Title: Every Stolen Breath
Author: Kimberly Gabriel
Genre: Young Adult Mystery/Thriller
Publication Date: November 5, 2019
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)
The Swarm is unrecognizable, untraceable, and unpredictable—random attacks on the streets of Chicago by a mob of crazed teens that leaves death in its wake. It’s been two years since the last attack, but Lia Finch has found clues that reveal the Swarm is ready to claim a new victim.
Lia is the only one still pursuing her father’s killers, two years after attorney Steven Finch’s murder by the Swarm. Devastated and desperate for answers, Lia will do anything to uncover the reasons behind his death and to stop someone else from being struck down. But due to debilitating asthma and PTSD that leaves her with a tenuous hold on reality, Lia is the last person to mount a crusade on her own.
After a close encounter with the Swarm puts Lia on their radar, she teams up with a teen hacker, a reporter, and a mysterious stranger who knows firsthand how the mob works. Together, they work to uncover the master puppeteer behind the group. Though if Lia and her network don’t stop the person pulling the strings—and fast—Lia may end up the next target.
Every Stolen Breath is a promising debut novel from Kimberly Gabriel that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Two years after the brutal murder of her father at the hands of the Swam, Lia Finch isn’t any closer to finding the truth she so desperately seeks. But everything changes after she witnesses the Swarm’s next attack and finds herself thrust into the action … this time with a target painted on her back.
Lia is a gem of a main character. She’s been a fighter for as long as she’s been alive. Others constantly write her off due to her anxiety, PTSD, and severe asthma, but her tenacity makes her a force to be reckoned with. I found myself rooting for her every step along the way. Gabriel does a wonderful job of putting the reader in Lia’s shoes. When her PTSD blurs the lines between what’s real and what’s not, you’ll feel just as winded as Lia as she struggles to root herself back in the present.
“The Swarm” is a fascinating villain. There’s something especially chilling about seemingly random mob violence, even more so when you realize the attacks are loosely based off events that did transpire in Chicago in 2011. Gabriel doesn’t do any sugar coating, and Lia can’t help but constantly replay the traumatic events back in her head. It keeps you aware of the constant threat with every turn of the page.
I enjoyed this novel. With genuine characters, twists and chapter cliffhangers, and an intensity that only ratchets up as you go, Every Stolen Breath is a breeze of a read. Kudos to Gabriel for a strong debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what she cooks up next!
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About the Author
Kimberly Gabriel started writing in fourth grade when she wrote, bound, and gave away books of terrible poetry to family and teachers as holiday gifts. Today she is an English teacher, who still squanders all free minutes to write and uses it as the best scapegoat for her laundry avoidance issues. When she is not teaching or writing, Kimberly is enjoying life with her husband, her three beautiful children, and a seriously beautiful boxer in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Every Stolen Breath is her debut novel and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
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Warm thanks to BLINK and the Fantastic Flying Book Club for providing me with a finished copy in exchange for an honest review.
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