I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Every Breath by Ellie Marney Series: Every #1
Published by Tundra on October 14, 2014
Genres: Aussie YA, Contemporary YA, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Goodreads
When James Mycroft drags Rachel Watts off on a night mission to the Melbourne Zoo, the last thing she expects to find is the mutilated body of Homeless Dave, one of Mycroft’s numerous eccentric friends. But Mycroft’s passion for forensics leads him to realize that something about the scene isn’t right–and he wants Watts to help him investigate the murder.
While Watts battles her attraction to bad-boy Mycroft, he’s busy getting himself expelled and clashing with the police, becoming murder suspect number one. When Watts and Mycroft unknowingly reveal too much to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion’s den–literally. A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning to Rachel Watts again…
You know when you sometimes read a book and as you’re reading it, you say to yourself—maybe out loud like I do, even when no one is around—“OMG I am just loving this intensely”? This is what happened while I was reading EVERY BREATH by Ellie Marney. As a lover of Sherlockian things, the prospect of reading a contemporary retelling of sorts of the Sherlock mythos, featuring a boy named Mycroft in the Sherlock role and Watts played by a girl, appealed to me in endless ways. Guys. No joke. EVERY BREATH is amazing. All of you should read it. I’ll wait.
So EVERY BREATH is about the aforementioned Mycroft and Watts, two teenagers living in Melbourne, Australia. They’re bffs, but Rachel (that’s Watts) is majorly attracted to Mycroft’s prickly, intense, brilliant self. Mycroft is that kind of coldly logical genius type who sometimes doesn’t ace people skills. But when the two of them go to zoo to meet up with one of Mycroft’s homeless buddies, they discover him murdered and get all tangled up in investigating his death. Obviously, they wind up in the killer’s clutches. Also, they wind up have to deal with their growing feelings for one another. It’s all rather outstanding.
Without a doubt, my favorite, FAVORITE thing about EVERY BREATH is Mycroft and Watts. I can’t begin to tell you how excellent their relationship is, and I don’t just mean their increasingly intense, complicated romantic feelings, although YES PLEASE. I just mean their friendship. Rachel has just moved to Melbourne from the country and is a fish out of water. Mycroft was born in London and lived there until his parents’ untimely and mysterious death (more on this in a second), and the two of them have developed this deep understanding of one another. Or at least, Watts has developed an understanding of Mycroft, who’s a pretty complex dude with lots of secrets. But as they investigate the death of Homeless Dave, their relationship is tested and changed. Guys. THESE TWO. Separately, they are wonderful characters, flawed, different, supportive. Together they balance each other out. It’s clear from the beginning that these two could never have something casual between them. Their connection is too intense, and Mycroft doesn’t really do casual since he can barely give a shit about anything. I LOVED THEM TO INFINITY AND BEYOND pretty much instantly.
While it was the relationship between Mycroft and Watts that really made EVERY BREATH stand out to me, there are a lot of other things going on that only made my enjoyment of Ellie Marney’s book greater, and one of those things are the secondary characters. I particularly adored Rachel’s brother, Mike, and her best friend, Mai. As much as I loved Rachel’s chemistry with Mycroft and wanted to just DEVOUR IT, I also really enjoyed her relationship with her brother–very sweet and fun and loving in a “OMG YOU ANNOY ME BUT I ALSO LOVE YOU” kind of way. You know, siblings. And Mai is sarcastic and insightful and such a great friend. BIG FAN.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a Sherlockian story without a mystery to solve, and the one Rachel and Mycroft are attempting to puzzle out is a good one. Again, I thought the best part of EVERY BREATH was the relationship and the tension between Mycroft and Watts, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the story wasn’t also good. I wouldn’t have loved this book as much as I did if I didn’t enjoy seeing the two of them tackling this crime together and using their brains together. BRAINS ARE SEKSI YOU GUYS. Also, investigating this murder gives us the opportunity to get a look into what makes Mycroft tick, namely the suspicious death of his parents. Mycroft is haunted by it, Rachel wants to understand it better to help him overcome his lingering grief, and yet so many questions remain unanswered. I enjoyed this arc quite a bit.
I could probably go on and on about EVERY BREATH. I loved it so much–I loved Mycroft and Watts so much–that I ordered the first two books from the Australian publisher and am DYINGG for book 3. Already. I have to admit that this was one of those books that pleasantly surprised me. I hadn’t heard much, aside from very positive reviews from a few trusted friends, in terms of buzz, but DANG you guys. CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK ENOUGH.
The amount of good things I’m hearing about this book is just exciting!! I have it on my wishlist and hopefully I can get it soon. Great review, Ame!!!