Breathe with Me by Kristen Proby Also in this series: Come Away with Me, Fight with Me, Play with Me , Rock with Me, Safe with Me, Tied with Me, Forever with Me
Series: With Me In Seattle #7
Published by Ampersand Publishing on June 24, 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Narrator: Eric Michael Summerer, Jennifer Mack
Length: 9 Hours and 48 Mins
Pages: 280
Format: Audiobook
Sometimes you meet the right person at the wrong time…
Mark Williams has loved Meredith since he was seventeen. A successful man with a strong family, he’s worked hard to move on from Meredith breaking his heart all those years ago. When his path crosses with the only woman he’s ever loved again years later, Mark knows there is nothing he won’t do to keep her in his life. But when the going gets tough, will Meredith stick around or will he lose her again?
…But true love has a way of finding its way back.
Meredith Summers is a dancer. One of the first things she learned in following her dreams is that timing is everything. She has spent the past ten years following her dream touring with mega-stars while trying to forget the high school sweetheart she left behind. Now she’s back in Seattle, running a successful dance studio with her best friend Jax and determined to move on from her gypsy past. Until the day she sees Mark Williams and time stands still. It’s as if no time has passed at all when Meredith finds herself in Mark’s arms again. The chemistry, the bonds and the love are as strong as ever and hearing Mark whisper breathe with me in her ear is a balm to her wounded soul. But will she grab onto this second chance at love, or is the timing all wrong for them again?
Don't miss catching up with the Montgomery and Williams clans in this latest installment of the With Me In Seattle Series from New York Times bestselling author, Kristen Proby.
“There were days that I would have exchanged a year of my life to just touch you one more time.” –Mark Williams
Breathe With Me is the seventh book in the series and I can’t believe how much I have adored reading this series. Its simply delightful, I love the friendship and close-knit relationships we see in this series. This is Mark’s story, who is the brother of Sam and Luke Williams (who both have stories in this series) so I was really excited to get to his book. This is a story that is full of emotion and redemption and sweet Mark deserved to get his happy ending too.
The story begins with Mark and the heroine, Meredith Summers. They have been in love for ages, both childhood sweethearts and each others firsts. They even have their own nickname–M&M. After graduation, they have plans to go to New York together so that Meredith can pursue a dancing career. But Meredith gets a wake-up call with her dancing teacher, and she realizes that she will need to let Mark go if she wants to be a serious dancer. She doesn’t want to break things off with him, but she feels like she has no choice. Mark is shattered when Meredith leaves him for her career when he would have never held her back. Now its been ten years, and Meredith has dedicated ten years to dancing and is now starting a dancing studio in Seattle, her mother has just passed away and she is faced with seeing Mark again. Mark loves doing his work in construction. He has never moved on from Meredith focusing on getting through his education. But Meredith has returned and is here to stay, and Mark will need to decide if he can open his heart again…
It’s you and me, M and M, against the world.
Breathe With Me is such a heart warming story and I really had a fun time with this one. I first wanted to mention the narration. I like these narrators, but the female narrator for the heroine POV was not my favorite, I don’t care for how she does the men’s dialogue. It just sounds weird. But the male narrator….he was delicious to listen to.
“There were days,” I begin softly and rub my nose against her soft hair, “that I would have exchanged a year of my life just to touch you one more time. You are my biggest what if, M.”
I will admit that in the beginning I really didn’t like the heroine. She hurts Mark REALLY badly, and he is such a sweet guy and understood her reasons for doing what she does. I mean, her career is the most important thing to her but I didn’t understand not talking things over with Mark first instead of just breaking it off two days before they both plan on leaving. She knew she was going to do it for a while, and I didn’t like the way that she goes about it. And they could have made it work but I understand that conflict has to happen in a romance *sigh* You fall in love with Mark from the very beginning and I hate what she does to him. So I really didn’t feel like she redeemed herself in this book. I think Mark was way too kind. We see how much both Mark and Meredith have changed over the years, but what they feel for each other hasn’t ever changed. We see how the love they still have, has gotten them through some tough times in their lives. We are introduced to a new supporting character and boy I loved him…Meredith’s dancing partner who is also gay…Jax who in this story finds his own love with Logan.
We have some fun times with the Montgomery clan, including a fun drunk scene in Vegas between the girls and Jax….and boy this scene was so HILARIOUS!!! Especially in their questionnaire of Jax about sex and it was so fascinating and lifts your spirits. You see M & M go through their ups and downs of relearning each other, and seeing that their chemistry is as hot as its ever been. Once they decide to get back together, their story is sweet and steady. But Mark and Meredith have some issues to work out. Mark’s fear of Meredith choosing dance over him again. And Meredith having trust issues about whether Mark will be loyal to her. But they do work through their issues and seeing them learn the value of communication and honesty is much needed.
A love like yours doesn’t come along every day, you know. Love him. Let him love you. Make the most out of every single day, so at the end of it all, you can say you don’t have any regrets.
But what really worked me was the ending where Meredith has to really face up to her fears….fears she doesn’t fully realize she has until something happens and she needs to face up to the past and the ghosts that have haunted her for many years and Mark will need to fight for Meredith and what they have together. Its a simply breathtaking and emotionally driven story that gives you the ups and downs of a true relationship. Overall I found Breathe With Me to be stunning, vital and endearing from beginning to end.
I’ll take you any way I can get you, Samantha, and that’s the fucking truth. I love you, every damn day, I love you. I’m never going anywhere. You’re it for me.
About Kristen Proby
Kristen was born and raised in a small resort town in her beloved Montana. In her mid-twenties, she decided to stretch her wings and move to the Pacific Northwest, where she made her home for more than a dozen years.
During that time, Kristen wrote many romance novels and joined organizations such as RWA and other small writing groups. She spent countless hours in workshops, and more mornings than she can count up before the dawn so she could write before going to work. She submitted many manuscripts to agents and editors alike, but was always told no. In the summer of 2012, the self-publishing scene was new and thriving, and Kristen had one goal: to publish just one book. It was something she longed to cross off of her bucket list.
Not only did she publish one book, she’s since published close to thirty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series, and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion Series.
Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana with their two pugs and two cats.
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