Why I Read It:

So! Books by Lia Riley have become a favorite thing for me. With Every Breath by Lia Riley is my fourth full-length novel of hers and I had the. best. time. reading + listening to it.

Review:

Auden is a journalist interning with a well-known magazine, trying to write an article that will secure her a coveted permanent position on staff. While hiking alone up one of the more difficult Patagonian peaks, Auden has a pretty bad asthma attack and wanders over to Rhys’ tent for help. Rhys assists her and shares his space so she can recover and rest. Rhys is grumpy and gruff, and more than a little closed off. Auden notices that he is also very good-looking, in a needs-to-bathe-because-I’ve-been-in-the-wilderness kind of way. Rhys is attracted to Auden as well, but he still guards himself, and the two are more awkward with one another than anything. For a while, anyway.

Rhys trusts no one, plus he doesn’t want to talk to anyone about what really happened in his past. Auden is looking for a story, and she doesn’t YET know that right there in Rhys’ tent, she is practically sitting on the story that the entire world has been waiting for —  This is a story of mistakes and forgiveness, and of opening up to the possibility of loving and being loved.

Hello, secrets! Hello, romantic tension! 

I loved Rhys right away. RIGHT AWAY. I’m certain that I would have loved him even if I only read this in ebook format because his broody, grumpy, guilt-ridden temperament was perfect in this particular story. However, adding the audiobook sealed the deal for me! For me, it was glorious to be able to listen to these narrators speak for Auden and Rhys. (Accent! Accent!) Auden was not initially as easy to love, in my opinion, but by the end of the story I was cheering for the growth she had made and also the growth these two had made in their relationship as a whole. I loved their overall story.

With Every Breath by Lia Riley was fun to read from a romance perspective and it was funny. There are a ton of little comedic moments in there to go with all of the swoons. There are romantic swoons, and there also the kinds of swoons that I personally feel when I read about beautiful scenery and hiking and travels. This book oozes wanderlust, so the series is perfectly named. I can’t wait to see who shows up in the next book, and where it will take us. Great settings is one thing that Lia Riley does super well, and by golly, it enhanced the heck out of this story for me. She also does secondary casting well, and I loved the addition of all of the extra characters in this story, even if they weren’t all extremely likable.

Normally I read contemporary romances pretty quickly. When I have read previous books by this author, I’ve flown through them. But right now, I’m in the middle of a move with with my family. So I’ve been reading slower than normal. Honestly, I thought I would be really frustrated to be reading this book so slowly, but I loved it so much that I didn’t mind being in this world for such a long time with this couple, and even being in the middle of their conflicts for a couple of days (because of reading so slowly) didn’t bother me. I wanted the story to NOT END. I was a little sad when it was over.

I recommend With Every Breath by Lia Riley to readers that enjoy fun romances with some humor and a kickass setting. You’ll also definitely enjoy this one if you love brooding, grumpy heroes that love the outdoors. I’m on the lookout for more information about this series, and in the meantime, I need to head over to Lia Riley’s Brightwater Series, because those are the only books of hers that I haven’t read.

Audiobook Notes:

I bought an audiobook to go along with the ebook that I received for review. The audiobook format of With Every Breath by Lia Riley is published by Hachette Audio and is 8 hours and 19 minutes, Unabridged. It is narrated by Helen Wick and Paul Fox, and OH MY GOODNESS. Helen Wick is so convincing as Auden; I think she sounds like a young gal on the edge of leaping into her adult life. She does a great job of making Auden sound full of wonder at the scenery and at Rhys, and I love that. And Paul Fox – that accent! He read Rhys like the perfectly grumpy yet swoony outdoorsman that he is. I am ELATED that I used my Audible credit on this audiobook because I know FOR SURE that I will be listening to this one again. Both of these narrators are new to me, to the best of my memory, but I completely enjoyed these performances. Highly recommended to audiobook listeners.