Breathe by Elena Dillon Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway

Breathe
Elena Dillon

Genre: Young Adult Romantic Suspense

978-0-9886353-0-2 Breathe Mobi
978-0-9886353-1-9 Breathe EPUB
978-0-9886353-2-6 Breathe Print
978-0-9886353-3-3 Breathe Smashwords

Word Count: 62,300

Cover Artist: Alexa Dillon

Smashwords

Book Description:

Jasmine’s life wasn’t normal for a 16 year old girl. It hadn’t been normal since
the murder of her older sister, Daisy, two years ago. Her life had been changed forever. The monster that murdered Daisy was never caught. That was the reason
her family decided to move away from their hometown in Southern California,
to start over. Hopefully in a place where the last name Rourke wouldn’t bring on
staring or judgment or morbid curiosity.

In Lafayette, Louisiana things are quite a bit different but in a good way. Good manners, Cajun accents and a whole lot of Southern Hospitality all make her think
things are going in the right direction. On top of that the most gorgeous boy she
has ever met is interested in her. Her new friends are better than she could have
hoped for even if she is worried about what they might think when they find out
who she is. Life would be perfect if odd things didn’t keep happening. Creepy phone calls, texts, and flowers in her locker start adding up quickly to something terrifying. Could the Monster have followed them to Lafayette? Was he coming
after her this time? Maybe she was just worrying unnecessarily…or not.

My Thoughts:

Dillon has written an interesting and suspenseful novel that is completely appropriate for the YA crowd without it feeling watered down. After reading Breathe I realized that I haven't really found a lot of suspense novels in the YA genre. I would love to see this trend grow.

A new town, a new school, and new everything, that's what Jasmine thinks her family needs the most right now. You can't really blame her, she has been holding the family together for the past two years ever since the murder of her older sister. 

Dillon's novel is very easy to read and get caught up in. The story flows quickly and I  couldn't wait to see what would happen chapter after chapter. I loved what a strong character Jasmine was, even if she does make some really stupid mistakes at times. I really enjoyed Easton and his super southern family. They were so much fun to read about. 

OK, here is my little nitpicking moment. Even though I really liked Easton as a character I was a little disgruntled with the insta love between him and Jasmine. I kind of wish the book had been a little longer so that we could have had more time for Easton and Jasmine to be that into each other. 

The ending of the book wrapped everything up really well and overall I  enjoyed Breathe. I will definitely be looking forward to Dillon's next book. 

About the Author

Elena lives and writes in a suburb North of Los Angeles. She has never lived anywhere
besides California which is probably a good
thing since she hates being cold and is terrified to drive in the snow. She loves being a wife and a mother to her three kids and three dogs, although really the bulldog is the fourth child who has never matured beyond the toddler stage.

A self-proclaimed nerd, she has been writing
since she was a child. She has only recently,
however, come out of the closet about this to her family and friends. They now understand better, but not completely, why she talks about characters in stories as if they are real people.

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http://elenadillon.com/

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Page 1 of Breathe

Most days I can almost forget someone murdered my sister. I try to go through every

day like a normal sixteen-year-old. I can eat breakfast, go to school, do homework, but then something will remind me that my family will never be the same. I’ll see my mom looking out the kitchen window—she has this blank look and her clothes are hanging on her. I worry she doesn’t eat enough to stay alive. Or I catch a glimpse of the picture on the coffee table we took three Halloweens ago, when Daisy and dressed up like crayons, and Caedan and Lily were Skittles. It seems like a long time ago, and then, again, I remember it like it just happened. We finally moved two weeks ago. Mom decided we couldn’t continue to live in Burbank.

Besides the obvious reason that Daisy’s murderer was never caught, someone was always staring at us with that look that said, “Isn’t it so sad what happened to the Rourke family?” But you know in their hearts they are thinking how glad they are it didn’t happen to them. It’s obvious they’re thinking my mom must have done something wrong. She wasn’t a good enough parent, didn’t supervise Daisy enough, didn’t call the police soon enough. They wanted to believe the murder of a teenage girl happened for a reason and they could avoid it, if they just did everything right. The thing is, I think the exact opposite is probably true.

So, three months ago, we had a family meeting. We got out a map of the US and each

chose a city and state. Mom and I did research on ours, Caedan picked his based on name only, and Lily did the spin-around-and-wherever-your-finger-lands routine. Thankfully, we pulled mine out of the hat. I don’t know how I would have felt living in Smackover, Arkansas. Caedan thought it was hilarious. He is so twelve.