In Her Wake by K. A. Tucker Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #0.5
Published by Atria Books on 1 September 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Pages: 152
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase
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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 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…
In Her Wake is an emotional rollercoaster like only Tucker can write them! Meeting Cole before Ten Tiny Breaths was truly amazing, I loved seeing exactly how the accident happened, and how consumed with guilt and sorrow he was during several years.
My In Her Wake review:
The fact that Cole was the only one who survived the accident apart from Kacey really hit home on a whole other level when seeing the story unfold from his point of view. Of course, because this novella is kind of like a companion to Ten Tiny Breaths, there are some spoilers from that in this review.
The writing is haunting, and extremely well done. In first person present tense, it’s as if I lived Cole’s story next to him, and his anguish and hurt were so strong my heart felt truly heavy because of it. One thing that was very hard to read about was the fact that Cole truly thought his friend was good to drive, and he didn’t hesitate at all to hand over the keys to his car. Alas, the driver had more alcohol in his bloodstream than Cole had – which made his guilt even more difficult for him.
In Her Wake also shows how obsessed Cole became with making Kacey’s life better, to make sure she wouldn’t suffer through the same survivor’s guilt he did, and that she would truly feel alive once more. Her slippery slope into drugs and sex as a kind of oblivion was just as hard to read about through Cole’s eyes as it was from Kacey’s point of view in Ten Tiny Breaths.
If you enjoy heart-wrenching new adult stories, you should definitely pick up this series, but at least Ten Tiny Breaths should be read before In Her Wake. There is hardly no romance in here, though, just sorrow, guilt and anguish. Cole was in a very dark place, and it’s a wonder it was possible for him to even try to get out of it.
Some of my favorite In Her Wake quotes:
I’ve never played on a team without Sasha. Our entire childhood was all about tossing balls and slapping pucks to each other. We came a sa pair. When we both tried out as walk-ons freshman year, I accepted the idea of not playing if my best friend didn’t also make the team. Never once have I accepted a life without him.
If only they hadn’t stopped for pizza.
If only I had remained at home to study.
If only I had stayed sober like I was supposed to.
If only I hadn’t handed Sasha the keys.
I leave the apartment, drowning in a sea of “if only’s.”
It’s suddenly so clear. The guy Madison loved died in a terrible car crash last April.
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
When I saw this on NG and read the synopsis, I instantly knew that this book will be so depressing that’s why I didn’t request it. Ten Tiny Breaths was already painful enough to read (I still have my scars) and adding this one will certainly break me to pieces. I will pick up this one when the wounds have thoroughly healed.
I feel you, Trent. I feel you. 🙁
Lovely review, Lexxie!
I wasn’t approved for this on NG, but I had to read it! I can totally understand why you feel like you had to wait to read this, because yeah, painful enough to shred our hearts to tiny pieces 🙁
Thanks for stopping by, Charlotte.
I was really torn about whether or not to request this, I loved Ten Tiny Breaths and I’m not a big fan of novellas so in the end I put it off. I might still give this a go at some point though, it sounds emotionally intense!
I had to buy it – even if I had gotten the others in the series from NG. That’s OK, though, I am very happy to support KA Tucker 🙂
This novella is totally worth it, though, Sharon. I am not a huge fan of novellas myself, but getting to know Trent in the years before he moved to Florida was amazing!
Thanks for stopping by.
The haunting writing sounds great. I let this one expire from netgalley and so sad, but might just have to buy it. Unless you have it for sharing?
Oh, that’s too bad, Brandi! Sadly, it’s not a book that I’m allowed to loan to someone, if not I would do that in a heartbeat 🙂
Thanks for stopping by.
Personally, I think that sorrow, guilt and anguish are poor substitutes for romance, so this story doesn’t appeal to me at all. I don’t care how beautiful the writing is, but you obviously really enjoyed it which is all that matters. 🙂
Oh, there is no romance here, Carmel. But sometime,s the anguish and sorrow I can feel when reading about characters that have such a hard time actually helps me deal with stuff in real life. If I am sad about something, but it’s not something really serious, I won’t spend time thinking about it, and I probably won’t cry either. A sad, serious and realistic fiction story helps me get a good cry 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Carmel!
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You know I have a mild aversion to NA but I am willing to make an exception for her. From y’all’s reviews, I have a strong feeling that I will love her works.
Tucker is different from other NA, Braine! It’s sad, dark and so well written.
Thanks for stopping by, Braine 🙂
I’m not really into novellas but I may do an exception for this one. Haven’t read Ten Tiny Breaths so I guess I’ll read it before starting it. I can’t wait to see her writing. Great review, Lexxie!! 🙂
I think that even if this one is a prequel, it’s nice to read it after Ten Tiny Breaths… I hope you’ll love Tucker’s writing as much as I do, Lola.
Thanks for stopping by.
I have yet to add this series to my TBR, but I have considered it several times, and seeing how much you enjoyed the novella, I definitely think I’m going to have to add it to my TBR now! Oh, gosh, that was a long sentence! Thanks so much for the wonderful review, Lexxie. 🙂
I love, love, love the Ten Tiny Breaths series, Ebony. It’s pretty dark and gritty, but the stories are so full of feels!!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Well, you know I’m a fan of heart-wrenching new adult stories…but I haven’t picked up this series yet. Guess I better get on it. This sounds incredible. I’m glad you loved it, Lexxie. Lovely review. 🙂
I hope your week has gone well. Happy Friday. I’m busy playing catch-up around here. But it is so nice to be home. Jax’s b-day is Sunday so I have to get his cake made today as the girls have a band competition all day tomorrow. No rest for the weary, right? Enjoy your day! (or the rest of it) **BIG HUGS**