My Two-Cents: Breath of Life by Christine Pope

Synopsis

Anika Jespers, a homesteader’s daughter on a Gaian colony, thinks she’s destined for a dull existence on her family’s farm. But when her father makes an impossible bargain with their neighbor, one of the alien Zhore, she faces a future different from anything she could have possibly imagined.

The familiar story of Beauty and the Beast takes on new life in this inventive SF romance novella, with the Beauty a homesteader's daughter and the Beast an alien on a faraway colony world.

My Two-Cents

When I read one of the comments on Goodreads by a fellow reader about this book being a sci-fi version of Beauty and the Beast, I didn’t know what she really means by that. I thought the book would be some kind of dark and gothic as the cover suggested. Never crossed my mind that Breath of Life would indeed be so ‘sci-fi’, a genre I dreaded the most and try to avoid from reading. With Breath of Life, Christine Pope had brought a whole new meaning to sci-fi, with added romance and sensuality.

In the novella, the main female character Anika is forced to live with an alien when her father is blackmailed into giving her in after a freak accident. At first, Anika thought that her stay would be temporary; that her presence in the alien’s mansion is merely as ‘talking companion’. However, as time passes by, Anika realizes that she is being held a prisoner in what seemingly a gold prison.

First and foremost, I found it impossible to keep this book down even when I just needed to go to the loo. With such an enchanting story like that, it seemed to me that the author knew and understand what she’s writing and about to present to her readers. Like I said before, ‘sci-fi’ is one of those genres I have avoided from reading but somehow, she made the genre likeable and entrancing. The plot was simple and quite Beauty and The Beast, without the handsome prince of course, yet it’s very mature unlike the Disney version and truly engaging. I had the feeling of sentimental while reading, admittedly speaking.  Apart from that, I really liked the two main characters, Anika and Sarzhin, as they seemed to be mismatched physically, but emotionally they are two similar persons who share one feeling in common – loneliness. Annika for me is a strong, independent character and the first person narration fitted well with her personality. Through her perspective, I literally felt everything she touches, sees, hears and smells vividly, as if I, as the matter of fact, were Anika myself. And Sarzhin, I just couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Despite his freaky alien nature, like everyone else, he just wants to love and be loved in return. Another thing about the story that pulled me in was the setting itself. The alien imagery made me value planet Earth, its beauty and my freedom to breathe fresh air easily more than ever before. Nonetheless, the author’s description of Anika’s surroundings and other planets as well were in fact photographically superb!

I hardly found anything I dislike about this book; overall it was very well-written. I wished it was longer though. What’s left to say now is that I’ve genuinely enjoyed Breath of Life that I think I could read it over and again. This book certainly has its place in my ‘Favorites’ lists and I would love to read more from this author in the future. I would recommend this book to everyone, especially those who love both sci-fi and young adult romance.

Bornean Bookworm rates: 5 stars out of 5!

Notes:

*eBook is my own copy!

*Cover and synopsis were taken from Goodreads.

*To make your purchase of this book, please go to AllRomanceEBook

*Visit the author at her website/blog: Here!