who she wants and she goes after him.  She’s not put off at all by his rough exterior and sees quite clearly how tender he is underneath.  Kane also has a secret that I don’t want to do a spoiler on, but how he handles it just shows what kind of guy he is and makes the reader’s heart melt just a little bit more.

This is written the same way as all of Ms. Rothert’s books are, alternating first-person point of views.  There was a day I didn’t read first person POV books, but written this way, from both Kane and Viv’s POV, it really does make it personal and we get to see what great people they both are.  So don’t let that intimidate or keep you from reading this really excellent book.

Just writing this review makes me want to go back and revisit them again.  I read it fairly quickly, because I enjoyed it so much.  Only this time I will take things slowly and savour it more.

Grade: A

Summary:

People see what they want to see. A burly guy with tats and a permanent scowl is probably a criminal and an asshole, right? And I can’t fault ‘em, because in my case, they’re right. My world revolves around righting the wrongs of my past. Atoning for my selfish stupidity. And it’s enough.

Until I meet Viv – a woman who sees right through me. She’s not scared or intimidated. A woman like her is way too good for a man like me. But life as I knew it won’t be enough anymore. I realize now that before I met her, I wasn’t really living. Hell, I was barely breathing.

Read an excerpt.