Title: Five Ways to Fall Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #4
Author: K.A. Tucker
Published: June 24, 2014
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 373
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads: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 think what we have with this book is a case of too much of a good thing. Because while I like romantic banter and teasing as much as any other person, I think that if that’s all your couple has going for you, there’s a problem. Five Ways to Fall might have been a good romance, but it felt too surface level to be believable.
Ben Morris has been a constant fixture in this series ever since he hooked up with the protagonist from Ten Tiny Breaths, Kacey. He was always the smooth, arrogant ladies man, and I’m not sure this book revealed any hidden depths to his character. Tucker does go into his past, but even when dealing with tough family situations, he’s never really shows another side. Honestly, I found Ben’s character frustrating, because his cockiness was so over the top that I was more frustrated with him than anything. I never got a good sense of who he was underneath all the banter and flirting.
I did like Ben’s love interest, Reese, more than him, but only to a point. She spends most of the book convinced that she’s still in love with her cheating ex-husband (who recently married the woman he cheated with). I don’t enjoy love triangles at all, and while I’m not saying Ben was the right guy for Reese, he was obviously better than the ex.
More than that, the relationship between Ben and Reese didn’t convince me. Because of all their teasing and “dislike” for each other, I never felt that the two of them really connected in a meaningful way. Five Ways to Fall sets up its couple with a cute love-to-hate-each-other relationship, but never progresses past that. I found that was very disappointing, since I’m sure I would have found their relationship authentic if K.A. Tucker had taken the time to develop it.
In short, Five Ways to Fall was not the greatest romance ever. It started off promisingly, but wasn’t developed enough to make a positive impression on me. I’ve definitely read better from K.A. Tucker, but I’ve already read worse. This wasn’t my favorite.
