Blog Tour Stop : Every Breath by Ellie Marney
Title : Every Breath (Every #1)
Author : Ellie Marney
Publication Date : October 14th 2014
Publisher : Tundra Books
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When James Mycroft drags Rachel Watts off on a night mission to the Melbourne Zoo, the last thing she expects to find is the mutilated body of Homeless Dave, one of Mycroft's numerous eccentric friends. But Mycroft's passion for forensics leads him to realize that something about the scene isn't right--and he wants Watts to help him investigate the murder.
While Watts battles her attraction to bad-boy Mycroft, he's busy getting himself expelled and clashing with the police, becoming murder suspect number one. When Watts and Mycroft unknowingly reveal too much to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion's den--literally. A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning to Rachel Watts again...
Personal Thoughts
What a fun read this was! I was completely invested in Mycroft and Rachel's story and I think what they say about Aussie authors is true! There must be something different there that makes it possible for every Australian author to write riveting stories with gorgeous writing styles!
It was easy for me to become interested in Every Breath because it's pitched as a modern day Sherlock Holmes. I used to devour mystery books when I was younger and I actually still do, but it's hard to find good ones in the YA genre. Every Breath proved me wrong though because it not only had a captivating mystery that held my attention from the start, but writing was also gorgeous, making my reading experience even better. My one huge pet peeve when it comes to mysteries is how predictable they can be, especially with YA books, but Every Breath managed to surprise me multiple times throughout the book. It had a slower pace than I expected for a mystery book, but it worked perfectly because even though it was slow, it was also exciting in every way. I couldn't help but want to flip the pages to find out what was going on. The plot, for me, was so much fun to read because I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout. Very rarely has an author been able to do that and that automatically makes Ellie Marney an instantly favorite author of mine.
What made Every Breath a shining star though were the beautiful characters of Rachel and Mycroft. Rachel, as a protagonist, was so refreshing, mostly because she was incredibly relateable. Her issues felt realistic and there was something genuine and honest about her voice that made it easy for me to love her character. She was perfectly flawed and had the tendency to make mistakes, which was what made her so interesting, according to me. And then of course there was Mycroft! Oh Mycroft! He was such a heart-breaker! He had so many issues going on and he was very secretive about them, but he didn't come across as the typical tortured bad-boy soul to me. I loved how enthusiastic he was with anything that had to do with forensic science and his passion for solving crimes shone through the pages. Of course, I can't speak of Rachel and Mycroft without discussing their romance. You want to know the perfect definition of slow-burn and friends to more relationships? Read this book asap to find out. I loved how slow their relationship was because all I wanted to do was smoosh their faces together. These two were definitely OTP material and I need more of them
Every Breath was a consuming YA mystery book that stood apart from every other book I've read in the genre with it's intriguing and unpredictable plot line, the fleshed-out characters, the scorching romance and the stunning writing.
Rating
Cover : 3/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
Interview
Hi Ellie! I'm excited to have you over on the blog today.
Hey Nick! Well, I’m very happy to be here! Thank you for letting me come visit ☺
Sending your book out into the world must be a really exciting moment for you. Can you describe Every Breath in a Tweet (140 characters) to my readers?It most definitely is exciting! Okay, in a tweet…how’s this? ‘ Contemporary teenage Sherlock-wannabe & practical country-girl Watson get hot & heavy investigating gory murder near Melbourne zoo’
Rachel and Mycroft are both very special characters and it's hard not to love them both. I'm going to ask you a hard question though, who would you say was your favorite of the two and why?
Oh, a cruel cruel question indeed! I’ve lived with Rachel in my head for nearly five years, so she is really like my BFF. Having said that though…
Let’s be hypothetical here and say I could only invite one of them out to lunch. I think I would probably invite Mycroft – partly because I think he would be good fun, and partly because he’s still a bit of a mystery (I wrote from Rachel’s POV for three books, so I feel like I know her as well as I know myself). I think he would be eccentric and entertaining, and hugely fun to talk to… Okay, I admit it, I’m a little bit in love with Mycroft! I’d love to meet him in person, after imagining him this whole time.
I think we would go to High Tea at a fancy hotel in town. That seems like something Mycroft would be tickled by, and there would be a lot of scope for silliness.
Do you have any detective skills as Rachel and Mycroft do or have you ever played detective in real life?
Writers are kind of observant people. Early in the book, Mycroft quotes that old Holmes saying about how detection is not merely seeing, but observing – you can’t just let your eyes glide over things, you have to really look, really observe the details. I spend a lot of time surreptitiously perving on people (strange but true!), because it’s the details that are important, not just what people are wearing, but the little gestures and mannerisms that reveal character and purpose.
About a month ago, I saw this guy on the tram – very tall, good-looking, but I could see that the suit he was wearing was a bit thin at the seams. So, an old suit then. He was carrying a really nice briefcase, which looked like something he’d saved up for. But his shoes were old too, really worn at the toe and on the heels. It was interesting to imagine where this guy was going – a job interview, maybe? – and why. I recently sat on a Melbourne tram writing down what kind of shoes people were wearing. I like listening to overheard conversations too, and watching how people’s body language can change the meaning of what they’re saying.
It’s a bit weird, I know! I’m not really a stalker-y type person! But it’s kind of something you have to do – you have to be a bit of a people-watcher. I guess it’s a bit of an occupational hazard.
I was stalking your biography and I found out you lived in all these different countries. Did anything you learn from your journeys abroad shape any aspect of Every Breath?
(Oh good, so it’s not just me does the stalk-y thing!) Yes, I lived in Indonesia for about four years, and I lived in Singapore and India for six months each. Living overseas is really terrifying and exhilarating, in equal measure. You’re thrown completely out of your comfort zone. It certainly hones your observational skills, because you need to be really alert to figure out what’s going on around you, especially socially, and most especially if you don’t speak the language (or are learning the language slowly, like I was in Indonesia). Travel is a great thing if you’re a writer, for that reason. It sort of forces you to be really alert and observant, it makes your brain move fast.
I think one other thing that travel did for me was that it made me appreciate coming home. I’d only lived in Melbourne a short time (I was born in Brisbane, in the north) before I left to go overseas, and I still didn’t quite love it at that stage. When I returned, I was really ready for a break, and Melbourne felt very comforting to be in – I knew the language, I knew the streets and the culture and the people. I think that marked the moment when I felt at home in the city, and really started to love its little alleyways and coffee shops and cultural enclaves. That love comes through in Every Breath, I think, in all the descriptions of the street life that Rachel starts off disliking and eventually comes to appreciate.
Lastly, what can readers expect to find in the future novels of this series?
Mayhem! Danger and hotness! Well, yeah, all those things ☺ In the second book, Every Word, there’s a lot more emotional upheaval, because you start to see why Mycroft is the way he is – we find out a lot more of Mycroft’s backstory, which is pretty traumatic. Rachel gets an understanding of how messed-up he really is when he takes off to London without warning. And then Rachel follows him, so they’re both over in London, unchaperoned… Things get pretty nail-biting when the case Mycroft’s investigating puts Rachel in danger, too.
In Every Move, the third book (which I’m copyediting now – it goes to the printers here in November!), I wanted to explore a bit more of Rachel’s background – we see where Mycroft’s come from in Every Word, so in the last book I thought we should have a glimpse of the country life that Rachel left behind. But tied up with that is all this danger and action when they find out that Mycroft’s nemesis is hot on their trail…
I’m so looking forward to when all three books are out! I’ve loved writing the series so much – and Every Breath was what kicked it all off. I’m completely rapt that Rachel and Mycroft are travelling overseas now, to meet new readers and make new friends ☺
Thanks for taking your time to answer these questions, Ellie
Absolutely my pleasure! Thank you again for letting me come and play in your sandbox, and say hi to everyone ☺ It’s been lovely to have you come aboard the tour.
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