One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker

One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths, #2
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 11, 2013

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 fits 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.

I started One Tiny Lie with the hope that it would be just as good, if not better than Ten Tiny Breaths. And while it maybe wasn't as good, it was still an awesome read, and I really enjoyed getting to see into Livie's mind. In Ten Tiny Breaths, she was very closed off. She was a loner, but in this one we really get to see her open up and thrive, which I thought was really nice!

Livie was an interesting character for me. I can very rarely identify with very driven characters, so it was kind of a shock for me. But she was just learning who she really is, and that kind of self-discovery in a character always makes me really happy. The only thing that doesn't make me happy about that trope is the fact that it almost always involves a guy. In this instance, though, Livie doesn't really let the guy define her. Her reasons are her own, and I'm so proud of her for her decisions.

On that note, let us talk about the love interest for a bit. Ashton. Oh, how I systematically loath and love you. Why am I capable of both emotions? For one, I loath you because you're a pig. You treat women like trash, like throwaways. I very much don't like that about you. And yet it seems that lots of lovable guy characters do the same?! So I kind of forgive you. A little bit. Because even though you do such terrible things like that, you're still a nice guy when it matters. But this brings me to the next question: Who are you? I really don't think that you know, which is a disappointment. I get that your past was rough, I really do. But I'd like to understand you better. Your closed off personality makes it so hard to get to know you.

Ashton & Livie together was like a power couple. They really seemed to understand each other, but I don't really understand their relationship. I feel like relationship-wise, we should have gotten more development on them. Something to really help us identify with them as a couple and really root for them. As is, I think that they need a little more work in the relationship part. This, however, did not dampen my enjoyment of One Tiny Lie!

This was, in fact, a lighter read than Ten Tiny Breaths, which was actually really nice. I liked the introduction of new secondary characters (Reagan was so fun!), and the new dynamic of the row team boys. Kacey's sense of humor and spunk was still absolutely amazing, and the fact that Kacey & Trent were still thriving together just melted my heart. *happy sigh*

All in all, One Tiny Lie is actually a really good read. I would definitely recommend it for fans of Ten Tiny Breaths!

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths, #1
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: September 24, 2013

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.

Ten Tiny Breaths surprised me in a good way. I had seen this one around, and I'd been keeping it in my sights, but it was one that I wasn't sure I'd ever get to. Turns out that it would of been a mistake if I had never read it, because I really liked it. Kacey was such an amazing character, and I love watching her grow and heal as a character.

Her sense of humor was fantastic, and I loved that tough-as-nails exterior that she was putting off, it was great. My favorite part of this book would have to be the character relationships, though. Every one of the secondary characters was well developed and had a purpose...which only made me love them more. I was mostly proud that there was no pointless characters, to tell you the truth. My recent experiences with New Adult have left a bit to be desired, if you catch my drift. I'm glad that this one didn't. It was fantastic.

Every page of this was like...I don't know. It was just really good. There were a few predictable scenes, but what is a good book without a feeling of predictability? Personally, I'm a fan of some predictable things, so it was no problem for me. Kacey still remains my favorite part of the book, though.

She was her own person, and although she didn't pick the best way to handle her problems, I think that in the end it made her every bit of who she was. I also loved her relationship with Trent. He has several skeletons in his closet too, but he was perfect in almost every way for Kacey. They compliment each other.

Just like Storm and Kacey-- Storm makes a fantastic best friend for Kacey. I couldn't help but think that the balance each other out, and I was really surprised by Storm. Though I keep wanting to call her Stormy, and I have no idea why...

All in all, Ten Tiny Breaths is worth a read...like a lot. I think that you should give it a chance, because it might surprise you.