The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

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Book review: The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

This book is a Romantic Suspense novel; it was my first from the author and a very satisfying read. I enjoy good fiction but allocate more of my precious little reading time towards non-fiction. When I have an overall pleasurable experience with a novel that’s always extra-special for me.

In The Breath of Dawn we first meet Morgan Spencer, who is a widower and father of a toddler, and who suffers panic attacks from repressed grief and other effects of the trauma he has experienced. When he meets Quinn Reilly he doesn’t realize right away that she could be more than someone needing ‘help’ - which he’s good at giving. Quinn, who has learned to be alone and self-sufficient, is on the run from a past that has come back into her present and she has to deal with the human and the supernatural element behind that trouble. Still, she maintains a refreshing genuine sweetness and maturity. Their lives become entwined in ways they never could have seen coming.

I think it’s really hard to come across a novel that strikes you as entirely original, especially in genres like this. I could see ‘parts’ of various other novels I’ve read within the past year here, but this was a good read that I did not get bored with it at any point. What made this novel work was the entire like-ability of the (good) characters. They were characterized well and in a somewhat refreshing way - Quinn especially. The plot worked as well: there were no glaring gaps or unanswered questions; the writing was solid and there was actually some heart-pounding suspense (which I don’t really experience in many ‘suspense’ novels). I would also add that the protagonists didn’t do some uncharacteristically stupid thing which happens in many novels so that the conflict is able take place - that always annoys me. Everything here unfolds nicely.

I have long had another Kristen Heitzmann novel in my vast Kindle library and I am definitely more eager to pick it up after reading her work in this one. I’d give it 4 stars in its genre. Many readers will give this a 5 but I would need to have that lingering, ‘can’t stop pondering what I just read’ element to give it a perfect rating.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review only.