I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Jem is a asthmatic paramedic who been in foster care until she was a adopted her birth mother was an addict who did every drug which causes Jem to have serve asthma.

Rosie is a cop who use to rebel when she was younger because she had some issues with her family.

Rosie and Jem collide on a job when a man needed help as they continue to get thrown together they start a friendship that turn into more.

As they both start to put pieces together about teenagers getting caught in something they shouldn't they almost died after rescuing two teenager girls. You have some angst with Rosie ex Steph trying to get her back and Jem pushing Rosie away because of her asthma.

This was a good plot and well paced story but I don't think I want to live in Manchester because it seems like a dull place with everywhere you turn it's puddles fogging it's really is describe as a soak place.

Jemima Pardon, paramedic, somehow manages to score all sorts of crazy jobs and during her shifts continually bumps into police officer, Rosie Jones. They strike up a formiddable friendship and start piecing together the plot involving missing teenagers.
This is my first Cari Hunter book and I wasn't disappointed. It's a fast paced book with no lulls, the storyline was interesting and the MCs were great. Rosie had an awesome sense of humour and I found Jem matching her wit as the story went on. There's not much in the way of angst but I loved how they became such great friends first and then their relationship eventually evolves.  There were also plenty of British colloquiums to challenge you and I was relieved to work out a brew in northern England is a cup of tea as opposed to a beer!
A great read, definitely recommended.

I was really looking forward to reading new material from Cari Hunter since "Alias," which was utterly brilliant, btw! *Psst! If you haven't read it yet, READ IT!* Anyway, so when "Breathe" dropped on my lap, I devoured it. In no time at all. Honest. I was taken aback when I reached the end page. Whaa?! Anyway, I just knew it was going to be a blast because Hunter has a knack for developing a captivating story that starts off with unassuming characters and their routine work settings but quickly captures your attention and intrigue with her addicting storytelling style, conversational dialogue that immediately sucks you into the world of her MCs. No exception in this story about Jem and Rosie, two unlikely souls who were hit by Cupid's arrow out of the blue at the most inopportune time and place! And then the adventure began, with more and more compelling build-up to the story involving their friendship, collaboration, to eventually an accidental case, whilst the development of their characters and their relationship slowly climbed up a notch at every turn until the tipping point at the end. BREATHE.

I was intrigued by the title of the book, "Breathe," alongside a loaded V Fib (ventricular fibrillation) ECG reading on the cover below the word. I was immediately mesmerised! I knew it would be symbolic, not just about Jem's asthma but Jem and Rosie's relationship, their lives, their crossroads, the catalyst that propelled them to their ultimate, well-deserved ending. In essence, I pictured Jem and Rosie's story in ECG terms, pulsating as situations changed from normal to intensity back to normal in their journey towards love. Sinus. V Fib. Extrasystole. Sinus.

Just Breathe.

Reading "Breathe" was like I was watching everything unfold on the telly. If there were a marriage between "No Offence" and "Casualty," their offspring would be "Breathe." If only we had a "Cops & Docs" series on the telly, eh? Wonder why not. We have coppers serials, we have doc serials. But why not both together?! Curious, really. In addition to its TV show-like effect, this book was so addictive, especially with all the visual descriptions like they were shot by a camera like you see on-screen when you're watching it. I felt like I was binge-watching all 6 episodes of "Breathe" as a series! You know what I mean?

First chapter alone hooked me like no other! I just latched on to Jem and Rosie immediately. Even more precious was the utter hilarity of Hunter's depiction of the "situation" that befell poor Jem whilst Rosie looked on, bemused! Priceless, really! And, can I just say, I absolutely was rejoicing my heart out totally chuffed to bits to read the story in all its unapologetic Mancunian glory - in language, culture, and vernacular, not to mention, the location settings! Bloody hell YES! Thank YOU, Ms. Hunter, for being committed to telling stories from the NW region! I hope your books continue to represent that particular geographical location in England.

If two people can have chemistry, an unspoken connection by shared interests or just plain carnal desire, Jem and Rosie certainly fit the bill as they were "hooked" on each other, most adorably, I might add, by an uncanny set of sheer madness of circumstances that always happened to end up in DISASTERS...to themselves, mostly! Accidental love? Like cupid trying to muck about with their lives just to get a rise out of their poor, accident- or rather, disaster-proned proclivity? Honestly, I never read a lesfic character who was as calamitous as Jem!! Hey, Calamity Jem! Top that up with a string of bad luck following her throughout her life, Jem was a character like no other and I bloody loved her! Rosie, on the other hand, was like the Tasmanian Devil with a death wish - barking mad (in the most adorable way, mind!), ultra-compulsive, impatient and an everyday daredevil, really! Just imagine when both Calamity Jem and Tasmanian Devil show up in a situation.... Do you see? And Hunter ever-so cheekily constructed a tapestry of her tale involving Jem and Rosie's daily work routine, unforeseen events and outcomes that wrapped around their initial spark to innocent attraction to friendly banter to undeniable, increasingly unavoidable emotional attachment, that grew slowly but surely into a quirky happy ending....barring any fatal results, that is (!), was so brilliantly weaved and executed that it's simply too constrained to be just in book form! For Pete's sake, someone adapt this into a cops-n-docs series on the telly!!!! Honestly, readers, when you read this, you'll know what I mean! I can already see all 6 episodes plotted out from start to finish just by applying Hunter's written acts!

But I digress....*sigh* Crackin' on!

I absolutely adored and was gratified by all the detailed descriptions and vividly visual depictions of Jem and Rosie's work especially when they were out in the field doing their jobs that they were called out on. I especially related to Jem's field experience - Hunter's in-depth knowledge in the procedures of the practice literally transported me to those residential homes. What struck me to the core was the no-holds-barred descriptions of the surroundings, particularly the myriad of smells that are usually present in people's homes or dwellings, and the mixture of smells, which I won't elaborate here but you get the picture. Hunter's precision in bringing those little nuances - the smell classification, the physical reactions or mannerisms of Jem's and the patients' - eerily to life for me! Not to mention, the real-life fact about the NHS always being short-staffed, inundated with unreasonable budget cuts, long ETAs of emergency transport, i.e. ambulance, to the patients, or emergency support to the staff out in the field. Having also been baptised by the NHS, I can vouch that everything that Jem and her colleagues were facing with is unfortunately true. The short-staffed situation really got my teeth gritting with a sense of injustice, to the staff and the patient. It's just plain bollocks! Don't get me started! Christ, talk about clearing the cobwebs of memories long filed away! But I digress. Anyway, that's why I love it when authors apply their own professional experience and knowledge to the related profession of their fictional characters in the story. It makes the characters and the story believable. So, I was enthralled by all of Jem's scenes involving her field work which were depicted with sheer realism and raw authenticity.

A frightfully realistic characteristic of Jem's was her asthma. Imagine a chronic asthmatic who had to have her inhaler at the ready at all times, working as an overworked, knackered paramedic who, most often than not, had to deal with emergency calls on her own because of being short-staffed. And as luck of the draw would have it, she always seemed to invite complicated cases that ended up with her struggling to catch her breath, frantically tempering her obs levels whilst trying to save or treat her patient, like for instance, in the rain! Blimey! Those moments were described with such realistic fervour and conviction, I could literally feel Jem's asthmatic attacks, her laboured breathing, her state of mind and body whilst trying to juggle between maintaining her own respiratory health and giving aid to her patients. Again, Hunter nailed every little non-verbal cues perfectly, with words that truly resonated.

As for Rosie's work, I was really appreciative of Hunter's attention to detail about every procedure, every step taken by her and her colleagues, be it interviewing witnesses, searching homes, finding clues, etc. Again, so vivid and visual was Hunter's description, I felt like I was watching the related scenes instead of just reading them! I was especially entranced by the body cam action! Honestly, wow. Being a total police procedural junkie that I am, I was "glued" to every word, imagining myself watching every scene on-screen because, whilst Jem's work, because of personal reasons, I felt like I was shadowing her, indirectly involved in the hands-on, watching Rosie work was truly like me as the camera following her around, capturing every little detail, zooming in and panning out as depicted. Needless to say, I got excited every time there was a scene involving either Jem or Rosie doing their job! Even with them on their break where they were settling in their respective workplace, Hunter didn't skim on the details, committed to maintaining the authenticity of Jem and Rosie's professional lives in order to produce a sense of reality. That also included their time in the comfort of their own homes. Again, I read it like I was watching it in episodes on the telly!

You know that fantastic chemistry between Meg and Sanne (from the "Dark Peak" series) - *psst! If you haven't read the "Dark Peak" trilogy, READ IT!* - and how their characters' lives as mates, a couple or professional colleagues were always so seamlessly weaved into every case they were involved in? Well, in this story, Hunter managed to up the ante of adorableness, cuteness and all-around fun, quirkiness, nerdiness with Jem and Rosie's inadvertent collaboration and partnership in the field! I simply LOVED these two bloody idiots!! Oh, the trouble they unwittingly and inevitably put themselves in every bloody time, much to their chagrin, with Hunter so astutely depicting their "predicaments"!! Let's just say they ranged from guffaw hilarity to oh-shite-no! intense situation!! Needless to say, I can guarantee you won't have a dull moment at all!

During the natural development and progression of Jem and Rosie's continued serendipitous encounters during their routine field work, they'd unsurprisingly stumbled onto something which turned into a very intriguing, engrossing case. I absolutely loved how Hunter subtly weaved Rosie and Jem's unpremeditated involvement of the case, which happened, not like a planned out, well-constructed path of investigation like a bog-standard crime procedural, but through a series of accidental occurrences, harmless chats, meet ups, or whilst just plain doing their routine jobs! The entire setting flowed so seamlessly that when the case was finally being investigated, the switch was very organic. Just like IRL. Authentic.

There were a couple of brilliantly-written action sequences which were truly suspenseful and heartstoppingly intense that had me clutching onto my seat, white-knuckled and all! One that involved a fire. Bloody hell! The entire sequence from the crawling, to the descent, to the rescue, to the close call..., my emotions were ranging from tentative, to thrills, to hopeful, then smack (!) I started panting, feeling dyspnoea descending upon me like a ton of bricks, my respiratory tract slowly engulfing in smoke, and then.... BREATHE.

It was harrowing, to say the least, for me, as a reader! Bloody well done with the vivid description of the scene, Ms. Hunter! The other memorable action sequence was toward the end involving water this time. And what an adrenaline rush, indeed! From the chase to the fall to the rising water, to the death-defying rescue, to the utterly sweet, heartwarming and adorable moment, and then.... BREATHE.

What a thrill of a ride!! Another rush of adrenaline swept through me that ended with a huge sigh of relief. I had to tell myself to just....BREATHE.

All in all, I absolutely loved this story, how it developed from an everyday routine to a complex case wrapped around the lives of two women who were destined to fall for each other in the midst of all the accidents and disasters that sealed their undeniable attraction, affinity and connection to each other that ultimately turned into love. This slow-burn mystery/romance, in Hunter style, was filled with humour, wit, adorable chemistry between Jem and Rosie, and thrills that kept me wanting more as my anticipation of what was going to happen including the ending kept increasing in spades.

The secondary characters were developed so naturally around the MCs that I could see them IRL as real people! It was a familiarly warm, cosy, heartwarming, genuinely heartfelt with a sense of comfort reading experience, exploring all the characters, main and secondary, alike. All the settings depicted, be it the characters, the work, the case or the surroundings (weather, road, structural conditions, environments) were purposefully grounded in authentic reality throughout the story. At the end of the book, I felt thoroughly satisfied and entertained, so much so that I was disappointed that it ended so quickly! But the beauty is I get to reread it, revisit the utterly adorable Jem and Rosie, and their warm and heartening little romance that was!

In essence, "Breathe" is a must-read and I highly recommend it to all fans of crime/mystery, cops-n-docs romance. With this one, I can almost guarantee that you'll have a fun-old time watching Calamity Jem and Tasmanian Devil fumbling and stumbling their way through crisis after crisis that somehow always whirlwind into catastrophic proportions, whilst falling in love at the same time! Talk about a unique set of romantic circumstances for these two destined lovebirds to grow, enrich and deepen into flourishing love and commitment, eh?

A BLOODY entertaining and satisfying read! Well done, Ms. Hunter!

**I was given, with much thanks and appreciation, an ARC of this book, by BSB via NetGalley, in return for an honest review.

I have been waiting for this since Cari mentioned on her fb page that she was writing it. I pre-ordered "Breathe" so long ago that I forgot I had and tried to pre-order it again. Then the cover appeared, the awesome, cool cover that made me even more excited if that was actually possible for an author smack bang at the top of my 'buy without needing to know anything about the book just because it's by x' list. Cari put just the first chapter up online in advance of publication but I resisted the temptation to dive in because I knew I'd drive myself up the walls until I could read the rest. Finally, the whole book all twenty-two beautiful chapters (plus epilogue) dropped into my kindle and let me tell you it was worth the wait! "There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." Sorry Oscar mate, I got exactly what I wanted and it was fucking awesome!

That's not to say that "Breathe" is predictable or anything like that; both Jem (a paramedic) and Rosie (a copper) seem to be magnets for the most bizarre incidents going on their shifts, from a naked groom-to-be hanging perilously over a canal, to meeting the Jolley sisters (first names Polly & Holly!) Far more tragic, however, is the death of a young man despite Jem's best efforts with Rosie providing back up at the scene. Ruled a suspicious death by the police both our heroines get pulled into an investigation that seems to grow more extensive by the day.

Throw in their mutual attraction, complicated by a pain in a arse ex and a blind date from hell...oh yeah and the fact that half of Manchester is under water due to biblical flooding and it all gets a bit tricky for poor Jem & Rosie.

If you've read other Cari Hunter books, you will also love this one. If you haven't read her other books, get going! You won't regret it.

This is another great thriller set in the city of Manchester. On this occasion, a paramedic, Jem, and a policewoman, Rosie, are continually thrown together in cases involving puddles and moisture. Because Manchester is a soaked city.

Jem and Rosie have been very interesting characters. Jem is an asthmatic paramedic who comes from an adoptive family after having been through the foster system until she was eight years old. And Rosie is a police a bit badass with a wicked sense of humor and with some family issues, also.

The plot of this story is about teenagers who are caught by an abusive net. Rosie and Jem go discovering pieces of the plot in each case in which they find themselves together, first by chance, latter not so much. They also discover their attraction, but both are a bit indirect in their approach. It's fun sometimes, this insecurity and indecission, but is also frustrating and even sad.

The story has a good pace, the police plot is well developed and well resolved. My only complaint is that there are too many words that are local jargon. That led me to go to the dictionary more times than usual and I haven't always found them.
But without taking this into account, this book is a very good read, highly recommended.