What do you do when you lose someone, do you lose yourself to drink , pity, anger or other things? Who can pull you out the spiral that you've falling into? Will love come for you or do you go after it yourself? Two people might have feelings toward each other but who will be stubborn enough to try and fight it, Who will find a way to to bring themselves together even if another isn't sure about it. Molli Moran brings us wonderful characters, who make you want to cry when things aren't going well, laugh when they are going well. When it makes you wonder what is going to happen on the next page or chapter. A book that can do that is worth reading and re-reading. The book ends with (NOPE, NOT GOING TO TELL YOU) I know you'll love this book and the series ( )

3.5 stars

Reece Walker has been drowning himself in alcohol since his ex-wife's death and he doesn't know how to recover from her death and be the father he needs to be for their son. He knows he needs to get his act together, especially after friends and family call him out for his appalling behavior, but it all clicks together when he sees Delaney Shaw again. All the feelings from a year ago come rushing back to him, but he's not sure he can be the man he needs to be for her if he can't even be the man he needs to be for his son.
Delaney Shaw is jobless, disenchanted by city life, and missing her best friend. When Quinn offers her a summer in the small, southern town of Baylor, Lanie can't think of anything better. Seeing Reece brings back a lot of old feelings, but those feelings won't matter if Lanie can't finally face her past and learn to let love in.

I was hesitant about this book, I really enjoy interracial couple novels, but I had a couple friends mention this one was a bit over the top. I found myself enjoying it, despite the fact that I do think Lanie, as a character, was focused on her skin color more than anyone else was. I really liked Lanie and Reece as a couple, especially the city girl country boy trope. They weren't identical characters so their relationship didn't come easy, both definitely had their fair share of personal drama to handle, and then the tie in of small southern town with prevalent racism to deal with. I liked reading Lanie's personal growth the most; I think she had fantastic friends, interesting family dynamics, and had a desired personal goal in mind that played right into this novel. Reece, on the other hand, was the kind of character I couldn't like at first, because I kept thinking of his son. His relationship with his ex-wife proved to be a bit confusing, but was overshadowed quickly by his relationship with his brothers, his father, and the friends he surrounded himself with.

The best part of this book though, hands down, was how the characters owned their flaws, recognized they needed to figure out themselves first, and put a relationship with one another at the very bottom of the list. They worked on their friendships, they worked out family issues, and made themselves independent as people before they finally came together as a couple. There was no insta-love, there was no crazy drama, there was just natural personal development and relationship flow. I cannot tell you how often a romance novel puts me off due to how quick relationships move, so I have to hand it to Molli Moran, Reece and Lanie make for one sweet couple.

There are a few parts of As You Breathe Again that came up flawed for me, however they didn't keep me from enjoying the novel. I didn't understand Delaney's sleeping around or Reece's relationship with his ex-wife, but maybe I missed something. I felt like Delaney never faced her old self directly, and while I am all for one-night stands, she treated it so flippantly, but would act like it was a bad quality later on. Then there's Reece dealing with his loss, and while he admits that he and his ex were friends that easily could have fallen back into a relationship, they remained separated prior to her death. That said, I couldn't understand the two together and I couldn't connect the ex-wife to his life with son. I do think how he finally dealt with the loss was done incredibly well. Finally, there is the interracial relationship. I understand people are unfortunately still racist, especially in certain areas of the US, but I didn't support it being tied almost directly to being Southern. There were also times when Lanie would focus on the black qualities about herself far more than anyone else was, I'm sure this was meant to help us connect to the character, but it actually left me feeling more confused with her desire to move to a community she so closely related to prejudices. The general dynamic of the interracial relationship was handled very well and I could distinctly see both characters, especially when they let their love outshine other character's rude comments.

Overall, As You Breathe Again is a great novel from Molli Moran. While I did not read book one in The Walker Boys series, I do think I'll be going back to read it now, because the characters mentioned in this book are so intriguing to me. ( )

Delaney and Reese evidently had chemistry they did not act on previously but this time, when Laine returns to Baylor after losing her job, things are different. Both Laine and Reese have some major issues to deal with before they can truly be a couple. Laine has commitment issues, has an apartment in New York and needs to deal with family issues while Reese has lost the mother of his son and is grieving while dealing with financial issues related to the family farm. The two need to work on themselves but do feel something special for one another. The story builds slowly, character development is good, and the story is interesting. Jamie, the son, adds a fun dimension, too. There are other people in the book that either have have their story told already or will have in future books. There are tender moments, caring, sharing and family ties that are strong. Fun book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Molli Moran for the ARC to read and review. ( )