I always feel that I should preface, in books like this, that neither romance nor new adult are really my forte when it comes to my book obsession. 
 I'm not entirely sure what it is, honestly, but lovey dovey stories, even when set against the backdrop of heartache and struggle, just don't keep my attention. And, unfortunately, BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE really wasn't a big exception. 
 On the flipside, though, this novel really made me want to get out and RUN. And I am most DEFINITELY not a runner. And, in reality, I highly doubt I'll actually get up from this laptop and put on some running shoes, but it has to be the sign of a pretty book if it almost makes me want to get up and tackle something that never interested me before, right? 
 So, in case you missed the blurb on the back -- or the plethora of glowing reviews on any number of book sites, BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE is the story of a young woman who has recently lost the love of her life, Kyle, in a tragic accident --- one that she ultimately deems her own fault. Devastated as she struggles with such a huge loss in her life, Annie sets out to train for a country music inspired marathon, which was Kyle's ultimate goal prior to the events that took his life so soon. 
 The only problem, of course, is that Annie is really just not a runner. Even after she enrolls in a decently prestigious running course, led by an older, sexy man named Matt, Annie continuously feels overwhelmed and helpless in her training. Her body and her mind are exhausted and confused, and it sure doesn't help that Matt's younger brother, Jeremiah, is a amazing temptation, with his muscles, wit, and charm (both on and off the track, of course). 
 Annie wants nothing more than to honor the memory of her deceased boyfriend, but there's just something about Jeremiah that she doesn't want to forget.... 
 Overall, honestly, I did really enjoy the premise of the story -- a heartbroken girl overcoming her grief by training well beyond her comfort zone to honor a lost love. I didn't even mind the introduction of Jeremiah, who served both to guide Annie in her journey to healing and to challenge her to find new love at the close of a painful chapter of her life. 
 But once the focus really shifted to the whole lovey dovey thing between Annie and Jeremiah, I can't deny it -- I just got bored. 
 I loved reading about Annie's training, her struggles, her trainer/trainee relationship with Matt, her pain/grief/guilt over Kyle's death, etc. But once it came to the touchy/feely/kissy/sexy between A and J, the book just felt SO long and SO slow to me. 
 Although I totally get it that Jeremiah was an adrenaline junky, whose family seemed to always want to stage an intervention to save his life from his reckless behaviors, he just felt like an overdramatized little druggy -- minus the actual drugs, of course. It felt overdone and even a little irritating, and I was honestly expecting a larger scale revelation than the little shoulder injury near the end of the book. 
 And then there is Annie. I understand her grief, hesitation, insecurity, and guilt -- but the rest just felt very repetitive and dull after a while. Matt is hot. Jeremiah is hot. Running is hard. Lather, rinse, and repeat -- up until the very last page of the book. 
 Sure -- the whole point of the story is that Annie was able to overcome huge obstacles and to train herself to seemingly impossible lengths to memorialize love and to embrace the possibilities of new love. But, did she finish the race? Did she sneak off at the 10 mile mark for another quickie with J? Did that whole weak knee thing come to fruition? 
 Who knows. I give the author kudos for an awesome story line and a strong, relatable voice throughout the novel. 
 I just, for whatever reason, didn't click with this one.