I thought Faye was likeable as a character and I was glad when she finally had the proper backbone to stand up against Chase, who more or less had been controlling their relationship since the very beginning. Chase with all his matcho-manliness is a nice character, though feels a bit one-dimensional despite all the alleged problems he has faced growing up. I'd give points for his respectable approach to Faye in terms of their intimacy, though.

A lot of the time the author told instead of showed. Climaxes of the skimmed-over plotline were more like summaries rather than adventures you were taken along - though I can forgive this, seeing that the plot is more of a background device with the main topic being the romantic connection between the two characters.

This was a solid 3 star book until the very end. The epilogue feels like it could have used a better editor, as it drags on completely unnecessarily, scene after scene with several time skips. By the time the epilogue was done, so was I.

**Breathe by Kristen Ashley**, MF contemporary, thriller/mystery.  3.5/5 ⭐️.  Basically if you like Kristen Ashley you will like this book.  Very much a taciturn alpha hero mountain man, this time with virgin heroine.  I really liked that they actually worked through some relationship conflicts and the FMC set boundaries and was willing to follow through with them.  Hard dislike to

Chase throwing her perfume across the room.  I don’t care how ~alpha~ you are or how pissed/worried you are,throwing shit and breaking my belongings is a do-not-fly zone for me.

Enjoyed the plot line with the kid, and also all of Faye’s geeky references. Not my fave of this series but it scratches a particular itch.  Also note that this  series is best read in order, there is a lot of plot/mystery based around previous books.  I’ve read 1&2 but not 3 (this is 4).  3 wasn’t available at the library and I figured it wouldn’t really matter if I read out of order, but I felt pretty lost at points.