Love, grief, and guilt don’t always fade with time—and in The Next Breath, the past proves it’s not finished with Robin quite yet.
A decade ago, Robin’s world cracked open when Jed, the man who said “permanent doesn’t exist,” died. Her grief was private, hollowing, and slow to heal. Now, after years of standing still, she’s trying again. Nick is nothing like Jed—he’s hopeful, grounded, and funny in the best way. He represents a fresh chapter. But Robin is still keeping a secret: she’s agreed to star in the play Jed wrote for her before he died. As she steps into that role, literal and emotional, Robin’s dreams blur with memory, and she finds herself in a ghost-shadowed love triangle. Nick doesn’t know he’s sharing her heart, and Robin can’t quite let go of what was. What if she’s not ready to choose?
Laurel Osterkamp brings an elegant honesty to her writing, mixing literary sensibility with emotional clarity. A Minneapolis-based author and teacher, she’s known for crafting character-rich stories that explore the quiet heroism of everyday people facing extraordinary internal conflicts. Her novels—including The Side Project, Favorite Daughters, and the Amazon #1 bestseller Beautiful Little Furies—are favorites among fans of Jo Jo Moyes, Carley Fortune, and Emily Henry. Off the page, Laurel is a mom, a runner, a cat negotiator, and a devoted rewatcher of ‘90s TV. Her books invite readers to reflect, connect, and maybe even find closure in the unexpected. Visit laurellit.com or follow her on Instagram.
My Review
The Next Breath by Laurel Osterkamp
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The story is told is dual timelines. Current and 12 years earlier when the MC was in college. I liked the chemistry between the MC and her current boyfriend. I didn’t feel that same chemistry between her and the college BF.
I did think the education about cystic fibrosis was good.
The parts that were the play did not connect with me, and I did not understand the role that flash dance girl played.
Overall, though, I liked this story, and it was easy to keep reading. However, I was expecting a tearjerker and for some reason it was not that for me.
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