Losing My Breath by J. Rose Black
Release Date: November 8, 2023
Publisher: Black Label Press
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Pages: 220
Format Read: paperback
Summary: A Marine never says die.
Neither does his princess.
Battle lines are drawn when sheltered debutante Meridian Daly moves across the hall from grumpy former special forces Marine Callan Brand. Situated a bit closer than advertised to ‘crime alley’, Meridian’s neighbor finds himself grudgingly guarding the pampered princess out of habit. But with her sharp wit and killer curves, he can’t help but surrender to temptation…
When their relationship evolves from casual courtship to something more, Callan finds that Meridian’s already discovered his closely-guarded secret. But can he let go of his pride, and tell her the whole truth of who he is and what he’s done—in the name of honor and country?
As Callan’s scars start to reveal themselves, his life spirals beyond the careful control that’s helped him survive—and kept those he cares about safe.
From him.
But this tough-in-a-tiara princess won’t back down, even in Callan’s darkest hours. And Meridian just might prove to be more tenacious than a never-say-die Marine!
Review
Rating: 3/5 stars
Spice: 1/5
Review: This story follows Callan who is a veteran and a grumpy next-door neighbor to Meridian who he’s attracted to from the start. Black is a good writer who promised a cute romance story. It’s a very fast-paced story so some of the cute or important scenes were cut short. I liked the setting and seeing two characters hang out at the gym or in their apartments. There were many conflicts in the story to keep it entertaining. I do wish the chapters/scenes laster longer than it did because it didn’t feel very sentimental at times it needed to be. This book is also told from just Callan’s pov but the pov was very hard to understand from the perspective it was written and there was too much inner dialogue going on that it made it sound like Joe from You.
Callan is the MMC of the story who deals with PTSD and wants to make sure everyone is safe. I saw a lot of red flags in this guy for some of the ways he would act. I didn’t like how rough he would act or he would often yell. I see he was a veteran but sometimes it was much. Meridian is the main side character and I really which we got her pov. I loved her character and wanted to know more about her. There were some other minor side characters but none that played big roles. The romance was good which has next-door neighbors and the instant love trope.
The ending was very fast and so much happens with a good HEA. I did have some minor issues with the book but it was a good, light read. I do wish the pacing was a bit slower but overall not so bad. I recommend checking this out if you want a veteran story with a next-door neighbor romance.
*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*
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