A review by carladionisio
Don't Forget To Breathe by Cathrina Constantine

3.0

Opinião em português no blog Pepita Mágica: http://pepitamagica.blogspot.pt/2015/05/livro-dont-forget-to-breathe-de.html

I received a digital arc from the author through Nerdy Girl Book Reviews in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars


I had an insomnia last night and I decided that it was better if I kept reading "Don’t Forget to Breathe" by Cathrina Constantine. Obviously, the best choice I could ever make.

I’ll try not to make any kind of spoiler, because it will, in a way, ruin some parts of the book and I totally don’t want that. In short, "Don’t Forget to Breathe" is about a girl named Leocadia struggling to cope after her mother’s murder. Almost a year after the murder of her mother (with whom I share my birthday), two more boys are killed and the police think there may be a connection between the murders.

I have had my suspicions since the beginning and some of them ended up being right, but I can tell you I wasn’t expecting some of the things that happened in the end. I’ll not elaborate much about it because… again, spoilers.

"Don’t Forget to Breathe" is incredibly interesting and kept me glued to its story. We jump right into the action since the first chapter. There isn’t some “calm period” before something happened. No, the book starts right in the middle of the action and just keeps going at a fast pace throughout the whole book.

I liked Nona a lot. Even though, sometimes she seemed a bit like “cheerleader-squad-girl” stereotype, but she was more than that. She was the best friend any girl could ask for. She was always there for Leo, no matter what she was going through. I have a bit of mixed feelings about Leo, though. She showed me a fierce girl, brave enough to never stop looking for her mother’s murder, even when she was scared to death, but I didn’t like some of her actions. She was a bit blind on a few matters. I hated Henry since the very first page. He was unnerving, a bully (in some kind), a stalker, and someone that can’t hear a “no” for an answer… and that’s way beyond my limit. He saw Leo as a possession and never treated her any other way, even when he told her he loved her. That’s not love in any place on this planet. I liked Becket, but I didn’t like the way he handled everything. People were accusing Leo of hooking up with two boys at the same time (which was not happening, at all), but he was the one playing between Leo and Marcy.

The author’s writing is simple, but please, don’t see this as a bad thing, I think it’s quite the opposite. I don’t like those pompous writing stories in which it tries to be something it isn’t. But again, I’m not saying that is a bad thing either, just that there’s a place for everything. In this case, we can easily relate to the characters and emerge into the story, feeling as if we are a bystander ghost that we can see but we can’t interfere.

Summing up, I liked this book a lot. It’s fast paced, intriguing, interesting and can keep a person hooked to what is happening until the very end. The story mixed mystery, romance, supernatural perfectly. I think 3* are not enough, but it’s not quite 4* either. This book is more like an 3.5*, if there were half stars. I enjoyed it and I would love to read more from Cathrina Constantine!

And to finish, let me tell you… I love the cover. It’s simple, but beautiful. Gorgeous. I must confess, it was one of the reasons why I requested this book.