This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
![Emotionally Charged and Real! Only A Breath Apart by Katie McGarry [ARC Review]](https://i1.wp.com/www.eyeheartromance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/only-breath-apart-katie-mcgarry.jpg "Emotionally Charged and Real! Only A Breath Apart by Katie McGarry [ARC Review]")
Title: Only a Breath Apart
Written by Katie McGarry
Published by Tor Teen
Publication Date: January 22, 2019
Genres: YA Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Find on Goodreads
Rating:
Flame Rating: 
Bestselling author Katie McGarry’s trademark wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance is given a new twist in the gritty YA contemporary novel, Only a Breath Apart.
Jesse Lachlin is cursed.
So the town folklore says, but while Jesse’s had his fair share of tragedy, the only curse he believes is in his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year, Scarlett Copeland.
Scarlett Copeland is psychic.
Glory Gardner tells Scarlett she has hidden psychic abilities, but Scarlett thinks Glory is delusional. What is real is Scarlett’s father’s irrational fears, controlling attitude, and the dark secrets at home. Scarlett may have a way to escape, but there’s a hitch: she’ll have to rely on the one person she used to trust, the same boy who broke her heart, Jesse Lachlin.
Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings for each other. But as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…
Holy moly, this book! Only a Breath Apart was a test in emotion and angst that I did have a hard time finishing but ultimately enjoyed!
Trigger Warning: there is physical, verbal, emotional, and mental abuse in this book.
Only a Breath Apart was everything I expected and Katie McGarry did not disappoint! This book touched me in all the right places despite the hard subject matter and tone of the book. I expected angst but I got even more!
Jesse and Scarlett were childhood best friends but had a falling out in freshman year. They are also neighbors but both come from very different backgrounds. Scarlett comes from a rich and affluent family, while Jesse comes from a family known to be cursed, rich in land but poor otherwise. I am all for enemies to lovers and initially, Jesse and Scarlett were not really friends. I loved how Katie McGarry fleshed out the story of each main character through their alternating POV, and it made me understand both on a deeper level.
However, as much as I liked this book, I had a hard time dealing with the triggers in this book and I was definitely triggered. While I never suffered any of the situations featured in this book, but I was just disturbed. It was quite obvious that despite the glittery and rich facade, Scarlett lived a lie and tried her best to hide it from the public. Her situation was really what made it hard for me to read and I really wanted to skip a few pages at times.
While it was hard for me to read Only a Breath Apart, I am glad that I soldiered on and finished it. Ultimately, this book spoke to me.
Only a Breath Apart also has a mystical aspect to the book and this theme is seen throughout the book. I also felt that the atmosphere was a little bit Peter Pan-like, most especially because Jesse calls Scarlett as Tink. Not only that, I just felt that this book had a touch of magic.
Katie McGarry writes books about real life situations and I love that about her. She handles it really well. I understood Scarlett’s fear and really felt so much for Jesse and the cards that were handed to him. He was really broken at the start and had a really bad reputation surrounding himself and his family.
I highly recommend Only a Breath Apart, but please note that there are triggers, so please proceed cautiously.
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| Overall: | 4 |
Do you like reading books that deal with real-life situations?
About Katie McGarry
KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
Lovely review. I’m sorry this book triggered you, but since you haven’t personally gone through the trauma, that only tells me this book was fantastically well written. I am not into this kind of trope myself, but this ones does sound interesting. 🙂
Bookish Creation recently posted…Book Love #3
I guess it was just uncomfortable to read but I agree, it was AMAZINGLY written!
Thank you so much for sharing! ~Jessica, InkSlinger PR
Katie McGarry is my absolute favorite when it comes to YA. I really enjoyed this one and agree that several scenes with Scarlett’s father were difficult to read because they were so heartbreaking. It’s almost impossible to imagine living in a situation like that. I loved her bravery – especially when her mother was so broken down that she had none.
Tanya @ Girl Plus Books recently posted…Review + Giveaway: Only a Breath Apart by Katie McGarry
YES! OMG! I had to stop a few times and do something happy! Definitely triggering to a lot of people!