The Air I Breathe by Karen Baney Blog Tour Book Review

About the Book

Book: The Air I Breathe

Author: Karen Baney

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: August 15, 2023

Single mom, starting over Christian Contemporary Romance.

One moment of weakness changed everything.

When life throws Kelly Sutton a curve ball, she packs up everything she owns to move to Arizona to be closer to her daughter’s dad. Starting over in a new town stresses Kelly and triggers panic attacks—something she thought she was over. When a panic attack comes on and the only person she knows in town can’t help her, his roommate comes to her rescue. Will Kelly find her footing again in this new town?

Matt Dixon has too much on his plate. He works as a financial analyst during the day while he goes to seminary at night. He also juggles an internship with his church to fulfill his dream of becoming a youth pastor. When he comes to the aid of his roommate’s ex, he never expects his life to go off the rails. Will he choose love for a woman over his dream?

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My Review

Baney has written a good novel exploring flawed characters and mistakes made. The story portrays the ramifications of not separating lust and love and not exercising the self control of the Spirit. We get a good picture of how a sinful decision can change the future of the individuals involved and how others may react to it.

I am a little old fashioned and I wish there had been more talk of sin and repentance rather than merely a mistake and sorrow for what resulted. Matt's knowledge of Scripture and his career goals could have provided a clear teaching opportunity about the consequences of sin and the benefit of repentance.

I do appreciate the strong message of God redeeming bad situations. The novel also shows how God can heal broken relationships. Having known couples in a similar situation, Kelly and Matt will have much to work through in order to have a successful and God honoring marriage.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

 

About the Author

Karen Baney is passionate about writing stories full of flawed characters. She enjoys weaving together stories of second chances, redemption, and overcoming personal trials. As a transplant to Arizona in the late 1990s, she loves researching the state’s history and finding ways to seamlessly incorporate real history and real settings into her novels. In addition to writing and speaking, Karen works as a Software Development Manager for a Christian ministry.

Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing. Karen and her husband, Jim, make their home in Gilbert, Arizona, with their two dogs, Bella and Daisy. Both Jim and Karen are active at Rock Point Church in Queen Creek, Arizona.

More from Karen

Inspiration Behind the Novel

The female main character in The Air I Breathe, Kelly Sutton, suffers from panic attacks. The inspiration behind this came from a real-life encounter. Around twelve years ago, my coworker and I took a break to walk around the office building we worked in. We saw a young woman leave the building. To our shock, we watched as she kneeled on the concrete sidewalk and bent over.

Concerned about her well-being, we rushed over to her and asked if she was alright. She said she was having a panic attack. I’ll never forget the sound of her wheezing.

I asked what we could do to help her and if we should call 911. She begged us not to call, so I knelt beside her, rubbed her back, and silently prayed over her. After ten minutes or so, she recovered enough to go back inside the office building. She told us that when people call 911, it embarrassed her. She knew how to cope with the panic attacks, but others didn’t understand and overreacted, making things worse for her. She thanked us for stopping and for listening to her.

Though we never crossed paths again, that encounter stuck with me. When I sat down to write Kelly’s story about starting over in a new city, I knew two things:

1. I wanted to represent this experience through her character.
2. I wanted to tie her experience with the idea that God is the air we breathe (like the popular worship song’s lyrics).

Many times, real-life provides inspiration for my characters or their trials and that was certainly true for many of the topics, besides the panic attacks, included in this novel.

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, October 2

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, October 3 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, October 3

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 4

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 5

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 6

Texas Book-aholic, October 7

For the Love of Literature, October 8 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, October 8

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, October 9

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 10

Back Porch Reads, October 11 (Author Interview)

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 12

For Him and My Family, October 13

A Reader’s Brain, October 14 (Author Interview)

Splashes of Joy, October 15

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Celebrate Lit.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)