Just Breathe

I always enjoy Susan Wiggs’ books for their wonderful characters, detailed settings, and sweet romances. Sarah Moon has been through some hard years in her young marriage. Her husband survived a serious fight with cancer. After the treatments left him infertile, she began fertility treatments to try to conceive. They grew apart and Jack cheated (those scenes were very well done—at times I seriously wanted to slap the character.) Sarah returns to her hometown across the country, and finds out she’s finally gotten pregnant. She also reconnects with Will Bonner, who she knew in high school, and is now raising his stepdaughter alone. I thought this book did a really good job of examining the emotional trauma of abandonment, and the show more theme of found family. Will is a volunteer firefighter and there is an arsonist on the loose in town, adding a bit of a suspense plot line as well. show less

Honestly, I didn't realize this was a romance novel author when I checked it out. It was recommended by using "The Library Thing". I knew the main character had a career I could relate to and I took it from there... And I ended up really enjoying it. It wasn't laden with sex scenes and the events were completely believable. It was a pleasant read with enough tension to give it momentum.

An excellant read!! I loved this book! I have never before read a book by Susan Wiggs, but I really enjoyed Sarah, Will & Aurora. But I especially liked her Grandma June & Aunt May. It was a roller coaster ride for me. There were a couple of times I just had put the book down, because I wasn't sure I would like were Sarah was going with certain decisions she was having to make. (Would she really think she needed to go back to that cheating boob, Jack?) Then I had to pick it back up again, because I knew in the end she would be ok, no matter what her decision was. This book shows how easy it is to become someone else, to fit into someone elses life, to let them make the decisions for your, to the point that you loose yourself. But it show more also shows you that it is possible to get back to being you.
This book, IMO, was one of the best stand alone reads I've come across lately. I will be picking up another Susan Wiggs book, very soon! show less

Susan Wiggs strikes gold once again. I'm not into straight women's fiction, and when a favorite author seems to be leaning more and more in that direction I tend to worry. After reading the synopsis I wasn't sure I wanted to read the book much less buy it, so I requested it from the library - shoot, I had to return it them (insert frowny face). Bummer. I'll let others give true reviews, giving plot points and so on - I just want to say how much I *loved* this book and how much I liked all the characters, even the less than heroic ones, and Will is on my Top List of heroes who truly deserve the title "hero", guys who go through life doing the right thing, following their heart and instinct, and ending up all the more heroic and happy for show more it. What a great guy! I highly recommend this book. I find it ironic that I have all of Wiggs' historicals yet I *discovered* her through her contemporaries. She is a brilliant gem. So now, how long do we have to wait for her next book??????? show less

Sarah Moon returns to her small California hometown after discovering her husband in the arms of another woman. She is surprised to learn shortly afterwards that she is pregnant, but equally determined to raise the babies (twins) on her own. Meanwhile, local fire captain Will Bonner is a single father raising a teenage stepdaughter after the girl's mother abandoned the family for the glitter of Las Vegas. Sarah and Will soon start to fall for each other, but of course there are complications, such as Jack, the ex-husband, begging Sarah to return to Chicago, Sarah's reluctance to get involved again so soon after the breakup of her marriage, and the resistance of Aurora, Will's stepdaughter. Although a tad overlong, this is a worthwhile show more and enjoyable read. show less

Randomly picked this book up at Wal-Mart (I actually bought a new book, this would be shocking if you knew me). I’ve had it here to read for a while and finally picked it up. This was a quick read and kept my interest. I love this books that are hard to put down that leave you wondering what’s going to happen next and actually have you personally invested in the characters. Sarah, the main character makes a life changing decision when she decides to randomly visit her husband. This leads her on a track back to her hometown and things she was trying to leave before. She finds a built in network of friends and family that mean more than the life she left behind.

Thankfully, I have another Susan Wiggs book that I got at a Friends of the show more Library sale. Totally excited! show less

Cartoonist Sarah Moon often looks to her own life for inspiration for her cartoon strip Just Breathe. She also juggles trying to be the perfect wife for her husband, Jack and is working with a fertility doctor to get pregnant. One rainy night Sarah finds Jack in the arms of another woman and leaves Chicago for small Northern California coastal town where she grew up. At last, it is time for Sarah to find the woman she is inside instead of the role playing she did in her marriage. As the divorce process moves along, Sarah learns that she, indeed, is pregnant. She also learns that sometimes going home is not all bad, as her friendship with single parent Will Bonner starts to change into something else. A nice warm novel of a woman show more learning to find herself and her place. show less