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.
Genre - New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Drama
Emotional, Heartbreaking and just so good, I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t put it down until the very last word!
The Review:
This book was predictable from the very beginning but it doesn’t take away from the story because that story is tragic and beautiful and sweet.
“Just breathe.
Ten tiny breaths …
Seize them. Feel them. Love them.” - K.A. Tucker
From the first page I LOVED Kacey’s characters. One night, four years prior, horrific tragedy slammed into her life leaving her obliterated and scarred. Afterwards, she’s in so much pain and completely different from the person she used to be and out of necessity became someone despondent, cut off from the world around her and one not to be trifled with. She was fiercely strong and independent, but due to the impenetrable walls she built around herself, she was filled with a rage and hate she focused into keeping people away and the unfortunate sandbags in her kickboxing gym. All these things made her remarkable, formidable and courageous but also alone, destructive and broken.
Kacey escapes her aunt and uncles house after a troubling attempt by the uncle with her younger sister Livvie. With little money, they flee to a shabby apartment in Miami where they meets a colorful cast of characters that worm their way into Kacey, Livvie and the reader’s heart. Everyone there has a past they are trying to escape but in the benevolent drudge, they all find shelter in each other. Kacey’s reluctance to get to know anyone only makes them try harder and soon she finds hope in the most unexpected of places.
“Hope. Hope that something beautiful may come from this tragic story.
Fear. Fear that it won’t.
Forgiveness … forgiveness.” - Kacey
This book was just a beautiful and touching read. Kacey thinks she’s completely dead inside and you can literally feel that desperation and loneliness seep through the pages and into your soul. But you know that if she just steps over that impermeable line she’s placed in front of her, life is waiting on the other side and there’s the obtainable dream of happiness.
“Give me your heart, Kacey. I'll take everything that comes with it.” - Trent
And, Trent… *sigh*. What can I say about this courageous, messed up, complicated man other than we should all be so lucky! He saw past the hardened layers of Kacey to who she really was. He wanted to help her, to fix her, to love her and he wanted to make her smile.
“I want to make you smile. For real. Always. We're going to go for dinners, and see movies, and walk on the beach. We'll go hang-gliding, or bungee jumping, or whatever you want to do. Whatever makes you smile and laugh more. Let me make you smile.” - Trent
The Wrap Up:
Ten Tiny Breaths has a wonderful lesson if you’re open to it. Every decision, every consequence, every result has a ripple effect on yourself and those around you. And when the world comes crashing down around you as it often does, there’s help, there’s hope, there’s forgiveness and there’s love.
Seize them. Feel them. Love them.
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