Hold My Breath by Ginger Scott

  Hold My Breath by Ginger Scott

Blurb: 

They say the average person can hold their breath under water for two full minutes when pushed to the extremes. Will Hollister has been holding his for years. The oldest of two elite swimming brothers, Will was always a dominant force in the water. But in life, he preferred to let his younger brother Evan be the one to shine.

Evan got the girl, and Will…he got to bury all of the secrets. A brother’s burden, the weight of it all nearly left him to drown.

The daughter of two Olympians, my path was set the day my fingertips first touched water. My future was as crystal clear as the lane I dominated in the pool—swim hard, win big, love a Hollister.

My life with Evan burned bright. He gave me arms to come home to, and a smile that fooled the world into believing everything was perfect. But it was Will who pushed me. Will…who really knew me.

And when all of the pieces fell, it was Will who started to pick them up.

In the end, the only thing that matters are those few precious seconds—and what we decide to do while we still have them in our grasp.


The characters in the books by Ginger Scott very often have to deal deal with disabilities, illness or traumatic experiences. Maddy and Will in "Hold your breath" are no exception as they both still struggle with the loss of Will's brother Evan, Maddy's boyfriend, and Evan's and Will's parents four years ago. Up to that moment their families were tight and Evan, Will and Maddy were all training hard with Maddy's father, a former Olypian swimmer and had been training (and growing up together) for some years.

When Maddy and Will start to swim together again, it is more than just swimming that this is about, it is also about living. And about facing what happened - even more important, when some things turn up that can't be ignored and that will not just change their perception of the past but also their future, forever.

I like Ginger Scott's intense writing that lets the reader feel and fear with the characters without ever turning sappy or overly dramatic. The reader faces the facts as much as the characters have to face them, just plain hard facts, no drama to blow it up or something like that, just the facts and the people who have to deal with them. You can feel them grow into their roles, into their fate and you respect and love them for it.

A beautiful story, well written with wonderful, strong characters - I really enjoyed reading this book!

★★★★