TITLE: Ten Tiny Breaths 
AUTHOR: K.A. Tucker
RATING: 1/5
ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: Kacey and her sister, Livie, move to Miami in attempts to forget their horrible past.
NOTE: This book is not suitable for children and it’s the first book in a series.
I’m just going to say it. I hated this book. I didn’t like the protagonists, or their relationship, or the writing style, or the plot (to an extent). I’m not sorry if I’m the only one who thought this book was horrible.
The first thing I noticed about Tucker’s writing is that she is too obvious. There’s a rule in storytelling where the author should always try to avoid telling the story and instead show us. There are very few authors who can break that rule and still come up with an amazing story, this is not one of those cases. From the beginning of the story the narrator, Kacey, tells us that she is either an ice queen, a bitch, or just irreparably broken. She’s all those things, but it was also annoying to read about it every five seconds.
Apart from the obvious “I am not fine” statements, Kacey is the poster child for the “Bad Girl” image. Dead parents? Check. Drugs? Check. Alcohol? Check. Random sex with strangers? Check. PTSD? Check. The problem with all this, apart from the PTSD, is that we don’t see her struggle with any of it. She may be trying to heal but without a contrast to her past, this aspect of the story falls flat. Perhaps, if we could have zeroed in on just one of these problems, it would have been better.
Moving on to Kacey’s relationship to Trent, it was pure “instalove” and lacked authenticity. I was missing that connection that would make me swoon and feel the butterflies in my stomach. Because of this, I didn’t feel like there was nothing to lose. I had no personal stake in any of it and it didn’t make sense to me as to why they were so madly in love with each other. Meanwhile, she gets an orgasm just from being stared by him? Really? I’m still trying to figure that one out because sex-ed didn’t teach me about that.
Did I mention I didn’t like Trent? Ok, that’s not completely true. I liked him a bit in the beginning but by the end of the story I was not a fan of his. And one of the reasons why I didn’t like him had to do with the way he tried to help Kacey. Let’s just say I didn’t agree with his method… SPOILER ALERT: It didn’t work.
What initially attracted me to the book (other than the pretty cover and title) was the fact that the story took place in Miami. I live in Miami so imagine my surprise when I realize it’s not like the Miami I know. For example, there are absolutely no diverse characters in this book. I understand this wasn’t meant to be ultra-realistic, but there could have been at least one person of color. Miami has a bit of everything. Trust me, I should know (I am a person of color). Instead, the only person of color is a Native American woman with feathers in her outfit… How stereotypical is that?!
As for the ending, I found it bizarre, unrealistic, and cliché. I would elaborate but it’s kind of a spoiler and I think I’ve given enough reasons of why you shouldn’t read this book.
So do I have any positives? Uhh… let me think.
I liked Storm and Mia’s friendship with Kacey a lot more than I liked Trent. I also read the whole book, so it is readable. I even liked Livie (sort of). I think that’s about it. Everything else I despised. If you see Ten Tiny Breaths at a bookstore, I advise you to run away!
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