Blog Tour & Giveaway: Four Seconds to Lose: K.A.Tucker
(Ten Tiny Breaths#3)
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Release date November 4, 2013
Owning a strip club isn’t the fantasy most guys expect it to be. With long hours, a staff with enough issues to keep a psych ward in business, and the police regularly on his case, twenty-nine year old Cain is starting to second guess his unspoken mission to save the women he employs. And then blond, brown-eyed Charlie Rourke walks through his door, and things get really complicated. Cain abides by a strict “no sleeping with the staff” rule. But being around Charlie challenges Cain’s self-control…and it’s been a long time since any woman has done that.
Twenty-two-year old Charlie Rourke needs a lot of money, really fast, in order to vanish before it’s too late. Taking her clothes off for men makes her stomach curl but Charlie tells herself that at least she’s putting her acting and dancing skills to good use. And though her fellow dancers seem eager to nab their sexy, sophisticated, and genuinely caring boss, she’s not interested. After all, Charlie Rourke doesn’t really exist—and the girl pretending to be her doesn’t need to complicate her life with romance.
Unfortunately, Charlie soon discovers that developing feelings for Cain is inevitable, that those feelings may not be unrequited—but losing him when he finds out what she’s involved with will be more painful than any other sentence awaiting her.
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Ten Tiny Breaths (book 1):
See Kim's review and Tammy's reviewKacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.
Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.
But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.
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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.
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Expected February 10, 2014
FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE PLAY LIST :
http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Four+Seconds+To+Lose/84648952
Don’t Wanna Go by The Lumineers— Every time I hear this song, I can picture Cain hunched over his desk at Penny’s with cognac in hand, questioning his life, his decisions, his future. It has a rawness to it and yet there’s a hint of hope as well.
Coming Undone by Korn— Perfect for Charlie’s trial show at Penny’s, when she’s not sure if Cain will hire her. It’s an energetic but sexy song and something that Charlie is familiar with.
Waiting Around to Die by The Be Good Tanyas—When I heard this Alt Country band, I pictured Charlie and Cain sitting on a patio overlooking the bay with a glass of wine, getting to know each other with just a touch of something “unsettled” in the air. I love the mix of instruments and the relaxed vocals.
1000 Sundowns by Emma Louise—Such a beautiful but lonely feel to this song. I can’t tell you exactly which scene from the book fits with this song (spoilery) but I’ll say that it’s at a time near the end when Charlie is trying to move on.
I believe you don't have years, or months, or weeks to impact a person's life.
You have seconds.
Seconds to win them over,
And seconds to lose them.
-- Cain
We met Cain in Ten Tiny Breaths. He is a twenty-nine year old strip club owner with a savior complex. He protects his girls. He does not allow drugs or prostitution. And he does not sleep with them. Those are his rules and he has reasons for them. And he does a good job following them.
Charlie is a young woman who just relocated to Miami and is in need of a job that pays well. She is mixed up in some dangerous business that she wants to extricate herself from, but it is a messy situation. She is already hiding out, but she needs to really run.
Cain doesn't get involved with his dancers. At least not sexually or relationship wise...anymore. He did once and it did not end well. So he takes care of them and is protective. Charlie does not need to get involved with anyone either since she is not planning on sticking around. But their sexual tension and chemistry is off the charts. They tease, they torture, they hold back...but they can only contain it so long.
But there are underlying secrets, lies, deception, and danger. They both have pasts. They both have things they are not proud of and that make them feel unworthy and damaged. And Charlie is in a bad situation and she feels there is no way out.
Will all of her secrets turn Cain against her or will he be able to save the girl...this time?
I totally fell for Cain. He's controlling and bossy, but protective and sweet. He cares for his employees and friends and treats them well. He had a rough past and and was plagued by loss and guilt. He and his staff did some questionable things when needed, but usually to protect those that needed it. He was not always completely honest with some people. But it all made him the man that he was. Charlie was tough and conflicted. She was a good person, but just in a horrible predicament. I really liked her and felt horrible for what she had to endure. I loved them together. They were flirty, sexy, and supportive. They had a connection that they could not deny despite the circumstances.
I will admit that this was a slow build for me. Their relationship took time to develop and this book was longer than the others in the series and I felt that. But it did pick up and started getting more engaging and suspenseful as it went on. I loved getting to see familiar characters. Ben, Ginger, and Nate had a large part in this book since they were so close to Cain. I am looking forward to Ben's story in the next book Five Ways to Fall. We also got to see Kacey and Trent, Livie, and Storm and Dan from the previous books Ten Tiny Breaths and One Tiny Lie. Each of these books in this series has a completely different feel. They can be read as stand alones, but the characters cross over and bring them all together. This installment had suspense, intrigue, and loads of tension. There were many layers and plot twists and turns. I had a hard time figuring out how it would all work out.
Thanks to KA Tucker, Atria Books, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are from ARC copy and subject to change in final draft.
Seriously, if you pay attention to nothing else in this review, pay attention to this…Cain’s a must read, you DO NOT want to miss out on Cain. I promise people, you will fall head over heels in love with this bad boy. I mean what’s not to love about a sexy as all get out strip club owner with a penchant for being known as a “knight in shining armor.” I could continue to seriously gush over this man, but really, nothing I say will do his character any justice.
K.A. Tucker is a definite favorite of mine; there isn't a
book written by her that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed, and Four Seconds to Lose
is no exception.
I'll keep my review short, as I don't want to spoil
anything; Four Seconds to Lose is an adventure-filled journey full of teasing intrigue
and twists. It's one of those books you have to experience for yourself.
In all honesty, I wasn't too sure how I felt about Four Seconds to Lose
at first. Why? The first half of the book moved kind of slow, there was a real
slow build to their romance, and Charlie was an iffy character for me. I liked
her enough, but I couldn't get a real feel for her, and I definitely wasn't
sure if she was the perfect soul mate for Cain (who has scooted his way to
sitting on my top five list of book boyfriends). However, as the book went on
(I have no clue the exact point it happened) I realized I ended up loving
Charlie's character and was more immersed in this couple than I thought. Charlie
and Cain’s outcome mattered to me. I adored Cain so much, I just wanted him to experience happiness and feel alive again, and Charlie did exactly this. She gave this sweet, sexy,
domineering (yet so protective) strip club owner a reason to breath, a reason
to feel, and a reason to fully experience life again. Not to mention their chemistry and interactions are off the
charts hot (a certain dock scene comes to mind), in and out of the bedroom. Cain and Charlie are tons of tempting flirtatious
(and delicious) fun.
In my humble opinion. K.A. Tucker wrote her ass off when she took these two
characters with hellified shady pasts and presents and unraveled their secrets
and motives one detailed emotionally filled layer at a time. She
hooked you, hook line and sinker, before you even realized it. I’m definitely glad I hung in there because
once again the author did not disappoint, I ended up really loving Charlie and
Cain together.
I had a blast visiting characters from past books, especially Ben and Nate; I really look forward to Ben’s story, next. He is such a riot and it will be so much fun watching this hard core playboy be taken down to his knees hard.
Thanks to KA Tucker, Atria Books, and NetGalley for
providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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