Review ~ Four Seconds to Lose ~ K.A. Tucker

Four Seconds to Lose by K.A. Tucker
Ten Tiny Breaths #3
Release Date: November 4, 2013
Genre: Adult, New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: I won a signed copy from the author in a Facebook giveaway
Rating: 5 Beautiful Bookworms!
Challenges: none
Goodreads

Synopsis
When a gorgeous young dancer walks through his door, a strip club owner must decide whether to follow his rules or his heart in the third novel by the author of One Tiny Lie and Ten Tiny Breaths.

Owning a strip club isn't the fantasy most guys expect it to be. With long hours, a staff with enough issues to keep a psych ward in business, and the police regularly on his case, twenty-nine-year-old Cain is starting to second guess his unspoken mission to save the women he employs. And then blond, brown-eyed Charlie Rourke walks through his door, and things get really complicated. Cain abides by a strict "no sleeping with the staff' rule. But being around Charlie challenges Cain's self-control...and it's been a long time since any woman has done that.

Twenty-two-year-old Charlie Rourke needs a lot of money, really fast, in order to vanish before it's too late. Taking her clothes off for men makes her stomach curl but Charlie tells herself that at least she's putting her acting and dancing skills to good use. And though her fellow dancers seem eager to nab their sexy, sophisticated, and genuinely caring boss, she's not interested. After all, Charlie Rourke doesn't really exist--and the girl pretending to be her can't get distracted by romance.

Unfortunately, Charlie soon discovers that developing feelings for Cain is inevitable, and that those feelings may not be unrequited--but losing him when he finds out what she's involved with will be more painful than any other sentence awaiting her.

K.A. Tucker was highly recommended to me by Lexxie and others. I actually won Four Seconds to Lose in a giveaway Tucker was hosting and since I was getting to meet her in Denver (this past weekend), I decided to jump on the bandwagon, as it were. And I can't tell you how impressed I am with her writing! But I'll try. *wink*

Cain is one tortured soul...broody, moody...so naturally I loved him. He has some really dark stuff in his past - things he feels he must do penance for. So he runs a strip club where he does his best to protect his girls and get them out of the life. So many redeemable qualities in this guy. Unfortunately, he doesn't believe in redemption.

Charlie, bless her heart, doesn't really know what it's like to be loved or have real friends. Her mom was self-centered and died young and her step-dad - well, I'm not sure he'd know love it if bit him. Plus, he's into some bad stuff and has put Charlie in a bad spot. She feels unclean and unworthy. She just wants a clean escape but feels fate brought her to Cain's door. Yeah, these two are quite a match. I loved them together - once Cain started speaking to her.

The development of the romance was real and genuine despite all the things hidden between them and all their baggage. The wondering what would become of them if things went bad, if revelations weren't taken well, it all kept me on edge, flipping pages way past my bedtime. And the resolution, though it seemed simple, was something that hadn't crossed my mind.

Since this is actually #3 in the series, there were characters from the previous installments here but I never felt lost and honestly, I can't wait to learn everyone's story now. I regret not having read Tucker sooner but plan to make up for lost time. Tucker gave me a tight story with compelling characters and suspense. I'm excited to see what else she has in store!