A Review - Inhale (Just Breathe #1)

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.




Wow. Just... Wow. Where to begin?

I've read this book twice now, just to let it really sink in - and it is just as amazing the second time through as it was the first. To be clear: This book is not a Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, or Charlotte Brontë. It is not work safe, nor is it recommended for anyone under the age of 16. It is mature, it is graphic, it is imaginative, and it is unapologetic. It is truly an intelligent reader's dirty book... action, passion, fantasy, and a little smut... in short: captivating. Kendall Grey definitely doesn't disappoint!

From page one the characters jump off the page and grab you, taking you with them on a thrill-a-minute roller-coaster ride that includes Guardians, Elementals, the Dreaming, and even rescuing a trapped whale. Yeah, it's got scope.

I've fought back and forth with myself over including details of the plot in this review, and I just can't bring myself to do it. You really need to read it for yourself. I will note that the author included a glossary at the end of the book. I looked it over after I had finished my first read, and I don't believe that I was worse for not having read it beforehand. If you want to look it over first, or as you read, you might find it helpful, but I didn't feel even the slightest bit lost, or confused, for having not looked it over until after I'd read the book.

The ending left me anxious to read the next book. It's up to you if you see that as a positive or a negative. Thankfully you can already buy book two in this series. Otherwise I might be a bit more unhappy with the ending.

All said, I would highly recommend this book to modern/urban fantasy and paranormal romance (or erotica) readers. (yes, it does get a bit liberal with the cock.)


- Dennis Sharpe

Inhale on Goodreads.com

Inhale on Amazon.com


Warnings from the publisher:


*This book contains graphic language, sex, and some violence. Not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

**The author will donate all profits from the sale of the JUST BREATHE trilogy to programs that educate people about whales and the challenges they face.

Inspiration (currently, anyway)

Sometimes it's called a writer's muse, that vast cloud that swirls violently in the writer's mind... sometimes it's a picture, a painting, a joke, a person, a comment... or music. For me, it's people and music. I'm going to focus on the music that has been running (and rerunning) in my mind lately.

I've been working on Ghost stories. Grim, gritty, and raw stories of the deceased... and the sometimes awful world they reside in that is (in my mind) a crumbling decayed reflection of our own. A place where monsters are not only present - they are not uncommon.

Two bands have produced music that, in my mind, sets "just the right tone" for telling the kinds of stories I have to tell, and often pulls me down darker corridors than I would have chosen without them. I am speaking, of course, about Tool and Depeche Mode. Not a fan? Sorry. I am.

From Opiate to Aenima... from Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion... I feel that the lyrics and the tone really work in my head to form a backdrop... a soundtrack, if you will, to the world I'm painting on the page.

If you're interested I'd suggest listening to (Each song title is a link):

Depeche Mode: Waiting For The Night To Fall - Enjoy The Silence - World In My Eyes - Never Let Me Down Again - One Caress - I Feel You

Tool: Sweat - Forty Six & 2 - Aenima - 4 Degrees - Schism - Stinkfist - Eulogy - Part Of Me - Opiate

(There are countless other examples I could list and link... but that would take a heroic amount of time... and I just don't have that kind of time today.)

I don't know about all the other writers of the world... but music helps me... lets me feel what I'm seeing in my mind. It makes putting it down for others easier... and (I hope) helps carry the tone it should.

I honestly don't know why I felt like putting all this down for public consumption, but I did... so here it is. Take it for what it's worth.

Dark Light Anthology

DARK LIGHT explores the darker side of our world, the things no one wants to speak about or admit. The stories in this anthology will make you think, make you shiver, intrigue and entertain you. Please step into our world of the darker side where little light shines through.

The Launch Debut from Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing, coming February 29th, 2012.

"The click of the camera before you die.

A demon’s unthinkable task.

A childhood game gone horribly wrong.

The nagging feeling that someone is watching your every move. A lover, a betrayer.

Breakdown. Vengeance. Misplaced trust. Malice. Surprise.

How many times will you soothe yourself in the dark hoping for the light? Welcome to a world hidden behind the blinds of reality. This anthology is not for the faint-hearted. The tales inside are guaranteed to rob you of sleep at night and bring you the nightmares you fear.

Now, open your eyes and see…"

Links:

Trailer for Dark Light

Goodreads Listing for Dark Light

Authors Page For Dark Light (on the CH & BB webpage)

Review of First Boy by Dennis Sharpe (from Dark Light)
Dark Light at the CH & BB Store

Dark Light paperback at Amazon.com

Dark Light Kindle at Amazon.com

Crushing Hearts & Black Butterfly on Facebook (for updates and news)

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There is also a this to take note of (at: http://charhardin.blogspot.com/)