One Tiny Lie: A Novel (The Ten Tiny Breaths, #2)

by K.A. Tucker

In this follow-up novel to the bestselling Ten Tiny Breaths, Livie Cleary faces a new set of challenges as she navigates freshman year at Princeton, wild parties, and the gorgeous rowing team captain who is everything she doesn’t want in a guy—or so she thinks…

“Make me proud.” These were the last words Livie’s father ever spoke to her. In the seven years since her parents’ tragic death, Livie has done her best to live up to this standard through her every choice, word, and action, while looking after her sister with strength and maturity. But with college right around the corner, unexpected challenges will test her resilience—and her heart.

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 to someday marry. Her plan definitely does not include Jell-O shots; a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say “no” to; or Ashton, the arrogant—and extremely attractive—captain of the men’s rowing team who makes Livie’s usually nonexistent temper flare. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fit 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 she’s ever known.

• ISBN10: 1476740488
• ISBN13: 9781476740485
• Publish Date: 11 June 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Atria Books
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

Something crazy happened while reading One Tiny Lie. I had just finished reading Racing Savannah and it was 1:30am. I figured I'd just get started on One Tiny Lie and read for maybe 30 minutes. Well it's quite possible that I read until 4am so I could finish the book.

That's right, One Tiny Lie was addicting!

This book was so easy to read. I breezed right through it. There was never a dull moment and something always had me drawn in, wanting more!

I have to admit, at first I was unsure about One Tiny Lie. Livie's therapist and sister basically encourage her to drink obscene amounts of alcohol and go out partying every night, even though she's not even legally allowed to drink. I know teenagers do anyway, but... a therapist telling her that? Seriously? I thought it was pathetic. But then we find out that the therapist was really just waiting for Livie to say, "No! I'm not going to do that because it's wrong and I shouldn't have to!" So it was all part of some therapy "game" I guess. Maybe that still doesn't make it okay, but it made it easier for me to accept, because it kind of made sense.

I loved all the characters in this book! I think one of the things I loved most was the contrast between Livie + Connor and Livie + Ashton. Connor is a great guy, there's no questioning it. But Livie and Connor have no chemistry, whereas Livie and Ashton are OVERFLOWING with it. That made me really able to appreciate the awkward situation Livie found herself in near the end. It must suck to have to break up with a perfectly nice guy. It's easier to do it when the guy has done something clearly wrong.. but when the reason is just "you're not right for me", that makes it so much harder. Sometimes you just don't click with a person.. that doesn't mean the person is a bad guy or a bad boyfriend, but it makes it hard to break the news to them!

Here's the thing about Ashton: he starts off looking like an ass. Based on what I'd heard about the book, I went into One Tiny Lie expecting there to be more to Ashton than meets the eye. So when he cheats on his girlfriend (something I HATE!!) I repeated my mantra to myself: "There's got to be an explanation.. there's got to be an explanation.. lalala." Normally cheating will immediately make me hate a character and/or a book. But I kind of tried to brush it off because I just wanted to hang in there and see if there truly was an explanation at the end.

And yes, there is kind of an explanation. So hang in there, ladies! Whether or not you think that explanation justifies his actions is up to you.

I think the one thing I didn't love about One Tiny Lie was how Livie and Ashton never seem to have a real relationship. Livie is actually dating Connor for like 90% of the book, so Livie and Ashton are just always awkward around each other. They rarely ever hung out or talked for real, and they never even date properly. So although I did really like Livie and Ashton together, I think their relationship could have been so much better if they spent some real time together actually trying to date.

But I ended up loving One Tiny Lie. It was one of those books that just EXCITED me!! I think the book has the potential to be controversial because of the excessive drinking and the cheating. Some people will hate the book because of those things, which I TOTALLY understand. But if you somehow manage to brush them off like I was able to (which is surprising for me!) then I think you'll love the story.

[KitsuneBae]

Reread on 2016 March.

Review:

3 stars

Wish I didn't re-read this one. T_T


Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I love Ashton. I love his methods in pleasuring women. I am not really sure if I can say the same thing for Prim and proper Livie. She's too stereotypical. Le sigh. And Dr. Stayner just want me to bang my head on the wall.

[liz089]

Like to read more reviews from me ? Go to my blog Freyja Eats Books !!


Review
It has been a couple of years since I have read the first instalment of this series, Ten tiny breaths. I was moved and the book really made an impression on me. Every now and then you read a book that really made you think deeper, that left an impression after you have finished it. After I finished it I really needed a moment to process it all. It was such a beautiful and tragic story, just amazing.

So I have no idea why it took me so long to pick up the second part. Maybe, just maybe, I was afraid it would not live up to my expectations. The first part was so impressive that it is hard to come with something to top that, hell to even it would by hard enough.

One tiny lie was oké, I liked it and I read right through it. But… It is not as good as the first instalment. No complains, it was funny, I laughed sometimes at how they knew just what to say or to do to make Livie feel ashamed of herself. It was so nice to see the little shy girl from before growing into a real woman. But, I have trouble not to compare it to the previous one, I can’t see that apart from each other. But I will give it a try anyway !

So it starts the summer before Livie goes to college, and Kacey decided together with docter Stayner that Livie should loosen up a little. She has this idea that she has to be perfect and live up to the expectations of her diseased parents. Her dad mostly. Because of this she never does anything unexpected and stays in the safe zone so to say. Going to college would be the perfect time for Livie to step outside of that box and really start living.
Of course is Livie in denial about that, thinking that everything is going great and she is just fine.

But during the story she comes to realise that is not true, and she really starts developing from a shy little girl into a grown up woman. Which is awesome ! This is just the kind of thing you want to see when you are a reader like me ! Character development !! And the most awesome is that it is not just Livie who grows, but some of the others as well !!

I really liked seeing all the characters from before making an appearance again. Some for only a little while, like on the wedding of Storm. It is nice to see how everyone is continuing their lives and doing better. Building a normal life. And, even though they make a small appearance, they do not take the story over. She keeps the others to a minimum, making sure the story revolves around Livie, and Livie only.

I loved that it started right of with Kacey in it, she just lives things up immediately. When she went away I felt a little sad, but Livie made up for it mostly. That, and her roommate Reagan and the mysterious Ashton. And maybe even Connor a little bit.
That the first night in college attending a party ended that way haha. How much fun they had being so drunk and getting into all kinds of trouble. With the tattoos and being naked haha. I had much fun with Livie remembering bit by bit what happened haha.

And damn ! How much do I love docter Stayner !! He is just the most awesome psychiatrist in the world !! He really made me laugh at some of his comments, but on the other part does he know exactly how to help. And of course, it was amazing how he helped Ashton in the end as well. How he has connections everywhere. He is totally superman !!

Speaking of Ashton, I looooved him. He is just how a charming bad boy is supposed to be. He really made Livie feel, made her passionate. He knew how to make her explode, when no one else got behind her “perfect” shell. How much fun I had with him breaking her prude shell haha. It was so easy to make fun of her, she got embarrassed so easily !
And she on the other end made him loosen up about his feelings. She got through to him when no one else managed. How beautiful is that. Every girls dream to capture the bad boy and make him her own. To help him fix himself and devotes the rest of his life to her… *swooning* and the other way around.

Ashton’s story was built up good as well. I liked how little by little you got to know about him, and how deeply troubled he was. Damn his father was a horrible person ! Poor Ashton. Yet he made sure he looked strong and invincible for the outer world. Oh ! I also did not expect what was really going with his mother ! But he had a great personality and good lines.

But it was not only Ashton making an appearance in the love life of Livie, but Connor as well. Connor on the other part, he was just average. Of course, who does not like an Irish guy with an accent. But well, he was TOO good, TOO nice. Nobody likes those guys. They are just boring. He did not charm me and stayed more on the background. But he was needed in the story to make Livie see that the “perfect” guy is not always the right guy.

And well, of course they got their happily ever after.. sort of at least. It did feel kind of abrupt at how it ended, I would have liked just a bit more information about how it continues..

So are there any other bad things ? Not really that much.. Though I am not a big lover of cheating in books, I was not offended that much in this story. I do think she should have broken up with him sooner.. I mean come on, it was almost funny how many times she forgot about him.. But she kept making excuses and got busted in the end. But well, she needed it I think, to complete her transformation from the perfect girl into a real woman with flaws. She needed something big like this.

Going back to things I do like.. I love how Tucker puts something “real” in there, like the cancer children and Alzheimer. Making people more aware. And it is not that she just put sit in there randomly, but I is woven perfectly into the story. It really gives it something extra.

Rating
So I easily give this 5 Freyja’s. It was a good read, easy to get through and funny. You got to feel with Livie and the things that happened to her. It was tragic and beautiful once again. But well.. it does not top or stands on equal grounds with Ten tiny breaths. But I can forgive her for that haha. There are at least two more instalments after this, one starring Cain and the other with Ben. Curious how they will be. I would recommend reading this book, but of course.. AFTER you have read Ten tiny breaths !

[kimbacaffeinate]

aaaand I love flawed men.

I adored K.A. Tucker’s Ten Tiny Breaths and so it is no surprise that I fell in love with One Tiny Lie. The tale shares Livie’s story and I identified with her on so many levels. I tend to feel people’s emotions, and focus on their needs and Livie is a sensitive soul. It was delightful seeing her find herself, take chances and not plan every moment. I love bad boys who are really just lost and troubled souls and Ashton made me cringe, swoon and feel. Tucker has this talent for peeling back her character’s layers and exposing their tender hearts. While her characters are troubled, I adore that she surrounds them with strong characters, shows their noble sides and includes professional help. This was a touchingly sweet romance and I quickly consumed it.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

While I really enjoyed Ten Tiny Breaths, I have to say that I liked One Tiny Lie much better! It certainly has its faults, but overall I found Livie's story to be much more relatable than Kacey's. It's three years later, and Livie is starting her freshman year at Princeton. She's also been having weekly chats with Dr. Strayner who has encouraged her to try new (and embarrassing) things to get her out of her shell and crack that perfect image she's so carefully assembled. Her first week of college does not go how Livie expected at all, but she has let loose and caught the attention of the campus's super sexy, womanizing, rowing captain. After a drunken hook-up, he wants to pretend it never happened, and in comes his best friend, Connor, who might be more of the right guy for Livie.

Holy sexual tension, Batman! Seriously, every single interaction between Livie and Ashton is dripping with sexual tension, and wanting, and lust, and dang! Being a virgin, Livie is super nervous about any physical contact that occurs between them, but she's also very aware of how much she may want to experience it. She may have agreed to take it slow with Connor, but there's just something that draws her to Ashton. Livie isn't one to just jump into something that she's not ready for, but she is open to the possibilities, and Ashton certainly knows how to show her how things could be without taking it too far.

Let's talk about the love interests of One Tiny Lie. Connor is essentially a waste of words. It's obvious that Livie won't end up with him, and he really has no personality to speak of. He's there for conflict and that's it. Ashton on the other hand is the typical "man whore" who is not what he seems. I did find that I liked Ashton, despite his cocky nature. He is a good guy under that facade. However, I was annoyed at the fact that his hidden, tragic past is used as an excuse for his behavior, and that Livie buys it. He uses sex as a coping mechanism and that's fine, but don't have a girlfriend if you know this about yourself! Of course there's a reasonable explanation for having a girlfriend, too. The author found too many convenient solutions to make Ashton not be the bad boy that he appears to be. I didn't find this believable at all, but at least the big dramatic blow out made sense. It wasn't some made up melodrama, but something that actually happens frequently and causes people to break up.

I really enjoyed Livie's story. One Tiny Lie starts off with a girl who has every aspect of her life planned out, with perfect grades, no boyfriend to distract her, and absolutely no fun to speak off. By the end, Livie has learned that she doesn't have to please everyone and be perfect. She hasn't discovered who she is yet, but who has at 18? She's on the right path though, and has come to term with making mistakes along the way. I was also super happy that she didn't start making decisions based on her relationship with Ashton, but what felt right for her.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Linda]

*I received a free ARC of One Tiny Lie from Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

One Tiny Lie is even better than Ten Tiny Breaths - I cried, I smiled and I nodded my head in agreement!

This review was originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

One Tiny Lie starts with Kayce and Oliva sitting on the deck, discussing mundane things.

[Cocktails and Books]

FABULOUS READ. Loved the story and how Livie grew into an amazing young woman....with the help of Dr. Strayner. Review to come