"When dreams and reality merge..."
Reviewed by Katherine Petersen
Posted June 1, 2014
Romance Paranormal | Fantasy Urban
In Kendall Grey's INHALE, the first in her Just
Breathe
trilogy, whale biologist Zoe Morgan has the chance to head
a tagging project in Australia and hopefully assuage the
guilt from losing a baby whale a few years ago. But a host
of things stand in her way including an ex who still wants
her, the whale voices she begins to hear in her head and a
gorgeous man who keeps turning up to save her life in her
dreams.
Rockstar extraordinaire Gavin Cassidy protects her life in
her dreams, which is actually a separate world/reality
called the Dreaming. Gavin, also a Sentinel/Warrior of the
Dreaming, hasn't visited there since he lost his partner
two years ago, but he is now given the assignment of
protecting Zoe.
The Dreaming is inhabited by humans called Wyldlings and
it's the job of the Sentinels to protect them from the
Elementals such as the Fyre Elementals who want to kill Zoe
as part of The Dreaming's destruction.
Honestly, the world is as confusing in the book as it is in
this review. It took quite a while before I figured things
out. Grey has a strong gift for writing, and she
incorporates the story of a wooden bird throughout that is
beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with her
characters. Neither Gavin, nor Zoe, had the depth that for
me enables strong empathy and understanding.
The Dreaming has been overrun by Fyre Elementals and Gavin
and Zoe are trying to restore the balance. Each character
also has to maintain the balance of elements within
themselves which can certainly stand for how we all need
balance in our lives.
I understood each world by itself but how they were linked
never totally clicked for me. I read a lot of fantasy and
have run into this sometimes. Perhaps, it is because INHALE
is the first in a trilogy, so more set-up is required than
will occur in future novels.
My issue with character connection could stem from my bias
against a rockstar lifestyle, which can appear very
shallow. INHALE has a warning that this story is for
people aged 18 and over, and the hotness of the sex scenes
definitely merits this. I have a hard time not finishing
series that I start, so I will most likely read the next
book in the series. Often times, the second and third books
are better, and I'm hopeful that this will be the case with
Grey's trilogy.
Learn more about Inhale
SUMMARY
After years of suffocating under her boss’s scrutiny, whale
biologist Zoe Morgan finally lands a job as director of a
tagging project in Hervey Bay, Australia. Success Down
Under all but guarantees her the promotion of a lifetime,
and Zoe won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in her way. Not
the whale voices she suddenly hears in her head, not the ex
who won’t take no for an answer, and especially not the
gorgeous figment of her imagination who keeps saving her
from the fiery hell of her dreams.
Gavin Cassidy hasn’t been called to help a human Wyldling
in over a year, which is fine by him. Still blaming himself
for the death of his partner, he keeps the guilt at bay by
indulging in every excess his rock star persona affords.
That is, until he’s summoned to protect Zoe from hungry
Fyre Elementals and learns his new charge is the key to
restoring order in the dying Dreaming. He never expects to
fall for the feisty Dr. Morgan…nor does he realize he may
have to sacrifice the woman he loves to save an entire
country.
*The author will donate all profits from the sale of the
JUST BREATHE trilogy to whale education
Excerpt<<>>The clouds bombarded them with tiny droplets of rain, and
then large, gloppy plops crashed to the wooden dock like
splattered eggs from the sky. Grabbing her hand, Gavin ran for shelter under the extended
roof of one of the dock buildings. A brown falcon pumped
its wings and took off from a log fence post. The muse
turned to him. Water dripping from every part of her, she
drew shallow breaths, her chest rising and falling,
straining under her shirt. Her teeth chattered, and goose
bumps dotted her neck. He wanted to pull her into his arms and warm her up, but
that wouldn't have been a good idea. He let go of her hand. "What were you doing out there?" Barely louder than the
storm overtaking them, her voice reminded him of the seeds
scattered throughout raspberry jam. Sweet and rough at the
same time. He bit his lower lip, tried to slow his breathing.
"Looking
for you." He took a half step closer. Her tanned face
turned up to his as if in anticipation of a kiss, but he
read her intentions as more playful than lustful. "I was gathering more wood. I missed you." Her left
eyebrow
arched as the blue aura swirled around her into a
mischievous yellow. She brushed her chest against his, and
it was all he could do not to tear into her mouth. A drop of water plunged over those luscious lips and
trekked down her throat where it lingered for half a second
before disappearing under her hoodie. "Hmm," he said,
more
in response to the distracting droplet than her
reply. "Here I was hoping you needed to be rescued again." She grinned back, peering up at him through the wet mass of
hair. "Not today, but thanks anyway." With that, she
resumed her voyage through the pouring rain, straightening
her arms out from her sides like a kid on a balance beam. A
crack of lightning illuminated her profile, casting shadows
of breasts, arse, and endlessly long legs on the wall to
her left, jolting him to unanticipated arousal. He followed. "Wait." She turned to him, and he stopped. God, that dripping wet
hair, those bright eyes, and Jesus Christ Almighty, the
bare feet on the rain-soaked dock. He swallowed hard to
suppress a groan. He stepped closer, despite his
conscience's warning not to. Hell, if he was going down in
flames with her, might as well throw some grease on himself
to speed things along. "I'll be here if you need me. Any time..." What was he,
an
awkward teenager asking for a date? Fuck, he should have
kept his mouth shut. Her head quirked to the side, and she touched a finger to
her ear, as if receiving instructions through some psychic
earpiece. She straightened. "I have to go somewhere else
now," she said, her smile unsure. "Find me tomorrow." The boat-filled world around her crumbled under the weight
of fiery madness. Lightning ripped gashes through the
curtain of night, illuminating the docks in blinding,
forked bursts. The muse disappeared from the dream into the other life she
lived without him. He was starting to become a little
jealous of that life. But should he ever decide to look for her in
Realis—which he absolutely wouldn't—he knew
where she'd be. His eyes squinted in the dark as another
strike of lightning confirmed it. Urangan Harbour.
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