Author’s Note: Although it is a prequel, In Her Wake is best read after completing Ten Tiny Breaths. 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 … 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…more
* A review copy was provided by the author/publisher via Netgalley *
WOW!!!! I don’t even know how to express the feelings I am feeling right now about this novella. In Her Wake is a novella that is to be read after you have read Ten Tiny Breaths (Book 1). You definitely don’t want to read this first, if you haven’t read Ten Tiny Breaths because this would be a HUGE spoiler for that book.
This novella is told from Trent’s POV and I loved that. I am totally a sucker for the male POV, but this is a story that I felt needed to be told. I absolutely LOVED Ten Tiny Breaths and when I heard that K.A. Tucker was going to write a novella from Trent about what happened before that book…I was so excited. This book really does answer a lot of questions about what he was thinking and feeling on that tragic night four years ago. I don’t want to say to much about this book because I don’t want spoil the novella or TTB for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. Just know that if you have read this series or even just TTB then you definitely need to read this novella too. It completes the journey/story for Trent and Kacey.
As with the other books in this series K.A. Tucker has done a fabulous job with telling this story and making you feel like you are a part of the book. I truly believe she gave an accurate portrayal of what a person goes through after what happens to Trent. This novella was packed with so much truth and emotion you can’t help but get swept up in it. The book is a quick read and one that I couldn’t put down. Being that this is the last installment in this series….it is bittersweet for me, because I love this series so much that I hate to see any of these characters go. I could read about them over and over again.
I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Ten Tiny Breaths Series and a fan of K.A. Tucker. This is a story that needed to be told and you don’t want to miss out on it!!!!
PHENOMENAL. What took me so long to read this series? I really don’t know. I feel like every college age kid should read these books. This was beautifully written and a little insane at times but it’s a real true depiction of what can happen to someone who goes through such incredible loss and feels the guilt heavy on their shoulders. The grief and guilt Cole/Trent feels is tangible. His sense of purpose stems from only wanting to make Kacey smile again and it is heartbreaking. He took it away from her and he wants to be the one to bring it back. The thing about these books is that it shows both sides to the story, and it is so real and could happen to anyone. It’s important for everyone to know about PTSD and counseling and what is available to them. Loved loved loved this.
Wow. This book completed this series for me just perfectly. It was a wonderful male POV for Ten Tiny Breaths and a must read if you’ve read the previous books. I definitely recommend this book and this series. This series was one of my favorites for 2014.