Breath by Breath

Step by Step #3

by Morgan Llywelyn

Breath by Breath is the explosive conclusion to the near-future, science fiction thriller trilogy Step by Step from the bestselling author Morgan Llywelyn and follows the events of Drop by Drop and Inch by Inch.

In Breath by Breath, book three in the trilogy, the residents of Sycamore River have weathered the Change and the nuclear war it provoked. They emerge to try to build a life from the shattered remains of their town.

But for some, the very air has become toxic.

The people of Sycamore River have to survived the unthinkable. Can they build something new from the ashes?

Llywelyn blends her signature character-driven portrait of small-town life with the appeal of William Fortschen's One Second After.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 13, 2021

About the author

Morgan Llywelyn (born 1937) is an American-born Irish author best known for her historical fantasy, historical fiction, and historical non-fiction. Her fiction has received several awards and has sold more than 40 million copies, and she herself is recipient of the 1999 Exceptional Celtic Woman of the Year Award from Celtic Women International.

Reviews

[Jerry Hillyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Might be one of the stupidest books I have ever read. I'm not sure how it was classified as science fiction. I could scarcely discern a plot. And full of nonsense politically left talking points about the environment. I'm still struggling to understand how I managed to get through all 3 books in this series or why I ever started them in the first place.

[Jake Barney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imagine a train wreck. Somewhere on that train is a dumpster. That dumpster is on fire.
Welcome to the finale of what might honestly be the worst sci-fi I've ever read.

Her historical fiction is decent so that makes this even more baffling.

The insane caricature cast are even more baffling in the things they say and the decisions they make. The last 25 or so pages is just paragraph after paragraph of nonsense. No one makes sense entirely. The closest we get to rational is Evan who has always wanted to go to Mars, has bought his ticket and is counting down the days.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT

All I'll say is that my prediction of this being a The Happening ripoff was so close I almost gave it five stars just for the audacity to steal from one of the worst movies ever made. It wasn't plants, though, it was the planet itself. Yup, you read that correctly. The rocks are sentient..

The last paragraph of this book and this trilogy is the funniest damn thing ever written. M. Night Shyamalan would be proud.

So, humanity sucks, right? So bad the planet melted all our plastics as punishment. When we didn't relent it melted our metals. We were still being assholes and the planet just got angrier. Nuclear war poisoned the air and global warming got so bad it stopped raining and people were dying. We finally decide to be good and everyone agrees to destroy all nuclear weapon. The planet rewards us by stopping all the problems and even immediately reversing global warming and then, as Evan is flying to Mars the largest nuke ever made goes off, the planet literally screams and the world breaks in half. The end. Gave it a second star just for that last paragraph. Seriously I lol'd when I read it.

[Bill Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

How did this get published? The previous two were bad enough, but at least there was a bit of underlying mystery to them. While the mystery in this was "solved" the ending was by far the worst I have ever read. If 0 stars was an option I would of chosen it.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. I am honestly astonished how awful this book was. The first two were mildly compelling, but this one was just political and environmental ramblings. Characters were so random and annoying. Somehow, all three books spanned about a fifteen year period, but you couldn't really tell until a character said something like "but that happened 14 years ago" (was in book 1). The resolution of the "problem" was lame. It could have been interesting but was far from it. I'm so disappointed. Especially because you expect the air to be a problem in this final volume. But only a couple of people were truly affected by it, so it was not truly a huge problem after all.

[Millie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author seems to have forgotten what occurred in the first two books. For example, the local bank was destroyed in book 2 but is still standing after the war in book 3. Also, the town of Nolan Falls was destroyed by a nuclear bomb in book 2 but Kirby ends up living there for several months in book three. At rhe end of book 2 the characters leave the shelter after weeks of rain but in three they leave the shelter as severe drought patches the earth. Many more inconsistencies are seen throughout the novel.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this trilogy, I gave it a fair shot. Each book is progressively worse. The bare bones of an interesting premise are promising, but there is little character development and the plot jumps and glosses over details that the author doesn’t bother to explain. Or is it the editor that’s bumbled? There are so many loose ends and gaps. Holes abound. Ugh, the ending. At least I’m saved from facing another letdown.

[Barkley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where is the rest of the story?? One of my favorite authors, but this last book is below her normal standards. Its almost as if editors edited it down to where the story doesn't even make sense. Pity, as I really enjoyed the beginning of this series.

[Ron Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating storyline that is relevant to the current state of our world. The author does a great job of getting the reader to care about the main characters and how they deal with issues in their lives and the changing world. The ending was a shock that really caught me off guard.

[Barbara Brockhaus · Rating 1 out of 5]

It takes a lot for me to give a book one star. At least it was a quick read about environmental impact and left us ideology wrapped up in people I really didn't care about or any type of a true plot line. And then the ending. Just absolutely unbelievable.

[Sherry Partington · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐ for an ending I did not see coming!

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um, wow. Was seriously considering giving this book a fourth star for somewhat original ideas on the "after" theme. But, the ending was too much for me. Sigh.