Series Review: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Synopsis for Ten Tiny Breaths (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.

SERIESous’ Top Book Series: Canadian Author
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths
Author: K.A. Tucker
# of Books: 4 (Full Reading Order Here)

There is a prequel novella, #0.5 In Her Wake

Book Order: Connected
Complete?: Yes
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Tragedy, Drama
Heat Rating: Toasty
Point of View: First Person, Single (#1-2); Alternating (#3-4)
Publication Dates: December 2012 – June 2014
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook (#1-2); Scribd–Audiobook (#3-4)

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

When I first started reading the New Adult genre, this popped up all the time on my recommended reads list. Like many books, I didn’t get around to reading it until e-copies became available at my library.

The Concept:

The whole premise of this series is that love can be messy. These aren’t your typical boy meets girl stories. These characters have tragic pasts or have made different life choices than your regular romantic leads. That means the stories here aren’t always cut and dry. I thought a lot of these relationships straddled a line between what society would expect and want versus the human condition.

The Plot:

I think the best way to describe the plots in all these stories is that our leads are running from something and suddenly, they find themselves in a place that accepts them and they start to think maybe I can call this place home. What they are running from differs from book to book but that’s the overall vibe these books give.

Some are more suspenseful than others because of the characters. But they all have this angst and some sexual tension with their romantic leads.

The Characters:

If you enjoy flawed characters learning to embrace who they are as people, even if they make a few mistakes along the way, you’ll enjoy this cast. Again, you might not love everyone you meet but I feel like K A Tucker does a good job of developing her characters so at the very least, you can understand their motives.

The Romance:

While there is plenty of steam when it comes to the romance, you aren’t just reading sex scene after sex scene. In some ways, there is a bit of a slow burn to all these romances as they take their time to grow.

However: I definitely thought the romantic connections were stronger at the start of the series. As we got to the end, I just thought the romances seemed a little tired and not as rich in their connections as they were at the start.

When to Read the Novella #0.5 In Her Wake:

DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL AFTER YOU FINISH TEN TINY BREATHS! Or else it will ruin the amazing suspense of Ten Tiny Breaths! It is a perfect companion for Ten Tiny Breaths and that is all I am going to say about that!

My Audiobook Experience:

I enjoyed the audiobooks. I only made the format switch because I read the first two books YEARS ago and they were available when I needed new audio reads.

Series Rating: 4/5

Ten Tiny Breaths 4/5 | One Tiny Lie 4/5 | Four Seconds to Lose 3/5 | Five Ways to Fall 3/5

I think if you enjoy angsty, realistic reads about people finding their “home” in life a heavy dash of romance and suspense, this is a great series to explore!

Read if You Like: angsty reads, darker stories
Avoid if You: dislike romance