Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

From goodreads: 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.

I absolutely love this book!!! If you are looking for your emotional pendulum to swing like crazy because your feelings are going in every different direction…this story has your name on it! By the time I was done with this book, I was exhausted and needed a drink just to take the edge off.  Ten Tiny Breaths is unlike any story you’ve read before and while the topic isn’t new, it’s presented with a twist.  Although, some people say that the twist is somewhat predictable, I certainly didn’t feel that way.

K.A Tucker can write and she writes so fantastic that you feel as though you are Kasey, the beautiful heroine of this story.  I was so lost in this book that I experienced every feeling and thought that Kasey had.  I felt her anxiety, her fear, and her loss and above all, I felt the loneliness that plagued her life.  The story didn’t bring me to tears but dear gawd I still became melancholy over the unfairness of her life!

When Kasey meets Trent the connection is instantaneous but yet their relationship is slow-building.  Trent seems like a god-send but there is so much mystery around him that you find yourself guessing what the heck he’s up to the entire time until the big reveal.  But the only issue I had with the beginning stages of their relationship was the shower scene moment.  It seemed a little out-of-place and maybe even forced, I’m not sure but I thought it was awkward.

This story is filled with straight-up trauma and drama, just the way I love my books to be.  I loved the supporting characters and I was invested in all of them.  Most of all, I was invested in Kasey and Trent and I was rooting for them the entire time.  Although, there were moments that I had my doubts if they would make it or not because their story is tragic but it’s incredibly beautiful.

“I can feel his very existence as if it’s wrapping its hand around my soul, cradling it, trying to protect it from harm and I’m terrified. Terrified because I don’t ever want the feeling to end.”

My final two cents: this book will grab you from the very beginning and you’ll feel as though YOU need to take Ten Tiny Breaths to recover!