January 2013 Author of the Month: K.A. Tucker

It is the beginning of a new year and we've decided to run an Author of the Month feature here at Reader Girls. We feature a lot of blog tours, cover reveals, book blitzes, and giveaway hops, all in order to share and spread the love of books. Now we would like to spotlight the authors who create and write some of our favorite books. We began a test run back in November with author KaSonndra Leigh and enjoyed the weekly events and giveaways, so we're making it official.

Last month, there was one book that grabbed us and became an unforgettable read. That book was Ten Tiny Breaths and we happily launch our Author of the Month feature with our January author, K.A. Tucker.

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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.

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K.A. Tucker is the author of The Casual Enchantment series (Anathema, Asylum, Allegiance, and the fourth is untitled, scheduled to be released this year) and Ten Tiny Breaths and One Tiny Lie (Ten Tiny Breaths, book 2, to be published this year).

This week we feature Ten Tiny Breaths, followed by Anathema, Asylum and Allegiance. We will have features from the author and a giveaway.

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker 

New Adult contemporary*Paperback, 262 pages

Publication: December 11th 2012 by Papoti Books

Purchase: Amazon  |  Book Trailer 

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.

**Warning - This is a Mature YA/New Adult book. Contains sex and violence**

My thoughts:

There are books which draw me in either on the first page, by the end of the first chapter, or for other reasons like a particular scene, a special setting, or description. With Ten Tiny Breaths I was immediately captured by main character Kacey's voice. But when I kept on reading, I was absorbed by, well, by everything.

First, there was something. So many things about this young woman grabbed me, spoke to me, and held my apt attention to the final word. Besides Kacey's anger at life which kept me riveted, there was an undeniable vulnerability to her. She is a complex character with a capital C, dealing with a traumatic event and living with the aftermath the best way she knows how. Losing loved ones dramatically changes her, upending her life and that of her younger sister's Livie's life as well. Taking her responsibility seriously, Kacey packs up her sister when their uncle in Michigan gets too friendly with Livie and they head to Florida to an apartment complex which has seen better days. 

That was when everything took me in. What engaged me about this story was the pure, raw emotions, the heart pounding intensity of attraction, the utter heartbreak of learning the truth about revealed secrets, the way of realizing we can't always do it alone, and about forgiveness. K.A. Tucker's writing made me feel a river of emotions for Kacey, Livie, Tucker, Storm and a slew of other characters. Watching Kacey handle her anger with kickboxing lessons, bar tending, shielding herself from feeling too much or anything at all, made this one helluva fantastic read. 

The title refers to Kacey's anxiety attacks--the triggers which awaken the darkness inside of her. She is tragically beautiful, immensely dedicated to those she loves, and has worked so hard to keep strangers at bay. Ten Tiny Breaths is a story about falling in love, dealing with loss, being redeemed, giving up so others may help, and I enjoyed reading every minute of it.

The relationship between Kacey and Trent was a turbulent rollercoaster ride. Sexy, fun, new, deep--this couple had so much going on and this was before the story took a surprising turn. I don't often use the word "love" in my reviews but I have to here. I loved Ten Tiny Breaths. This new adult contemporary will break your heart and put it back together and you may emerge a better person after reading it. The story certainly has tremendous staying power.

For their incredible characters and stories, my Top 3 New Adult novels of 2012 are Tammara Webber's Easy, The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorenson and K.A. Tucker's Ten Tiny Breaths.

Rating: 5