Review : Five Ways to Fall by K.A Tucker

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : Five Ways to Fall (Ten Tiny Breaths #4)
Author : K.A Tucker
Publication Date : June 24th 2014
Publisher : Atria Books
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble 

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…
 
Personal Thoughts

Well, this was a complete surprise. I didn't take a second glance at the blurb of Five Ways to Fall when I first saw that it was by K.A Tucker. None of the books in this series has impressed me, so I was ready to avoid this book as well. Thankfully, my book soul mate, Siiri, was there to change my mind. Five Ways to Fall was such an entertaining read. I honestly loved every minute of it.

I was hesitant about Five Ways to Fall's protagonist, Reese, because I was told that she was stalking her ex-husband and his wife and that just creeped me out a bit. Reese actually wasn't as terrifying as I expected her to be. Sure, she did stalk her douche of an ex and his annoying wife at the beginning of the book, and she could be a tad bit obsessive, but over the course of the book, she did let go of that frustrating behavior. She was someone I grew to really love. She had made mistakes in her past, but she wasn't the kind of person who dwelled on it for too long. With the right support system, she changed her ways and made herself successful. Characters who grow like Reese did and have spunk are my favorite. Without a doubt though, Ben was the highlight of Five Ways to Fall. He was a man-whore, but also didn't make promises to women. In fact, he was very up front with them and the women he got involved with knew exactly what to expect from him. Ben wasn't the douchey kind of man-whore though. He respected women and loved them in every form. His POV was so delightful. He was brutally honest and he could be hilarious at time. Plus, he was a complete mama's boy. There is something undeniably attractive about a big strong man whose mother brings him to his knees. Ben's relationship with his mother was the sweetest and I loved how much he truly adored her and cared for her. Ben was swoony in every way!

Speaking of relationships, Ben's relationship with his mother wasn't the only family bond that was depicted in Five Ways to Fall. For me, even more than the romance, the bonds between Reese and her step-dad, Jack, and her step-brother, Mason, were beautiful. Most often in NA books these kinds of relationship are toxic with the main character having a horrible stepfather, so it was lovely and refreshing to see a relationship that I would actually consider as strong as a regular relationship between a father and a daughter. Even after what Reese's mom did to him, Jack cared deeply for Reese and propelled her to the right path. Of course, the romance was pretty much perfect too. It's a relationship that began from a near-one-night-stand that involved more vomit than actual intimacy, which then developed into friendship which subsequently blossomed into a lovely romance. Five Ways to Fall had my favorite kind of romance : slow burn. In fact, their relationship development was so subtle, it was a work of art! Even when they were just friends though, Reese and Ben had off-the-charts chemistry together and their banter together was so much fun. My favorite part of the romance, however, was how there was no silly misunderstanding/miscommunication which is typical of romances in Five Ways to Fall. Reese and Ben's relationship remained drama free throughout the whole book.

Five Ways to Fall was a great NA read. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it's one of my favorite books in the genre. I'm hoping more NA books will be aspire to be as drama free and as entertaining as Five Ways to Fall. It's definitely a book I recommend to fans of the genre.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5