The Book Review: With Every Breath by Maya Banks- Release Blast + Review + Giveaway!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Eliza Cummings fought free of a monster who terrorized her when she was an innocent teenager and helped put him away for good. She took a job with Devereaux Security Services and devoted every hour to taking down the very thing she’d nearly become. No one, not even those closest to her, know her darkest, shameful secrets. But now the killer has been set free on a legal loophole and it’s only a matter of time before he comes for her. Eliza’s only choice is to run and lead the monster away from the people she loves.

Wade Sterling has always lived by his own rules, a law unto himself who answers to no one. He’s never professed to be a good man, and he’s definitely not hero material. Wade never allows anyone close enough to see the man behind the impenetrable mask—but one woman threatens his carefully leashed control. He took a bullet for her and the result was more than a piece of metal entrenched in his skin. She was under his skin and nothing he did rid himself of the woman with the courage of a warrior and who thinks nothing of putting her life before others.

But when Wade sees a panicked and haunted Eliza he knows something is very wrong, because the fool woman has never had been afraid of anything. And when she tries to run, the primal beast barely lurking beneath his deceptively polished façade erupts in a rage. She may not know it, but she belongs to him. This time, Eliza isn’t going to play the protector. She was damn well going to be the protected. And as long as Wade breathes, no one will ever hurt what is his.

“Baby,” he whispered, watching as her eyes became cloudy and then shiny with tears when he murmured the endearment. As though she mattered to him. Didn’t she understand she was the most important thing in the world to him? No, she didn’t. Not yet. But she would. “Lay your burden down. It’s time to let someone carry it for you.”

He’d said it before but this time it seemed to really register with her and hit home. For a brief moment there was a spark of hope and so much yearning in her eyes that he automatically squeezed her tighter in his arms.

She wanted to lean on him. He’d seen that in her eyes right before defeat registered and with it her loss of hope. She truly believed that no one could help her, even if she wanted it. How to make her believe in him? How to make her believe that there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, to alleviate the pain and guilt in her eyes, to permanently remove those bruising shadows?

MY REVIEW:

With Every Breath by Maya Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With Every Breath by Maya Banks is a 2016 Avon publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

While the last book in the ‘Slow Burn’ series was pretty good, this one tops it, and is more on board with the type of romantic suspense I usually go for.

In ‘Safe at Last’, we met Wade, a close friend of Gracie’s, and it was clear something was brewing between him and Eliza, which provided some comic relief as the two traded barbs, until things got serious, with Wade proving his mettle and becoming a hero in his own right.

However, any hope the relationship might somehow continue is lost when Eliza receives a disturbing call that will alter the course of her life forever. Planning to free the world of a notorious killer, even if it means sacrificing her own life, Eliza puts a plan in motion, one that does not involve Devereaux security. But, Wade knows something is terribly wrong with Eliza and makes it his business to find out what it is and keep her from doing anything that would put herself in danger, even she fights him every step of the way….

Eliza’s foe is formidable and is one she must do face to face combat with in order to free herself of the ghost of the past. But, even Eliza will need help with this enemy and Wade intends to fight alongside her every step of the way.

I really enjoyed this installment in the series for a number of reasons. One, the bad guy is really creepy and has a backstory that actually links to Eliza in a personal way, instead of the vagueness the enemies possess in previous chapters of the series. This heightened the suspense to a whole new level and gives the story a sense of urgency that has never been present before now.

Another reason this book stands out from the others is because in previous installments the female protagonist has been so vulnerable they are perilously close to the 'damsel in distress' type, rescued by the ultimate alpha male. But, in this book we are treated to a strong woman, capable of holding her own in a male dominated field.

The only man who has ever penetrated the walls she built around her heart, is Wade, and as he chips away at her rough exterior, he exposes her deepest fears, her immense guilt, and releases a flood of emotions that carry them both away.

The romance is intense, hot and steamy, and I think the chemistry between Wade and Eliza makes them the better suited couple, so far. They make a great team and hopefully Wade will team up the Devereraux’s again someday.

The writing has also tightened up quite a bit as well, with much less repetition and the dialogue is sharper too, giving the story much more depth.

Overall, this is the best of the series to date and if the author continues to develop it in this same vein, it could become a ‘go to’ series for me, despite the rocky road we took to get to this point. It may not have been smooth sailing, but arriving to this destination was definitely worth the bumpy ride.

GET YOUR COPY HERE:

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/119196-slow-burn

Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | Google | iTunes | Kobo

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Every-Breath-Slow-Novel-Novels/dp/0062410164/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1470940784&sr=1-1

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/with-every-breath-maya-banks/1122574915?ean=9780062410160

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Maya_Banks_
With_Every_Breath?id=CT8JCgAAQBAJ

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/with-every-breath/id1013961402?mt=11

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/with-every-breath-6

MORE BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Maya Banks is a #1 USA Today and New York Times bestselling author whose chart toppers have included erotic romance, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, Scottish historical romances. She is the author of the Breathless Trilogy, the KGI novels, the Sweet series, and the Colters Legacy novels.

She lives in the South with her husband and three children and other assorted babies, such as her two Bengal kitties and a Calico who’s been with her as long as her youngest child. She’s an avid reader of romance and loves to dish books with her fans and anyone else who’ll listen! She very much enjoys interacting with her readers on Facebook and Twitter as well as in her Yahoo! Group.