My Library in the Making

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)When I started reading Ten Tiny Breaths, I thought I'd be getting another dark, sexy NA read. Man, oh man, was I wrong. This book has utterly surprised me and will stay with me for only God knows how long.From page one, Kacey's badass, no-nonsense attitude ignited my curiosity and endeared her to me. She was broken inside, and although she had let that pain control her before, she grew out of it for her younger sister, Livie, and I really admired that. At first I was confused by her hate of holding hands but when the reason was finally revealed, I think I'd also avoid handshakes like the plague if I were her. Also, I normally hate passive characters who refuse to deal with their problems, but not with Kacey.When Trent Emerson came into the story with his piercing blue eyes, I was officially addicted and couldn't stop reading. If it were up to me, I would have stayed in bed until I'd finished this but alas, life called. Anyway, the author did a brilliant job of making me believe that Trent was Kacey's perfect knight-in-shining-armor, when he actually had issues just as deep as hers.The maddening sexual tension between these two seriously frustrated me. She wanted him, and he wanted her. I'd have locked them up in a room if I could. But after that came the romance, the kind of romance that I find absolutely well-written. Before Ten Tiny Breaths, I had DNF-ed a contemporary adult romance book because in the process of writing a believable, well-developed romance, the author slowed down the whole plot and made the book lengthier than it could've been. But not this one. In here, Tucker wrote a believable and well-developed romance that tugged on my heartstrings while progressing the other parts of the plot that were just as integral to the characters. Although I guessed the big shocker at halfway through the story, it still surprised me. Must have been my wishful thinking. Aside from Kacey and Trent, there were also a whole lot of secondary characters in here who were just as fully-fleshed out with real issues of their own, and the entwining of their stories has created this heartwarming story about love, hope, and, ultimately, forgiveness.MY FAVORITE PART was the ending... *sigh*