ARC Review: K.A. Tucker - One Tiny Lie

K.A. Tucker - One Tiny Lie

• Pub Date: June 13, 2013 / January 14, 2014
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Format: Ebook, 336 pages
• Age Range: New Adult
• Source: NetGalley

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.

Ouch. Oh my goodness, ouch. This book absolutely ripped me open (but luckily it put me back together again). I really enjoyed Ten Tiny Breaths, and it gave me a lot of the same feelings. This one, however, reawakened a lot of feelings I had about reading that I'd forgotten. Boy oh boy.

I really haven't been reading a lot. In fact, the only time I read (the written word, not audio books) is when I'm editing. Lately, I've been very bad with time management, so reading for fun hasn't happened. I had a bit of time before bed the other night so I scrolled through my Amazon Kindle app and found this one. I adore everything KA Tucker writes, and I remember loving TTB. From the beginning, I knew I was going to love Livie and her story, but I knew it was going to be tough.

It was tough all right. And quite honestly, it was particularly hard because Livie reminded me so much of myself. She strives to be perfect, to live a life she thinks she needs to for other people. For much of my life, I was the same way. I'm just finally starting to live for myself. And this book is Livie's journey to do just that.

It's up and down, and she makes mistakes, hard choices, and wrong turns. She gets hurt and hurts others. It's not easy, but Livie's story was *just* what I needed right now. It reminded me why I love to read. Livie's story, which I hope will continue to be told (along with the rest of the gang) in FSTL, made me feel SO many emotions that I haven't felt in a while. I felt happy, sad, vulnerable, in love for the first time, scared, worried, hopeful, messed up, embarrassed, angry, and blissful. I couldn't breathe, I felt like I was drowning, and I was also head over heels, all with Livie.

At first I absolutely loathed Ashton. Connor seemed like the perfect guy. Then everything gets all screwy and I barely knew up from down. Basically, Livie's story is one most girls and women want to live. I won't say too much more than that, but I can pretty much guarantee you'll get sucked into this one like I did. :o)

There was one continuity issue where Livie is surprised by Ashton's use of her real name instead of her nickname, Irish. She says he's never used it before, but he had earlier in the book. Oh well. :o)

This was an ARC, so I can't comment on the editing. But this is another reason why I don't read a lot of books anymore. I can't get past all that. Either way, I probably missed a few things while I read this because I was trying to read fast enough to ignore the editing while catching the story. I do remember that Dr. Stayner is absolutely hilarious and awesome. And I loved this book.

Bottom line: Read TTB and then read this one. You won't regret it.

Rating:

4.5 / 5 book sharks