B O O K 🎸 R E V I E W
TITLE: Steal my breath away
AUTHOR: Sarah Castile
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️
KU: ✅
RELEASE DATE: 6/17/2025

Haley, aspiring musician, is kidnapped and needs a bodyguard during her mothers election as senator. Who better to protect her than her brothers best friend/childhood crush?! This thriller-ish, suspense romance will leave you questioning everyone’s motive while falling in love with Ace. This book has time hops to their childhood and present day to help with character building and the backstory.

I really enjoyed this but I couldn’t give it 5 stars because Haley is honestly the most annoying FMC I’ve read recently and 90% of the book I wanted to strangle her. She finally matures at the end of the book which I fully understand is to show character development but she’s… a lot…

Twisted Games x June First with a touch of romantic suspense

Tropes:
- brothers best friend
- Force proximity
- Body guard
- Healing after loss
- Second chance/childhood lovers

The author herself says that this is more than a romance. This is family. And she’s right. This is family by choice, by blood, by circumstance, and figuring out how you fit when it feels like you’re destined to wander alone. Ace and Haley both need to let go of old guilt and realize that maybe they’re exactly where they should be. With the person they’re meant to have by their side.

Haley will frustrate you. I won’t lie. She’s got walls so thick and so high that it’s hard for her to fathom anything close to forever with anyone, especially with the man who was the boy she’s always loved. But she does learn. The walls crack and finally fall. And that same man is there to catch her when she needs him.

But Ace has his own things to work through also. And oddly enough, he doesn’t frustrate me while he works through them. Maybe it’s because he’s willing yo try and hurt sooner to get through the pain so he can have the sunlight. Maybe it’s because he has an unlikely ally who pushes and boosts both Ace and Haley. Regardless, he figures it out also.

These two and their family of all types make a point to be unforgettable. And trust me when I say, they sure are.

Loved this book! I gave it a 5⭐️ cannot thank hambright pr and Sarah Castille enough for allowing me to arc read this book! Romantic suspense is fast becoming a new favorite genre of mine! It has the romance I love and enough mystery to keep me on the edge of my seat. Ace the mmc made me love him from the start and Haley the fmc was so relatable. Especially dealing with grief but also trying to save face with everyone and pretending she was ok!

Steal My Breath was such a refreshing, heartwarming read! Ace is a protective, growly, sweetheart who struggles with feeling good enough for his best friend’s little sister, Haley. Haley has always crushed on Ace since they were younger and recently found herself needing Ace’s protection after a kidnapping attempt.

Such a whirlwind of emotions - and I was here for the ride! It felt like the story was going back and forth at times when Ace kept leaving and popping up again. But I loved how the story wrapped up in the end and was glad to see them get their HEA.

Tropes you may love featured in this story:
✔️ bodyguard mmc
✔️ fmc is up and coming singer
✔️ childhood best friends
✔️ grumpy/sunshine
✔️ forced proximity

I really enjoyed this book! It was my first book by this author and it was really good. Kind of angsty and spicy but emotional and dramatic. I almost cried twice. I also love a good kidnapping!

Haley and Ace have known each other for years. He is her brother’s best friend and her family became his second family when he moved in with his grandmother. Haley and Ace experience a lot of loss and never really get over their grief. They just bottle it up and push the other away.

Now Haley is a senior in college, Ace is out of the military and working for a security firm. Haley’s mom is a congresswoman and someone is threatening her and her family. So she hires Ace to keep Haley safe. Let’s just say he keeps her very safe 😏

Excuse me, this book did not have the right to make me cry as much as it did…

I am always a sucker for brother’s best friend. This book was a second chance (ish) with so much angst. I love angst and it just wouldn’t stop, so yeah I liked that a lot. So much pain from both the characters, both not having dealt with the loss and grief that they experienced. It was incredibly emotional, but that made the healing that much better!

If you want your heart to be ripped out and put back together, this is the perfect book for you!

Steal My Breath Away by Sarah Castille definitely lived up to its title. It was intense, steamy, and completely addictive. I was pulled in right away by the chemistry between the characters, and it only got hotter from there. What I loved most, though, was that there was real emotional depth behind all the tension. The characters had layered pasts and struggles that made their connection feel earned, not just physical. It had just the right mix of angst, passion, and vulnerability. If you're in the mood for a spicy romance with heart, this one totally delivers.

I really enjoyed my first ever Sarah Castile book. The plot, the spice and the characters were all great. I loved the forbidden love and the trauma that each of the mcs had that held them back. I was really hoping Ace would push and fight a little bit more for Haley, but overall I really loved this book. I will be recommending it to anyone and everyone.

This book brings all the best tropes together in a way that keeps you hooked. Haley and Ace have history, tension, and chemistry that practically sizzles. She’s passionate about her music, and he’s all about control and duty, making their dynamic both frustrating and irresistible.

The forced proximity adds so much intensity, especially with Ace posing as her boyfriend on campus. Haley sees him as a reminder of everything she’s been trying to escape, but as the danger escalates, she starts to realize he might be the one person she can truly trust. Watching them navigate their complicated past while dealing with real threats makes this such a gripping read.

It’s got the perfect mix of angst, slow-burn romance, and emotional depth. If you love protective heroes, strong-willed heroines, and a romance with real stakes, this one will definitely pull you in.

Thank you so much Hambright PR for this eARC!

Thank you so much to @annatodd & @hambright_pr for the opportunity for this ARC.

I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of this heartfelt summer romance, and let me tell you—Ry and Julián’s story is equal parts swoony and empowering. Set against the dreamy backdrop of Majorca, it’s a perfect blend of emotional growth, sizzling chemistry, and that bittersweet “will-they-won’t-they” tension we love in a ticking-clock romance. 5 ⭐️

BLURB//

New York Times bestselling author and “the biggest literary phenom of her generation” (Cosmopolitan) Anna Todd returns with a moving and empowering new romance about a sheltered young woman whose life transforms during a summer in Majorca with a mysterious local.

When twenty-two-year-old Oriah (Ry) Pera learns that her mother’s job is relocating them to Majorca, she knows this summer could be the start of her very own coming-of-age story. Between chronic health issues and her mother’s overprotective tendencies, Ry feels like she’s stuck waiting for her life to begin.

In her first small act of rebellion, she heads off to the beach alone and meets an infuriatingly charming Spaniard. Julián makes Ry feel even more naive and inexperienced than she normally does, but she can’t tamp down her growing attraction.

As the summer continues, Julián pulls Ry out of her shell and into the adventures she’s always craved. But with her return to America looming, Ry must decide if she’s brave enough to finally follow her heart and live for herself.

You’ll love this book if you enjoy:

🩷 Enemies to lovers
☀️ Second chance romance
🩷 Ticking clock
☀️ Rich girl working class boy
🩷 Forced proximity

Thank you, @hambrightpr and @netgalley for the gifted ARC! #hambrightpartner

Rundown:
✨️aspiring singer/bodyguard romance
✨️brother's best friend
✨️second chance
✨️military
✨️forced proximity
✨️open door

Synopsis ✒️
As a senator's daughter, Haley is expected to go to college and get a degree, but all she wants to do is sing. When her life is threatened, her mother hires her brother's best friend, Ace, to be her bodyguard since no one knows her better. They were close as children, but a falling out had them not talking for years, and their reunion is anything but smooth.

Thoughts 💭
This is a sweet second chance romance. Haley and Ace have known each other since they were children and have always been drawn to each other but never acted on it. Ace is a wounded warrior after serving in the military and struggles to acclimate and find value in himself. The two compliment each other nicely, and I enjoyed their journey. The story is pretty predictable, but that never bothers me with romance. I'm just here for the sweet moments.

‘Steal My Breath’ away is the heartbreaking story of Haley and Ace. Haley and Ace met as young kids, and for years they kind of grew up together. Even though Ace is a few years older than Haley, and Haley’s brothers best friend.. he always took care of Haley. But their lives have been changed by death and trauma. Now Haley is in college, and Ace is working as a bodyguard. When Haley becomes a target in a kidnapping attempt to hurt her mother, Ace gets signed up to become Haley’s bodyguard.

‘Steal My Breath’ is an easy to read book. The two main characters Haley and Ace are fun to get to know. And although their is a lot of drama surrounding them, which they hardly really address might I at, they find each other again. I loved the romance between them. I could definitely feel their chemistry and I was rooting for them from the start.

Their was also some suspense in this book which I really enjoyed. And although the back and forth going of Haley and Ace’s growing relationship felt a bit much at times.. I mostly really enjoyed this read.

3.5 stars

When your mother is a senator it draws a lot of unnecessary attention to your life and unfortunately for Haley it has brought a kidnapper into her life. Which scares her mother enough to hire a family friend to become her bodyguard... and it happens to be a friend she has a little hurtful history with. No good can come with this arrangement? Or can it?

Steal My Breath Away is a story of second chances, healing, loss, forgiveness, and finding love. A long time ago Haley fell for a boy that abandoned her when she needed him the most and she has never forgiven him for it. Now she is about to be given that chance...

Learning that her mother hired Ace to protect her didn't go over so well at first, considering their past, but after they begin to spend time with one another and rebuild what they lost it becomes easier for her to accept him being in her life again. Enough that she is starting to enjoy it, but can she put her trust in him again? Can she make a permanent place for him in her life again?

I really enjoyed this one, it was a heartfelt love story that kept me engaged and feeling all the words the whole way through. If you like your romances a little on the emotional side then I think this book could be perfect for you...it comes brimming with all the feels!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

Just incredible and everything you would hope for in a Sarah Castille book. The title says it all and this book will give you all the feels.

TROPES
🛡️ Bodyguard
👩🏼‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏼 College romance
🥂 Second chance
💙 Brother's best friend
🤐 Forbidden
🚪 Forced proximity
‼️ Woman in danger
🎖️ Military hero
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to lovers

This book follows Haley, a senator's daughter, and ACE, a childhood friend. Haley grew up singing and performing wherever she could. While away at college, Haley wants to continue to focus on her singing career. Ace works for a security company and is hired to be Haley's bodyguard after a kidnapping attempt and threats start coming in. Haley and Ace haven't spoken in years due to unresolved feelings.

This book was very sweet, and I loved every minute of it. Thank you to Hambright PR, Sarah Castille, and Netgally for the ARC. I really enjoyed it.

✨𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠✨

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐲

🗓️June 17th

📄320

ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖:
🎶Brother’s Best Friend
💜Kidnapping
🎶Grief/Healing
💜Bodyguard x Musician

When Haley Chapman is the target of an attempted kidnapping, her mother hires her childhood crush and brother’s best friend to protect her. Haley hasn’t seen Ace since he kissed her 4 years ago then left without a word. With unfinished business, the two must learn how to coexist as danger closes in.

𝓜𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼:
Steal My Breath Away was such a beautiful story of healing. Both Haley and Ace are two broken souls, they both have trauma in which they have buried. The way these two heal through loving each other made for the most amazing love story.

I finished this book in one sitting. Between the tender moments, edge of your seat action, and spice I could not put it down.

Thank you to Bramble Publishing and Hambright PR for the advanced E-ARC of this book.

Haley and Ace are opposites. Haley lives by the seat of her pants, seeking adventure and thrill. Ace is a more introverted and cautious. In this second chance novel, Haley and Ace grew up together as Ace was Haley's brother's best friend. They both harbored quiet feelings toward one another, but the age gap and Ace's closeness to her family served as a deterrent for anything more.

Fast forward several years and Ace has become Haley's bodyguard. We find that both characters are very emotionally stunted and would benefit from laying on a leather coach soaking in countless hours of therapy. None more than Haley who is allergic to feelings and grieving her late father and brother. Shes the black box of pain, keeping it all inside.

There is an element of suspense as Haley is stalked and threatened during her mother's senate race. I wish the author had played into the suspense more.
I enjoyed the overall premise of this book, but it felt a bit like a cycle of laundry, rinse and repeat. There is so much back and forth between ace and Haley that the will they or won't they started to wear thin by the end.

I really enjoyed this book! I liked learning about their past history and seeing them both work through their healing processes. I loved seeing their friendship with not only each other but their other friends and seeing the found family they created.

Thank you for the ARC copy, all opinions are my own.

I DEVOURED this book!
It was enjoyable and the type of book that keeps you turning the page! The characters and the story?! Just loved it!
Glad I was able to ARC read this

Steal My Breath Away was a page turner, causing me to stay up much later than usual the past couple nights. I loved that, although we got a front row seat to Hailey and Ace's love story, we got to enjoy it from different angles- POV and flashbacks. I also liked that there was suspense and deeper issues embedded in between the romance and steamy sex scenes. It was an all around great book, one that I would recommend.