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Breathless
Alternate cover for ASIN B00A9GHS5A
Someone in Port Rell has a secret. A secret they would kill to protect.
Nothing ever happens in the seaside village of Port Rell, which is why Lainey Jennings is so keen to leave it. She’s only twenty-four, there’s so much more she wants to do with her life. Crazy and outlandish things; like ice diving in Alaska, explore the underwater caves in Mexico, maybe even search for the lost city of Atlantis. Stay in Port Rell forever? Talk about purgatory!
Since the death of her father, she’s struggled to keep the family diving business from bankruptcy. There’s just one thing that keeps her going. Her dream that one day she’ll discover the lost wreck that her father was so obsessed with, the legendary Mary Eliza - responsible for destroying Port Rell almost four hundred years ago.
When an old, unknown wreck is discovered in the bay, sleepy Port Rell is under siege once more. This time it’s the media, including a team from the Wreck Raiders TV show, led by handsome archaeologist Zac Nelson. The villagers are quick to cash in on their unexpected popularity. But ancient wrecks aren’t the only thing waiting to be discovered in Port Rell.
Because someone in Port Rell has a secret.
Someone in Port Rell has a secret. A secret they would kill to protect.
Nothing ever happens in the seaside village of Port Rell, which is why Lainey Jennings is so keen to leave it. She’s only twenty-four, there’s so much more she wants to do with her life. Crazy and outlandish things; like ice diving in Alaska, explore the underwater caves in Mexico, maybe even search for the lost city of Atlantis. Stay in Port Rell forever? Talk about purgatory!
Since the death of her father, she’s struggled to keep the family diving business from bankruptcy. There’s just one thing that keeps her going. Her dream that one day she’ll discover the lost wreck that her father was so obsessed with, the legendary Mary Eliza - responsible for destroying Port Rell almost four hundred years ago.
When an old, unknown wreck is discovered in the bay, sleepy Port Rell is under siege once more. This time it’s the media, including a team from the Wreck Raiders TV show, led by handsome archaeologist Zac Nelson. The villagers are quick to cash in on their unexpected popularity. But ancient wrecks aren’t the only thing waiting to be discovered in Port Rell.
Because someone in Port Rell has a secret.
310 pages, ebook
First published November 1, 2012
20 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Louise Marley
17 books105 followersMost of my stories are set in small villages filled with quirky characters. These are partly inspired by the places I’ve lived in over the years, although the characters are straight out of my imagination! I currently live in Wales, close to a famous library and two ruined castles. My husband thinks we moved here by accident.
My first published novel was Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, which was a finalist in Poolbeg’s Write a Bestseller competition. As well as nine novels, I’ve written short stories for women’s magazines such as Take a Break and My Weekly. Before becoming a full-time writer, I worked as an administrative officer for the police.
When I’m not writing, I enjoy visiting big old houses, which I use as inspiration for the houses in my novels, and reading other people’s books when I ought to be writing my own…
Check out the Raven's Edge website here: https://ravens-edge.co.uk/
You can also find me on:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/louisemarley...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LouiseMarley...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louisemarle...
** Be careful, there is another author with exactly the same name!**
My first published novel was Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, which was a finalist in Poolbeg’s Write a Bestseller competition. As well as nine novels, I’ve written short stories for women’s magazines such as Take a Break and My Weekly. Before becoming a full-time writer, I worked as an administrative officer for the police.
When I’m not writing, I enjoy visiting big old houses, which I use as inspiration for the houses in my novels, and reading other people’s books when I ought to be writing my own…
Check out the Raven's Edge website here: https://ravens-edge.co.uk/
You can also find me on:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/louisemarley...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LouiseMarley...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louisemarle...
** Be careful, there is another author with exactly the same name!**
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 27, 2013
I have to confess I really didn’t pay enough attention to the blurb for this book. I think I just saw the cover and skimmed the description, which was why what happened a little way into the story took me so much by surprise. The cover gave me the impression of a bright and light chick-lit type novel – it’s not. Actually, what it is an amazingly entertaining and gripping read.
Set in the ancient coastal town of Port Rell, this novel has everything. It’s kind of like The Famous Five for adults, with smugglers, historical diary entries, old shipwrecks, murder, mystery and romance. Sadly not much ginger beer, but even so…
Seriously, this book is well worth reading. I quickly became hooked, wanting to know just what the heck was going on in Port Rell and who was behind it all.
The heroine of the novel is Lainey, a young girl whose entire life has been dominated by the wreck of the Mary Eliza, a ship which may or may not lie in the waters off Port Rell. Her father was obsessed with the wreck’s whereabouts and it cost him his life. Lainey wants to prove that he was right and is desperate to find proof that the Mary Eliza exists, but she’s not the only one.
Before long, Lainey finds herself a suspect in a murder case and is caught in a baffling mystery, not knowing who she can trust and losing everything as events twist and turn around her.
So what did I love about this novel? Well, Lainey herself is a great heroine. She’s very independent, very strong minded and far from helpless. However, she does make mistakes and she’s certainly not perfect. I also loved the setting. Port Rell is a character in itself, beautifully described and inhabited by some fascinating characters. I liked the diary entries from the late seventeenth century which provided a lovely subplot. Lainey’s friends were nicely drawn, too, and I really liked the mysterious Greg.
I loved the fact that the first shock came quite early in the book. Without giving anything away, it really did leave me breathless as I just wasn’t expecting it. After that, I was never sure who was behind the sinister happenings and was as baffled as Lainey, wondering if Greg was someone I could really trust and not being certain about anyone!
I would definitely recommend this novel. It’s a real adventure story for grown ups with a touch of romance to warm the heart and some intriguing and entertaining characters. The only thing I would possibly change would be the cover. Lovely for a different sort of story, it really doesn’t do this gem of a novel justice.
Set in the ancient coastal town of Port Rell, this novel has everything. It’s kind of like The Famous Five for adults, with smugglers, historical diary entries, old shipwrecks, murder, mystery and romance. Sadly not much ginger beer, but even so…
Seriously, this book is well worth reading. I quickly became hooked, wanting to know just what the heck was going on in Port Rell and who was behind it all.
The heroine of the novel is Lainey, a young girl whose entire life has been dominated by the wreck of the Mary Eliza, a ship which may or may not lie in the waters off Port Rell. Her father was obsessed with the wreck’s whereabouts and it cost him his life. Lainey wants to prove that he was right and is desperate to find proof that the Mary Eliza exists, but she’s not the only one.
Before long, Lainey finds herself a suspect in a murder case and is caught in a baffling mystery, not knowing who she can trust and losing everything as events twist and turn around her.
So what did I love about this novel? Well, Lainey herself is a great heroine. She’s very independent, very strong minded and far from helpless. However, she does make mistakes and she’s certainly not perfect. I also loved the setting. Port Rell is a character in itself, beautifully described and inhabited by some fascinating characters. I liked the diary entries from the late seventeenth century which provided a lovely subplot. Lainey’s friends were nicely drawn, too, and I really liked the mysterious Greg.
I loved the fact that the first shock came quite early in the book. Without giving anything away, it really did leave me breathless as I just wasn’t expecting it. After that, I was never sure who was behind the sinister happenings and was as baffled as Lainey, wondering if Greg was someone I could really trust and not being certain about anyone!
I would definitely recommend this novel. It’s a real adventure story for grown ups with a touch of romance to warm the heart and some intriguing and entertaining characters. The only thing I would possibly change would be the cover. Lovely for a different sort of story, it really doesn’t do this gem of a novel justice.
May 28, 2015
Lainey lives in Port Rell, a village that's famous because of smugglers and shipwrecks. Most of the inhabitants of the village gladly see the tourists coming as it's their main source of income. Lainey is a diving instructor, she's trying to keep her father's business going. He died while diving, in a shipwreck. He wanted to find the Mary Eliza, that was his biggest wish and his lifework. He left Lainey his papers and she's trying to find the ship as well. When she finds a coin, she knows she's close, but then someone else claims to have found it. Will is her biggest competitor, his diving business is thriving while Lainey's is struggling. He's always one step ahead of her and she doesn't like him very much.
Lainey's best friend Selma and her family are seeing her as one of their own. She's always welcome at the Smuggler's Inn which is her second home. Lainey is living on a barge and she loves being on the water. When her boyfriend is being found dead she's having quite a fright. They had actually just broken up, but she misses him very much. When she meets someone new after a while she isn't ready yet. And who is he anyway? Greg says he is a policeman, but the police have never heard of him and what is he doing at the house of Lainey's enemy? And then there's Zac, the archaeologist who's making a documentary about the Mary Eliza, the ship they're trying to uncover. Lainy offers her services, but that isn't without complications...
Breathless is a great story about a girl who's lost so much. Lainey is tough, but to keep going she has to build a wall around her. She does what she can to make a living, to get by and to survive. I liked that about her. There are so many secrets in Port Rell and I couldn't wait to find out what they were. Something clearly isn't right and I wanted to know the details. I couldn't stop reading and really liked the story. The background of the shipwrecks, the sea, the smugglers and the tale of what happened in Port Rell in 1695 made this such an interesting book. I enjoyed reading about Lainey's love life and couldn't wait to find out more about the mysterious Greg. Breathless is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it.
Lainey's best friend Selma and her family are seeing her as one of their own. She's always welcome at the Smuggler's Inn which is her second home. Lainey is living on a barge and she loves being on the water. When her boyfriend is being found dead she's having quite a fright. They had actually just broken up, but she misses him very much. When she meets someone new after a while she isn't ready yet. And who is he anyway? Greg says he is a policeman, but the police have never heard of him and what is he doing at the house of Lainey's enemy? And then there's Zac, the archaeologist who's making a documentary about the Mary Eliza, the ship they're trying to uncover. Lainy offers her services, but that isn't without complications...
Breathless is a great story about a girl who's lost so much. Lainey is tough, but to keep going she has to build a wall around her. She does what she can to make a living, to get by and to survive. I liked that about her. There are so many secrets in Port Rell and I couldn't wait to find out what they were. Something clearly isn't right and I wanted to know the details. I couldn't stop reading and really liked the story. The background of the shipwrecks, the sea, the smugglers and the tale of what happened in Port Rell in 1695 made this such an interesting book. I enjoyed reading about Lainey's love life and couldn't wait to find out more about the mysterious Greg. Breathless is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it.
February 11, 2017
I loved this book, a nice easy read, with a bit of everything in it, an interesting lead character.
October 13, 2013
This is I think the fourth Louise Marley book I have read and I must admit it’s the only time I ever get my kindle out (really not a fan of ebooks) but for Louise’s books I make an exception. I always know that I will get a book that I will enjoy with lots going on and an easy virtual page turner. I like the style in which Louise writes, to me it flows well and is very easy to read. don’t be fooled by the cover that this is a ‘Chit lit’ type read, it doesn;t give the substance and gritty read it deserves.
The story takes off very quickly and you are not halfway through the book before anything happens. All about ship wrecks and good-looking chaps who aren’t all what they seem!!
The story takes off very quickly and you are not halfway through the book before anything happens. All about ship wrecks and good-looking chaps who aren’t all what they seem!!
August 18, 2013
Just a bit of fluff - perfect for summer. Set in England, the heroine isn't perfect and neither is the hero. Lots of campy killing/kidnapp scenes and very random plot conclusion. But enjoyable nonetheless. :D
(haha the shortness of this review should tell you everything you need to know, it was that unremarkable :p)
(haha the shortness of this review should tell you everything you need to know, it was that unremarkable :p)
November 8, 2013
There was a lot to like about this, a strong, interesting lead character, well built back story and setting. The plot involving Greg, Will, Zac and Drew ticks along at a nice pace. I found a couple of the characters actions and reactions off putting or odd. On the whole, a fun, quick romance with a dash of mystery thrown in to the mix.
August 18, 2013
The cover of this book suggest a breezy read but this is an interesting story with twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout. Picked this up for under £2 on the kindle, a good bargain. I'll be looking to read more by the same author.
January 13, 2013
It seems to have become a theme for me at the moment to read about ship wrecks and smuggling, having read the Gentlemen before this. I'd recommend Breathless as an easy read on holiday!
July 27, 2013
A perfect summer read, featuring a heroine in peril, sunken treasure, loveable rogues and handsome hunks with dubious morals and questionable motives.
October 29, 2013
I really enjoyed this book which had an interesting plot and twit in the tale. It was well writtenand the characterisation developed well and was realistic. Well worth reading and hugely enjoyable.
March 29, 2015
simply brilliant xx
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April 19, 2014certainly not what you expect from the cover! good book. fast paced. lots of twists in this book.
April 27, 2014
Is a great book to read
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews