REVIEW: FIVE WAYS TO FALL BY K.A. TUCKER

 

We are thrilled to celebrate the Release of K.A. Tucker's FIVE WAYS TO FALL!! FIVE WAYS TO FALL is the fourth novel in her Ten Tiny Breaths Series, published by Atria Books an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

  About FIVE WAYS TO FALL: 

 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…

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OUR REVIEW:

Reading the synopsis you know that Reese is trying very hard to pick up the pieces of her broken heart after a failed marriage and Ben (as you know from the other books) is trying hard to tame his party boy ways and begin settling down into life as a lawyer. You also know that somehow they go from two complete strangers one night in Cancun to working in the same office. Awkward? Uhhhh yeah. But so much fun to watch from the sidelines. I began laughing from the very get go reading this book, and found it hard to quit! These characters are so freaking funny! Ben. Ben is always up for a good time as we all know...but I loved how their witty banter was refreshing, Reese and her friends were engaging and likeable...and the events unfolded in a way that I never anticipated! #Winning

Before I give you my reasons for reading, let me suggest that if you haven't read the first three books (scroll down for links), you might want to start there. While this one can be read without reading the others, I think you'd miss out on some things.  It does help that all of the cameos are known why. I appreciated seeing my favorite characters, and just sayin' you'll enjoy the books too! 

Now, what made me stay up until 3 a.m. reading (and finishing) this book? Wellllll.....

I really enjoyed the humor. Ben and Reese (and their cohorts) had me laughing out loud many, many times (and that's one of my favorite things...laughing while reading). They both made sometimes wry, sometimes bawdy, sometimes just damn funny observations about each other and those around them. No one was spared. No, I would have died by the things that man says out loud in front of Reese...but it is great, because he is so honest. And forces Reese, and pretty much anyone in his presence to be. Mason...I really ended up liking the germophobic, quirky, insane step-brother who also keeps Reese on her toes. 

I also liked that Ben and Reese had an easy friendship, once Reese got over her embarrassment about the Cancun thing. (Don't mention the Cancun thing, kind of like fight club!) This was definitely not an insta-love kind of read; their  'real' relationship began as friends ..maybe with the intention of doing the whole 'friends with benefits' thing but ...the friendship was good. The friendship was awesome. I will try to curb my gushing, but friends to maybe more, to hopefully-please-sweet-lord-let-them-get-together-before-the-end-of-this-book are my favorite couples to read. 

I loved that neither of them tried to change the other one. Ben embraces casual sex, eschews relationships, is honest above all else, and has all the markings of a 'mama's boy' and doesn't care who knows. He's also a genuinely nice guy. Reese is snarky and grumpy and impulsive and bitter and sensitive and loyal to those she deems worthy. They shouldn't fit without having to change..but they do. They totally fit. Right. Ben isn't as carefree as he seems, Reese isn't as angry as she seems...and when you meet someone who you can genuinely be you with. That is awesome. I hope that is a message that is taken away here.

And then there are some miscellaneous things I loved...like the scenes in the orange grove, those seemed magical. And the periphery characters helped enhance the plot and the funny events. Being able to see how some of the characters from the other books were doing was also a treat. And even though I sometimes wanted to throttle Reese for allowing her broken heart to cloud her judgement, I loved how honest that felt too. Lina, Nicki, Mason, Jack, even Annabelle, and the Law Bot...they all make up a cast that brings more to a world that we have experienced before, love, and never want to grow tired of. 

I will surely miss these characters; I'm sad to see the Miami crew go but interested in seeing what K.A. Tucker will write for us next. I can't wait! She is one of the few authors these days I buy without question. I know it will be great writing, captivating plot, and characters that I could enjoy being friends with in real life. My favorite! 

Shelley: 4 stars
Courtney: 5 Stars

EXCERPT: 

  Ben I love the angry ones. Of course, anyone who knows me would argue that I love any and all women, and I can’t exactly disagree. But I love the angry ones the most. They’re a challenge to be conquered, the reason for their fury usually fitting neatly into three buckets: insecure, scorned, hormonal. And this chick gazing up at me with fire in her caramel eyes? I’m betting on bucket number two. “My, what an awfully bright red shirt you have on,” she pushes out between gritted teeth, as if she’s trying to be polite but can’t hide her disdain. I didn’t know what I was walking into when the punk-rock chick with the crazy-ass muscular body waved us over, but her friend with the purple hair and her back to me had me intrigued. Now that I’m getting a good look at her face, I know who I’m spending my last night with in Cancún. She’s not what some would call traditionally “pretty.” Her eyes are slightly too big and far apart, her nose is slightly too long and slender, and her lips—though nice and wide—are on the thin side. Yet something about all of that put together makes her sexy as hell. Maybe it’s the little nose ring. Or maybe it’s the way her decent-sized tits are pressing up against me, her low V-neck tank top—a casual shirt, telling me she’s not trying to pick anyone up—giving me a fine view of her cleavage. Whatever it is, my dick is certainly pleased. “You like it?” I ask. An irritated glare flickers to the material. “No.” I can’t help but chuckle at her candor. “Will you at least give me a head start before you gore me?” Those thin lip curls into a condescending smirk. “Bulls don’t see color. That’s a myth.” The only thing I love more than an angry girl is a smart, angry girl. This is going to be fun. “Well, how about I solve the problem for you.” I take a step back from her and swiftly yank my shirt off, exposing six days of suntanned skin and an upper body that I know looks damn appealing because I work my ass off to keep it that way. The random catcalls from the tables around confirm it. And then I simply stand there and grin like the cocky ass that I am as Angry Girl can’t keep her eyes from scanning the muscles I’ve honed since my college football days, her lips parting ever so subtly. I see the shift in her, the moment where she realizes that, though she’d prefer to castrate the entire male species right now, she can’t ignore her attraction to me. At least, that’s what I want to see.

 

Don’t forget the rest of the Ten Tiny Breaths Series…

TEN TINY BREATHS

ONE TINY LIE

FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE

...and you can Preorder…

IN HER WAKE: A Ten Tiny Breaths Novella

ABOUT K.A. TUCKER: 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.    

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