Breathe

Title: Breathe (Sea Breeze #1)
Author: Abbi Glines
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Year Published: 2013 (Simon Pulse first published)
Page: 333

Life was tough for a 17 years old Sadie White. Living with a very beautiful but reckless mother who happened to be knocked up by some stranger (again) forced Sadie to earn some money to help supporting their lives and the baby-to-come.

When working as a maid in a beautiful mansion in a private island near Sea Breeze, Alabama, Sadie coincidentally met the owner of the mansion, a famous teenage rock star, Jax Stone. Jax instantly interested with her because Sadie was so beautiful with her blonde hair and blue eyes and--most of all--didn't go crazy over him and didn't put his posters on her bedroom wall like any other women out there. Falling in love with a teenage rock star was the last thing Sadie had dreamed of. But Jax's true personality and gentleness made it unavoidable.

Sadie knew that she couldn't be with Jax because she had a job to secure and, especially, because she knew that being with Jax would be temporary. She didn't want to be Jax's other summer girl. She didn't want to end up like her mother. Jax also realized that being with Sadie would only bring misery for her. He was a rock star and bringing Sadie to his already crazy life would only hurt her. Stepping away from each other was the best choice for them. 

But how could they do that when the chemistry was too strong to break?

Breathe is a book that I've been wanting to read for quite a long time. It's the Cinderella-ish love story premise that intrigued me the most. I know it's lame, but a damsel-in-distress, class-gap love stories always work well on me (that's why I ship Sybil-Branson couple in Downtown Abbey). When I finally found this book displayed in one of my most favorite bookshops, Aksara, without any hesitation, I instantly bought it. I didn't even realize how hot the cover is until my friend in twitter said it.

After I read it, I actually like the story but not as much as I've expected. Sadie and Jax are lovely main characters and the mansion's staffs are lovable too--especially Marcus. The chemistry between Sadie and Jax was also built carefully and not in instant way--which I enjoyed so much. The problem is, the conflict is too light and underdeveloped.  The gap between Jax and Sadie was not explored properly. Yes, Jax had his fear about Sadie being the target of paparazzi but no fan hate mails or packages to Sadie, no intervention from Jax's manager or parents, no decline in Jax's album sales, etc. after the media found out about Jax's relationship with Sadie. And the most important is, I really cannot tell who the target reader for this book is. Is it teenagers (since Sadie is 17 and still in school while Jax is 19) or new adults (since it contains explicit sex scenes  but the conflict is too simple in my opinion)?

However, I cannot set aside the fact that this is the debut book of Abbi Glines. Her recent books have surely developed more than this. And as a debut book, Breathe has shown evidence of Abbi Glines' talent in creating a male heart-throbbing main character and romantic scenes. I do enjoy reading it.