25. stu 2013.

Breathing Ghosts by Laekan Zea Kemp

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Author's 

Book summary:
She is a winding cosmos, bleeding and bursting into night. She is a dream. She is dead. 
River has just lost the one thing that matters most to him—Nia—and all she's left behind is a pile of scribbled love notes detailing their past and a pin-holed map planning out their future. Hopes and dreams confined to one dimension now that she's gone and River’s too afraid to leave his hometown, crippled by the same anxiety that’s plagued his mother for as long as he can remember.
But after a strange encounter with the only girl he ever loved a week after laying her to rest, River, armed with nothing but her map and his memories, decides to finally leave and never look back. And with the help of a pair of eccentrically named siblings as well as a mutt with three legs, he sets out to do the very thing Nia always knew how to do better than he ever could—live.
From the moonlit beaches off of Florida's east coast, to the forests of Mississippi, to Bourbon Street, Cadillac Ranch, and the Arizona desert, River is faced with not only Nia's ghost but his own and he learns that in life there are no accidents, only miracles.
           When I got asked to read and review this book, not in my wildest dreams did I expect to enjoy this read so much. From the blurb you get to see that this is a story about a boy and a girl, but then girl dies and boy's heart is shattered.

            First we get to meet River. A young boy, who grows up in dysfunctional family, having to work to bring some food to his house. His father is abusive one and his mother is scared of leaving him. So they're both stuck. It was all hard to take and you must feel for this boy, but he had that light in his life. He had Nia. A girl that was everything to him, his soul mate and someone who made him forget about all his problems. Until one day she was gone, too. All their dreams about future and ruining away were shattered. Only thing that's left is pain, unbearable pain and a map. A map with their future on it. So he decides to go and chase their dream alone. Soon enough he gets company, but he cannot find Nia. How will he live without her?

            As Nia's death occurs at beginning stages of this story my heart broke into little pieces then. You get to experience all River's feelings and you cannot but hope that he will find his safe heaven somewhere. His grief is eating him and he doesn't know how to deal with it. I wanted to hug that boy so hard.

            I loved the way this book was written. So beautiful and while many things aren't said, they're simply shown. Only problem, so to say, here I hard with the ending of the story. It's an open ending which I didn't like. I wish I could see a glimpse of hope for River somewhere. But then again this is a story about journey not the end.

Rating: 4 stars.

Until the next time,

***NOTE: A copy of this book was kindly provided by the author - Leakan Zea Kemp. Thank you. 
I'm not paid for writing this review - I do it as a lover of written word. All opinions are personal.

Broj komentara: 36:

  1. I love this review, Tanja, especially that last line which is so poignant. I haven't heard of this book before, but it certainly sounds promising. I'll have to look into it for sure. Great review! :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  2. What a lovely review, my friend! River would surely break my heart too, I'm not sure I'm quite ready to have it broken in such a way. But then again, I can't always read books that don't really touch me, can I? I'm a coward, but not that much.
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Adding this to my tbr.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Thank you Maja! Yes it's really heartbreaking to see all of this happening to him. I hope you'll get to read it :)

      Izbriši
  3. Stories about grief and loss and not my thing, but I am glad to hear you enjoyed Breathing Ghosts. It sounds like really emotional book. Great review!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  4. I don't mind open endings this sounds like a wonderful journey it reminds me of that movie..hmm with the girl and boy who are friends and he dies from bee stings..gah..need more coffee the title will come to me

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Don't know the movie. Maybe I've seen it but I can't remember. :)

      Izbriši
  5. I don't think I would be a huge fan of the open ending either Tanja. I'm not a fan of them in general, but particularly with stories like this that are hard and painful and I so want good things for the characters! It's difficult for me to leave them without their happiness guaranteed:( That being said though, I do love stories that absolutely blow me away when I didn't necessarily have any expectations going in, so I'm glad this was such a fantastic surprise for you!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Thanks Jenny! Yes I wish there was more, but then again honestly it's hard to finish this one. I don't think he'll ever find the right road. I hope though. :)

      Izbriši
  6. Sorry to hear about the open ending, but it sounds good otherwise.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  7. I'm always wary of books with ghosts in them because they never really work for me. That being said, I like how this one actually seems to be a lot more than just a ghost story. The 3-legged mutt and the siblings sound like interesting characters. But open endings though. Not something that I enjoy.
    Lovely review, Tanja.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. This is not a paranormal story, the ghost here is more like in River's mind. Not the real thing :) Thanks Nick :)

      Izbriši
  8. Open endings don't always work for me, as I never really get the total sense of closure that I need. But this sounds like a powerful story and you've certainly made me curious now! I really love the cover for this book too. I'm glad you were impressed with it overall. Great review, Tanja. :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Thanks Sam! Yeah I also need that little something, not full closure, but just glimpse of it :)

      Izbriši
  9. I read Fallin Into You? I think that was the title. I loved the first part of that book--the boyfriend of the MC died very tragically and I was a freaking mess from crying. I really liked how the MC was a perfect match with the brother of that boyfriend and how they managed to be a cute couple, but I didn't enjoy the erotica part afterwards. It was just.. wtf. I didn't expect that book to turn into that. Anyhow, what I'm trying to say is that this one seems to have somewhat same plot in the beginning and I'd love to explore it to more depth. Thanks so much for sharing, I'm so happy that you enjoyed it:) Also, what a cute cover this book has!!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. That title does ring a bell, but I cannot remember. I don't think I have read it. Noo, this one doesn't turn into that, it's emotional, but with innocence. Thanks Siiri :)

      Izbriši
  10. I really like reading books with dysfunctional families for some reason. I've never heard of this before, but it sounds really good!

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Yeah for some reason you can feel the pain and sympathizes with the character. Thanks Janina :)

      Izbriši
  11. Wow, sounds like a beautiful title. Thanks for sharing!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  12. It's so great when a book takes you by surprise. I'm glad you enjoyed Breathing Ghosts despite the open ending. Great review!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  13. Ooh, this one sounds really good. I love the concept behind it. Open endings really bother me, but if the main conflict is taken care of, I guess I can probably tolerate it. Sounds emotional :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Glad you like it :) It is really emotional read. Thanks Alise :)

      Izbriši
  14. This does sound like a good read but I am not a huge fan of open endings.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  15. Oh, Tanja! This sounds so very sad! Not sure I could read this as I don't really like to be sad and I don't like open endings. It does sound beautiful and I'm happy to see you enjoyed it! :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  16. I do love this sort of heartbreaking tale and journey a character makes. Glad you enjoyed it!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  17. I don't really like open endings either, but the rest sounds really great! Very emotional though.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  18. Oh my god, Tanja, this sounds like a perfect read and i'm actually surprised that you didn't like the open ending but then again, sometimes some characters are so broken that you want hope for them. Also, I love that you wanted to hug the boy- that definitely means you've found a connection with him and that's beautiful. I'll keep an eye out for this book and besides, that cover is so pretty. Awesome review, dude!

    Sarika @ The Readdicts

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Yeah I wanted to hold him and tell him everything's gonna be okay. Thanks dude!! :)

      Izbriši

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