Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  EXHALE

SERIES:  London Love #1.5

AUTHOR:  Sophia Soames

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  124 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 25, 2021

BLURB:

What do you do when your relationship falls apart? Well, you bury yourself in a deep hole of grief, one you have so carelessly dug for yourself. Jamie Walters needs to find a way out of the mess his life has become, but the way forward is not as straight as he thought it would have been. What’s the point anyway? Women are off the menu but Jamie still wants the entire textbook fairy-tale. The romantic dates and the flowers and holding hands in the dark, and Grindr certainly isn’t the place to find your happily ever after..

Catch up with Jamie and the rest of the Walters family in this sweet little insta-love fairy-tale where Jamie finally gets his happily ever after, Originally published as part of the Love is All Anthology, Exhale has been reedited and extended to the quirky little fairy-tale it was always meant to be.

Exhale is a standalone novella but is best enjoyed after reading Breathe.
Trigger warnings: Brief mention of pregnancy loss.

REVIEW:

Exhale is a quirky story, just like it’s stars, Jamie and Leo. They both want the fairytale, which is exactly how this book plays out, with talk of princes and knights and dragons.

We met Jamie as Luke’s twin brother in Breathe. Based on Jamie’s age – almost twenty-four – this novella occurs at the end of Breathe before the two epilogues that total four years. Not all the events line up quite right, but that’s not a big deal. It seems Sophia Soames must have decided to write Exhale after completing Breathe so some details had to be changed, like Jamie’s relationship with his girlfriend, Kizzy.

Jamie is an impulsive, intense guy who feels deeply. He senses that he’s never quite fit in although he craves it. He wants to fit into a box that gives him an identity beyond brother. Now that his siblings (with the exception of twelve-year-old Olive) have all paired up, he laments that he hasn’t met his one true love yet. He wants his happy ending. His most recent relationship with Kizzy ended on a devastating note, but they’re still the best of friends. However, Jamie still mourns for the type of future they could’ve had.

He needs a break from women so he’s on Grindr looking for a hookup. Since he’s trying to find “his person”, it may not be the logical choice. He’s always known he was bi, but has been too scared to act on his attraction to men … until now. Jamie swipes right on Leo, a funny, flirty, very lonely student. He’s looking for a soulmate, too, someone to love and share his life with. Dates, hookups, relationships – nothing has worked for Leo. Men have called him needy, demanding, and controlling. He’s a nervous wreck when he meets Jamie; in fact, they’re both a mess of nerves. They’re so much alike, I can’t imagine how they could be successful together – both neurotic and astoundingly insecure.

Questionable things to say to your hookup shortly after meeting them: “I want someone like you,” he said, echoing my thoughts. The desperate edge to a voice made me want to cry. “Someone who will look at me like you just did and then fucking love me forever.” As you can see, Exhale is insta-love on steroids, which is never my cup of tea. Within an hour or two of meeting each other, they’re exchanging I Love You and begging each other to stay together forever. It’s all just a little odd with the fairytale imaginings and wildly over the top proclamations. I love sweet, fluffy romances, but this one is too saccharine for my taste.

RATING: 

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