Ten Tiny Breaths (The Ten Tiny Breaths, #1)

by K.A. Tucker

[layawaydragon]

Another freebie/win that I can’t find confirmation for in my email after all the years. :( I WILL keep better track of these things if I win anything again.

I heard great things about Ten Tiny Breathes and decided to check it out. I haven't read Beautiful Disaster so I can't say much about the "female Travis Maddox" problem. But now, I'm really nervous about ever reading that book.



Characters are typical, plain, and flat. The perfect sister. the perfect little girl. the single mom stripper. prince charming. the bad girl. the bad boy. Everyone else is creepy pervs/sluts or hearts of gold perfection. There is no in between or characterization.

It's over-the-top cheesy and melodramatic. Romance is flat lust and there's no reason to cheer their relationship. It makes a stalker a romance interest that gets the girl. Kasey's quick to slut shame and POC are sexy stereotypes for laughs and ridicule.

I was worried about the romance being the fix it solution and sadly, after a brief period of hope, that's exactly what happened. While having a support system certainly helps, love doesn't heal all wounds. Making it about a man kills any depth or meaning it was supposed to have. It'd be much better if it Kacey's healing revolved around herself, Storm and Livie.

The Trent's big, secret twist? Saw it coming. *yawn*

The romance itself is based on lust and they didn't talk much. Trent stalks Kacey (though we don't find out how badly til later) and their fucking chemistry gets the ball rolling. That's all folks.

But really one of the biggest problems I had letting go, was the PTSD and therapy portrayal. While it's different for everyone, I have a hard time believing Kasey's theatrical antics.

Plus there's so little of her actual progress. It's mostly Broken Kasey, and Lusting Kasey. It's very rushed and...off. Some of the ridiculous sexy sessions (cumming by looking at him??) and checking each other out should've been cut to make room for more growth.

I still don't get the ten tiny breaths...at all. She's all "I get it now!" and then starts using it the next page without explanation.

Well, I fucking don't. And I sure as hell don't know what it means to Kasey? After all that time it clicks on for her but leaves us in the dark. That's some bullshit.

"Oh, it's up to the reader." Oh a giant part of characterization is up to me now? Fine, it means breath shallowly until you pass out and/or die. YAY!



Kacey

She’s not a pleasant person and I was okay with that up to a point. Being a judgmental asshole made sense since she’s trying to keep everyone out and it is often a defense mechanism. However, it isn't resolved, just left to fester.

I was not okay with her slut-shaming every woman around Trent. She didn’t show any remorse or second thoughts about it, just lamented being driven “crazy” by Trent.

She eventually shapes up towards Storm but Storm’s practically perfect and that has nothing to do with reforming. Kacey claims to love the strip club when leaving, but no strippers are more than background sluts with awful POC stereotypes.

At first, I was really happy about Kacey’s reaction to Trent’s secret and how she was getting help. But of course that couldn’t last. I understand it’s a romance novel but that doesn’t fucking mean it has to be happily ever after.



Kacey has major fucking issues and she’s “cured” quick *cough*bullshit*cough* but that’s not enough. She’s still empty without Trent and of course they have to make it work.

**sigh**

Trent:

Besides being a creepy stalker, he's also manipulative and they're toxic together. Withholding sex to make your partner cave? Creepy and wrong, no matter what gender. Either break it off or get real. Fuck off with patronizing bullshit. She can make her own decisions.



And despite all this bullshit, it was easily readable and I flew through it. Can't say I enjoyed it but I didn't struggle to finish it.



But there's no way in hell I'm continuing the series.