Breathless (Elemental #2.5)

Of all the things Brigid could have thrown at me with Breathless, Nick’s secret was the one thing I was NOT expecting! A welcome, if short, peek into Nick’s thoughts, Breathless gave me a great taste of what I can expect from his full book, Secret.

Nick is Gabriel’s opposite in every way – where Gabriel is hot-tempered and volatile, Nick is calm, cool, and collected. He’s the peace-keeper of the brothers, the reliable, responsible one that Michael doesn’t need to worry about. So to find out that Nick is fostering a secret, the kind of secret that has life-changing kind of implications, was truly surprising! It goes against every character trait I would normally associate with Nick, which made him infinitely more attractive; who doesn’t love a slightly mysterious guy?

As with Hunter in Fearless, seeing a slightly insecure side to Nick was a welcome relief. He always comes across as such a well put-together and self-confident person, that to see him slightly shaken added a new dynamic to his character that I appreciated.

"Nick knew that look. It was how girls sometimes looked at him, with cartoon hearts practically exploding from their eyes.

It was unnerving.

With girls, he could smile back. Flirt. A glance here, a touch there, a teasing word. It cost him nothing, and it was what everyone expected.

Right now, it left him breathless and uncertain. Because what everyone expected was in direct contradiction with what he wanted."

With the strong relationships Nick has built with his brothers, I was a bit shocked that he would feel embarrassed to share with them what he’s been hiding. I was even more surprised that he was worried about Gabriel’s reaction. If there was one person Nick should feel comfortable telling anything to, it would be his twin. Fortunately, in Breathless Nick is an open book and shares everything running through his mind.

If the thought of college was enough to drive a wedge between him and his brothers, thoughts like these would hammer it home. He’d been fighting with this for years, and here one drive in the truck was about to undo him.

It was also pretty interesting to see things from Quinn’s PoV. I always found her a little dramatic and slightly annoying in previous books, but seeing the way she’s treated at home, through her own eyes, really gave me fresh perspective on her situation. Her reaction to her own insecurities really hit home too – who hasn’t managed to get themselves into a slightly dangerous situation when feeling insecure and vulnerable? While I still think she’s a bit overdramatic, I do appreciate the insight into the reasons behind her aggressive behaviour.

While Breathless really only served to dish up something truly unexpected, it did its job of encouraging me to pick up Nick’s book when it’s released, extremely well. If I hadn’t been planning on continuing with this series, I most definitely would have needed to after reading Breathless!

Oh my goodness!!! While this book might only be 65 pages there is so much packed into them! It left me shocked and saying "Wait what???" I don't want to say too much and spoil things for you guys but if you have read the other books in this series please make sure that you read Nick's novella you will not be sorry. I love it when a book throws you off and takes a really sharp turn leaving you wondering what the heck just happened. Brigid Kemmerer has yet to let me down with a book in this series. I am addicted to the Merrick brothers and can't wait for more. I am so excited for Nick's full length book. I can't wait to see where his story goes.

Review originally posted on my blog: http://www.ramblingsofabooknerd.com/2013/04/novella-review-breathless-by-brigid.html?m=1