breathe out slow is full of grief, of loss, of hope for what comes after the pain of losing someone you love. ryan fell in love with his best friend and imagined they'd have a future together and then it was just gone. and it was senseless and devastating.

a year later ryan is still picking up the pieces after chris's death. he hasn't moved on. and he's just going through the motions. his weekend m.o. of getting blind drunk in his dorm room every weekend is his way of coping. it's not working.

one night he goes out and gets wasted. and roofied. enter liam doyle. he saves ryan from a potential assault and takes him to the hospital. and then he gives ryan his number and tells him to call for any reason. there's something about ryan that speaks to liam. he's just so lost. and liam worries.

and then one night, ryan needs saving again. and liam shows up. and then he keeps showing up. and slowly ryan starts to realize that life hasn't stopped. that his heart is not immune to love. and while the guilt of that is crushing, there's still hope for him. his life didn't end with chris's death. and liam opens up a world of possibilities.

i loved this story so, so much. this is the kind of second-chance story i love.

**breathe out slow will publish on september 9, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/ninestar press in exchange for my honest review.