Roxanne’s body was found on the beach and a mystery forms around what has happened. A year later, her boyfriend, Cage, emerges from the shadows with no memory of what had occurred about a year earlier. Mae, Roxanne’s younger sister, has her life turned upside down wondering what has happened. The fact that she has the family journal, full of hidden secrets is one thing that may help her solve the mystery. This book is good for YA 13 +. I did like this book and I did not find it too dark or scary. ( )

Imagine your the quiet, perceptive sister. Your older sister, Ro has been dead for a year, last seen alive by her missing boyfriend Cole. She was found dead and covered with blood on the beach, Cole holding her, but when discovered, he ran away. Now you watch your other sister try to snag a boyfriend and your father slowly get swallowed in alcoholic-fueled grief. Your only support comes from your grandfather who suffered a stroke the day Ro died. Meet Mae, an avid reader and sketcher. She's still trying to figure out what happened to Ro, while holding things at Blue Gate Manor together.
When Cole, missing for nearly a year, comes to in a hospital, he can't remember anything except for an accident on his motorbike. Desperate to return to Ro, he sneaks from the hospital and hitches a ride with a trucker back to Blue Gate Manor. When Mae confronts him with the fact that Ro is dead, nearly a year has passed and everyone believes he killed her, these revelations set in motion a murky, twisty chain of events that alternate between members of the Cole family 150 years before, witchcraft, and an uneasy alliance between Cole and Mae to determine what really happened to Ro the day she died. It's an engrossing story, but I was troubled by the lack of an explanation regarding where Cole was during the year he vanished and I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending. ( )

Is this really your debut novel, Tara Goedjen? Because it was awesome! I love Southern Gothic stories. William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Dorothy Allison, and Truman Capote are just a few authors who have mastered this genre and now Tara Goedjen can add her name to this list. There's something about old, decrepit houses, family secrets, and unsolved mysteries that make for a phenomenal story. The Breathless by Tara Goedjen is just that.

Roxanne Cole (Ro) died almost a year ago under mysterious circumstances. Everyone blames her boyfriend, Cage, for her death because he ran away directly after. Almost a year later, Cage shows up at Ro's house claiming he only left her the day before. Mae, Roe's sister, is the only one who believes he's telling the truth. Or at least believes he believes he's telling the truth. Mae also finds a old, green book that belongs to her family hidden in Ro's room. It's full of strange secrets that might have something to do with what happened to Ro.

From start to finish I was enraptured by this novel. The setting of Blue Gate Manner surrounded by an eerie past provides the perfect background for this Southern Gothic novel. The house is a character in itself that holds the secrets to the past. Mae is a young girl trying to come to grips with the tragic death of her sister while helping the person who could be responsible for her death in the hopes that maybe they can bring Ro back to life is an interesting twist. I won't go too far into the plot because that will only spoil it for those who haven't read it.

The Breathless by Tara Goedjen had me reading way past my bedtime. It's the perfect novel to usher in fall. Grab a warm blanket and get comfy. You're going to want to read this book in one sitting.

Read more at http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2017/10/review-breathless.html#M2zs7T0xlVtmvWoU... ( )

If you like stories that are dark, twisty, suspenseful, and full of gothic style plot lines with the kind of intrigue that drops the temperature around you just enough to make you feel a little jumpy then this is the book for you. Goedjen delivers a complex tale full of secrets with beautifully detailed settings and a smooth way of switching the story between different time periods as you journey into the family lore.

Her richly detailed world is haunted with compelling, unique characters that help push the mystery surrounding the death of Roxanne to become more than just another simple plot device. We can feel the pain as the characters are left reeling to discover the truth and deal with their grief in the process.

I had friends going to see the new version of It this past weekend but I couldn’t make it and decided to settle in with this instead; by the time I was done I didn’t feel cheated out of missing a creepy, horrific time at all. I’m running on only a couple of hours of sleep as I was up until almost 2a needing to finish this and jumping at every weird sound I never realized my home makes that late. How could I not get into that goosebumps kind of mood when presented with a story that includes tragedy, death, creepy mysteries, magic, crumbling architecture and the Deep South all elements from the perfect Horror movie.

Life and death, the ties that bind family and friends in this life and the next are all examined through the lens of her realistic creations. Despite the prevailing darkness of the story she still managed to piece together some beautiful writing that will capture your attention and make you want to read this cover to cover in one sitting. ( )