Thursday 28 August 2014

Series Blitz & Giveaway: K.A Tucker's "Ten Tiny Breaths."

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The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog are pleased to be a part of the Series Blitz & Giveaway for K.A Tucker's "Ten Tiny Breaths."

Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/1C2PtHi

We've loved every book in K.A Tucker's "Ten Tiny Breaths Series" and with the imminent release of "In her Wake," we wanted to share our reviews and favourite quotes with you all so read on and see what we thought about four books that captured so many heart. 

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



TEN TINY BREATHS: 

Just breathe, Kacey. Ten tiny breaths. Seize them. Feel them. Love them.

Four years ago Kacey Cleary’s life imploded when her car was hit by a drunk driver, killing her parents, boyfriend and best friend. Still haunted by memories of being trapped inside, holding her boyfriend’s lifeless hand and listening to her mother take her last breath, Kacey wants to leave her past behind. Armed with two bus tickets, twenty year old Kacey and her fifteen year old sister Livie escape Grand Rapids, Michigan to start over in Miami. Struggling to make ends meet, Kacey needs to figure out how to get by. But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle anything—anything but her mysterious neighbor in apartment 1D.

Trent Emerson has smoldering blue eyes, deep dimples, and perfectly skates that irresistible line between nice guy and bad boy. Hardened by her tragic past, Kacey is determined to keep everyone at a distance, but their mutual attraction is undeniable and Trent is determined to find a way into Kacey’s guarded heart—even if it means that an explosive secret could shatter both their worlds.

***Caution: Mature content! Not suitable for younger readers. Contains reference to drugs, swearing, and sexual content ***


Review: Kirsty Lander:

This book rendered me absolutely speechless. I can't put in to words just how brilliant this book is. And if you haven't been and downloaded it yet, why ever not?! 

Ten Tiny Breaths is a powerful book that really pulls at your heartstrings. The centre theme in this book is forgiveness. It really makes you think of the importance of forgiving people you never thought you possibly could.

I was completely sucked in after the epilogue and devoured the book within hours. Kacey is a 20 year old, running away from a horrible life with her 15 year old sister, Livvie, to Miami. They don't have much money, barely just enough to rent an apartment and survive. But none of this bothers Kacey. She's Livvie's guardian now and she takes that role very seriously, she won't let anything happen to her little sister. She will provide for her as best she can, even if means putting her life on hold.

Life hasn't been kind to Kacey, a horrific night four years ago left her heart broken and empty. She closed herself off to any kind of real life after that night. She's had her phases of shocking behaviour to deal with it and she's eventually settled on being alone, not having to explain anything, to anybody. But all that changes in Miami.. and all of a sudden the walls around herself that she created are being worn down and broken.

Kacey finds herself making friends again, even opening herself up to a new relationship. Which is where Trent comes in.. ah Trent was just wonderful. I loved him, he always said the right things, treated Kacey the right way and did whatever he could to help Kacey through her pain.

But Trent is hiding his own secrets, and eventually Kacey has to face all of her past demons and Trent's and really decide if she can move on.

This book had me feeling every single emotion. I laughed at times and in the end found myself crying big, fat ugly tears. The best kind when you are reading a book. The last few chapters I read with a pain in my chest and barely breathing. I loved every single thing about this book and couldn't recommend it enough. I rated "Ten Tiny Breaths" 5 Hearts

ONE TINY LIE:

Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.

Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fit Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?

As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows. 


Review: Surj Harvey

"Because you're not a one-night-stand girl, Irish." Leaning in to place a
kiss on my jawline, he whispers. "You're my forever girl."

"Ten Tiny Breaths" was an amazing book and probably up there in my all time favourite reads. I knew we were getting a second book in the series (Livie's story) so I was excited but also a little apprehensive. Would it be as good? Would it make me feel everything I felt reading TTB? All I'm going to say is "I read it in one sitting.... I finished it at 1am.....and on a school night!!!). But please go into the book with an open mind. This isn't "Ten Tiny Breaths." It's quite different but still brilliant in it's own way. If you start to make comparisons, you may take the enjoyment out of what is a really good read.

"One Tiny Lie" is a slow burner and didn't have me on the edge of my seat, desperate for more until about half way through. Don't get me wrong, the first half of the book was good, funny even but it was more a gentle read with Livie experimenting with life and boys but no major angst or curveballs thrown in. By the time I reached 50%, my heart rate had gone up, my reading speed had increased and I was starting to talk to the characters in the book (I know, crazy right?) It's what I do, especially when they don't do what I want them to!!! lol

By the time "One Tiny Lie" had a hold of my emotions, I had really connected with the story and the characters and I loved them all. Livie was brilliant. She was literally perfect, every parents dream but was this normal? With everything she'd been through over the last 7 years, Kacey didn't think:

"You're too perfect, Livie. Everything you say. You can do no wrong.
If someone slapped you accross the face, you'd apologise to them."

Unfortunately Livie's life centred around the last conversation she had with her father before he died:

"That's my Livie Girl. Make me proud."
He says the same thing every night. And tonight just like every other night
I flash him a toothy smile as I answer, "I'll always make you proud, Daddy."

Those words constantly ringing in her ears, every choice she made was to ensure she didn't let him down. But Kacey and Dr Stayner had other ideas and I loved their little plans. With the regular phone calls, text messages and random visits, they were going to make sure Livie lived  student life to it's fullest. Watching Livie let go was just brilliant and even comical at times. Seeing her do things that were so out of character and seeing her question herself, second guess herself  made me feel like she was really starting to live the life meant for her. But she never lost that thoughtful, caring side to her. Yes she was attracted to Ashton but she saw beyond that. And when she figured out his secret, it was heart breaking to read. She would do anything to take his pain away:

"I don't have all the pieces to fix this beautiful, trapped, broken man,
but I do have one piece and it's mine to give... Me."

I think I gave a little piece of my heart to Ashton in this book. I know he was a bad boy, yes he was a
cheater (No I don't condone that on any level) but as I got to know him and his history, I really warmed to him. Initially, Ashton came across as cocky and  self assured and he was 100% a "man whore, " no disguising it. But the guy had me smiling. He was funny:

1. I am brilliant
2. I am charming
3. I am hung like a thoroughbred
4. I have stopped all philandering
5. I am highly skilled, as you leaned the other night
P.S Stop staring at my hands. I know what you want me to do with them.

But his story was ultimately a heart breaker with a twist at the end which had me close to tears.

And so we come to Connor, the third corner of the love triangle. Connor was the the perfect boyfriend, kind, caring, supportive and I did feel a little sorry for him because he hadn't done anything wrong. This guy would be every father's dream for their daughter and that's exactly what Livie saw when she met him:

I know my parents would love him, Dr Stayner. I'm not oblivious. I know they'd pick him
out of a hundred-man line up just because of his smile. That's ok. He's the
 guy they want. He's the kind of guy every girl wants.

But was he "The one" or was he the safe option when fulfilling her parents dreams for her? 

The secondary characters in the book were mostly those we had met in "Ten Tiny Breaths." It was lovely seeing Trent and Kacey again but also Storm and Emily and seeing how their stories had developed. And Dr Stayner... he was hilarious, he methods so off the wall it was untrue. He was like the personal shrink for the Cleary sisters.

His first words to me weren't 'hello,' or 'nice to talk to you again.'
He simply said 'So I hear you're a ticking time bomb."

Just say it how it is why don't you Dr Stayner!
This book was full of "laugh out loud" moments but also moments where my heart dropped and felt like someone was squeezing the life out of it, where I questioned my faith in human nature As much as Livie's story started of quite light hearted, the book did turn into so much more where I willing the pages away so that I could get to the HEA because these characters really deserved it. I got myself a good dose of romance, a huge dose of angst, there were tears of laughter and tears of sorrow and there was even a good amount of the naughty stuff (it always helps!!!
I rated "One Tiny Lie" 4.5 Hearts

FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE:

I believe you don’t have years, or months, or weeks to impact a person’s life. You have seconds. Seconds to win them over, and seconds to lose them.

Owning a strip club isn’t the fantasy most guys expect it to be. With long hours, a staff with enough issues to keep a psych ward in business, and the police regularly on his case, twenty-nine-year-old Cain is starting to second-guess his unspoken mission to save the women he employs. And then blond, brown-eyed Charlie Rourke walks through his door, and things get really complicated. Cain abides by a strict “no sleeping with his staff” rule. But being around Charlie challenges Cain’s self-control . . . and it’s been a long time since any woman has done that.

Twenty-two-year-old Charlie Rourke needs a lot of money, really fast, in order to vanish before it’s too late. Taking her clothes off for men makes her stomach curl, but Charlie tells herself that at least she’s putting her acting and dancing skills to good use. And though her fellow dancers seem eager to nab their sexy, sophisticated, and genuinely caring boss, she’s not interested. After all, Charlie Rourke doesn’t really exist—and the girl pretending to be her can’t get distracted by romance. 

Unfortunately, Charlie soon discovers that developing feelings for Cain is inevitable, and that those feelings may not be unrequited—but losing him when he finds out what she’s involved with will be more painful than any other sentence awaiting her.



FIVE WAYS TO FALL:

Sometimes you can’t change—and sometimes you just don’t want to. Discover Ben’s side of the story in this fourth novel by the beloved, top-selling indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths, One Tiny Lie, and Four Seconds to Lose.

Purple-haired, sharp-tongued Reese MacKay knows all about making the wrong choice; she’s made plenty of them in her twenty-odd-years. So when her impulsive, short-lived marriage ends in heartbreak, she decides it’s time for a change. She moves to Miami with the intention of hitting reset on her irresponsible life, and she does quite well…aside from an epically humiliating one-night stand in Cancun with a hot blond bouncer named Ben. Thank God she can get on a plane and leave that mistake behind her.

Football scholarship and frat parties with hot chicks? Part of charmer Ben Morris’s plan. Blown knee that kills any hope of a professional football career? So not part of the plan. Luckily Ben has brains to go with his knockout looks and magnetism. After three long years of balancing law school with his job as a bouncer at Penny’s Palace, he’s ready to lead a more mature life—until his first day of work, when he finds himself in the office of that crazy, hot chick he met in Cancun. The one he hasn’t stopped thinking about.

If Ben truly were a smart guy, he’d stay clear of Reese. She’s the boss’s stepdaughter and it’s been made very clear that office romances are grounds for dismissal. Plus, rumor has it she’s trouble. The only problem is, he likes trouble, especially when it’s so good-looking…


Review: Surj Harvey

Having just survived reading a couple of really dark, twisted novels, I was in much need of something light hearted... something that wouldn't be too taxing on the old brain cells and wouldn't leave me (yet again) in need of anxiety meds. Well, Five Ways to Fall fit the bill perfectly, although to be honest, after reading the first few pages, I really thought I was headed straight back to Angstville, especially when the tears threatened to fall!!! False alarm folks... false alarm because I spent most of this book with a huge grin on my face, laughing out loud like a lunatic because what I was reading was just sooooo funny!!!! From Reese and Ben's disastrous attempt at a one night stand to the whole fake girlfriend/ boyfriend thing, to the witty banter the couple shared, be warned, you will grin like a Cheshire cat so much that your cheeks will hurt by the time you read the last page.... pure brilliance and just what the doctor ordered... after all... laughter is the best medicine!!! 

“You’re not my type.” 

I've heard this before and I don’t believe her. Hell, I’m everyone’s type! Eventually. 

Reese MacKay and Benjamin Morris were fantastic leading characters. Reese was completely kick ass and it was difficult not to like her, even when her attempts at getting back at her ex made her look a little cray cray!!! She was feisty, sarcastic, sharp tongued and knew how to take care of herself. Unfortunately, Reese was also trouble with a capital T and that stemmed from abandonment issues. Ever since she was a child, everyone she loved had upped and left and that in itself had repercussions as those around her watched her spiral out of control:

"That was about needing to feel loved. About someone choosing her,
making her come first. Everyone who was supposed to make her the priority had failed,
leaving her lying on the ground to figure out how to pick herself back up."

Ben was equally a fun character to get to know. Despite being arrogant, obnoxious and very cocky, his charm, wit and laid back attitude definitely won me over. Plus he was a hottie in every sense of the word...he was definitely the full package neatly tied up with a pretty bow.. OK scratch the last bit because he wasn't neatly packaged up at all. Behind that exterior was a man who had commitment issues, unfortunately as a result of watching his parents unhealthy marriage tear the family apart. 

“Have you always loved yourself this much?”
“I had an awkward year in ‘ninety-nine, but I got over it quick.”

However despite both Reese and Ben having these demons waging war on them, the tone of the book overall remained quite uplifting. Yes the issues did surface now and again and yes they did tug at the heart strings but not to the extent where my heart felt like it had been torn out and trampled on (thank god!!!). 

"Five Ways to Fall" was a romance but it definitely didn't conform to the  usual formula we see in a lot of novels of this genre. What Reese and Ben shared was slow building and believe it or not, started off with Reese not liking Ben very much at all (but then she did throw up all over him during their first encounter and he had seen her butt naked, crawling on all fours trying to make it to the toilet before she threw up all over again!!! Even half way through, it was still friends with snogging benefits but it worked really well. 

And this is so easy. And straightforward and painless, because we both know it's completely
physical and neither of us is looking for more. And oddly enough, I feel like we're friends. 
Ben's kind of like a kid I used to play in the sandbox with 
who's seen me through my embarrassing gangly years and makes me laugh. 

There were no expectations from either characters part for anything more but the butterflies in my belly were going crazy because I could see that each of them was starting to be affected by the other just that little bit more. The question was, who would bite the bullet first? The whole "will they? won't they?" scenario made me giddy with excitement and the shenanigans they got up to only reinforced my belief that they were perfect together.  

The secondary characters in Lina, Mason, Wilma and Jack really helped to seal the deal with this book. Wilma and Jack truly made my heart swell. They were so selfless and had both made sacrifices for their kids. Their words of advice and encouragement and of course the meddling (especially on Wilma's part) only helped to reinforce my love for them. And Lina and Mason really were the kind of friends you would want on your side... they always had Reese and Ben's back... even when they didn't agree with what they were doing (and trust me... that was more often than not).

“If you have to fight over a guy, he’s not worth it. Go for the one who’s waiting for you.”

"Five Ways to Fall" was such a beautiful, sexy, funny conclusion to what has been an amazing series. The writing in each and every book has brought the story line and the characters to life, weaving them quietly into our hearts where they will forever hold a special place. From Trent and Kasey to Livie and Ashton and not forgetting Charlie and Cain and last but definitely not least, Ben and Reese. K A Tucker has done an amazing job with each and every book and as much as the full length novels are all now complete, there is a novella coming out... Oh yes "In her Wake" is Trent's novella before he met Kasey!!!! Go check it out on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1lgBbM0

So all that is left for me to do is rate "Five Ways to Fall" and I couldn't give it anything less than 
5 Hearts. 

IN HER WAKE: A Ten Tiny Breaths Novella:

Author’s Note: Although it is a prequel, In Her Wake is best read after completing Ten Tiny Breaths.

Before you knew him as Trent in Ten Tiny Breaths, he was Cole Reynolds—and he had it all. Until one night when he makes a fatal, wrong decision…and loses everything.

When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy. Normally, he’d be able to lean on his best friends—the ones who have been in his life since he could barely walk. Only, they’re gone. Worse, there’s the shattered body of a sixteen-year-old girl lying somewhere in a hospital bed, her entire life ripped from her because of a case of beer and a set of keys.

Everyone assures him that they know it wasn’t intentional, and yet he can’t ignore the weight of their gazes, the whispers behind his back. Nor can he shake the all-consuming guilt he feels every time he thinks of that girl who won’t so much as allow him near her hospital room to apologize. As the months go by and the shame and loneliness festers, Cole begins to lose his grip on what once was important—college, his girlfriend, his future. His life. It’s not until Cole hits rock-bottom that he can begin to see another way out of his personal hell: forgiveness.

And there’s only one person who can give that to him…


About K.A. Tucker:

Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.


Giveaway: Signed set of the Ten Tiny Breaths Series plus a signed copy of Burying Water 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 comments:

  1. Would love to win these books ������

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  2. One of my favorite parts of these books is in Ten Tiny Breaths, Kaceys relationship with Dr Stayner is hilarious.

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  3. I haven't read the series yet, but it's on my TBR list!

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  4. Was waiting for all the books to get here so I can read them one after the other. Starting this weekend

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