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Review & Giveaway: Becoming Rain (Burying Water #2) by K.A. Tucker

Luke Boone doesn't know exactly what his uncle Rust is involved in but he wants in on it-the cars, the money, the women. And it looks like he's finally getting his wish. When Rust hands him the managerial keys to the garage, they come with a second set-one that opens up the door to tons of cash and opportunity. Though it's not exactly legal, Luke's never been one to worry about that sort of thing. Especially when it puts him behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 and onto the radar of gorgeous socialite named Rain.

Clara Bertelli is at the top of her game-at only twenty-six years old, she's one of the most successful undercover officers in the Washington D.C. major crime unit, and she's just been handed a case that could catapult her career and expose one of the west coast's most notorious car theft rings. But, in order to do it, she'll need to go deep undercover as Rain Martines. Her target? The twenty-four-year old nephew of a key player who appears ready to follow in his uncle's footsteps.

As Clara drifts deeper into the luxurious lifestyle of Rain, and further into the arms of her very attractive and charming target, the lines between right and wrong start to blur, making her wonder if she'll be able to leave it all behind. Or if she'll even want to.

*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*

All Luke ever wanted was to be in on his uncle's business. The cars, the money and the babes were all that was on his mind. Now finally his uncle is letting him slowly in, and while he knew the business wasn't exactly legal, he had no idea how far things went. Life for him is currently pretty good, certainly when he meets the beautiful Rain.

Clara is an undercover cop looking for her big break that might get her into the FBI. Seducing Luke and getting him to talk, turned out to be more difficult than expected. She will need to put in the work, and also discover that Luke isn't necessarily a bad guy. Lines start to blur, and she needs to be careful to not let her emotions get in the way of her target.

I was actually surprised how naive Luke was at times. He's a good guy, and therefore expects his uncle to be the same. Meaning it's never just stealing and smuggling cars, there are always danger and usually casualties. So Luke mostly just cruises along with his uncle's ideas, and listening to his orders. His saving grace really is the fact that his uncle is a bit paranoid, and never lets Luke in on it all.

After everything that happened in the previous book, there is a change in this guy. He's no longer all about flashing money, and wanting the superficial things in life. Luke is growing up and has matured a lot. He simply got carried away too much with the business. These changes happened before he met Rain, but the way he wants her and the future he wants with her only confirms that he is a decent guy.

Rain/Clara was very interesting. At first she's very focused on getting to connect with Luke and get him to talk. Though the more she gets to know him, she also realizes he's not a bad guy, he's just in too deep. Slowly their connection turns into something more, and it becomes more and more difficult to keep her emotions separated from the job. The way Rain feels about Luke becomes real, she cares about him, but she also knows this isn't going to end well. Still I believe she handles things pretty well, considering. It definitely wasn't professional, but my romantic heart approved.

K.A. Tucker has once again written an amazing story. I very much liked the suspense element in this story. The writing was superb, and the way the plot was set up, it kept you guessing all the way 'till the end. Becoming Rain is a lot about the choices we make as a person, and the way those choices can shape us and the consequences of those. Sometimes the choices aren't easy and I love that she doesn't shy away of making things a bit more difficult for the characters, while keeping it real for us.

Burying Water - Reading order and purchase links

Burying Water: My review - Amazon - Kindle

Becoming Rain: Amazon - Kindle

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 K.A. Tucker:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Becoming Rain (Burying Water #2) by K.A. Tucker

We are so stoked about this cover reveal for K.A. Tucker's BECOMING RAIN! BECOMING RAIN is a New Adult Romantic Suspense novel, and the second novel in K.A. Tucker’s Burying Water Series, published by Atria Books an imprint of Simon & Schuster. BECOMING RAIN is set to be released March 3, 2015!

Luke Boone doesn't know exactly what his uncle Rust is involved in but he wants in on it-the cars, the money, the women. And it looks like he's finally getting his wish. When Rust hands him the managerial keys to the garage, they come with a second set-one that opens up the door to tons of cash and opportunity. Though it's not exactly legal, Luke's never been one to worry about that sort of thing. Especially when it puts him behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 and onto the radar of gorgeous socialite named Rain.

Clara Bertelli is at the top of her game-at only twenty-six years old, she's one of the most successful undercover officers in the Washington D.C. major crime unit, and she's just been handed a case that could catapult her career and expose one of the west coast's most notorious car theft rings. But, in order to do it, she'll need to go deep undercover as Rain Martines. Her target? The twenty-four-year old nephew of a key player who appears ready to follow in his uncle's footsteps.

As Clara drifts deeper into the luxurious lifestyle of Rain, and further into the arms of her very attractive and charming target, the lines between right and wrong start to blur, making her wonder if she'll be able to leave it all behind. Or if she'll even want to.

Burying Water - reading order and purchase links

Burying Water: My review - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - iBooks - IndieBound - Book Depository

Becoming Rain: Amazon - B&N - iBooks - IndieBound - Book Depository

The Author

Connect with K.A. Tucker:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

Excerpt & Giveaway: Burying Water (Burying Water #1) by K.A. Tucker

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

My review!!!

This can’t be real . . . This can’t be real . . . This can’t be real . . .

The words cycle round and round in my mind like the wheels on my speeding ’Cuda as its ass-end slips and slides over the gravel and ice. This car is hard to handle on the best of days, built front-heavy and overloaded with horsepower. I’m going to put myself into one of these damn trees if I don’t slow down.

I jam my foot against the gas pedal.

I can’t slow down now.

Not until I know that Boone was wrong about what he claims to have overheard. His Russian is mediocre at best. I’ll giveanything for him to be wrong about this.

My gut clenches as my car skids around another turn,the cone shape of Black Butte looming like a monstrous shadow ahead of me in the pre-dawn light. The snowy tire tracks framed by my headlights might not even be the right ones, but they’re wide like Viktor’s Hummer and they’re sure as hell the only ones down this old, deserted logging road. No one comes out here in January.

The line of trees marking the dead end comes up on me before I expect it. I slam on my brakes, sending my car sliding sideways toward the old totem pole. It’s still sliding when I cut the rumbling engine, throw open the door, and jump out, fumbling with my flashlight. It takes three hard presses with my shaking hands to get the light to hold.

I begin searching the ground. The mess of tread marks tells me that someone pulled a U-turn. The footprints tell me that more than one person got out. And when I see the half-finished cigarette butt with that weird alphabet on the filter, I know Boone wasn’t wrong.

“Alex!” My echo answers once . . . twice . . . before the vast wilderness swallows up my desperate cry. With frantic passes of my flashlight, my knuckles white against its body, I search the area until I spot the sets of footprints that lead off the old, narrow road and into the trees.

Frigid fingers curl around my heart.

Darting back to my car, I snatch the old red-and-blue plaid wool blanket that she loves so much from the backseat. Ice-cold snow packs into the sides of my sneakers as I chase the trail past the line of trees and into the barren field ahead, my blood rushing through my ears the only sound I process.

The only sign of life.

Raw fear numbs my senses, the Pacific Northwest winter numbs my body, but I push forward because if . . .

The beam of light passes over a still form lying facedown in the snow. I’d recognize that pink coat and platinum-blond hair of hers anywhere; the sparkly blue dress that she hates so much looks like a heap of sapphires against a white canvas.

My heart freezes.

“Alex.” It’s barely a whisper. I’m unable to produce more, my lungs giving up on me. I run, stumbling through the foot of snow until I’m on my knees and crawling forward to close the distance. A distance of no more than ten feet and yet one that seems like miles.

There’s no mistaking the spray of crimson freckling the snow around her head. Or that most of her long hair is now dark and matted. Or that her silver stockings are torn and stained red, and a pool of blood has formed where her dress barely covers her thighs. Plenty of footprints mark the ground around her. He must have been here for a while.

I know that there are rules to follow, steps to make sure that I don’t cause her further harm. But I ignore them because the sinking feeling in my stomach tells me I can’t possibly hurt her more than he already has. I nestle her head with one hand while I slide the other under her shoulder. I roll her over.

Cold shock knocks the wind out of me.

I’ve never seen anybody look like this.

I scoop her limp body into my arms, cradling the once beautiful face that I’ve seen in every light—rage to ecstasy and the full gamut in between—yet is now unrecognizable. Placing two blood-coated fingers over her throat, I wait. Nothing.

A light pinch against her lifeless wrist.Nothing.

Maybe a pulse does exist but it’s hidden, masked by my own racing one.

Then again, by the look of her, likely not.

One . . . two . . . three . . . plump, serene snowflakes begin floating down from the unseen sky above. Soon, they will converge and cover the tracks, the blood. The evidence.Mother Nature’s own blanket to hide the unsightly blemish in her yard.

“I’m so sorry.” I don’t try to restrain the hot tears as they roll down my cheeks to land on her mangled lips—lips I had stolen plenty of kisses from, back when I was too stupid to realize how dangerous that really was. This is my fault. She had warned me. If I had just listened, had stayed away from her, had not told her how I felt . . .

. . . had not fallen wildly in love with her.

I lean down to steal a kiss even now, the coppery taste of her blood mixing with my salty tears. “I’m so damn sorry. I should never have even looked your way,” I manage to get out around my sobs, tucking the blanket she loved to curl up in over her.

An almost inaudible gasp slips out. A slight breeze against my mouth more than anything else.

My lungs freeze, my eyes glued to her, afraid to hope. “Alex?” Is it possible?

A moment later, a second gasp—a wet, rattling sound—escapes.

She’s not dead.

Not yet, anyway.

Buy book: Amazon - Kindle

The Author

Connect with K.A. Tucker:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Burying Water (Burying Water #1) by K.A. Tucker

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Waking up in the hospital with no memory of how you ended up there or even knowing who you are, is plain scary. Though seeing the end result, maybe it's best Water doesn't remember what has happened to her. Relying on the kindness of the people around her she slowly recovers and starts building a new life for herself in Sisters, Oregon.

Things go pretty well for Water. She really likes the little town and though Ginny, the woman she's staying with, is eccentric to say the least, they get along pretty great. Her social life is currently non-existent, but Water's eyes keep going over next door to the boy under the hood. Jesse's reputation isn't the greatest and a lot of people warn her away from him. Still she can not help but feel drawn to him.

Told from a dual point of view, one in the present and one in the past, we get to discover how Water ended up in the hospital and her new life after that. It's also a clear representation of how different a person she was and now she has been given a clean slate to really start over. Losing ones memory really sucks, though I think she handles it all pretty well.

The one thing that was disappointing, is because we get to read the before, the plot gets spoiled pretty early on. It takes away some of the suspense and now you're just waiting for it all to blow up. Which on it's own wasn't too bad actually, Water is a reasonable person and there is that obvious connection with Jesse. So somehow a lot less drama than expected.

Burying Water is an interesting start of a new series for K.A. Tucker. I actually have no clue, whom's book were getting next. It was beautifully written and the flow just right. If you ever lose your memory and need to start all over, this little town might be the perfect place for that.

3.5

Pre-order book: Amazon - Kindle

The Author

Connect with K.A. Tucker:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

Review: In Her Wake (Ten Tiny Breaths 0.5) by K.A. Tucker

Before you knew him as Trent in Ten Tiny Breaths, he was Cole Reynolds—and he had it all. Until one night when he makes a fatal, wrong decision…and loses everything.

When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy. Normally, he’d be able to lean on his best friends—the ones who have been in his life since he could barely walk. Only, they’re gone. Worse, there’s the shattered body of a sixteen-year-old girl lying somewhere in a hospital bed, her entire life ripped from her because of a case of beer and a set of keys.

Everyone assures him that they know it wasn’t intentional, and yet he can’t ignore the weight of their gazes, the whispers behind his back. Nor can he shake the all-consuming guilt he feels every time he thinks of that girl who won’t so much as allow him near her hospital room to apologize. As the months go by and the shame and loneliness festers, Cole begins to lose his grip on what once was important—college, his girlfriend, his future. His life. It’s not until Cole hits rock-bottom that he can begin to see another way out of his personal hell: forgiveness.

And there’s only one person who can give that to him…

*Do not read this review if you haven't read Ten Tiny Breaths*

I absolutely love the Ten Tiny Breath series, with the first book being my favourite. A story that will break you heart and leave you feeling raw. A story you will not be able to forget and always there in the back of your mind.

It is best to read Ten Tiny Breaths before In Her Wake. There is this one important piece of information that was a major twist in Kacey's story, that would get spoiled by reading this book first.

That turning point was one I never saw coming and it took me a while to come to grips with what Trent had done and why. So of course I was very much interested in reading his point of view up until that moment. Getting to understand why he would do such a thing, what motivated him.

Once again K.A. Tucker does not disappoint. Kacey clearly wasn't the only one who never made it out of the accident quite alive. Because Cole made one mistake, and that mistake costed six lives. Kacey lost her parents and friends, but Cole also lost people he cared about. We get to see the impact of that mistake on his life and the people around him.

Cole died in that accident, he will never be that same guy again. To me it became clear that Cole wasn't dealing with what had happened, he never tried to place it and move on. Therefore he recognizes it in Kacey, but while she has her anger, he just wallows in guilt and depression. The actions he then undertakes are in no way healthy, but these are the actions of a broken man, so they are hard to judge.

This part of their story definitely isn't a happy one. My heart broke all over again for this young man and his eagerness for forgiveness. He broke her and now he feels he needs to make her whole again. When I read that last sentence I started rereading Ten Tiny Breaths again, because I needed that reminder that in the end he gets that forgiveness, she lets him in and they get their happy ending.

Ten Tiny Breaths - Reading order and purchase links

Ten Tiny Breaths: Amazon - Kindle

In Her Wake: Kindle

One Tiny Lie: My review - Amazon - Kindle

Four Seconds To Lose: Amazon - Kindle

Five Ways To Fall: My review - Amazon - Kindle

The Author

Connect with K.A. Tucker:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

Review: Five Ways to Fall (Ten Tiny Breaths #4) by K.A. Tucker

Purple-haired, sharp-tongued Reese MacKay knows all about making the wrong choice; she’s made plenty of them in her twenty-odd-years. So when her impulsive, short-lived marriage ends in heartbreak, she decides it’s time for a change. She moves to Miami with the intention of hitting reset on her irresponsible life, and she does quite well…aside from an epically humiliating one-night stand in Cancun with a hot blond bouncer named Ben. Thank God she can get on a plane and leave that mistake behind her.

Football scholarship and frat parties with hot chicks? Part of charmer Ben Morris’s plan. Blown knee that kills any hope of a professional football career? So not part of the plan. Luckily Ben has brains to go with his knockout looks and magnetism. After three long years of balancing law school with his job as a bouncer at Penny’s Palace, he’s ready to lead a more mature life—until his first day of work, when he finds himself in the office of that crazy, hot chick he met in Cancun. The one he hasn’t stopped thinking about.

If Ben truly were a smart guy, he’d stay clear of Reese. She’s the boss’s stepdaughter and it’s been made very clear that office romances are grounds for dismissal. Plus, rumor has it she’s trouble. The only problem is, he likes trouble, especially when it’s so good-looking…

I never really paid much attention to Ben in this series, which doesn't mean I didn't like him. He was just there and all I remembered about him was that he liked to tease people. So his character definitely took me by surprise in this one. This entire book took me by surprise actually.

While the previous ones definitely had that dark undertone, Five Ways To Fall seems almost a light read in comparison. Seriously the amount of humor in this book is astounding and I loved it. There are still of course some darker issues, but I don't want to giveaway much about the plot. It's so much more fun going in blind.

I might not have noticed Ben a lot before, but I'm certainly doing it now. That man really has it all. He's hot, smart, sexy, funny and he has a very big heart. Besides all the fun he brings to this story, he's also not afraid to get serious, though he always tries to make things better for the people around him. Ben is really easy going, though I wouldn't want to be on his bad side either.

Reese is Trouble, with a capital T. She's the kind of girl moms warn their sons about. It's not that she goes out to find trouble, she's just very set in her ways, does and says what she wants, without too much thinking about the consequences. Which all got her in this situation, but she's also not afraid to admit she made a mistake and needs to start over. Her story isn't easy and slowly we get to see the big picture. It was so easy to connect with her and the situations she gets herself into are often hilarious for an outsider, not always so much for her.

Ben and Reese together though is dynamite. They are constantly flirting, bantering, teasing and cursing at each other. It was a delight to read about these two. The attraction is obvious, but the way these two come together isn't the most conventional way and I loved it.

Ever since I read that first page of Ten Tiny Breaths I've been crazy about this series. I do think it's sad that it's coming to an end, but I also can not wait to see what K.A. Tucker will come up with next. That lady has some crazy talent, writes these beautiful stories and characters that you will fall in love with. If you haven't read them yet, I fully recommend you start now.

4.5

Ten Tiny Breaths - Reading order and purchase links

Ten Tiny Breaths: Amazon - Kindle

One Tiny Lie: My review - Amazon - Kindle

Four Seconds To Lose: Amazon - Kindle

Five Ways To Fall: Amazon - Kindle

The Author

Connect with K.A. Tucker:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

Review: One Tiny Lie (Ten Tiny Breaths #2) by K.A. Tucker

*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest 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.

Review:

Livie has always been the perfect one. Even after everything that has happened with her parents and Kacey, she kept her sanity and did everything she could to make it. So obviously Kacey believes Livie is about to crack. After setting her up with Dr. Stayner, Livie now weekly has to listen to the man and follow his orders, which she does no matter how strangely the requests.

One of those requests is trying to loosen up and experience college life. You know, to have some fun and according to Kacey this means to get extremely drunk on her first night. At that moment jello shots seemed like the right idea, the next morning not so much. Still it made her braver and she even met a guy.

Ashton is pure sex and the boy knows it. He oozes arrogance and lacks a lot of morals. He is very capable inside the bedroom and out of it, but what he is best at is getting Livie riled up. Livie! The girl who never gets mad, always stays calm and gets along with everybody. Ashton is everything Livie isn't looking for in a boy, but he is the one she can't get out of her head.

Now Connor is more her type. He is handsome, smart, funny, supportive and respectful. Unfortunately he doesn't make her blood boil. Still Livie knows Ashton is not the guy for her, he is not what her parents would have wanted, so she stays with Connor. It's not like she could be with Ashton if she wanted. It seems you get what you see, but it really isn't. Ashton is broken, nearly Kacey broken and if there is one thing Livie is drawn to, it is to people in need.

Livie will first has to completely loose herself, before she can start figuring out who she is and what she wants. So everything might seem perfect, but when Livie starts living life instead of standing on the side lines it gets clear she really isn't as okay as she thinks.

Once again wonderfully written. I thought it weird, at first, the conversations between Dr. Stayner and Livie. I didn't really understand why they were necessary. I also couldn't understand why something might be wrong with her, since all seemed so well. Then during the book you really get to understand that nothing is wrong with Livie, it is just the way she dealt with everything made her hold back from the life she really wanted. Or at least have the choice to decide what she wants. This goes about boys, school, study and life.

There are some very unexpected twists and revelations during the story. I really didn't know what was going to happen sometimes. Also Ash's character was very well developed. What seemed like an ordinary arrogant jerk at first turned out to be so much more. The way K.A. Tucker breaks through those stereotypes, you don't even realise it is happening. She takes what seems to be ordinary character and turns it into so much more.

The first book, Ten Tiny Breaths, literally took my breath away sometimes it was so well written. One Tiny Lie follows in that path. These books are dark and might break you, but they also give you hope.