Until It Fades

This is my first book by this new (to me) author and it won't be my last. The story was wonderfully written and rang all my bells. I truly hope this isn't the last Cinderella sports romance book she writes. Actually any fairy tale romance books by her would be an auto buy for me.

I really really enjoy this story! I’m a huge fan of romance with humour, charismatic characters and small town gossips. Cath moved me, Brett melted my heart and Brenna made me laugh.I loved the talks between Cath and her daughter Brenna, they reminds me of those I have with my own daughter (she’s almost 4 years old and had the same chit chat).Even the secondary characters are endearing, like Lou, Keith or Jack. And the cover is absolutely beautiful.Kathleen, I hope we can chat about this one when I see you at Cannes for the New Romance Festival next month.* * * * * * *J’ai découvert la plume de Kathleen avec la série Ten Tiny Breaths, série que j’aime beaucoup. On change un peu de registre avec cette romance qui se déroule à Balsam, une petite ville de Pennsylvanie.On y suit la vie tranquille de Catherine « Cath », 24 ans, serveuse dans un routier et maman d’une petite fille de 5 ans, Brenna.Cath tente, tant bien que mal, de s’en sortir et d’éviter que son passé d’adolescente ne lui fasse à nouveau du tort. Mais, une nuit après un rendez-vous galant désastreux, Cath se retrouve au bord d’une route dangereuse à porter secours un inconnu blessé dans un accident de voiture.Ce qu’elle n’avait pas prévu en sauvant la vie de cet inconnu c’est qu’il n’était pas vraiment un inconnu. Non, Brett est en effet le capitaine de l’équipe de hockey de Philadelphie et accessoirement le fils de Meryl Price, une actrice hollywoodienne oscarisée.Ayant souffert de mauvais choix lors de son adolescence, Cath fait tout pour ne pas se retrouver dans un tourbillon médiatique. Mais Brett est bien décidé à remercier l’anonyme qui lui a sauvé la vie, et il en va de même pour les médias, les paparazzis et les habitants de Balsam.Et c’est au milieu de ce tumulte que Brett va tenter de gagner le cœur de Cath. La pauvre n’a pas vraiment de chance face à un homme aussi charismatique et déterminé.L’auteure nous plonge dans cette ambiance de petites villes, où tout le monde se mêle de tout et où les ragots vont bon train ! Cath et Brenna sont des personnages très attachants, j’ai adoré leurs échanges et leur complicité. Il y a beaucoup d’humour, notament grâce à Lou et Keith, respectivement la patronne et le policier/meilleur ami de Cath.Cette histoire a été un coup de cœur car elle a pour moi tous les ingrédients d’une bonne romance. J’ai passé un très bon moment avec ce livre durant mes vacances et je vous le conseille fortement !

I wish I could give this book more then 5⭐️. Using K.A.Tucker’s words this book is very different from what she normally writes. It is challenging for Catherine Wright. A single mother. A teenager who was deceived by the one person who she should be able to trust and not been used by. Family disputes, family coming together after turmoil. Finally a live story that comes after tragedy. I loved that K.A.Tucker wrote a book that could possibly have happened to someone in real life.

When 24 year old truck stop waitress and single mom Catherine Wright saves a man from the fire caused by car accident, she doesn't expect to suddenly be trusted in the spotlight again. For the last seven years she’s managed to keep the drama and chaos from her life and, most importantly,from her daughter’s life. When the man she saved turns out to be famous hockey player and media darling Brett Madden, she is again the talk of her small town, even though now it’s due to her heroic action. When Brett turns up at her doorstep to thank her, he is everything the media says about him and more. What’s more astonishing,he seems fascinated by Cath and wants to stay the part of her life. Equally enamored by the man he is, she has to decide if this potential relationship is worth the risk of opening her heart again.I don’t hide my love for Cinderella retellings so obviously I really enjoyed this one.It’s heart warming and positive story, without much angst and drama. It delivers exactly on what the blurb promises, completed with K.A.Tucker’s wonderful writing. The only thing I would point out as a miss for me would be that I thought the main characters, especially the hero, were a bit too perfect. A part of the magic of The Simple Wild (the first work I read by this author and can’t help but to compare this book to that one) is how perfectly imperfect the characters are and how well done and meaningful their relationship is. There’re also layered and complex relationships with other characters, which I didn’t recognize in this story. The hero in this one is really a modern-day prince from Cinderella, he is probably most women’s dream guy and I can’t say he didn’t make me swoon a few times, but it also took away from his depth as a character, which is something I expected from this story. But as it’s advertised as a sort of Cinderella retelling, I guess we should just enjoy the magic and wait until the midnight to face the reality!

Until It Fades is the story of single mother, Catherine Wright, and her broken and damaged heart. Catherine is a truck stop waitress with a 5 year old daughter, Brenna, who keeps her on her toes. Life hasn't been great to Catherine, the rumour mill and nasty whispers have followed her everywhere for the last 7 years but she's worked hard to provide her daughter with the best life she can. Brett Madden is a Hockey Superstar and from a very different world to Catherine. They meet under extreme circumstances, Brett is involved in a serious car accident and Catherine pulls him from the burning car and saves his life. Upon the discovery that the man she pulled from a fiery wreck is Brett Madden she does everything she can to avoid the scrutiny and nastiness of being the town gossip again, Catherine hides her identity from Brett, his family and the world causing more of an up roar than she intended. Catherine was a brave character but also incredibly scared about moving forward with life. She thinks she's the only one who has moved on from her scandalous past but in reality she is still very much stuck back there which hinders her relationship with Brett. Being the town pariah has taken its toll on her confidence and her relationship with her family. So has her stubbornness. Brett is the opposite to Catherine in almost all ways. He's confident and not scared to take risks. Until It Fades isn't just a love story. It's the story of Catherine healing her broken heart not only through her relationship with Brett but also her friends and family. The events that Catherine is involved in are heart breaking but its a true testament to her character that she comes out braver than she thought she was and full of love for Brett, Brenna and her friends and family. I loved watching Catherine grow into her own, her character's development within the story was complex but suited the style of writing perfectly. With Brett's character it was more the relationship development that Until It Fades concentrated on rather than his character. One thing that happened in the book that I thought was important and different to most romance stories was that Catherine was not only the Herione but the Hero. I think it shows a movement in our industry that we need more often. The female lead saving the male leads life. I adored Until It Fades, I love K.A Tuckers writing style. This was different to the type of story i was expecting but I loved it still. It's unique and heart wrenching and I'm always surprised which I love as well! The writing was emotive and passionate and her writing never fails to make me feel. I laughed out loud, I smiled, I cringed and my heart hurt. Until It Fades was a slow burn sweet romance that had so many feel good moments that made my heart swell with love.