Review: Ten Tiny Breaths

Ten Tiny Breaths  
Ten Tiny Breaths, Book 1

Author: K.A. Tucker
Pages: 256
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley for review

Description from Goodreads:
Four years after losing her parents, best friend, and boyfriend in a drunk driving accident, twenty-year-old Kacey Cleary runs away to begin a new life in Miami. Hardened by the tragedy, she's determined to keep everyone at a distance—until she meets an irresistible and mysterious neighbor who is determined to melt the ice over her heart.

First Sentence: "'Just breathe,' my mom would say."

Review:
Don't tell anyone, but I'm a bit of a softie, and part of me really likes romance novels. I know I talk a big game with my rants about how pointless New Adult is a category, and I still don't subscribe to it, but this is the third supposedly NA novel I've read, and the third I've enjoyed. So there's that. Just keep it under your hat, okay?

What makes Ten Tiny Breaths stand out from generic romance novel fodder is Kacey. She's an amazing, engaging heroine, a far cry from the inexperienced, naive girl to be swept off her feet by a hot, brooding man. Instead, Kacey is violent, emotionally distant, and full of sarcasm and rage. Obviously, I related to her immediately. Kacey's closed off most of her emotions, except for anger, due to the death of her parents, a sister, and her boyfriend in a car accident, caused by drunken college students, which left her with just her sister Livie.

At the opening of Ten Tiny Breaths, Kacey and Livie are fleeing their Aunt's house, after her husband behaved inappropriately toward fifteen-year-old Livie. Kacey, 20, is old enough for custody, but her checkered past (drugs, alcohol, one night stands) prevent her from legally wresting guardianship from her Aunt and Uncle, so the two run away to Miami, Florida, where they move into a cheap apartment complex.

At first, this apartment complex appears disgusting and creepy, but it turns out to be just what Kacey and Livie need to slowly open Kacey up and confront her emotional problems. For example, Kacey's next door neighbor is a stripper named Storm and her daughter, Mia. Initially, Kacey judges Storm for her surgically-enhanced physique and profession, but she quickly learns how much more there is to Storm, and Mia and Storm sneak into her heart. I actually liked Kacey's relationships with the secondary characters more than her romantic relationship. It's always a delight when an author takes time to develop secondary characters, and not just the romantic leads.

Of course, there's also a seriously hot dude in the complex, because duh. Trent comes off as a bit of a manicpixiedreamboy for most of the book, though his character does round out as time goes by. The two do lean towards instalove a bit, but it's not too bad, since they're not actually declaring love. I'll just call it crazy levels of attraction and let that slide...mostly. The part that bothered me was how Trent, without doing anything whatsoever, was always immediately able to lower her walls and obtain Kacey's forgiveness. Not having to work for that was what made the whole thing smack of instalove when it really isn't necessarily. For how closed off she is, that didn't make sense to me, no matter how hot he is or how unique his eyes are.

The other detraction of the novel is that I saw the big twist coming a mile away. I totally called it, and that's generally a bit disappointing. On top of that, I felt like the part where Kacey dealt with her mental issues through therapy was rushed. Obviously, this was done since the intended audience is more interested in the romance than psychotherapy, but I would have appreciated a more realistic arc there. What's there is pretty well done, but I wanted more.

Ultimately, I think Ten Tiny Breaths has quite a few weaknesses from a plot perspective, but I rated up, because I was completely sucked into the book from the very beginning. Garnering an emotional connection from me and making me forget that I'm reading deserve a high rating in my book, flaws aside.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote:

"I cock my head to the side as I take in Storm. 'Did you just call me a sissy girl?'
     She doesn't miss a beat. 'Did you just say "girl bits"? This is an adult club, not a day care.'"