David C. Cook publishers has started putting a "Good Read Guarantee" on certain books and "Breathe" is one of those books. My belief is that they will not be giving any money back on this book - it is a good read and much more! "Breathe" is the first book in a new trilogy about Dominic and his two younger sisters and their travels to the new town of Colorado Springs in around 1860 in search of healing for his sister Odessa who is near death from consumption. They Dominic and Moira take her to a sanatorium by Pike's Peak and hope that she will finally find health from the disease that stole 4 younger brothers from them already. In the process Odessa finds love, murder and mystery waiting for her at the sanatorium while Dominic and Moira find adventures and love (or lack thereof) waiting for them as well. We see viewpoints of all 3 siblings pretty equally in this book even though it is really Odessa's story. We have 2 more books to come over the next year and I eagerly await them both to see where life is going to take these siblings as they go their separate ways now.

One of the best things in this book (besides the mystery that will keep you in your seat til the end) is how she really took me back to the early days of Colorado Springs. You could see the mountains and scarcely touched land, breathe the crisp, cool air and walk the mountains with Odessa as she did. I loved this book and would highly recommend it to any fans of historical fiction!

I love historical books. Breath takes place in the late 1800's in Colorado Springs. The book opens up with people traveling to a consumption hospital in Colorado Springs and I was immediately drawn into the story. There is mystery and intrigue and history and relational situations all woven together. Moira made me so nervous during the book especially with the sheriff that I cringed. I only wish I knew more about Bryce. I highly recommend this book.

Breathe was a decent story. But it wasn't great. It seemed to last a bit too long for me. I finished it and that means it didn't bore me to tears. There were situations where the author did a great job when it came to tension and showing abusive situations, and there were times when I was worried the characters would get hurt. But I didn't connect with them as much as I would have liked to. I did appreciate the realism when it came to romantic scenes including those after marriage. Those scenes made me smile. I also appreciated that the ending wasn't rushed. But the story was a bit too drawn out, in my opinion, and would have been better if some of the storyline had been drawn tighter so that it didn't lag in some areas. The feel of the story was more of a mystery than a western, too. I would recommend this book, just not with a lot of enthusiasm.

I opened this book and was just going to read a page or two. I found it captivating.
It was so real that I felt as if I were right there on the train.

Historical fiction can be dull slow or filled with boring facts. This book was a treat
to read. I hate Series books where each is so entwined with the others that the story is never
completed enough for any satisfaction. This one gives you enough story to give you a complete picture with a few loose ends that may be picked up later. You won't get to the end feeling like half the book is missing. To me, That is the mark of a good book.

This is a pleasantly different Christian historical, full of characters with flaws and often unsteady faith. There is no sickening sweetness here; we have real characters - including a few truly evil ones - but the novel never steps into the arena of including evil or worldliness just for it's own sake.

The main plot is that of a consumptive woman in the 1880s. ("Consumption" being the old word for TB.) As she recovers in an sanatorium in the clear Colorado air, she thinks she may have witnessed a murder. What transpires is full of intrigue and danger, and leads her to find a husband - and an unshakable faith in God, no matter the circumstances.

"Breathe: A Novel of Colorado" grabbed me from the very first page and kept me reading way past my bedtime--for me, a sure mark of a teriffic read.

I've read lots of fiction featuring people with tuberculosis--or "consumption," as it was called in the 18-hundreds--but never one in which the "consumptive" actually recovered and went on to live a healthy life. That's just one of the intriguing things about "Breathe."

Set in Colorado Springs in the late 18-hundreds, this is the first in a series about the St. Clair family--two sisters and a brother who journey by train from Philadelphia for one of the siblings to "chase the cure" and open a bookstore for their wealthy publisher father.

Apparently Colorado Springs was highly sought-after by people suffering from tuberculosis in that era because of its beneficial climate.

The beginning of the book plunges us immediately into the action: just as the St. Clair's train is about to pull into Colorado Springs, their sister Odessa is on the brink of death.

The scene establishes the three main characters: Odessa, gentle, ladylike and courageous; Moira, loving but flighty and ambitious; Nic, determined to protect his sisters, but frustrated by the role thrust upon him by his father and anxious to find his own place in life.

As we follow Odessa's recovery and budding romance at a sanatorium, Moira's involvement with the town's tyrannical sheriff, and Nic's secret life as an alcohol-swigging boxer, there's a strong subplot involving murder and mystery that would keep you turning the pages even if the interesting characters didn't.

Lisa T. Bergren is an excellent writer. A Colorado Springs resident herself, she infuses the story with the feel of authenticity and a strong sense of place.

Best of all, she's not afraid to acknowledge Christian faith throughout the story, and she portrays it in a way that is neither preachy nor cheesy.

I highly recommend "Breathe," and I can't wait for the next book in the trilogy.