Author Spotlight Review: Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Posted September 24, 2009 by Casee in Features, Reviews | 4 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

Casee‘s review of Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

She’s Dr. Isabel Favor, America’s diva of self-help. He’s Ren Gage, Hollywood’s favorite bad guy. She’s lost her money, her fiancé, and her reputation. He makes his living killing people?one the the silver screen, that is. Sometimes all it takes is a special place . . . a special love . . . a little breathing room . . . for life to deliver all its glorious promise.

It wasn’t until after Holly reviewed Breathing Room that I decided to re-read it. Breathing Room was the first SEP that I ever read. I enjoyed it enough to continue reading her, but it didn’t have that wow factor that the subsequent books had. Or so I thought. This was the first time I re-read it and I loved it. I obviously didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have the first time around.

From the moment of their first encounter, Lorenzo Gage and Isabel favor don’t stand a chance. Thinking that he is a gigolo, Isabel actually pays Ren for sex. She doesn’t realize who he is. It turns out to be the single most humiliating experience of her life. She flees and puts the whole thing behind her. Or so she thinks. When she arrives at the villa she’s rented for two months, her landlord is none other than the man she never wanted to see again.

Ren and Isabel are complete opposites. She’s control, he’s chaos. She writes lists for everything, he takes life as it comes. He doesn’t understand how Isabel can be so uptight and he delights in flustering her. He also likes how Isabel’s attitude toward him doesn’t change after she realizes who he is. It’s refreshing to be looked at as a person, rather than an actor. Even knowing that, it’s obvious that Isabel finds him lacking.

Isabel has no idea how she can be attracted to Ren. When he continually pops up during her vacation, she finds herself actually enjoying his company. She always believed the stories about him in the tabloids, though she’s finding out that there is far more to Lorenzo Gage than meets the eye. Seeing herself through his eyes is what helps put her back on the path she’s meant to follow.

The best part about this book is how Isabel and Ren make each other look at themselves and re-evaluate. Isabel isn’t an uptight woman that has to follow lists all the time. Ren isn’t the stereotypical Hollywood bad boy. Of course it takes both of them awhile to see what the other is trying to show them. I love the ending of the book when Isabel wears red and cuts her hair.

I loved this book from front to back. If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out.

4.75 out of 5.

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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4 responses to “Author Spotlight Review: Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

  1. I love all SEP’s books but for some reasons this one isn’t one of my favorites.
    The reason is that I couldn’t care less about the secondary romance. Secondary romances are very important in her books and this one was really boring for me.
    But I do agree with you, Isabel and Ren’s story is beautiful. I love the epilogue when Gage accidently walks on some action figures and the conversation that follows… priceless !

  2. I love, love this book. For some reason I really connected with Isabel. She’s one of my favorite SEP characters. I also loved all their scenes together… Ren made me laugh. I especially loved when he dressed as the tourist… I still smile when I think of it.

    The supporting characters also tugged at my heart. His ex-wife, I really felt for too… being pregnant and miserable and feeling alone; unfortunately for me, been there.

    Anywho, one of my favorite books, thanks for reminding me 🙂

  3. Luci

    I have enjoyed all of SEP’s books and she’s one of my favourite authors. While I did enjoy this book, it is not one of my favourites. I couldn’t connect with Isabel unfortunately. As i said though, I enjoyed it even if i didn’t love it.

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