Ten Tiny Breaths - Review

Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths, # 1)

By: KA Tucker

Published: December 11th 2012 by Papoti Books

262 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

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Goodreads description--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 unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

I picked up Ten Tiny Breaths because my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love, who has very similar reading tastes to my own gave this one 5 stars. So yeah...there was no question about whether or not I was going to read this one.

There are some parts about Ten Tiny Breaths that weren't completely original. We've got the character with the tragic past. Kacey was in a car accident with a drunk driver that killed her parents, her boyfriend, her best friend, and the drunk driver of the other vehicle. The only survivors were Kacey and a passenger from the other vehicle. Kacey and her younger sister Livie then move in with their aunt and uncle, but eventually the need for them to leave arises and so they do. Kacey's background wasn't new territory, but old territory isn't always bad if it's done well. And that's basically what I felt about Ten Tiny Breaths--anything that could be considered a cliche just didn't bother me as much as normal because it was so well done.

Because Kacey was actually involved in the accident and witnessed it all, she's a little more screwed up in the head than her younger sister Livie. Kacey's attempted to cope using drugs and sex in the past, but Livie has begged her to quit such behavior. Livie is terrified of losing Kacey too. And while being the younger sister, sometimes Livie is the one that seems like she's got her head on straight and is taking care of Kacey. Kacey has transferred her coping from those past attempts into kickboxing. This has been two fold. It's a way for Kacey to take out her anger on the bag, and it allows her to keep her body, once mangled from the accident, in tip top shape. Other than being a complete nut case (not really), Kacey's a really strong character. And what I love most about her, is even though she might get angry about some stupid things, she's quicker to forgive than she realizes.

Trent is hot. There were moments when he doesn't quite make sense to me, but I wonder how much of that is because of his own past that's not really revealed until closer to the end of the book. Although, the further I got into the story, the more predictable his secrets were.

Also, I feel like this is worth mentioning: while Ten Tiny Breaths does qualify for the New Adult genre, it was much less graphic than others that I've read--which is a huge plus for me. If you're a little wary of this genre, I recommend this one as either an introductory read or just as one that goes just a bit further than YA.

Ten Tiny Breaths wraps up on the pretty side, and maybe just a little too nice to be believable. However, I think this is the ending that any reader would hope for. I couldn't put Ten Tiny Breaths down. And despite being signed up for a read-a-thon that focuses on paranormal creatures, I MUST read the sequel, which focuses on Kacey's younger sister Livie, next.

I'm easily giving Ten Tiny Breaths 4.5 Stars. Have you read Ten Tiny Breaths? What did you think? Let me know.

P.S. I think this is a great cover for this story as well. Very fitting IMO.