Review: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Posted December 30, 2013 by Kim in Reviews / 6 Comments

Review: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. TuckerTen Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #1
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Publication date: December 11, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Elizabeth Louise
How I got it: I bought it!
Add it: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon
My rating:

Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgivable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

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My Thoughts

“Ten tiny breaths… Seize them. Feel them. Love them.”

Kacey Cleary is broken. You would be too if your mom, dad, best friend, and boyfriend had all been ripped from your lives in a horrible accident. An accident you survived. Barely. To make matters worse, living with her aunt and uncle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. They’re both scum. Her uncle is the kind of scum who would climb into a teenage girl’s bed in the middle of the night. Kacey escapes with her younger sister, Livie, and begins to build a new life in Miami.

“He’s like ripe watermelon after a lifetime of thirst. He’s like air after years under water. He’s like life.” 

Enter Trent Emerson, her new next-door neighbor. Trent is gorgeous and distracting and Kacey is beginning to feel things she has no desire to feel again. It’s not long before Trent becomes the person Kacey can rely on. He’s there for her no matter what she needs. Kacey didn’t intend to get close to anyone when she moved to Miami, but suddenly she finds herself not only with Trent but with a whole host of new friends – family, almost – in Storm, Dan and Mia. Each character is amazing in their own way. Each of them won my heart.

“Give me your heart, Kacey. I’ll take everything that comes with it.” 

 This book took me, flipped me around, made me laugh, made me cry, made me feel all the feels. And then some. It was beautifully written.  I totally guessed the “huge twist” that occurred about 3/4 of the way through the book. It still absolutely stole my breath away though. It broke my heart more than just a little bit, too. Though I figured it out, it devastated me. The characters, even the secondary ones, were well-developed and complex. I was totally wrapped up in all their stories and couldn’t wait to read more about them. Thankfully we get an opportunity to read more about these wonderful characters through the follow-up novels. That’s the thing about K.A. Tucker’s writing. It makes me fall in love, promptly breaks me, and then puts me back together. Her characters are incredible and real and broken and complex. None of them are perfect, but who is?

“I feel happiness. Happiness that Trent is here. Longing. Longing to feel him against my skin again, his arms protecting me, his mouth on mine. Love. Whatever happened between us, it was real. I know it was real. And I love him for letting me experience that. Hope. Hope that something beautiful may come from this tragic story. Fear. Fear that it won’t. Forgiveness… forgiveness.” 

If you’re a fan of stories of redemption, second chances, finding oneself and true love, do yourself a favor and read Ten Tiny Breaths. I would recommend also having some tissues on hand when you do. I know I needed them… and some wine. Then you’ll want to purchase One Tiny Lie and Four Seconds to Lose. This is one of my all-time favorite new adult contemporary series. I can’t get enough of these books. 

“Forever’s not long enough when it’s with you.” 

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Kim

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