Title: One Tiny Lie Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #2
Author: K.A. Tucker
Published: June 11, 2013
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 279
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads: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.
Second chances are wonderful things. About a year ago, I tried to read One Tiny Lie and DNF’d within two chapters. And then maybe a week ago, I got the urge to revisit this series, so I did. Surprise, surprise, I actually really enjoyed K.A. Tucker’s follow-up to Ten Tiny Breaths this time around. Yeah, there were a few points that bothered me a bit, but overall I seriously enjoyed this romance and found it to be super solid in every important area.
Livie (younger sister of Kacey from Ten Tiny Breaths), is starting her freshman year at Princeton because it’s what her parents wanted her to do. She’s majoring in molecular biology because it’s what her parents wanted her to do. She’s going to med school after graduation; she’s going to become a pediatric oncologist. Why? It’s what her parents wanted her to do.
Or is it?
The night before her parents died in a horrific car accident, Livie promised her dad she’d make him proud, and she’s spent the last ten years doing her best to fulfill what she thinks her parents expectations would be. Stellar grades, sweet personality, no dating, no drugs. But over the course of One Tiny Lie, Livie really learns that making her parents proud is less about checking off “good girl” boxes and more about being yourself.
I think that for some readers, Livie’s character progression might be too obvious or tropey. For me, it wasn’t. I think K.A. Tucker has the amazing ability to take characters and their stories and make them good, in spite of how many times you’ve read a similar situation in a book. Honestly, many plot elements in this novel are things I outright hate—good girl meets bad boy, love triangle, infidelity. Somehow, Tucker makes these things work for her. I mean, I loathe infidelity, but in One Tiny Lie I didn’t mind it one bit. What are the chances of that?
And yes, even though I mentioned Livie’s personal growth first, this book is primarily a romance. On her first night at Princeton, Livie attends a house party, gets drunk and messes around with Ashton, notorious womanizer and bad boy around campus. She’s mortified, of course, and attempts to avoid Ashton whenever possible. She starts a relationship with Connor, the polished, intelligent, handsome sort of man she’s sure her parents would have wanted for her. But she can’t help her attraction to Ashton, even as she’s semi-dating Connor.
One Tiny Lie is a clear-cut, textbook example of a love triangle, a plot device I am never a fan of. But I actually think it worked here, and it worked because it didn’t feel like a needless thing added to the story to create drama or tension. Livie being caught between the man she wanted and the man she believed she was supposed to want was very important—much of the story outside of the romance is about Livie learning to want things for herself, not because she’s obeying the nonexistent orders of her deceased parents. So yeah, call me crazy, but the Connor-Livie-Ashton triangle actually worked in this specific case.
Likewise, I’m also understanding of the cheating that takes place here. Ashton has a girlfriend, Livie has a sort-of-boyfriend. But they mess around and eventually have sex together while both are still in those relationships. Was this a mistake? Yes. It was stupid and cruel and inexcusable. But here’s the important part: Tucker does not make excuses or in any way condone this infidelity. She does the opposite, in fact. One Tiny Lie clearly demonstrates that cheating is hurtful to all parties, and really is not acceptable behavior. That makes all the difference. I’ve read books where the main characters are unfaithful before, and I’ve hated them, because the author condones it, makes excuses. Tucker doesn’t do that. I don’t care if characters make mistakes as long as they own up to them.
So there’s that. Would I maybe have liked this book more if there had been zero cheating, and no love triangle? Very probably yes, I would have. But that doesn’t change the fact that One Tiny Lie is a strong, believable romance involving flawed characters who have great chemistry and obvious character development. It can’t ask for more than that, really. K.A. Tucker really delivered with this book, and I’m so happy I randomly decided to revisit it.
