Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can't escape the guilt that if she hadn't broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she's at war with her body, her mind-and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms...and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

Well-rounded characters. The author lets the reader know the background stories of the protagonist and the important people surrounding her, through this we can emphasise with them. We also know the protagonist's emotions, feelings and fears all the time, it is portrayed to us through what she eats or how she acts. Moreover, it is possible to see that Annie is a developing character as at the end of the story she is very far from who she was in the beginning. It is a story about growing, about maturing, but also about resilience. The writing of the author is very easy to read and enjoyable.

I really enjoyed it.

This was a very sweet read that was well executed. This is a sort-of going on a journey type story. About a girl who loses her boyfriend and decides to do the marathon that he was training to do but discovers more about herself and deals with his death along the way. More about the journey than the destination kind of thing.

While the story had a nice plot, was well-written and was ultimately an entertaining read, I couldn't really get over the fact that for the majority of the novel I didn't think that the two main love interests had any chemistry whatsoever. Annie and Jeremiah's banter was fun at times, but other times it seemed too forced and awkward. I didn't understand their attraction towards each other. By the end I understood that he got her out of her comfort zone but that only made it seem like he was a convenient plot tool in order for the protagonist to move on.

Overall, a sweet, cute and fast read. Wasn't too big a fan of the romance but really enjoyed the journey the character went through and the moment of catharsis.