In Her Wake (The Ten Tiny Breaths, #0.5)

by K.A. Tucker

When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy. Normally, he'd be able to lean on his best friends-the ones who have been in his life since he could barely walk. Only, they're gone. Worse, there's the shattered body of a sixteen-year-old girl lying somewhere in a hospital bed, her entire life ripped from her because of a case of beer and a set of keys.
Everyone assures him that they know it wasn't intentional, and yet he can't ignore the weight of their gazes, the whispers behind his back. Nor can he shake the all-consuming guilt he feels every time he thinks of that girl who won't so much as allow him near her hospital room to apologize. As the months go by and the shame and loneliness festers, Cole begins to lose his grip on what once was important-college, his girlfriend, his future. His life. It's not until Cole hits rock-bottom that he can begin to see another way out of his personal hell: forgiveness.
And there's only one person who can give that to him…

• ISBN10: 1476784299
• ISBN13: 9781476784298
• Publish Date: 1 September 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 176
• Language: English

Reviews

[Linda]

It was so great to be able to 'pick' Cole's brain, to see what he went through before he showed up in Kacey's life.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[Cocktails and Books]

4.5 Cocktails

As sad as Kacey and Trent's story was in TEN TINY BREATHES, I've just discovered that we truly didn't understand everything that Trent went through because of the accident. But KA Tucker has just given us a novella that is absolutely heartbreaking and gives us the backstory of why Trent ended up in Miami next door to Kacey and Livie.

Cole/Trent carries a lot of guilt. The death of six people, two of whom were his best friends, can't not change someone or overshadow them with guilt. Cole may not have suffered the physical damage that Kacey did, but emotionally he was just as broken. He left behind his last year of college, his girlfriend and really, his family, all while drowning in guilt over his inability to not drink when he was supposed to be the DD that night and the fact that he didn't realize his best friend was too drunk to get behind the wheel. And despite many people trying to help Cole, it took him drunkenly almost killing himself to finally understand he needed help.

I want to thank KA Tucker for giving us this glimpse into Trent's backstory. I knew it had to be horrific for him as well, but to see how he spiraled and dug his way out, then making it a priority to help Kacey, showed what kind of a man he is and how perfect he is for Kacey.