Guest Review: The Air He Breathes by Brittainy C Cherry

September 29, 2015 Kristi Guest Posts, Reviews, Teaser 2

The Air He Breathes

Published on September 25, 2015

I was warned about Tristan Cole.

“Stay away from him,” people said.
“He’s cruel.”
“He’s cold.”
“He’s damaged.”

It’s easy to judge a man because of his past. To look at Tristan and see a monster.

But I couldn’t do that. I had to accept the wreckage that lived inside of him because it also lived inside of me.

We were both empty.
We were both looking for something else. Something more.
We both wanted to put together the shattered pieces of our yesterdays.

Then perhaps we could finally remember how to breathe.

This book is garnering A LOT of attention. In fact it sat at #1 on Amazon this weekend. Every one I know is reading this book, and well, I’m a bit scared to. I hear it has ALL the feels. So I’m going to wait and savor it next weekend.

But my good friend Michelle read this book. She told me it is her top read of 2015. And for someone who reads hundreds of books a year, that right there is saying something. Here is Michelle’s review of Brittainy C Cherry’s newest release.

Michelle’s Review:

The Air He Breathes by Brittainy C. Cherry

What happens when you have nothing because everything was taken away from you? How can you be filled with anything when you are simply left with nothing? Tristen Cole had nothing, he was left empty. A man broken. Elizabeth knows the same loss, the same feeling of being empty. But fate softened her blow with Emma.

A year has passed and yet the pain is still as real as it was that day. But for Elizabeth she knows she has to find her strength for her daughter Emma, to not burden her with the loss of her childhood after suffering so much loss already. Returning home, to their home, surrounded by so much of the familiar she finds herself drawn to the man everyone says to stay away from.

A man she recognizes as just as broken as her. A man she will soon discovers knows exactly what it feels like to exist without breathing. To be forced to live with half a heartbeat.

When Tristen is first introduced you can’t help but smile. He has this light about him. Then it happens, you saw what the living version of the man was like, then you saw him empty and in pain. Left to suffer. And yeah, I sort of fell in love with him immediately although he was all about the rough edges.

When Elizabeth and Tristan discover that they found a way to get a piece of all they lost back, you know that it has bad idea written all over it, but you just can’t help but want them to have these moments. They deserve a few seconds of feeling for all their pain for the hard lesson that life is not fair. But these two broken people might just find the only way to heal themselves is by picking up the pieces together. Sharing the same scars, missing the same parts. Maybe, just maybe you don’t need to be whole to move on. Maybe you just need to find someone whose broken heart beats in the same broken beat as your own.

This book was stunning. One of my favorite reads of all time and quite possibly my favorite read of 2015. I don’t think I’ve read anything as beautiful as this story. It wasn’t just a single moment, but all of them strung together. Brittainy C. Cherry, you are spectacular. Every emotion was felt. And although I cried (and cried), I laughed just as hard and I smiled. The balance was perfect, this could have been just a tragic story, an overload of sadness, but it wasn’t. For each tear shed, you were given a glimmer of hope, you were given a reason to smile. The type of book that gives you a reason to cry happy tears because you felt this story so deeply that the beautiful moments moved you.

Beyond the story of loss and second chances, the story held so much more. Aspects that you never saw coming but did nothing to disrupt the story, just complement it. I can’t stress enough how much everyone needs to read this book. Don’t be afraid that you’ll be just sucked into an endless ugly cry read, because this story was so much more than the broken parts. This was about finding the strength to pick those pieces up.

This is one of those stories that is going to stay with you. One that I have no doubts will be in my thoughts for days, months, and years to come. One that will make me smile and most likely one that will cause tears when it flutters into my thoughts from time to time.

This is a must, must read! Do not skip this. Do not think this will be too emotional, too much of a tragic story. Read this and discover firsthand how beautiful it is to breathe.

Thanks Michelle! To stay connected to Michelle and her amazing teasers, check out her Goodreads profile here. For more teasers, check out Michelle’s Facebook Page, Tease Me.

I’m not gonna lie, I got a bot teary reading that review and I can’t wait to start this book!

About Brittainy C. Cherry

Brittainy Cherry has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing. She loves to take part in writing screenplays, acting, and dancing–poorly of course. Coffee, chai tea, and wine are three things that she thinks every person should partake in! Brittainy lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her family. When she’s not running a million errands and crafting stories, she’s probably playing with her adorable pets.

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Jennifer Lane

September 29th, 2015

I’ve heard the buzz about this book–buzz well deserved, according to your gushing review! That’s wonderful when you find a book that affects you so deeply.