Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA on May 19th 2015
Genres: Adaptations, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
In Penelope Landlow's world, almost anything can be bought or sold. She's the daughter of one of the three crime families controlling the black market for organ transplants. Because of an autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise easily, Penny is considered too "delicate" to handle the family business, or even to step foot outside their estate. All Penelope has ever wanted is independence-until she's suddenly thrust into the dangerous world all alone, forced to stay one step ahead of her family's enemies. As she struggles to survive the power plays of rival crime families, she learns dreams come with casualties, betrayal hurts worse than bruises, and there's nothing she won't risk for the people she loves. Perfect for fans of Holly Black and Kimberly Derting, this first book in the stunning new Once Upon a Crime Family series from acclaimed author Tiffany Schmidt will leave readers breathless.
Ok – I may be in the minority on this one but this story was only so/so for me and I have to admit…that makes me sad! I was so excited to dive into this book because really, crime families and black markets for organ transplants…I’m in!
Overall I thought the story was good, most of my issues lie in some of the actions Penny takes. Schmidt did a great job developing this story around the crime families and the family business. I also liked the way Schmidt built the story around Penny’s disorder. As a reader, I could feel her frustration around not being allowed to do anything due to the fear of what could potentially happen.
With all of that said, I found some of Penny’s actions unbelievable. Mostly because when she finds herself out in the world, on her own, she avoids calling the one person I would have expected her to lean on for just about anything. Not only that, she expects him to find her when he actually has no reason to believe she’s still alive. In addition to that, once she is on her own, she has a run in with Char and the friendship and feelings move quickly. Considering the trauma she recently went through, I found it odd that she would be willing to trust and ultimately fall in love with someone she doesn’t even know. Perhaps it is the realist in me but I don’t know that it was all that believable for me.
Anyway, as the story progresses and Penny really finds out what happened to her family / what is continuing to go on with the family business, I found myself drawn back into the story. I thought the ending was solid and am curious to see what might happen next in this series.
Thank you to Bloomsbury for the review copy!
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