Welcome to my stop on the One Tiny Lie tour hosted by InkSlingerPR!
I am so excited to share with you my review, a guest post by K.A. and a giveaway today!
One Tiny Lie (Ten Tiny Breaths #2)
by: K.A. TuckerPublication Date: June 11, 2013
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received from NetGalley and InkSlinger in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 256 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.
Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?
As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows.
Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?
As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows.
My Review:
There are certain books where, once I've finished reading them, I think: I will never be able to communicate the magnitude of how much this book affected me. I can count on my hand how many reviews I've written like that. K.A. Tucker's Ten Tiny Breaths is one of them. And now I can add her One Tiny Lie to the ranks as well.
I was completely floored when Kelly from InkSlingerPR asked me if I wanted to be a part of this blog tour. It's no secret that I adored Ten Tiny Breaths, so when I saw K.A. was writing a book with Livie being the main character, I freaked out. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year so naturally I jumped at the chance to read, review, and do a feature on my blog. (Thanks again KP! <3 )
After reading Ten Tiny Breaths I was an emotional wreck. K.A. has that ability to make you feel every single thing her characters feel. Their joy, their pain, their despair, their relief.... everything. I was so emotionally invested in Kacey, Trent, and Livie and I remember being afraid to turn the pages because I was afraid my heart couldn't take anymore. Here we have a character who is so completely and utterly broken by her past, yet has to forge ahead to take care of her younger sister. Livie is such a sweet character in Ten Tiny Breaths. She serves as an anchor for her sister, but also needs her just as much.
Now, Livie is older and about to start her first year at Princeton and we see that sweet, young girl now as a young adult. I love that the book starts with Kacey and Livie together. I love the dynamic between these two. We see such a different side to Kacey in this book and it's really heartwarming because you know after everything she's gone through, she's finally in a good place. She's still wild, crazy, impulsive Kacey and it's hilarious to watch her and the shy and reserved Livie out together at Princeton.
Watching Livie come out of her shell is probably what I loved most in this book. We see a girl who is very reserved and prefers structure and order in her life. She doesn't take chances and does not have that liberating wildness that Kacey has. Livie has a set plan for her life and she intends to follow it through no matter what.
This book teaches her that life is messy. It's complicated. It's not always predictable. And you can either ride the current or get dragged under. The first time we see Livie come out of her shell is under the influence of alcohol. She does some pretty crazy things while drunk. Things she'd never consider doing sober. She gains a confidence she never would have thought she had. Plain and simple: she experiences life without restraints. Livie is so obsessed with making her father proud, that she never once stops and questions if her plan is really the right one for her.
Ashton is the one who really helps Livie see all of this. Oh, Ashton. What can I say about him? I absolutely loved him. He drove me crazy with his constant back and forth. He's known for being a player and yet from the first night he met Livie, she made an impression on him. He is certainly a complex character. He's flirty and fun, and we find out he has a girlfriend. Livie is disgusted with his behavior, and ends up showing an interest with his roommate, Connor. Yet as good and sweet and caring as Connor is, she can't help but get Ashton out of her head. Which is funny, because Ashton loves to get a rise out of Livie and embarrass her. She realizes that she has to step up her game and not let him get to her. Yet, it's all a mask that he wears. Once you learn about Ashton's past, your heart will break. You can't help but feel shattered for this man who has hid his true self from the world and replaced it with a façade to hide the pain.
I think Livie is a fixer. She learns that Ashton doesn't talk about his family and that he never truly lets his guard down. In very small increments, Livie learns more and more about Ashton. She says she wants to help him forget his past, but she also wants to forget everything going on with her. Both of them long for their freedom and find it in a rather unlikely place: in each other.
We meet a lot of new characters in this book. Reagan is Livie's roommate and serves as a good girlfriend Livie. Grant and Ty are Ashton and Connor's friends and they are hilarious. They offer the perfect comedic relief to help offset the seriousness of the book. Besides Kacey, we also have some returning characters, such as Dr. Stayner. This time, he is helping Livie. I like Dr. Stayner because it's his job to ask the hard questions- to push Livie to go beyond her limits. He challenges her to see her life from a different perspective.
I was not as big of an emotional wreck in this book, but there were plenty of instances where my heart absolutely broke and ached for Livie and Ashton. Their circumstances and situation are very different from Trent and Kacey's. However, I was not disappointed.
I've been where Livie was, not taking chances and stepping out on the ledge to take a leap of faith. I think that's why this book affected me like it did. Livie was relatable to me and I saw a lot of myself in her.
I love that this book is about self-discovery. This is Livie's journey to find out who she truly is and what she really wants out of life. She has to experience heartbreak and despair in order to truly appreciate the good when it comes. She has to realize that not everything and everyone can be fixed.
She has to put aside the expectations and really dig down deep to find out what SHE wants. Because only after all of that, can she really start living and be free.
Favorite Quotes:
"You are one of the kindest souls I've ever met, Livie. You respond to human heartache so acutely. It's like you absorb others' pain. Despite your extreme shyness, you will do just about anything not to fail. You don't like to fail tests and you most certainly don't like to fail people. Especially those you care about and respect."
"Because you're not a one-night girl, Irish." Leaning in to place a kiss on my jawline, he whispers, "You're my forever girl."
"I'm giving you your freedom tonight, Ashton. So fucking take it."
"Irish, if there's one thing I've never been able to forget, it's a single second with you."
~Guest Post: Books to Movie Adaptations~
K.A. is talking to us today about her favorite books to film adaptations!
I both love and hate it when books are made into
movies. That’s silly, given so many great movies are based on books. But, it’s
just so hard to capture the magic of a book in film form. More often than not,
I don’t enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoyed the book.
Not always, though…
Here are a few book to film adaptations that I adore:
1. Interview
with a Vampire – I don’t know if it was the cast, the script, the scenery,
or the directing, but I LOVED this movie. I may have loved it MORE than the
book. That Brad Pitt was the main character and I wasn’t drooling over him is
saying something. The way he portrays Louis’ sad plight as he goes through the
stages of his immortal life is eerily realistic. Maybe there really are vampires…
2. Lord of The
Rings – I shouldn’t even have to explain this. It’s everything. EVERYTHING.
The magic, the characters, the creativity. I actually watched the first movie
with my husband at the theatre. When I told him that I hadn’t read the series,
he looked at me like I had three heads. We bought the books immediately after.
Writing this now, I realize that I need a LoTR marathon. It’s been too long.
3. Bourne
series – Yeah, so I’ll admit that my love for these movies began because of
the casting… but I do truly love the movies as well. The acting is awesome, the
pace is fast, and the script is well-written.
4. Twilight – but only the first one. The
first film truly captures that magical spark of the book, where we meet Bella
and Edward and first live in the beautiful Forks setting. I’m not crazy about
the rest of the films (I enjoyed the
books much more).
5. The Girl
With The Dragon Tattoo – the Swedish version (I haven’t watched the
American release yet). The book is dark, dark, dark (one of the reasons that I
think it appeals). The film captured the raw and gritty edge to the book
beautifully. Some scenes were as hard to watch as they were to read.
6. The Green
Mile – I think this may be one of my favorite stories and movies of all
time. The idea of the gentle giant melts my heart and Michael Clarke Duncan
truly does this character justice. To be honest, I usually avoid Stephen King’s
work, only because his stories tend to scare the crap out of me. This was an
exception.
7. Bridget
Jones’ Diary – I absolutely adored the book for its quirky heroine and
awkwardly hilarious plot. The movie managed to capture both perfectly.
8. Divine
Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – I adored this book and would recommend
that anyone who enjoys NA Contemporary should read it (it’s full of emotion and
heartbreak). When I heard that they were making a movie, I couldn’t wait to see
it. I still love the book more, however I thought that Ashley Judd did a
phenomenal job portraying a woman trapped in a life when her heart belongs in
another.
9. Game of
Thrones (HBO series) – this is not a movie but I had to mention it here. George
R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series is my all time favorite series EVER
and the HBO adaptation of his books is beyond phenomenal. I am absolutely blown
away by how they’ve managed to bring that series to life on screen. The
world-building is spot on and the cast is perfect, portraying the complexity of
the characters and the pain they endure to the point where my stomach is in
knots, watching them.
About K.A. Tucker:
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.
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
