Book Review: Breathe Deep by Willa Okati

Title: Breathe Deep
Series: St. Hawk’s Medical, Book 3
Author: Willa Okati
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: Review copy provided by publisher
Published: July 28, 2015 by Pride Publishing

A golden-hearted mountain man. A nursing tech with a secret. Life and death are on the line—and they’re running out of time.

Shepherd knows what people think of him. He’s too big, too tall and too broad not to be scary. But though he looks like a grizzly bear, he’s all teddy on the inside. He’s dreamed of finding someone to love. Someone who can help him break through his shyness and who he can shower with all the affection in his heart.

Kit knows what people think of him. That he’s young, good-looking, and kissed by luck. He survived leukemia as a teenager, and he thought he had his entire life ahead of him. But now, the cancer might be recurring—deny it though he might—and Kit’s world has come crashing down. He needs someone like Shepherd. Someone kind and caring, who’s strong enough to lean on.

Kit’s falling fast for the big mountain man—but he hasn’t told Shepherd the truth. He’s afraid that knowing he may be sick will be more than Shepherd can handle. And now, after delaying treatment, he thinks he may be running out of time.

Secrets can be life or death—and when it comes to telling the truth, they can make all the difference.

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Reviewed by: J9

In a Nutshell: I really liked both leads, their emotional and erotic romance, and the HEA.

Why I Read This Book: I’ve enjoyed the previous books in this series.

What I Liked: The leads are wonderful. Both of them are isolated, though different reasons why, but they connect emotionally and sexually together. Kit knows he’s sick again and he wants to enjoy his time and he throws himself into loving Shepherd physically, while trying to maintain his emotional distance. Shepherd is a warm man with crippling shyness. From the time these two meet at Shepherd’s store and snack together, to the healing-HEA, these two men are connected. Though terribly clichéd with a sick person, I still loved the motorcycle scene when Shepherd takes Kit on a wild ride, followed by a gentle picnic, and well…read the book to get the rest!

Even the secondary characters here are good. Shepherd’s small but loving circle of friends and Kit’s cantankerous patient add the levity this story needs.

What I Didn’t Like: It’s a fast read with the great reveal coming a tad too close to novella’s end for my taste. Still, the warm and loving HEA was exactly what this novella needed to be satisfying.

IMO: Enjoyable read with an emotional and erotic romance I recommend.

J9’s Rating: