Review: One Tiny Lie

I read my first K.A. Tucker book earlier this year. I had heard the novel, and series, Ten Tiny Breaths was awesome and I was curious. I read it back in January and devoured it. I couldn't wait to read the next book but I purposely took a break between them because I knew the next one featured a different character. So, after a nice long break, I finally picked up book two in the series. I didn't think I could love One Tiny Lie more but, oh my god, I did. I couldn't put it down.

Here's the synopsis:

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 wasn't kidding when I said I couldn't put this book down. I started it at lunch at work one day and figured I'd finish it the next evening. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. I went home and did the "Ah, I'll just read for a half hour or so and then get to being productive." Yeah, that didn't happen. I finished the book that night. I actually read during the second last Bones episode of the season. I love that show but I just had to finish this book! 

The novel takes place three years after the first in the series and little sister Livie is all grown up and heading off to college. This was a plus for me. I enjoy books in a college/university setting (perhaps because I want to go back to that time...it was so much easier lol) and I wondered how good girl Livie had turned out. Pretty well, as it happens. I didn't know if I'd really like her but she was an awesome character to read about. She's smart without being nerdy and fun loving without being party crazy. She's so sweet and just a little bit broken. I enjoyed seeing her become her own person and discover what it was that she wanted to do. I was happy with how things turned out for her and will definitely look forward to finding out a little bit more when I read Four Seconds to Lose. 

I couldn't quite decide what I thought of Ashton. It took a long while to really find out what makes him tick (but it worked for the story) and it wasn't until he completely opened himself up to Livie that I really started to like him. My heart hurt when I learned his whole story and I desperately wanted things to work for him. With Livie, yes, but also with life. He had a lot of issues to work through and I wanted him to be happy.

One Tiny Lie earned an enthusiastic five stars from me because I was completely obsessed with it. Sure, there may be issues here and there with it but I'm not dwelling on those because I think that would make my "omgthisisanamazingbook" feeling go away. And I don't want that to happen. Others could tell you what they didn't like about K.A. Tucker's novel. I will tell you that if you enjoy novels set at college, with a bit of angst and sexual tension, this is your kind of book. Read it.

*A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon and Schuster Canada, in exchange for an honest review.*

K.A. Tucker Announcement!

I've been getting in the New Adult craze because I love the idea of it - stories focusing on twentysomethings who are figuring out who they are outside of high school and their parents' house. I decided to give K.A. Tucker's books a try and I adored Ten Tiny Breaths (my review is here). I especially love that Tucker is a small town Ontario girl like myself! While I haven't read the next books (yet...they're in my big pile o' books), I was super excited to be a part of this announcement. Thanks to Ink Slinger PR for letting me take part!

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Fans of K.A. Tucker's Ten Tiny Breaths, we have a SUPER exciting announcement: On September 1, 2014, Atria is releasing a PREQUEL NOVELLA to Ten Tiny Breaths that tells the story from Trent's point of view! It's called IN HER WAKE, and we cannot wait one more breath to read it!

About IN HER WAKE: Cole Reynolds had it all. And then one night he makes a bad choice... 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 best friends that 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. 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 of 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... Are you as excited about this as we are?? And...this is going to be available at the great price of $.99!!
Buy links:

Amazon * iTunes * Simon & Schuster

And while you're at it, pre-order the gorgeous paperback of FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE, hitting bookstores on 4/1!

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Indiebound * BooksaMillion * Simon & Schuster

About FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE: 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 the 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 anddancing 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 doesn’t need to complicate her life with romance. Unfortunately, Charlie soon discovers that developing feelings for Cain is inevitable, 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.

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.

LINKS: 
Blog * Website * Author Facebook * Twitter  * Author Goodreads *Atria

Bunch of Mini Reviews 7

This edition of mini reviews is a mix of my own book (one) and library books (two). I'm still trying to use my library as much as possible even though there are some books I want to own myself. It's also a good way to break out of my comfort zone as it allows me to get some of the YA I've been missing out on. Without further ado, here is my seventh installment of mini reviews!

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (synopsis)

Before every Ontario Blogger Meet-Up, a massive file is started with lists of books bloggers have to give away or trade. I always peruse the list but I don't have much to offer nor do many books appeal to me because the vast majority of titles are YA. This year though, I saw that Wendy had Dash and Lily's Book of Dares up for grabs and she was willing to give it to me. Yay! I'm so glad she did because it was such a cute and enjoyable read!
I was hooked on this story as soon as I read the first few lines:

Imagine this:
You're in your favorite bookstore, scanning the shelves. You get to the section where a favorite author's books reside, and there, nestled in comfortably between the incredibly familiar spines, sits a red notebook.
What do you do?The choice, I think, is obvious:
You take down the read notebook and open it.
And then you do whatever it tells you to do. (page 1)

Doesn't that intrigue you? I loved that Dash and Lily met because of a scavenger hunt Lily thought up. I totally wanted to take part! I think the hunt exposed more of themselves and their personalities than Lily had intended but it was really great to read along as they learned more about each other and, oh so slowly, fell for each other.
I don't think this is a book that everyone will love though - and I think it's because of the characters. This is probably going to sound harsh/weird/judgmental but bear with me! This book was published in 2010, before the whole hipster scene became a popular thing. I mention this because Dash and Lily are total hipsters in training and that is going to rub a lot of people the wrong way (like my sister, for instance. I think she'd enjoy the story but she would have really disliked the characters, especially Dash). I was fine with it because these types of characters aren't often the focus of novels. I love Sarah Dessen and everything (fave author ever) but her main characters all have similar characteristics. Dash and Lily broke the average character mold and that was really enjoyable to read.
I liked that there was a touch of Christmas cheer (or anti-cheer in Dash's case) in this novel. Because it was a short read, it made it a perfect book for me to read over Christmas. I started it Christmas Eve and finished it in the wee hours of Boxing Day and it was delightful.
If you're looking for a different sort of contemporary YA read, check out Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. It was cute and a lot of fun!

Takedown Twenty - Janet Evanovich (synopsis)

I've been reading Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for some time now - probably about ten years. Which is half the time the books have been around. Yes, my friends, One for the Money was released a whopping twenty years ago in 1994. I've been saying for awhile that I just kind of wished this series would end. I'm not loving it like I used to and it's gone on for so long. To be blunt...I'm sure the only reason this series is still being written and published is because it's making money. And that bugs me because there are so many other (better) novels out there that aren't getting the time of day because books like these are front and centre at the store. But that's an issue for another day...
Basically, I didn't love Takedown Twenty. It had the same humour and hijinks you'll always find in an Evanovich novel, particularly her Stephanie Plum series, and I found that kind of boring. My favourite part of the book had to do with the giraffe that was running around Trenton. I'm sure I would have found this amusing even if giraffes weren't one of my favourite animals but because they are, I found myself looking forward to every scene featuring Kevin (Lula decided the giraffe looked like a Kevin...she became quite attached to him).
I've decided that I will not read another Stephanie Plum book until I know it's the last one (so someone let me know, K?). You can't fault me for that...I need to know who she finally chooses! Will it be Morelli or Ranger? Until then, I'll pass on Plum's adventures because there are other books I'd rather spend my time on. I know tons of people will read this and enjoy it and that's totally fine. I am not one to judge what others read, trust me. I'm just done with Stephanie until Evanovich is.

Ten Tiny Breaths - K.A. Tucker (synopsis)

Now this should have been my first read of 2014. I could not put Ten Tiny Breaths down. I was hooked! Tucker created a really addictive story and interesting characters in the first of this series.
I did have a couple of problems with it and that's why I didn't give it five stars. It looks like I'm joining others who are not a fan of instalove. I haven't read a ton of books that are like this but as much as I know instant attraction can exist (I'm looking at you, lust), it was sort of hard to get over how quickly Kacey and Trent fell for each other. Another thing that kind of bugged me had to do with the big revelation that I saw coming and you probably will too but I can't say much more about it because I don't want to spoil anything. I just couldn't really see how Kacey could forgive such a huge lie. Everything else I can understand but the lying to her was hard to take.
I did appreciate that there were some serious issues addressed in this book and it wasn't all about the relationship. Kacey has some major problems to sort out thanks to the car accident she was in that killed her parents, her best friend, and her boyfriend. I think Tucker did a good job of showing how PTSD can really affect a person and how different people react to it in different ways.
I also like that the cover doesn't look like your typical New Adult cover (which tend to look like romance covers but with models who are in their twenties). Kudos to whoever approved that!
Even though I had a few issues, I really loved this book. I'll eventually read the next two books in the series, One Tiny Lie and Four Seconds to Lose, but I think I might wait a little while because they feature different characters and I want to stay with just Kacey and Trent for a little while longer.