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.
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #2
Release Date: 06/11/2013
Publisher: Atria
Source: Manic Readers
Reviewer: Karen
Rating:
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Reviewer’s Thoughts
ONE TINY LIE is a mesmerizing story about Livie, a freshman at Princeton who starts to question all the goals she has strived so hard to attain.
Livie and her older sister Kacey lost their parents at a young age in a car accident. Life hasn’t been easy for either of them and they both reacted to the tragedy in different ways. Kacey turned into the wild child and Livie tries to be perfect. Kacey is always trying to talk Livie into letting her hair down and enjoying life, but Livie resists.
Livie meets Ashton while attending a house party with her sister Kacey, the day she arrives at Princeton. It’s the first time Livie has ever had an alcoholic beverage and she does way too many jello shooters. She and Ashton spend most of the evening together and Livie has many firsts in her life that night, including a tattoo on her back. Ashton is captain of the rowing team, has a wild reputation and has been with countless women. He is attracted to Livie and she can’t help being attracted to him, but he isn’t the type of guy she plans on ending up with and is frustrated for continuing to think about him. Then she meets Ashton’s roommate, Connor who is exactly the type of guy she can see herself with. Connor and Ashton are both good guys, but Ashton is dealing with a lot of issues. I liked both Connor and Ashton, but they are polar opposites. I can understand Livie’s confusion and attraction to both of them.
K. A. Tucker writes a compelling story about Livie’s struggle with discovering who she really is and what she wants. Livie starts to question everything she has always believed in and it makes her uncomfortable. She becomes involved in a love triangle and learns how her actions can hurt others unintentionally. K.A. Tucker is a wonderful storyteller, but I felt this story moved a little slow. Livie lives in her head a lot and is constantly talking to herself. I liked Livie and enjoyed reading about her journey to find herself.
