SILENCING BREATH (Stealing Breath #2) by Joanne Brothwell-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Released March 15, 2013
Silencing Breath, book two in the Stealing Breath series.

Just as Sarah Ross is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an Indigo Child and settling into a normal life with her beloved Evan, her entire world shatters when Evan disappears without a trace.

Desperate to find him, Sarah’s search leads her to a sadistic serial killer who confirms her worst fears are true; Evan has been kidnapped, and he is once again in the clutches of his abusive family of necromancers.

Sarah uncovers not only Evan’s dark past he tried so desperately to protect her from, but also The Key of Solomon, an ancient text for summoning the dead.

Knowing her abilities are limited in the face of this ancient power, Sarah is forced to face the Malandanti in order to save him. However, one question remains: once he is found, will Evan be the same man she fell in love with?

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REVIEW: *sniff* Silencing Breath is the second storyline in Joanne Brothwell’s Stealing Breath focusing on Sarah Ross and Evandro Valente. Evan comes from a family of skinwalking, neromancing warlocks and witches whose patriarch was not above using his family as his weapons of choice. Sarah and Evan will be pulled into the family dynamics when it becomes clear that the Malandanti (evil) are alive and well and, their leader has risen from the dead thanks to the Keys of Solomon and a dutiful son.

The love between Evan and Sarah is pure. From a time when Evan was willing to end her life to a place where they are planning their future together, Evan’s love for Sarah is never questioned and grows with every breath he takes. But Sarah knew something was not right the day she returned home to find her fiancé missing and clues pointed to that fatal day –four years earlier-when Evan’s brother walked out of their lives-or so they thought. Caught up in the upheaval of her life, Sarah did not notice that there were others willing to take them down.

We follow Sarah and her friends as they try to uncover the whereabouts of her missing fiancé only to find themselves in the same predicament as our tortured hero. Without any means of escape, the small group of friends will begin to unravel until aid comes from an unlikely source. There were rare moments of relief and each encounter with freedom or release of frustration would be matched by an equally dark moment in time.

Joanne Brothwell has written a dark tale of torture, hatred, power and death. In fact, the storyline is fraught with enough torture that my stomach hurt and I had to read quickly through the passages lest my tears begin to fall for a fallen hero whose only sin was to fall in love with an Indigo Child. The torture is graphic and may not be suitable for everyone.

I have to add that I did not expect the gruesome scenes. There are some authors who we know their writing style and expect certain situations and styles, but this was unexpected and heartbreaking. The descriptive nature of the torture and humiliation took me out of my comfort zone. To know that the one being tortured would eventually turn on everyone he loved was gut wrenching and difficult to read.

Silencing Breath is a well-written, fascinating tale of power and greed, hatred and love, and one woman’s fight to save the man that she loves. The storyline will cut you to your soul and your sorrow will be matched by the sorrow of the characters.

Reading Order
1. Stealing Breath
2. Silencing Breath

Copy supplied by author.

Reviewed by Sandy