You’d think five years would be enough time to cope and move on.
It’s not.
If anything, it’s given me more unrealistic ways to deal with my loss.
More pain.
And even worse, a woman I don’t love.
A woman that isn’t her.
I hate her.
She hates me, too.
My life’s a mess.
My heart’s nonexistent.
My soul was lost long ago.
Worst of all, I no longer have any fucks to give.
They say you find your true … love after you lose your first one.
I call bullshit.
more
I was given this book to read by the author in exchange for an honest review
5 HUGE EMOTIONAL STARS
I finished this book a week ago and I still can not get it out of my mind. I honestly just did not know how to even start reviewing it. Talk about emotional!!! This book really rips out your heart and squeezes all of the feelings from you.
I just want to add that I have not read the first book in this series (Hollow ridge #1- Inhale, Exhale) and honestly I feel that I did not miss anything out, I was able to follow the story and the characters perfectly. However I now definitely want to go back and read it to get a bit more insight in to jase and Lo’s story and find out more of went on between Toby and Lo. So if you have time read them in order, especially since we will be getting a 3rd installment
I felt so many feels in this book from sad, to angst, to anger, to pity, to frustration, to pain, to wanting to scream out loud at Toby haha but I also felt love, joy and happy. This book truly delves deep in to the dark places that we humans can go to.
This couple are both dark souls with horrible toxic pasts. A past that have brought them together but could ultimately tear them apart. They have a twisted relationship both filled with abandonment issues and a hard love for each other. I swear I just wanted to grab both Toby and Joey and give them the biggest hug.
This book is off the charts hot though, seriously this pair create fire when together and sure get their dirty on. You will not be disappointed with the sex scenes this book contains.
Can they overcome the pasts that haunt them to be together? You need to read this and find out. I promise you that you will not be disappointed.
Thank you so much for this amazing book
I can not wait for book 3
I would first like to caution people before they read this. There are multiple triggers in this book.
I have to start by saying that I rated this 4 stars because it was well written and is nothing short of exceptional storytelling. However, I would not say this kind of storyline is a preference. I struggled reading the first book because of the whole cheating aspect. It’s just not something I’m into. I was however willing to put all that aside because I was really curious about Toby’s story because I love his character. I was a little bit upset by choices he made in this book and he almost made himself irredeemable, almost. I’m so happy that things turned around. His love story with Josephine was nothing short of beautiful. I loved reading the parts about how they fell in love, it was so sweet.
This story is so heart wrenching and you can just read the pain on every page. I was starved for the scraps of joy that Cassie threw at us. I wanted to stop reading this so many times, but I was too engrossed in the story. How is it even possible that I didn’t like many things that happened in this book, but I also liked it so much that I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. All I can say is you may thing you’re ready for Josephine and Tobias’ story, but you’re not. This book stole my soul and then breathed me back to life.
Breathe is not about reading a book. It’s about bleeding out as the author pours herself into every word written, just like book one in the series, Inhale, Exhale.
It’s hate upon love, it’s about loss even though you have been found. C.L. Matthews will demand every last beat of your heart with Breathe, book two in the Hollow Ridge series and leave you gasping for air with Joey and Toby’s story.
My poor F^cking Heart! Breathe deserves a standing ovation! Five Angsty Stars! Matthews has once again rendered me speechless! This is my second Matthews book and it was another heartwrenching masterpiece. Breathe follows with the aftermath of Inhale, Exhale book 1 in the Hollow Ridge series, through Toby. You need to read the first book to fully feel all the emotion and everything that comes to be for this second book. Toby had my heart! He stole it in the first book, I wanted his story then, but I wasn’t prepared. Toby and Joey are fun and explosive! That dirty mouth on Toby almost killed me. God, it’s so f^cking hot! Joey is witty and full of sass! That hope and fullness your heart gets is so wonderful. Matthews is seriously the ultimate puppet master and her strings were connected to my heart! Oh, Toby, I loved him and he obliterated me, he disappointed me, it was so hard to love him at times in this book. There is so much heartache and pain. Toby’s descend back to the bottle really was hard to read. I found myself having to take several breaks to try and ease the ache in my chest! Every emotion is so real and raw. Matthews makes you feel, she forces you to open up and take in all this pain! It’s truly so staggering, the level of emotion she brings the reader. It’s ugly and it’s hard but not all love and marriage is easy or pretty. Joey is a phenomenal character, she has been through so much and just keeps trecking. Her ugly truth steals the breath from you! She is both strong and tortured. I don’t know if I could have been as strong as she was. This book has Cheating, It’s hard to read and hard to condone. I feel like we all condemn cheating and we shy away from reading it because no one wants to read about it after being burned. It’s painful enough when it comes as a surprise and your hold world is rocked, much like Joey & Wes. It’s even more unfathomable and excruciating when you know it’s happening and you try to disregard it. I loved Francis, He was in a hard position. He stayed true to his friend and took on so much burden trying to be there for Joey. I really hope he gets his own story. I loved Ace, everything he says to Toby & Jase is the Cold hard truth and it’s gripping to see his character grow. He’s a very tortured soul, he has a lot of hate brewing. As much as he hates what Jase & Toby have done, you expect more when it comes to his relationships. He is so damaged and his relationship with Grey really intrigues you. I love all these characters in my own way and I’m looking forward to having more from them. Matthews writes the books no one else will, she give a hefty dose of angst and reality. I’ll keep coming back because I’m completely hooked and love the hurt. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Can a book break you and heal you all at the same time?
“When life gets impossible, take a moment. And don’t forget to breathe.”
Breathe is another heartbreakingly beautiful, raw, and honest book by C.L. Matthews. Taking place after Inhale, Exhale this book is Toby’s story and life. I loved the returning characters, and truly fell in love with Joey. She is an incredible woman, a perfect person for Toby.
C.L. Matthews has an amazing ability to write stories that are so honest, and raw, they feel like real life instead of fiction. This book is another example of work that will touch your soul.
“I hate her.
I love her.
I want to destroy her.
Then when there’s nothing left, I want to fix everything.”
Broken. Shattered. Crumbled. Destroyed.
These are just a few words to describe myself after finishing Breathe.
CL Matthews continues to break me down and put me back together again with her words. Her books are raw, emotional, personal, passionate, broken. The characters have real life stories that so many of us suffer through. We see ourselves in her stories, in her characters. We connect with their pain, with their heartbreak.
“Love is weakness.
It’s retribution.
It’s my burden.
It’s my death sentence.”
Toby is such a complex and broken man. After seeing his heartbreak and emotional torture that he was put through in Inhale Exhale, I have been dying for his story. I need to know what happened to the shell of a man we left in IE. What’s his story? Where’d he go? How’s he managing?
Joey is a firecracker. She never stands down. She fights for her dreams and her aspirations. She doesn’t back down from a battle and has lived through so much pain and suffering in her young life.
Joey and Toby together are fire and gasoline. Their relationship is beautiful but heartbreaking. They love each other but hate each other. They fight just to feel. Their story couldn’t have been told any other way.
“He hates me. He wants me. He can’t stand me.”
Once again, Matthews has completely ruined my soul. I’m feeling the book hangover coming on as I’m writing this. Her stories always leave me feeling a little stronger and a lot more okay with who I am. We aren’t alone in this world.
A true unputdownable book. I can’t wait to see where Cassie takes this series.
4.5 stars.
“Inhale. Exhale. Now Breathe.”
first of all, the cover is freaking gorgeous!! it’s simple, yet soo pretty. Breathe is the second book of the Hollow Ridge’s series and it’s about toby (the OM from Inhale, Exhale). if you haven’t read the first book, i advise that you do that first to get a better understanding of his history. i’m warning you now – this is a cheating trope. so if you’re not a fan of cheating, this book ain’t for you. one of the few reasons why i read cheating tropes is because i enjoy going thru a rollercoaster of emotions (don’t judge lol).
my heart ached for toby in Inhale, Exhale. he was the other man, but he was deeply in love with his best friend. and to not be the chosen one, i felt so bad for him. his trauma from that experience affects him deeply. joey is feisty, strong, and someone different for toby. Both toby and joey are two broken souls that found their way to each other. there’s passion between them, and some intense sexual chemistry.
“I hate every fucking thing in this world, even you, but fuck, that’s not true. You’re the one lie. The thing I promise to hate and ruin, but love runs deep, it fucking breaks me with power. Because no matter the pain sous, I can’t stop. My heart beats for you, it hurts for you, it feels… only for you.”
there were times where i was frustrated with the miscommunication and toby!! he was constantly whining about his first love… he was talking about her throughout the whole book. it was annoying and i felt bad for joey for constantly being compared. toby definitely put her thru some shit, tbh i think she deserves soo much better. i hated that there wasn’t enough groveling and she immediately took him back after what she went through. bite me if I wanted him to suffer.
i hated this book, but i loved it. it’s filled with raw emotions and real feelings. Cassie creates stories that are hard to write. she covers the topic of cheating, the betrayal, heartache, and the healing process. her writing style is so beautiful and poetic, it’s one of the reasons why I’m a fan of her work.
[arc provided in exchange for honest review]
There are a few book series that I enjoy reading over and over again, never getting tired of them. Hollow Ridge is only on book 2 and already added to that short list. I was dying to get my hands on Toby’s story after reading Inhale, Exhale; and going into Breathe, you either loved him or hated him. I was in the love camp.
Ms. Matthews amazes me in the way she is able to create the most broken characters who are guilty of seemingly irredeemable actions yet you can’t help but root for them. Toby found the other half of his heart in Joey and she found hers in his. But man was it a messy journey getting there. So many “Oh. My. God. What did you do now, Toby” moments that I was worried the outcome I was hoping for wasn’t going to happen. I laughed, cried and wanted to throw my Kindle at the wall on several occasions. Their story is not one you will soon forget.
I was so happy to see chapters from Jase and Lo’s POV’s. That doesn’t happen often in the book world and I’m always pleasantly surprised when it does! We get glimpses of Gray and ACE (WOW WOW WOW), as well as that French hottie Francis. Fingers crossed they will be getting their own books – and soon!
It’s been a week since I finished this book, and my mind and my heart are still reeling from it. This story is one of absolute true passion in the worst and best of ways. It tells the the bad and good story of what addiction can do to love, hope, happiness and sadness. When we are so consumed by it and by people that we love that we make the worst decisions believing that they are for the best. When we can’t let go to save ourselves and those we love, even when we know that we should. Toby is a villainous victim of the highest degree! And no one is better matched for his love,wrath and vengeance more the Joey. I knew going in that this story was going to be hard and emotional and I came out from it so glad that it wasn’t the super frilly happily ever after, lighthearted story. I needed the raw grit and reality I got out of this and fell hard for all of these characters and their turmoil. So much pain and anguish beautifully poured on to the pages. I found myself angry,heartbroken and sad more often than not and that was new for me, but I loved the uncommon emotions that I experienced during this read. Toby and his story will forever be etched in my soul. What an unforgettable book!
I trust C.L.Matthews explicitly with my heart. In the sense that she will invariably break it and then soothe it with truest emotions! Breathe is more than a love story. It’s a life story. Toby and Joey’s angsty and beautifully devastating love story owns a piece of me permanently now. This was raw and it hurt like hell. The characters have toxic emotions and intense emotions. They tear each other apart like they cannot hate each other any worse but they hold on to each other like they cannot breathe without this love.
I have met Toby in Inhale, Exhale and he is a complicated character. He has toxic emotions because his life was a chaotic mess. Fear of abandonment. Issues with using addiction as coping . His relationship and feelings about his best friend and brother’s wife Lo. He is a broken man. Torn apart. Shredded. Joey has come as air for his suffocating life. She is too young but her life experiences has matured her. The problem is she has own demons and scars behind her spitfire personality. So it’s basically a toxic and twisted love story of two twisted people who doesn’t really know how to love. They hurt each other beyond redemption but their love is so epic that they get back to each other. Broken, bruised and perfect. And oh the physical part was just explosive. Sensual, dirty, filthy, scorching hot and intense – like their love!
Romance stories should be a reflection of the loves we have felt ourselves. And if you have ever gone through heartbreak in love, Breathe by C.L.Matthews is something you will instantly and helplessly fall in love with. Intriguing characters. Heartaching emotions. Mindblowing and gritty writing.
Read an early beta copy
***4 “Just keep breathing!!!” stars***
“Broken people find broken people. It’s a matter of fate.”
This wasn’t an easy story to read…
It was suffocating you and making you angry with some of the behaviors of our main characters, and especially Toby’s.
It was a book that had many triggers inside, but the plot could grab you and hold you its hostage…
The same goes with the heroes… Heroes full of flaws and vices and trouble to communicate…
This was a harsh story full of heartache and difficult situations…
A story full of darkness which is determined to guide you through the light…
“You breathe life back into me… It’s my turn to do the same for you.”
I have to admit that even though i wanted to read “Inhale, exhale” first, i couldn’t find the time so i dove in here blindly…
The truth is that it will be much better if you will get to experience the first book before this one, but still… I understood very well what transparent in the first book, a book that Toby, our main character, had a big part and this past is still haunting him…
Now, after five years, everything is a freakin’ mess for once again…
“The past has the ability to destroy you if you don’t leave it behind.
Scars don’t define you, not if you don’t allow them that right.”
In this book, we saw Tobias struggling with his addiction and his long love lost by his brother…
For years, he was torturing himself while stucked in the past and to someone that never was his…
And then, out of nowhere, Joey tumble into his life and she brought some kind of color in it…
And the things were great for a while… and then, they weren’t!!!
And he was the one who had the most fault in here…
In a way, he became a man he was loathing, a man like his brother and he was destroying Joey and himself in the process…
“Purify my sins, sous. Ease them like only you can and replace them with you… Erase every memory, sous. Every touch and taste before you, make them dissolve. Love me until it’s only you and me.”
Honestly, i don’t know what more to say about this story…
Our heroes were punishing themselves and each other and it was agonizing to witness it…
I was so fuckin’ angry with the situation…. I was so angry with Toby and his stupidity…
I was so angry with what he was doing to Joey and himself over and over again and i’m accusing his previous experience in love!!!
“Love is weakness.
It’s retribution.
It’s my burden.
It’s my death sentence.”
As for Joey??? This girl was too good for Tobias… He claimed her light with his darkness and i didn’t like that!!! He didn’t deserve her and still, she was staying beside him and she was tolerating every nasty thing that he was doing to her…
Yes, when they were together, they were very good! But their relationship was toxic as hell!!!
“I fell in love with the lies, marrying the pain.
He’s divorced to the truth, addicted to acrimony.
We cheated love, lusting after aspiration.
There’s no savior for our damnation, no hope for our salvation, and no justice for our actions.”
The author was bringing us back and forth through present and past and even though in the beginning i thought that i was missing things, she gave me all the answers that i needed and i liked how she was handling things…
Yep, this was a heartbreaking story and i was hurting for the heroes, especially Joey, but i was so angry with them… for everything!!!
They made such a mess because of a misunderstanding…
I believe that this couple had too many trust issues and lack of communication between them!!!
“I hate her.
I love her.
I want to destroy her.
Then when there’s nothing left, I want to fix everything.”
“Why do I hate and love you?”
“How do I love the hate out of you?”
Overall, it was a very good story and i’m dying to read Ace and Gray’s turn!!!
Even though i might die if he will do the same mistakes as the two men that they are sharing the same DNA with him, and i might start throwing punches!!! Arrrrrrr…
“He calls Gray his storm. It’s not a bad name, but it definitely isn’t kind either.” {Joey for Ace}
*****************************************
“When life gets impossible, take a moment. And don’t forget to breathe.”
***I received an ARC for the exchange of an honest review***
This is the story of Toby and Josephine. There is no perfect love or flowers with this one. Toby is hard to love as he can be cruel and at times totally unlikeable. Josephine is a strong woman. This is an angst ridden, all the feels story that may not be for everyone. I enjoyed it and recommend.
You guys … ALERT … still no gumdrops buuuuuuuuuuuut there might be a rainbow!! 🙂
Ohhhh Toby Toby Toby …. Whaaaat are we gonna do with you?! Man, you make it almost impossible to like you and give us little choice but to root for you all at the same time! You are ridiculous! But also, a fictional character so I should probably stop the trajectory this is going in. LOL
If you’re read Inhale, Exhale, then you already know, maybe / probably / mostly, why Toby is so much. If you haven’t, do not fear, the author does an exceptional job for weaving the past and the present in the book to make sure you get a good solid picture. Truth be told, she’s exceptional at her craft. Her writing is relevant and respectful, always. At least the books I’ve read have been. She is meticulous and thorough in her storytelling, leaving no stone unturned. Every side and depth that makes up Toby the man today, is laid out for us in painstaking detail. The good, the bad and everything in between.
Joey may be young, but she has lived a lifetime. She is a young woman forced into the trenches of adulthood by the circumstances of her life, past and present. She is strong and fearsome and does not back away from the challenges of life.
Together, Joey and Toby, are perfect in their imperfections. They fit together seamlessly yet they are oil and water. *shrug* Their passion sparks off the pages, not always in a positive and nurturing way, but passion nonetheless! It is their imperfections that make this story unique and formidable, painful in the most glorious of ways and inspiring!
I’m not going to say this book is not a romance journey like I did with Inhale, Exhale because I believe the core of this story is love. Not the perfect Candyland kind, but the real kind. The kind that hurts sometimes. The kind that seems unforgivable at times. The kind that has flaws and imperfections, dark edges and shadows. The kind that mirrors life at its core. That’s what this book is about. And it is glorious! (and exhausting) lol you’ve been warned.
C.L. Matthews has proven time and time again that she is a powerhouse with her craft. I haven’t read a whole lot of her work, but what I have read has been outstandingly real and representative. She does her research and does not shy away for the dark corners of life. She puts it all out there and she does it respectfully. I won’t say this book is dark in the conventional definition, but it’s also not light. It deals with serious themes that can be triggering. You’ve been warned. Again 🙂
After reading the first book, I couldn’t wait to read Toby’s story and it was nothing like I expected it to be. I was glad when he met Joey & instantly felt the connection between them but wasn’t prepared for the disappointment I felt when Toby decided to intentionally hurt Joey based on nothing more than an assumption. Especially after they had previously been so happy & needed each other after a loss. I really expected him to be better than Jase and wished I could smack sense into him. The words “Broken finds Broken” kept playing in my mind as I felt the hurt and utter despair in both of them. Those words were so true for these two damaged people and I kept waiting for them to heal so they could finally be together. This book is a reminder of the struggle of addiction and how it can deceive and manipulate the mind. And how it can affect not only the person battling but all those who love them.
If the first book was emotional, this one just about outdoes it. I was hooked even when I had a hard time liking Toby. The characters are so well developed that you can’t help but feel their emotions and go through their growth together. It’s raw, emotional, angsty, and passionate.
Listen, I’m going to give it to you straight: C.L. Matthews has come for all our hearts and souls with her latest novel, Breathe! This book is heart achingly honest, painfully real, and dripping with emotion. And since it’s C.L. Matthews it’s perfectly sexy as well.
This story left me breathless! From the onslaught of emotions to the way she made me connect with characters that I didn’t think I could love, this story was remarkable! Plus, the writing is spectacular! Matthews infused so much feeling into her writing that I didn’t just read the story, I felt it all right along with the characters. This author truly gets better with every single book. 5 stars.
This is the second book that I’ve read by this author and this book is the second in this series. This book is a powerful love story and this author really knows how to reach her readers with the heartbreak, pain and emotions that you feel while reading this book. This is one of those books that touches you and will stay with you for a while, this book is a real must read and deserves all of it’s five stars.
Hollow Ridge #1 Inhale,Exhale
Hollow Ridge #2 Breathe.
This book can be read as a stand-alone and its an absolutely fantastic read you will not be disappointed and you will love it. This is a story of how love can be so all consuming inside your soul.
I must say I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing how this played out. I really like this author writing style and this title and cover is awesome.
These two went through a hell of a lot and the struggles that they endure and overcome are remarkable to see. This book is not just a romance story but a book written so well that it will leave a mark on your heart.
This book will have you emotions all over the place and its a very raw and powerful read. I couldn’t put this book down and you really need to make sure that you have tissues available to hand because you will definitely need them reading this book. The way that this author has written her characters is absolutely awesome and the chemistry that these two have between them both is so strong its explosive to see and I was rooting for them both and the journey that they were on. They have been through so much and the challenges that they go through is heart breaking to see. These two cant breathe without each other and both have had struggles to overcome.
This book was written so well that you can literally feel the pain coming through the pages and This book deals with alot of issue’s to.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review,
Thank you to the author and publishers for allowing me to read and early copy of this book.
This book is expected to be released 14th April 2020.
This is the second book in the series and must not be read as a standalone. If you enjoyed the emotional turmoil of book one and thought the author would go easy on her readers this time think again. Toby really was a character I didn’t like at all but I needed to read his story to see how his life changed in the intervening years. I’m not going to say anything about the storyline at all because that would do a disservice to the hard work done by the author. I can sum up my feelings by saying it felt like they were in a bottle and someone shook it until it fizzed over. There is so much turmoil in the pages at times it was like watching an unstoppable car wreck you know you shouldn’t look but you can’t turn away. C.L. writes flawed characters with such depth and emotion and I hope she never stops. I cannot wait to get Ace’s book I really don’t think we are ready for him.
Well, well, well…it seems it’s Toby’s turn now. The Hayes brothers have a knack for making trouble. Toby and his rollercoaster romantic interest in his sister in law has nothing on the mess with his Sous.
I spent half the book shaking my head and the other half ready to strangle him. Seems Toby Hayes hasn’t fallen far from the shadow of his big brother. Not appreciating what he has and what’s in front of him, Toby jeopardizes everything.
Breathe is not nearly as traumatic as Inhale, Exhale (thank God!). It isn’t a merry unicorn parade either. The push and toxic pull is detrimental to all. Hold your blanket, eat some chocolate, and stay away from the alcohol. Just…Breathe.