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Review

This was a really intense and emotional read.

Kacey is, self declared “seven layers of fucked up with a side of batshit crazy” following a horrific trauma that she suffered four years ago. She has never dealt with it, and has built up strong defence mechanisms to try and cope with her day to day life and create a life for her and her sister, Livie. These mechanisms are smashed to bits when she meets her sexy new neighbour, Trent. Immediately drawn to each other, bit by bit she finds her defences breaking down with Trent as she starts to come alive again. But one shattering encounter blows Kacey’s life apart all over again.

First off, I loved Kacey! Tucker does a great job of drawing you into Kacey’s head, and clearly showing all that she is going through. She’s a brilliantly tormented character whose head is a mess, and who acts out in brash and self-destructive ways. And even though it was tragic, I loved watching her go through all that she goes through in the story.

Trent had me swooning from the very beginning. He’s a bit mysterious, and clearly hiding secrets of his own, but he and Kacey had some great banter and incredible chemistry. I love how Kacey allowed herself to open up to him, and even though her attraction to him terrified her, she was brave enough to trust in her feelings, and just let it go. And, even though I found him a bit pushy at times, Trent’s absolute dedication and commitment to Kacey was beautiful.

“You hate me, don’t you? You must hate me. I can’t help it. I’m broken.”
Trent squeezes me close to him. “I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. Give me your heart, Kacey. I’ll take everything that comes with it.” 

Events towards the end of the book left me feeling really conflicted. As the story unfolded, I found that my opinions were changing and I had to sit back to get my head around all that was happening. After working through it all, unusually for me, I wasn’t sure how I wanted it to end. With all that Kacey had been through, I was feeling very protective over her and I didn’t know what was going to be the right ending for her. But the author did a great job at bringing me around. 

I was really happy with the way everything was resolved.

There is a fantastic cast of characters – Kacey’s sister Livvie (who is getting her own book – really looking forward to that!), her best friend Storm, the guys from the club, Officer Dan and Doc Stayner all bring so much to the story, and I loved them all.

But this is absolutely Kacey’s story – her struggle to come to terms with the tragedy in her past, and learn how to forgive and move on. I loved her determination as she tried to cope and make a life for her and Livie all on her own, but I loved even more her realisation that she couldn’t and her strength and courage as she slowly let others in and took the steps she needed to heal herself.

I wink, putting on a brave face for her. “See you above water.”

A beautifully written, deeply emotional book that I know I will be thinking about for a long time to come.

4.5 stars

 

The Ten Tiny Breaths series