Until It Fades - Review

Until It Fades

By: KA Tucker

Expected Publication: June 27th 2017 by Atria Books

320 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description-- Twenty-four-year-old truck stop waitress and single mother Catherine Wright has simple goals: to give her five-year-old daughter a happy life and to never again be the talk of the town in Balsam, Pennsylvania: population two thousand outside of tourist season.

And then one foggy night, on a lonely road back from another failed attempt at a relationship, Catherine saves a man’s life. It isn’t until after the police have arrived that Catherine realizes exactly who it is she has saved: Brett Madden, hockey icon and media darling.

Catherine has already had her fifteen minutes of fame and the last thing she wants is to have her past dragged back into the spotlight, only this time on a national stage. So she hides her identity. It works.

For a time.

But when she finds the man she saved standing on her doorstep, desperate to thank her, all that changes. What begins as an immediate friendship quickly turns into something neither of them expected. Something that Catherine isn’t sure she can handle; something that Catherine is afraid to trust.

Because how long can an extraordinary man like Brett be interested in an ordinary woman like Catherine…before the spark fades?

Until It Fades was a bit different from KA Tucker's last couple of books. It wasn't as dark or mysterious, instead Until It Fades was more hopeful and happy. It doesn't exactly start out that way though. The book begins with Catherine in high school. Without giving too much away, Catherine experiences something that makes her the talk of the town. She basically leaves her parents' home as soon as she turns eighteen, but that isn't the last of her being the talk of the town. She finds out that she's pregnant, and yet again she becomes the talk of the town. Catherine is the first to admit that her teen years were a bit troubled and now that six years have passed, she knows that she's changed a lot.

Beyond all the local gossip about Catherine, she really hasn't had it easy. Her relationship with her parents is strained at best. She's not without blame there also. She's working every day that she can for as long as she can to make ends me and provide a home for her daughter. And she's single momming it because Brenna's dad isn't around. But she has a few solid people in her corner, and her little girl makes life worth living. But there hasn't been a man in her life in a long time.

Brett was easy to like. He feels immense gratitude toward Catherine for saving his life, and that's kind of what starts their relationship off. Having this shared traumatic experience bonds them. They get to know each other and the relationship builds. Brett's a bit more game for things from the beginning, but Catherine's past makes it hard for her to trust Brett or his intentions. It takes a lot for her to open up and trust him, to trust that he likes her for her--ordinary as she may be--and trust that if she gives her heart to him that he's not going to rip it up and hand it back to her.

Until It Fades ended up being a feel good story for me. I enjoyed the process of Catherine and Brett developing their feelings for each other. I loved Catherine's relationship with her daughter, Brenna. I really liked her brother Jack so much that I wouldn't mind knowing more about him. Even though Brenna's relationship with her parents was rocky, I enjoyed that too. Brett's family was pretty awesome too considering their outstanding circumstances. I appreciated KA Tucker's positive use of God. Don't get confused, this isn't a religious story, but she mentioned God three times in a positive way and in today's culture and literature this was extremely refreshing for me. The physical scenes were scarce (but present), and the language was present also but not overwhelming. Until It Fades gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read Until It Fades? What did you think? Let me know!