"Out of Breath" by Blair Richmond ~ Runners & Vampires! New YA Fiction for Halloween Release!!

Published by: Ashland Creek Press

Pages: 268

Genre: YA Fiction

Ages: 12 and Up

Summary:

Nineteen-year-old Kat Jones has been a competitive runner since she was young, but after her mother’s death, her life begins to crumble around her. One day, she finds herself on the run in a literals sense, in a race for her very life...

Both a paranormal love story and an environmental allegory, OUT OF BREATH takes readers beyond the world of vampires and into the worlds of competitive running, of Shakespeare, and of the staggering beauty of nature.

A Dame's Fanciful Thought or Two:

One of the very wonderful things about reading books is that they take us into worlds we might never be able to experience and into the heads and hearts of characters we wish we could be. That being the case, it was a fascinating place to find myself inside the head and physical surroundings of Kat Jones.

I'm not and never have been a runner. It's something that has interested me over many years because I've come across friends and acquaintences who love to run. What makes "Out of Breath" so unique is the experiences shared about this lifestyle and its character building benefits. It was an educational and emotional experience to read.

From the perspective of strictly a YA novel, you'll find this one a treat because it's much along the lines of a "Twilight" venue. There is the dark and handsome vampire, Roman; the somewhat innocent and caring nature-boy, Alex; and Kat, who is new to town, a loner and quietly beautiful. But from that point the novel takes a direction that is explosive in character pulling us into the world of running, vegan lifestyles versus blood-feeding, and murder in the woodlands above the town called "Lithia" for its calmning drinking water.

Blair Richmond is a very strong author. Her style is not only agreeable, but engaging and it has a flow that makes one want to keep digging for answers that she poses in her story. I was hooked from the beginning, and I found the mysteries she posed in the novel grabbers! Her characters are also likeable; even the strangest of the vampires, and I'm anxious to know more about all of them.

This is the first in a series around Kat, Roman and Alex. I'm very much looking forward to reading more about them and the town of Lithia. There are open-ended questions I have and I'm dying to know the answers to.

Ease of reading and a great story will make this a sure-to-be loved novel and series. I recommend it for those who love vampires!

4 stars a running

Deborah/TheBookishDame