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Review

Oh my God, what a beautiful, beautiful story. I loved it!

We got to meet Livie in Ten Tiny Breaths, as the younger sister of the heroine, Kacey, and now she is all grown up and off to Princeton. Always the good girl, she is a straight-A student, never gets in trouble, and is living her life in order to make her deceased parents proud, and she is determined to succeed.

Livie’s first night in College sees her dragged out to a toga party (yes, really) where she gets drunk for the first time and sort of hooks up with a smokin’ hot guy who introduces himself by stealing her Jell-O shot right out of her mouth. Following a hilarious morning after scene featuring lots of nakedness, some epic banter and surprising tattoos, she discovers that the hottie is campus sex-god, Ashton – captain of the rowing team, arrogant ass, and man whore extraordinaire. Livie’s memories of that night are shady, but she remembers feelings things with Ashton that she’s never felt before, so when he tells her to forget about her night, she is understandably upset, and resolves to get her life back on track.

And so along comes Connor. Cute, sweet, and a good guy, he obviously likes her, he fits perfectly into her plan, and is everything that her parents would have wanted for her. So why can’t she forget Ashton? And the situation becomes even more complicated when she learns that they are not only roommates, but best friends. And then there’s the fact that Ashton can’t seem to get her off his mind either.

The story follows Livie on a journey of discovery as she learns to let go and experience life, figure out who she is, what she wants, and finds the courage to go for it. And it’s absolutely sensational!

I love Livie. She’s a great character, and although I was initially concerned about the love triangle aspect of the book, and questioned some of Livie’s actions, I found that I could empathise with what she was feeling, and I cheered, raged, despaired and fell in love right along with her.

And that is mainly because Ashton is made of awesome! Yes, he’s arrogant, and he constantly pushes Livie away, but he so obviously cares for her. There are lots of meaningful glances, flirting and teasing, he looks out for her, and he also calls her “Irish”, which is so freaking adorable, I think I grinned every time he said it! Plus he makes some absolutely beautiful gestures that had me clutching my heart and swooning madly.

“The only think I regret is that it ever ended. And I’m the one who’s jealous. Insanely so.”

But it’s not just the love triangle aspect that they have between them, Ashton is dealing with some major issues, and I was madly developing theories from the very beginning – all of which were wrong, which I was really happy about (I do love to be surprised!). And when his story comes out, my heart broke for him. But I love that he had the courage to reach out, and that Livie was strong enough to be there for him.

“I don’t have all the pieces to fix this beautiful, trapped, broken man, but I do have one piece and it’s mine to give. For one night, for all nights. For however long he wants it.
Me. Completely.”

It’s not a fast paced romance, and although it may be frustrating at times, it builds beautifully, and absolutely makes sense for the story. There is a bit of steaminess, but it’s fairly mild. It’s really all about the emotion, and that is absolutely there.

“You’re not a one-night girl, Irish.” Leaning in to place a kiss on my jawline, he whispers, “You’re my forever girl.” 

From Ten Tiny Breaths, Kacey and Dr Stayner both have significant roles, and I loved their input into Livie’s journey (and we also get to see a bit of Trent and the rest of the gang in Miami which is a bit of a bonus). But there’s also a whole new bunch of characters to meet, and Livie’s roommate Reagan, and the rest of Ashton’s boys are sensational! Funny, and supportive of their friends, they bring some great moments to the story.

I loved this book. The writing is beautiful, the story is meaningful and well told with great characters, lots of emotion and a gorgeously swoony ‘against the odds’ romance. My heart was in my throat towards the end of this book, but it all wraps up with a beautifully happy ending and an epilogue that sees everybody in a happy place. I absolutely loved it, and can’t wait for more from this series.

4.5 stars.

 

The Ten Tiny Breaths series