Romance Archives — Mostly Mystery Reviews

As Long as I Have Breathe As Long as I Breathe, by Garrett James, is a romance with thriller and mystery aspects. Stephanie Morgan and her daughter, Lilianne Rose (Lily), live as quiet a life as they can. Stephanie (Steph) works nights at a nursing home and at the local bar on weekends. Life was tough since her fiancé had died. Or was it murder? And why was Cole Miller, the sheriff’s brother, so bent on having Steph as his girlfriend?

Mason Cain, ex-military, ex-convict, moves back into his mother’s house after she dies. He’d planned to clear things up and quickly move on. But the best laid plans…Mason witnesses Cole dealing violently with Steph, who lives across the street. Inevitably, Mason becomes friends with Lily, then with Steph. Cole becomes even more erratic and irrational as he witnesses the growing feelings between Mason and Steph. How far will Cole go to keep Mason away from Steph, who Cole views as his property? How far will Mason go to protect “his girls”?

Mystery has always surrounded the death of Steph’s fiancé. Everyone has a good word to say about Matt Peterson, who seemed to have had no enemies. So, why is Agent Nick Canon, from the Division of Criminal Investigation, hanging around pursuing an inquiry into Matt’s death?

Mystery, resolution, anger, love, tenderness, psychological problems, all fall within the realm of As Long as I Breathe. Garrett James does well in uncovering emotions in his characters and develops them into living beings. Love and tenderness can turn around the lives of some characters, like Mason. But others, like Cole, have nowhere to go but into a burning hell of their own making.

I enjoyed As Long as I Breathe for the character and plot development. I felt connected to Mason, Steph, Lily, and even Nick Canon. Be prepared for well-done, but explicit, sex scenes. My only “thumbs down” was that this book could have used a good proofreading to fix some grammatical issues. Otherwise, bravo.

This appears to be the first in a series. I look forward to reading about the future lives of Mason, Steph, Lily, and Nick Canon.

To purchase a copy, click here. I get a small commission for any purchases made.

As Long as I Breathe
by Garrett James
©2022

Margaret Rodenberg’s Finding Napoleon is a lush, slow-burn romance between Napoleon Bonaparte and his lover, Albine de Montholon. Rodenberg’s historical novel examines Napoleon’s life after his defeat at Waterloo through life in exile on St. Helena. Narration alternates among Napoleon, Albine de Montholon, and Rodenberg’s take on the novel Napoleon wrote while in his 20s.

Napoleon shines in a clear, kindly light. Love for his son, sired with Marie Louise, his second wife, and esteem for his mother mark Napoleon as very human. He hides, or tries to, his stomach ailment. Napoleon, the regal emperor in front of his troops and the public, is likeable and flawed behind closed doors. According to Albine, “Before we’d shared a bed, I had thought he would be remote, noble, a romantic painting. Instead, I got warm flesh, a chuckle, a fart between the sheets. Human, yes, but a better species.”

Albine de Montholon, the wife of an aristocrat, deals in treachery and plays both sides—those supporting Napoleon and those against. That is, before she follows him into exile, becomes his mistress, and loves him. “There I was, forty-three years old, on my third husband, countless men in between. Far too late to be enchanted. Not a time to fall in love.”

With hints of treachery, whiffs of lust, Rodenberg draws the reader into her story. She embodies the characters with totally believable human traits. Napoleon realizes his loneliness, even among his followers, hangers-on really, in his last exile. “The Emperor swallowed the burn in his throat. He might lead these people, but not a one of them was his friend.” How prescient. Some of those French hangers-on sold secrets to the British who monitored Napoleon’s exile in St. Helena. “Over the years, he’d grown accustomed to living among traitors.” But in this fictional narrative, Napoleon had devout friends in an American gardener and an African slave boy.

My one dislike is that the pace is slow and delves too much into minutiae. But ultimately, this is historical fiction at its best. Rodenberg’s prose brings Napoleon to life as well as those hangers-on that lived with him in his St. Helena exile.

I received a copy of this book from www.readersfavorite.com in exchange for an honest review.

Category: Romance

As Long As I Breathe

Finding Napoleon