Breathe into Me

Starred review from June 2, 2014
On the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, Lacey St. James is just scraping by, staying with her abusive boyfriend, Macon, to escape her drunk mother and critical grandmother, who live off the earnings from her two jobs. Lacey’s gotten used to being insulted, manhandled, and taken advantage of by thoughtless friends and family members, so she’s surprised when clean-cut college student Everett Ward, who’s in town to house-sit a mansion, saves her from Macon and offers friendship with no strings attached. Fawkes’s characterization of these two “new adults” learning to trust each other and building a mature relationship is emotionally charged and underscores that turning attraction into lasting love must include understanding and forgiveness for mistakes. Everett also needs to overcome his own family issues and summon the courage to share his entire life with Lacey, not just the parts he thinks she wants to see. Everett and Lacey’s love and longing leap off the page and should not be missed.

July 1, 2014
Lacey St. James has hit rock bottom; just as she decides she needs to make changes, she meets Everett, an intriguing stranger who helps her make more empowering choices.Lacey has an abusive boyfriend, an abusive family and abusive friends-and a much younger brother. In the past, she was the victim of a tragic incident that gave her a terrible reputation; she reacted by dropping out of school, working at dead-end jobs, partying with so-called friends who treated her badly and hooking up with awful men. On the night her boyfriend, Macon, practically rapes her, she goes out with Ashley, a "friend" who obviously doesn't care about her at all. Macon shows up at the bar and tries to force her to have sex with some friends of his behind the building. Lacey escapes and comes to the conclusion that maybe she shouldn't move in with him (you think?), and maybe her friends aren't really quality people (really?). She meets Everett, a Very Sexy Guy, in the bar that night, and for some inexplicable reason he is wildly attracted to her. They become friends, then more, as Lacey tries to clean up her life. Everett is the moon and stars, until she (thinks she) finds out his Horrible Secret and, without asking any questions, drops him like a cement balloon. Until his dying sister (yes, really) comes out of nowhere and confesses The Truth to her, and she begs his forgiveness. Meanwhile, after years of poorly explained estrangement, Lacey picks up the phone and contacts people she should have called five years ago, who take steps to solve the dilemma of her abusive family and help protect her younger brother.Annoying forced drama and a heroine who will call her abusive ex-boyfriend on the cellphone she bought to avoid him when she needs a little help: Skip it.

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August 1, 2014
A best-selling e-book author brought into print, Fawkes writes for new adults in this emotional story. Lacey has a miserable life working two low-paying jobs, dealing with harsh family woes, and coping with a scarring past as a rape and cyber-bullying victim. Everett is house-sitting at a mansion in Lacey's small town, where she lives in a trailer park. She is grateful for his friendship and kindness as he helps her study for the GED. Her abusive ex-boyfriend gets her fired from one job, but a friend helps her get a piano-playing gig at the country club, a dream come true. When her grandmother kicks her out of the trailer, Everett, who has his own painful past, lets her stay at a guest house, and the two draw closer. While some elements here are a bit stereotyped, Fawkes' dramatization of what happens to the bullied girls seen in the news is timely and evocative. As for romance, Everett is appealing, and readers will hope that he and Lacey stay together.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)