Stealing Breath by Joanne Brothwell

Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Pages: 258

(Released: March 1, 2012)

From the Cover:

Deep in the backwoods of North Dakota, twenty-one year old Sarah Ross is searching for a missing child when she is attacked by a glowing-eyed, transparent... creature. Sarah survives, destroying the monster by using mysterious abilities she didn't even know she had. 

Bloody and bruised, Sarah flees the scene and runs directly into Evan Valente, a handsome, charismatic stranger who helps her back to safety. But what is Evan doing out in the forest at five in the morning? 

Turning to a healer, Sarah is shocked to learn her eyes bear the mark of the Indigo Child-an evolved human with the ability to feel the emotions of others. But her indigo aura also makes her an easy target for those who wish to consume her powerful essence.

Soon, Sarah is falling deeply in love with Evan and wants nothing more than to follow her heart and trust that he is the man he says he is. But she can't ignore the lingering feeling that Evan is hiding a terrible secret. The deeper she digs, the more danger she faces, leading her on a course that will force her to face the darkest, innermost parts of her soul.

Sarah Ross doesn't know what's happening in her life, are these new found abilities real? And what about the thing that tried to attack her? Did she kill that thing? Or was it even there? These are all the questions pouring through her thoughts are she makes her way back to the campgrounds.

And the guy who finds her and helps her stumble her way back to the campgrounds. Who was he and why was he there?

Stealing Breath by Joanne Brothwell is a different sort of fantasy novel, and in my opinion falls into the category of New Adult, easily. It tells the story of Sarah, a girl with empathic and psychic abilities, she can read people, but there in lays the problem. It makes her attractive to the skinwalkers (those who's souls can leave their bodies), she's like candy, drawing them to her, but she's also one of the few who can repel them as well. Then Evan Valente walks into her life, he's gorgeous, wealthy, and... she discovers, he's from family of high priestess and priest of the Malandanti, evil magic practitioners whose lore begins in the old world families of Italy. There are good magic practitioners, the Benandanti, who worked to stop the Malandanti, unfortunately, Evan's roots betray him. But, Evan claims, he doesn't want to be Malandanti, he's never taken a soul, he's never eaten the life force of another. Can Sarah believe him? Can she trust him to not sift into her body, draining her dry? And what about his brother? Stephano's determined to have Sarah's soul. Will Evan turn against him?

Stealing Breath was an awesome read! I fell in love with the tortured Evan, determined to try to keep Sarah with him. And she's drawn, not only by his good looks, but by the need to save him, if only from himself. Stephano, Evan's brother, is determined to eat her soul, and so powerful her soul's meal would be. She's an Indigo Child, her soul holds great power that he could claim for his own. Can she heal Evan's soul, can she keep him from bowing down to his brother, and becoming what he doesn't want to be? Joanne Brothwell provides an excellent read into the world of Native American mysticism blended with the old world mysticism of the magic practitioners, where everything isn't has it appears to be. I highly recommend this book! If you're looking for something new to read in the fantasy genre, this is the book for you. If you love a book that draws you in, filled with mysticism, this is the book for you. If you're looking for something different in the paranormal genre, give this book a try, you won't be sorry.

Five out of five fairy kisses for this reader.

I received my copy of the ebook for review from the author. All opinions expressed are my own.