Review: Breathless by Leigh LaValle (Yoga In The City #1)

 Title: Breathless

          (Yoga In The City #1)

Author: Leigh LaValle

Release Date: May 27, 2017

Publisher: Heart Bay Publishing

Category: Contemporary Romance

Type: Digital/Paperback

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Leigh LaValle Website

Blurb:

A sassy new romance from a USA Today Bestselling Author...

After moving cross-country yet again, Hannah Roberts wants to put down roots in Colorado. She's sunk her life savings into a share of Bloom Yoga Studio, but the studio is losing money, and fast. The building is undergoing a messy, noisy renovation--and the hot carpenter in charge is distracting her yoga students in more ways than one. If Hannah can't talk the hard-bodied builder out of his power tools, she might as well kiss her dreams goodbye.

When Jake Marshall returned from Afghanistan, he brought back an injured knee and a lot of bad memories. He just wants to finish this renovation, rehab his knee, and head for Alaska to leave it all behind. A sexy yoga teacher doesn't fit into his plans. But when Hannah offers him private sessions in exchange for quiet hours--he's all in.  He doesn't expect that while she's healing his knee, Hannah will poke at all his hidden wounds...and come dangerously close to breaking open his heart.  

By reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age.

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Favorite Line(s):

Gutter, meet my mind.  ~  Hannah

Dialogue Highlight:

I wanted to climb on top of him.

I was the most unprofessional yoga teacher ever.

The music ended, and he rolled over and sat up. His face was soft, his hair mussed, his gaze hazy.

“That was great. Thank you.” He stretched out his right leg, testing it. “I think those poses will really help.”

“It’s a tried-and-true series. As long as you pay attention to your alignment, you can’t go wrong.”

“I like it. I can do them at camp, when the weather is bad and we’re sitting around.”

My heart stuttered at this reminder that he would be leaving in a few months. “You must be excited.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Sure. But I have a ton of work ahead of me before I go.”

I stood up and turned off the music. “Your family must worry.”

“My dad is pretty chill. But it drives my cousin Brian nuts. He thinks I’m just determined to throw myself into danger at every turn.”

I turned these words over and over in my head. “Is it dangerous?”

“It’s actually not if you’re prepared, patient, and smart about it all.”He shrugged. “Well, not as dangerous anyway.”

“Is that what you like about it? The challenge?”

“I just like being outside in the mountains.”

I looked at him a second longer, and thought about what I’d seen on the path when he’d saved me from mountain lions, what I’d seen in every picture on his wall. “You don’t like being outside in the mountains,” I said softly.

His eyebrows flew up.

I smiled. “You like being inside the mountains. That’s why you go.”

I felt rather than heard the breath leave his body. It was long and hard, a very nice Viloma breath.

A very hot, masculine breath.

He didn’t say anything, just stared at me with pinpoint focus while the sun rose outside. Its rays slid through the front window, gilding the room. My breath came out, long and slow like his had. I felt incredibly uncomfortable at the way he was staring at me.

I felt incredibly aroused.

Incredibly seen.

I see you too, Jake.

I nudged my chin up a notch and forced myself to hold his gaze. “I’m sorry for all the stuff that happened to you. The war and your leg and your friend Cody.”

His face froze. I curled my toes, hoping I hadn’t said the wrong thing.

“All that stuff,” he repeated.

“Yeah.” My heart hammered. I felt naked before him, wanting to give comfort even as I sensed he would reject it. “I’m sure it was all pretty awful and, well…You know.”

“Hmm, in fact, I do know. About all the stuff. The pretty awful stuff.” His eyes were locked on mine.

Neither of us spoke for a while, just looked at each other. Everything was changing. Shifting. Growing and expanding, yet coming back to the very center.

“Let me take you out to coffee,” he whispered.

“Okay,” I whispered back.

And then, oh, it came slowly, but come it did: a grin. A big, self-assured, shit-eating grin.

Cocky bastard.

Excerpt:

“Well, come back again.” She clapped, startling me, as if she could hear my thoughts. “And let me know if you have any concerns. If you want to talk more about your knee and how yoga could help, you know where to find me. It’s important you make the proper modifications. The poses are awesome, but they’re powerful in both a good way and a bad way, kind of like magic, really. Well, not like a witch or something, just like, you know, strengthening and that kind of stuff.”

She was babbling, and she knew it. She clamped her mouth closed, gave me a little wave good-bye, and turned toward the front of the room.

But she wasn’t going to get rid of me that easy. “What about doing yoga, just us?”

She whipped back around to face me, her mouth open in a surprised O.

Perhaps I’d said it wrong. “I mean I pay you.”

Nope. Not getting better. At all.

“I mean—”

“You mean like a private lesson?” She saved me.

“Yeah. Where you can teach me. The alignment and that stuff.”

“Um.” She flicked her gaze over me, then looked wildly around the room. “I’m not sure that’s a great idea.”

“Why not.”

“Well, um, maybe someone else could help you better than I can.”

“But I want you.” I let the words linger. A pulse of something hot passed between us.

“Yes. I’m not sure…I mean, you’re kind of my landlord, and it’s not good to mix business with…”

Pleasure. She couldn’t say the word.

“Business,” I said, not letting her off the hook. “It’s not good to mix business with business, because that’s what this would be.”

“Well, you know, these things can get complicated,” she said, breathy and sexy as hell. I wanted her, and I wasn’t going to give up.

“You mean to say it’s not good to mix business with pleasure.”

She flushed, like I knew she would. “Yes, that too.”

“I’m willing to take the risk.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t take the risk. I’m happy to have you in class, but I feel you would be better served in a private lesson taught by one of my colleagues.”

“Like Crystal?”

She coughed. “I was thinking more along the lines of Peter, who teaches across town.”

“A man.”

“Well, yes, Peter is a man.”

“Why?”

“Well, you’re very”—she waved her hand up and down my body—“distracting. And it could compromise the integrity of the sessions.”

I grinned. I didn’t try to stop it. “You’re attracted to me.”

She swallowed. “Wow.” Her voice was stronger now. “You’re just going to go there.”

“Why beat around the bush?”

“I don’t know. Because I just want to ignore it.”

“It being that you’re attracted to me.” I stepped closer. “You want me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Maybe you should work on that ego of yours.”

“We never finished that kiss, Hannah.” She didn’t say anything and I reached out with my free hand and traced the side of her neck down to her shoulder. “Have you forgotten?”

Her chest rose and fell with quick breaths. “No.”

“Then—”“I wish I could. Really wish I could,” she emphasized. “But I can’t.” She met my gaze, as if willing me to understand, which I didn’t. Not at all. I brushed her cheek, then let my hand fall to my side.

I put my mat away and made my way out the door, already plotting my next move.

Review:

Hannah Roberts is one hot mess. She tends to get way too attached to guys way too soon and then they find out. Like the time she put money down on a wedding dress after just a couple of dates … yeah. So when a sexy ‘mountain man’ appears out of nowhere on a trail and rescues her, it’s no surprise when she continue to fantasize about him. Fantasy is all it will be though because she doesn’t know how to find him again and she shouldn’t anyway. She’s just starting to crawl back from losing everything and she won’t go there again. When she unexpectedly runs in to him, she’s decided to stay away from him. Bad news is all she can get up to with a guy around and that’s what he is. He even steals her news story as soon as they meet – meet for the second time, that is. But Jake has demons of his own and Hannah’s secret recipe of crazy and sexy is exactly the right combination for him.

Jake Marshall accidentally scares Hannah when he finds her injured on a trail. He immediately likes her, but he’s a one-night kind of guy. No future with him as damaged as he is anyway. He came back home a hero, but he doesn’t feel anything like it. Plagued by constant pain following several surgeries to repair his leg from an IED attack, he’s learned to push through it all and throw up his brilliant smile to the world. Walking in to Hannah’s yoga studio and having her temp him to distraction was not part of the plan. She keeps refusing him, but he’s going to make her say yes to a date – and more. Except when she finally relents and things progress – despite their temporary time frame – temporary might not be enough for her. Good luck convincing Jake of that.

This book was a pretty good read. I haven’t read Ms. LaValle before, but I was intrigued by the blurb of this book. I enjoyed the depth of the characters and that each was flawed in their own ways. I wouldn’t say they exactly complimented each other with those flaws, but nether minded the other’s issues and in some instances viewed them as cute or quirky, furthering their attraction. Hannah has a stubborn streak and it ended up being a huge asset both in charming Jake further and pulling him out of his own misery. And while Hannah may seem like a nut to some with her odd --- almost obsessive … stalker in some cases ---- behaviors, Jake just fell for her even harder. Ironically, in the end, their own problems are what help them find themselves and each other. 

The secondary characters really didn’t connect in any way until later in the book. Hannah seems like more of a cast out than a business partner initially – and it ultimately ends up being her own fault for not being included. Once she starts to connect with her friends, then the reader does as well. And the situation was almost the same with Jake’s partner/cousin. I kind of didn’t care for him, but once he was explained a bit more, he was an OK guy. I can’t say that I have ever experienced such a 180 with secondary character like that before.

I don’t know crap about Yoga, so please don’t ask me about any of those accuracies. However, the tie between Jake’s injury/recovery and Hannah’s Yoga sessions were a nice way to bring them closer. This book is part of a series entitled Yoga in the City, which I assume involves the other 3 of Hannah’s friends. Having finally found a connection with them, I would likely read the rest of the series. Overall, you can’t help but root for Jake and Hannah. Poor Jake is so lost in his grief and guilt that he almost doesn’t realize what he is doing by taking so many risks, even though he does. Like, he gets why he does it, but he loses sight of what it is and what it could cost him. And Hannah in all her over-the-top, Yoga pants, green smoothie hating, soda pop loving, junk food addict – God love her, you can’t stop yourself from liking her. This is almost a second-chance love story with possibly one of the most opposite couples I have read about – but it is a love story above all. And if love can’t conquer all, then what can? If Hannah and Jake with an HEA sounds like your kind of read, then don’t hesitate. Get your own copy. You won’t regret it. If that isn’t enough, think hot army guy meets cute Yoga girl (who loves junk food) with undeniable sexual magnetism. You’re welcome.

Kindle version provided by XressoBookTours/Author in exchange for an honest review.