Fighting To Breath

Shooting Stars Series – Book 1

By Aurora Rose Reynolds

Synopsis:

Lea Lamb and Austin Wolf were young when they fell in love. They never imagined the future could hold anything other than together-forever.

When Lea’s father dies in a tragic fishing accident, she’s crushed under the weight of her grief and catches a glimpse of another type of future, one she knows she’s not strong enough to face.

Austin is angry. For the past fifteen years, he’s believed the woman he loved with every ounce of his soul left him without so much as a backwards glance.

When Lea unexpectedly returns to their hometown, all the years of heartache inside Austin bubbles to the surface and presents itself as blinding rage.

Faced with the truth about the past, a newly discovered secret, these former lovers will learn that if they want to have any chance at the future they’d given up on all those years ago, they will have to rescue one another from drowning in pain so debilitating it will leave them both fighting to breathe.

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Excerpt

“CAN WE STOP by the liquor store on the way to dinner?” Mom asks from the passenger seat of my car.

“Should you be drinking?” I frown then turn onto the main road—well, really the only road in town.

“What’s it going to do, kill me?” she jokes, making me inhale a sharp breath. “Honey,” she says quietly, and I look at her briefly, wondering how the hell she can be so casual about this. “I’m dying. When it will happen, only the good Lord knows, but it is happening, and there is nothing you or I can do about it. I have made my peace with it, and I want you to do the same.” She reaches over to pat my thigh.

“Make peace with it?” I repeat, shaking my head in disbelief.

“Yes, make peace with it. If you think about it, I’m lucky. I know I’m going to die. I know that sooner rather than later God is going to come take me home, and when he does, I will be ready. I will have had a chance to say goodbye to the people I care about and right any wrongs I’ve caused. I’m lucky, honey.”

“What about me?” I wring my hands on the steering wheel, feeling my chest get tight as I fight back tears.

“I love you, honey. I loved you before you were even a sparkle in my eye, and I will always be with you. I know this isn’t easy for you. I know there are going to be a lot of tears shed, but we’re lucky, honey.”

I press my lips together to keep from saying something I might regret. I’m not lucky; in fact, I’m unlucky to the tenth power. How many people have I lost, how many people do I have to loose before it’s enough.

“Oh look! Sheryl!” She yells, pulling me from my thoughts as she reaches over, pressing the horn on my steering wheel while her other hand shoots across me so she can wave out my window. Looking to where she’s waving my heart begins to beat wildly

against my ribcage when I see not Sheryl, but Austin walking into one of the many bars that litter Main Street, only it’s not just Austin—it’s him and a woman with her arm wrapped around the back of his waist as he holds the door open for her.

Even from the distance separating us, my lungs compress at the beauty that is him. The years have been good to him. His hair is still shaggy, only now a little lighter; his face is tan and covered in a beard that makes his crystal blue eyes stand out even more. My eyes travel from his face to his torso, which is covered in a dark green thermal that shows off the muscles of his arms, chest, and tapered waist, then down to his denim-covered thighs. When my gaze sweeps back up, his eyes are on me, and I see them crinkle in confusion then realization that soon turns into anger.

“You missed the liquor store,” my mom complains as I speed up.

Michel’s Review

There are certain authors that each reader puts on their personal favorites list because they seem to touch the reader on a personal level.  Whether it be the characters, the series, the writing style, or the entertainment value, the author finds a way into the reader’s heart.  For me Aurora Rose Reynolds is one of those authors.  I have thoroughly enjoyed every one of her books.  Her unique writing style and larger than life characters always touch me.  I instantly connect with the characters, become  personally involved with their lives, and devour their stories.  I always finish an Aurora Rose Reynolds book with a big smile and a great sense of the warm & fuzzies.

Fighting To Breath is the first book in her new Shooting Stars series.  This series is based around a small fishing town in Alaska.  The small town dynamics and unique characters come to life and jump off the pages.  They are ordinary people dedicated to their families and their community.

Lea and Austin were childhood friends and high school sweethearts.  They had planned the perfect life together.  He was going to join the family fishing business.  She was going to be by his side as his wife and partner.  Two weeks before graduation and one fatal accident changes both of their futures.  Lea’s father is killed in a fishing accident.  Lea does not want that kind of future any longer.  Rather than marry Austin, she fleas with the vow to never return to Cordova.  But life has a way of disrupting the best laid plans.

Fifteen years later and one bad marriage under her belt, Lea is forced to return home to Cordova.  Her mother is terminally ill.  She is returning home to spend time with her mother and make peace with the past.  Where she will go from there is a mystery.  She is no longer the girl she once was.  She no longer has starry eyed dreams, visions of true love, and ideals of grandeur.  She is fighting to breath.  She is struggling with the reality of losing her mother, her only living family.

Austin Wolf never forgave Lea Lamb for leaving Cordova without an explanation.  He couldn’t understand how she could turn her back on their love.  He couldn’t understand how she could easily move on with her life without regret or remorse.  He couldn’t believe that she would turn her back on his love.  His love died the day she left town.  Now she’s back and he hates her with a passion.

Fifteen years is a long time.  Both Lea and Austin have changed drastically.  Their lives have gone in very different directions.  Cordova is a very small community.  It is inevitable that their paths are going to cross.  They are going to either make peace or make Lea’s time with her mother miserable.  The choice is theirs.  They may have changed but beneath it all they are still the same boy and girl that loved each other deeply.

Lea will have to face her fears and accept their realities.  Austin will have to let go of his hatred and see the real Lea.  Both have been hurt and destroyed by secrets that kept them apart for fifteen years.  They have been fighting to breath all those years.  Maybe now they can clear the air and finally take a deep breath and live the lives they were meant to live.

Fighting To Breath was the most emotional book Aurora Rose Reynolds has written.  She touched upon so many emotions, fears, and insecurities that we all have.  She showed how love, in any form, is our greatest gift.  Ordinary people became extraordinary once they opened their hearts.

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it.  I am looking forward to the next book in the Shooting Stars series.

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Aurora Rose Reynolds is a navy brat who’s husband served in the United States Navy. She has lived all over the country but now resides in New York City with her Husband and pet fish. She’s married to an alpha male that loves her as much as the men in her books love their women. He gives her over the top inspiration everyday. In her free time she reads, writes and enjoys going to the movies with her husband and cookie. She also enjoys taking mini weekend vacations to nowhere, or spends time at home with friends and family. Last but not least she appreciates everyday and admires it’s beauty.

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