Reviewer's Bookshelf: With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden

In the shadow of the nation's capital, Kate Livingston holds a respectable position as a government statistician when she encounters a rival from her past, the insufferable Trevor McDonough. A Harvard-trained physician, Trevor never showed the tiniest flicker of interest in Kate, and she's bewildered at the way he suddenly seeks her out. Surprising even herself, Kate agrees to Trevor's entirely unexpected and risky proposal to work side-by-side with him in his quest to rid the world of tuberculosis, a contagious and deadly disease. 

As Kate begins to unlock the mysteries of Trevor's past, she realizes there is much more to him than she could have imagined. His hidden depths may fascinate her, but his most closely guarded secrets and a shadowy enemy lurking in the background carry a serious threat to their future. 

When the truth of the past comes out, threatening to destroy everything they hold dear, how will Trevor and Kate ever overcome all that stands in their way? (summary from Goodreads)

This book captivated me from the first page!  I honestly couldn't put it down and finished it in less than 24 hours. I'm an Elizabeth Camden fan, but this book really stands out to me.  Here are some of the things I particularly enjoyed about this book:

*I LOVED Trevor's character.  He was the kind of male lead that I really like: flawed, a little dark and brooding, but beneath it all there is a vulnerability. There's a legitimate reason for his being the way he is, and it makes you feel so compassionate towards him...which is my other favorite thing about a good male character.  Some male leads just seem a little too good to be true.  Trevor has that tender side, filled with pain, and yet it only shows itself at a few pivotal moments in the story.  I hope this doesn't ruin anything for any of you, but I kept thinking of Benedict Cumberbatch the whole time I read about Trevor ;-).

  

*The medical aspect was very interesting to me.  The drive Trevor had to research tuberculosis made me want to root for him and also made me think of what so many doctors and researchers went through to discover cures and vaccines for diseases.  We now take so many of those cures for granted, but many died in their efforts so that future generations wouldn't have to suffer.  This aspect of the story was explained so clearly and understandably....I didn't get lost in a lot of medical jargon.  

*The chemistry between Kate and Trevor was fantastic.  I wouldn't have minded even more moments between them, but I thought the level (very clean) was good for this type of novel.  There was a fun sense of competition between them, which made the sparks fly.  

*Another thing I appreciate in Camden's books is that even though I think I know what will happen, there's still some uncertainty there.  I love the slight mystery aspect.  It wasn't too heavy, but the plot twists and turns had me flipping pages!  I had no idea how Trevor was going to overcome his professional and personal battles, and I think that makes a great book.  Kate also had some serious personal battles that I wasn't sure if she would overcome or not.  I was surprised by some of the decisions her character made, but it made the plot a little more intense.  I don't mind some predictability in a book, but some books can be almost boring if you can tell what the outcome will be from the beginning.

*The setting was also appealing since we just returned from our trip to Washington DC!  I didn't realize when I picked the book up that it was where the novel was set.  It was neat to picture some of the places that were mentioned!

The only criticism I can think of in this novel is that there were times when Kate's struggles frustrated me.  I could totally relate to how compassionate she was towards others.  When she lost those who were dear to her, and even some she wasn't as close to, she struggled with keeping her emotions under control (and who says you have to!).  I'm exactly the same way as Kate's character.  I grieve deeply when it comes to loss.  In this story, because she was contrasted with Trevor's behavior, it was seen by him as a weakness in Kate.  But I appreciated that in her. The aspect of her personality that sort of got to me was her overbearing desire to control the circumstances in her life and in the lives of others.  I understand why she did this, because she was trying to protect herself from pain and loss, but it was hard to read sometimes!  I kind of wanted her to move a little faster in her journey of self-discovery.  I'm so impatient with these female characters sometimes ;-).

I am giving this book:

*****

5 stars

Because it was seriously good and I LOVED (!!!) it.  You know a book is good if you can't stop thinking about it and the first thing you'd love to do afterwards is read it again ;-)

Happy reading!

(I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley/Bethany House for an unbiased review)