Title: Every Stolen Breath
Author: Kimberly Gabriel
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Blink
No. of Pages: Hardcover, 336
Publication Date: November 5, 2019
Date Read: October 26, 2019
Rating: 4/5
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Synopsis
The Swarm is unrecognizable, untraceable, and unpredictable–random attacks on the streets of Chicago by a mob of crazed teens that leaves death in its wake. It’s been two years since the last attack, but Lia Finch has found clues that reveal the Swarm is ready to claim a new victim.
Lia is the only one still pursuing her father’s killers, two years after attorney Steven Finch’s murder by the Swarm. Devastated and desperate for answer, Lia will do anything to uncover the reasons behind his death and to stop someone else from being struck down. But due to debilitating asthma and PTSD that leaves her with a tenuous hold on reality, Lia is the last person to mount a crusade on her own.
After a close encounter with the Swarm puts Lia on their radar, she teams up with a teen hacker, a reporter, and a mysterious stranger who knows firsthand how the mob works. Together, they work to uncover the master puppeteer behind the group. Though if Lia and her network don’t stop the person pulling the strings–and fast– Lia may end up the next target.
Review
Many thanks to Blink for sending me an eARC to review!
Mysteries or Thrillers typically have to be really interesting in the synopsis in order me to pick it up. I want to be intrigued. I want to know that it’s going to be hard for me to put the book down. I was to be able to read the first page and know that I made a solid book choice. Every Stolen Breath did all of this. It was a perfect October read and it was one that I am excited to read again.
This book follows Lia, a sixteen year old finds herself the witness of a death mob… the same mob that killed her father two years prior. Since her father’s death, she’s been doing her own investigation which leads her to the Navy Pier during another attack; the first since her father’s. One of the members of the Swarm notices her and throws her off the pier in order to save her and brings her to the home of the Mayor. From there, the story gains traction — one in which she is questioned as to what she knows and what she’s hiding from others. As she tries to hide from the media, the stranger who saved her keeps showing up to seemingly protect her and nothing is as it seems. Lia finds that there is so much that she doesn’t know, so much that she’s got her friends involved in, and there’s so much that she keeps doing that puts her in danger of being next. Under the scrutiny of the mayor and his people, the news reporters, and the Swarm stranger, she continues to search for the truth.
One of the things I liked about this book was the uncertainty of what was going to happen next. Lia is so adamant to find the truth, but she does it so blatantly even though she thinks she’s being stealthy. Because of this, you never knew what she was going to do, what the consequences would be, and what would happen to the people that she cares about. I also really liked the change in that becomes evident within the world that Gabriel has created. It seems as though because the last Swarm hit was two years prior that there was sense of ‘peace’ like the mob hits were over. When it happens again, the tone of the city and Lia’s actions are on edge. Like the peace they perceived was gone and everyone became worried that anyone could come out of nowhere and jump them. To be able to describe the tone and make it evident without blatantly writing it was really creative and I loved it.
I also really liked the twist at the end that I honestly wasn’t expecting regarding who was behind the Swarm… really not prepared. There was also another thing I wasn’t prepared for and was ready to throw my kindle across a room… but it’s okay. Just know it’s gonna be okay.
Probably my favorite thing in this book was Lia’s relationships with Adam and Ryan. Adam is her best friend. He stands by her no matter what and is an excellent hacker. He’s the one who helps her find clues about when the next attacks will happen. He’s also is the one that seems to try the most to make sure that she’s okay, included, and not just seen as the girl who has debilitating asthma and murdered father. Ryan ends up being the Swarm stranger that saves her on the pier. The dynamic between him and Lia, I’m still trying to figure that out, but I do think that he helps her truly come to terms that her dad was also keeping secrets that were meant to keep her safe. I actually really liked his character and that even though he did have a habit of saving her, he still never tried to stop her from following what she thought was right.
Every Stolen Breath is one of those books that is a super interesting read. All throughout, the premise is interesting, your heart breaks for the characters, and you just want to know who is behind everything. From the first sentence, you’re hooked and you can’t let go. I so enjoyed reading this book and the way it ends, I hope that there’s another book to follow. But even if there isn’t there’s too much happening in this book to not pick it up. Every Stolen Breath released on November 5th, 2019.
Author
Kimberly Gabriel started writing in fourth grade when she wrote, bound, and gave away books of terrible poetry to family and teachers as holiday gifts. Today she is an English teacher, who still squanders all free minutes to write and uses it as the best scapegoat for her laundry avoidance issues. When she is not teaching or writing, Kimberly is enjoying life with her husband, her three beautiful children, and a seriously beautiful boxer in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Every Stolen Breath is her debut novel and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
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