Welcome to my stop on the One Tiny Lie Blog Tour! This tour is being hosted by InkSlinger PR. My tour stop includes a review, guest post, and giveaway.
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #2
Category/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: 6/11/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 256
Source: Received from publisher for review
Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.
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 that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits 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 that she knows.
One Little Lie is the perfect example of why I am happy to be a blogger, more importantly, why I am so happy to be an avid reader. This is the kind of story I hope to find every single time I open a book. I want to be quickly pulled into a story, completely immersed with no chance of becoming distracted, and completely hung over once I've finished.
Since I am obviously going be making big declarations in this review, here's another: One Tiny Lie a brilliant representation for the New Adult category. For anyone who thinks that New Adult is simply "sexed-up YA", read this book. One Tiny Lie is a thoughtful and emotional story of one young woman's journey from the life she thought she needed, towards the life she wants.
Livie Cleary, how I love you. Though she wasn't the main character, Livie was my favorite in Ten Tiny Breaths. Whereas Kacey was abrupt, intense, and held together by the thinnest of threads, Livie was quiet, caring, and seemed to be holding together well considered what she'd gone through. And though Livie isn't as obviously in pain as Kacey, her story was just as powerful, maybe more so because I was so drawn to her. Livie was an endearing character, and I loved that she wasn't judgmental and closed off like a lot of characters I find these days. Livie's is a story of finding out who she is, and what she wants for herself in life. It's a story of honoring her past, without compromising her happiness in the future.
One Tiny Lie is not a girl-meets-bad boy, falls madly in love even though he's so wrong for her, and eventually changes him kind of story. But there is a guy, and he's charismatic, gorgeous, and so complicated. I fell in love (okay, lust) with Ashton from the moment he stole Livie's Jello shot. But holy geez, I just did not know what to think of Ashton for a long while. Well, that's not true, I know exactly what I thought of him and it was not pretty. I thought "Oh great. Another freakin' jerk that I'm supposed to fall for, even though he's a jerk, because he's complicated". And though my best friend assured me that my feelings would change, even made a bet on it, I just could not see it happening. Ashton was just as traumatized by his past as Livie, actually more so. The author did such a beautiful job of giving out pieces of Ashton's life, bit by bit. I was almost rabid to know what the hell was going on with him. But let me tell you, I ate my words and I ate them with a smile on my face. There was SO MUCH more to Ashton than I could have ever imagined. His story was utterly heartbreaking, and not easy to read about at all.
One Tiny Lie, just like Ten Tiny Breaths had such an array of great secondary characters. Ashton's friends Grant and Ty were hysterical and I loved every single scene they were in. Livie's roommate and friend Reagan was fabulous. She was fun, understanding, and has a story of her own, I'm just sure of it. I guess this is where I will throw myself down at K.A. Tucker's feet and beg for a book for Reagan. I was happy that Kacey has a good amount of time in this book. I love happy and in love Kacey. There are also some really great moments with Trent, Storm and Dan, Ben and Cain.
One Tiny Lie was so much more than I ever hoped for. The story was incredibly intense and thoughtful, but also filled with so many sweet and happy moments. I also laughed a ton while reading it. And there were tears. Bittersweet tears for Kacey and Livie and how far they'd come, tears of sympathy for the sadness and pain Livie and Ashton have endured, and tears of happiness. One Tiny Lie ended on such a wonderful note, and if I'd tried to create my own happy ending for Livie, I could not have dreamed of a better one.
One Tiny Lie was beyond amazing. It is one of my favorite books of 2013.
Favorite Quote:
I know I shouldn't ask, but I do it anyway. "What you said in that note. Why?"
He looks away for a moment and I watch his jaw clench. When he meets my eyes, there's resignation there. "Because you're not a one-night girl, Irish." Leaning in to place a kiss on my jawline, he whispers, "You're my forever girl." ~eARC, 42%
"Thank you."
Swallowing my ball of nerves, I whisper, "For what?"
"For helping me forget. Even for a little while." ~eARC, 57%
10 Things Ashton wants you to know about Livie:
I’ve never met anyone like Livie before and I knew it the second the she punched me in the face. I should have stayed away from her, given everything else going on in my life. But, it was just too hard.
10. She may be dainty but she’s got one hell of a swinging arm.
9. She’s inside her head a lot. You know when she’s in it because she gets this cute look on her face, where her eyes widen with panic but the rest of her face stays completely calm.
8. She shouldn’t be allowed to run. I mean, she looks really good while doing it but she’s easily distracted and that has proven disastrous.
7. She stares a lot and she doesn’t realize it. I don’t mind it at all, though. Actually, I like it.
6. When she drinks, she has no filter. None.
5. She’s going to make the best mother one day.
4. She can’t keep a grudge, even when she has every right to. I mean, she should hate my guts for the rest of her life...
3. She may be more stubborn than her sister.
2. She’ll be the best friend you could ever ask for.
1. I may have made the first move but she’s the one who started it all.
Ten Tiny Breaths Series
(click on cover to visit GoodReads page)
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About the author
Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures. Connect with Kathleen at:
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