Cain is the owner of Penny’s Palace, a strip club in Miami. Even though he allows girls to dance with their clothes off on his stage, he simultaneously tries to save them from the lives they have been forced into. When Charlie Rourke comes into his club asking for a job however, he finds himself unable to follow his own rule of never getting involved with the staff. Charlie needs money fast so that she can run away from her past. While the thought of stripping makes her sick, she knows it is the only way to earn money quickly so that she can move on. She has no intention of getting involved with anyone, but when she meets Cain, she becomes unable to keep her distance.

This book was slightly different from the other two in the series because it is told from two different perspectives–Cain’s and Charlie’s. I think it worked really well for this story because both of them have secrets that they hide from each other but not from the reader, so we are able to understand the reason for their guardedness.

I was excited to read Cain’s story because while he has appeared in the first two books, he was very briefly in them and there always seemed like there was more to him than meets the eye. He’s not your typical club owner because he tries to protect the girls that work for him and helps them to better themselves outside of work. Charlie is also not what she seems initially–she is forced to leave her home and stepfather in Long Island after an incident and she is sent to Miami for what seemed like a period of time to lay low. However, she soon realizes that her stepfather isn’t the wonderful man she always thought he was and that she needs to run away from the only life she’s ever known.

I loved the romance between Cain and Charlie, especially because Cain made it seem so forbidden. Not only was he her boss, but she also reminded him of a girl he used to love so he tries his best to keep his distance from her. Charlie doesn’t want to get involved with anyone but she is especially wary of getting involved with Cain because she is afraid of what he will think of her if he discovers her secrets. The two try their best to stay away from each other but it proves impossible and ends up threatening both of their lives.

Overall, Four Seconds to Lose was a great third book in a series that I will definitely stick with. I love all of the characters in this series and I am excited to see who the next book will be about.

Four Seconds to Lose was released on November 4, 2013 and is the third book in the Ten Tiny Breaths series.

Livie Cleary was always the smart, sensible sister and her sister Kacey was the wild one. But deep down she is desperate to make her parents proud even though they are no longer alive to witness it. She follows her father’s dream for her, going off to Princeton to pursue a career in oncology. But when her sister and her roommate drag her to a party one night, she didn’t expect to get drunk and become infatuated with the best looking guy on campus. Suddenly there is more to life than the future she had mapped out for herself, and she finds herself constantly drawn to a guy who is exactly the opposite of the man she always expected she would marry.

I really liked Livie’s story, and I think I liked it even better than Kacey’s. Livie has always seemed put together on the outside but she actually is still dealing with her parents’ death on the inside. While she has a very different way of dealing it from her sister, it still is not healthy. She is so desperate to fulfill her father’s dream of her going to medical school that she doesn’t even stop to think about what she really wants. When she meets Ashton, she realizes that the life she planned for herself may not be the life she actually wants to live.

I was really able to feel Livie’s conflict and I felt myself going back and forth with my opinion of Ashton right along with her. He comes off as a player and someone who could never get serious with someone like Livie, yet when they are alone he acts like she is the only person he cares for. Half the time he acts like a sweet, caring person and the other half he is being a jerk so, like Livie, I went back and forth between loving him and hating him. What Livie comes to discover though, is that there is more going on in his life than she realized and he may be dealing with just as many things as she is.

Overall, One Tiny Lie was a great story about a girl’s struggle to discover herself. I really loved this one and I liked the fact that Kacey and Trent still made an appearance.

One Tiny Lie was released on June 11, 2013 and is the second book in the Ten Tiny Breaths series.

“Just breathe. Ten tiny breaths … Seize them. Feel them. Love them.”

Kacey Cleary and her sister run away to Miami four years after the horrific car accident that killed their parents, Kacey’s boyfriend, and her best friend Jenny. Kacey, who was the only survivor of the accident, keeps pushing everyone away and is determined to start a new life where nobody will know the story of their past. However, when she begins to grow close to her neighbor, Trent, it becomes difficult to keep her past hidden forever.

I really loved this book! Kacey is really messed up after the accident–her parents’ car was hit by a drunk driver and even though Kacey survived, she was severely injured and spent months in physical therapy in order to walk again. She lost her parents, her best friend, and her boyfriend all in one night, and finds it extremely hard to cope with afterwards. She gets into drinking, drugs, and one night stands, until her sister Livie finally tells her that she can’t deal with it anymore. When their uncle tries to molest Livie, Kacey realizes that it’s time to get away and start a new life where they can put their past behind them.

I really liked Kacey because she is simultaneously strong yet vulnerable at the same time. She has suffered so much since the accident and is determined to not build any relationships because she is afraid of losing anyone close to her. This becomes increasingly difficult when she meets her neighbors–a stripper with a heart of gold and a mysterious guy that can’t seem to stay away from her. She begins to care for someone other than her sister and realizes that she can’t keep her past a secret anymore.

I loved Kacey’s bond with her sister, Livie. Kacey is determined to take care of her sister and make sure that she does well in school so that she can get into Princeton. She always puts Livie’s needs first and is very self sacrificing. What she doesn’t realize is that Livie also takes care of her in return. Livie is always keeping a close eye on Kacey because she knows that she is still suffering emotionally. Livie has had to grow up faster than usual since the accident, and both girls constantly put their sister’s needs before their own. I really loved their relationship, and it seemed to be the only thing keeping Kacey from breaking down emotionally.

Kacey starts to fall for her neighbor Trent, a handsome guy who she seems to run into everywhere. It was a little creepy how he always came to her job at the bar and just stared at her though. I liked that he genuinely seemed to want to help her deal with her emotional stress from the accident, but he did seem a little pushy at times. I had a feeling he was hiding something, but I definitely didn’t expect the twist toward the end!

Overall, Ten Tiny Breaths was a moving story about how to continue living after losing someone. I look forward to reading the next book in the series!

Ten Tiny Breaths was released on February 12, 2013 and is the first book in a series. The second book, One Tiny Lie, was released on June 11, 2013 and follows Kacey’s sister Livie when she goes off to college.