I just loved everything about this book! I knew I would like it because K.A. Tucker wrote it but I was not expecting this book to pull me from the first page. This was truly a magical book that had me laughing, crying, and cheering for Catherine and Brett.

What I love most was this was just a good old fashion adult romance and exactly what I needed in my life. Catherine and Brett are just two adults trying to live their lives, find their place and following their dreams. There is nothing over the top or angsty in this book, just real life and real love.

Catherine was an amazing heroine. She has made mistakes in her life and has suffered consequences for her mistakes but also for the horrendous actions of others, but she is a women he owns what she did and makes a life for herself regardless of her past. She doesn't let the past define her and she also doesn't let her past hurts keep her locked up. She has learned the art of forgiveness and moving on and I find that very refreshing.

Brett was just totally swoon worthy. I love how he was just a nice guy living his dreams. Not expecting to fall in love with a single mother from a small town. I love nice guys that have their ish together and Brett is that guy. You can tell that Catherine impacted him like no other women has but he does not feel the need to force himself into her life and instead lets her come to him.

Catherine and Brett and two people who never should meet. There was no reason for their lives to cross path with each other, but through an almost act of divine intervention their worlds collided. Their meeting not only changed their lives but it will impact the lives of readers. K.A. Tucker has written a beautiful and real love story. A story that is magical and raw at the same time. A story that shows you can not always prevent the bad from happening to you, but you have the choice on how to respond to such adversity. You either let the adversity destroy you or you become a better person and you move forward.

First K.A. Tucker and absolutely not my last! Wow!

Cinderella retold…..

…and very well retold! I was a little surprised at how much I liked this book. Well…ahh…because troubled young girls, wild as reindeer young girls, pregnant young girls on welfare are mostly just pitiful and not all that romantic. K. A. Tucker changed my mind about that quickly. Catherine Wright is anything but pitiful. She’s great! Strong, independent, stubborn and determined, she has carved out a pretty nice life for herself and her daughter, Brenna.

The book blurb talks about the harrowing event that first brought Catherine into contact with hockey superstar, Brett Madden. Only by reading the book can you find out just how bad it was. Believe me, it was bad. Catherine put her on life in danger to save a helpless stranger.

Brett Madden is a hockey superstar, but he’s much more. His mother is a superstar actress, known internationally. His family is very rich. You would think that Brett would be an entitled prick. You would be wrong. He is an extremely nice man who is grateful to the woman who saved him from a fiery death.

How do a rich superstar and a waitress on welfare have a chance at romance? Yeah, it felt improbable, but the author developed such a believable storyline with such beautifully developed characters that I fell right into the fairytale and enjoyed every page. You should pick up a copy and…

Enjoy!

2shay

This story was original, which I really, really appreciated and liked. The characters were multidimensional and could easily be people in your real life. The setting was also well developed and added to the story as another character. For me, I could actively picture myself as part of the story. Although it doesn't say that the book is part of a series, it could easily be part of a series, as the secondary characters were developed enough to support such - and I wouldn't complain about being able to return to that world either! I could not stop reading and didn't want to anyway. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like well developed plots, realistic characters, and the sometimes bumpy journey to a happy ending.

Served up “for the fairy-tale lover in all of us”, Until It Fades is a different side of K.A. Tucker; one we haven’t seen before. In the acknowledgements, she owns her veer off course, going so far to say, “I needed to write this story. It’s very different from the ones I’ve written recently.” She’s right, so don’t mince her words, this is nothing like her previous books. In fact, if someone had handed this to me with the author’s name omitted, K.A. Tucker would have been my last guess. This book is everything her two contemporary romance series’ were not—boring, repetitive and the ever dreaded . . . predictable. Where was the crazy intense chemistry that has in many ways become synonymous with K.A. Tucker and her utterly addicting reads?

Cath is a 24-year-old truck-stop diner waitress and single mother to a 5-year-old. She’s been slut shamed and made the villain by the small-town she lives in after the relationship she had with her art teacher in high school was made public knowledge. Getting pregnant a few mere months later, after a one-night stand, didn’t help the situation any either. She prides herself on not asking for monetary help and just wants to fade into the background and raise her daughter . . . alone.

That all changes when she witnesses a horrific car crash, late one night, on a remote road and she manages to pull a man twice her size from a burning vehicle. Turns out, he’s a mega hockey star, headed to the playoffs. Or he was.

I’m sure you can guess what happens from here. Cath and Brett’s relationship is a bit of a cliché—rich guy swoops in and saves the struggling poor girl—but that’s not what bothered me. It was the bland and drawn out execution that left much to be desired. Get comfortable because this is an extremely slow build; the author really takes her time setting up the story and it gets a little tedious. It isn’t until well past the 50% mark that anything remotely exciting happens between the waitress and the hockey star. The snail’s pace, along with the regurgitation of the same information over-and-over, had me contemplating whether I should just throw in the towel. For some reason, the thought of being labeled a quitter kept me going.

It didn’t matter how many times Brett claimed it wasn’t gratitude for Cath saving his life that was driving his feelings for her, I didn’t buy it. How could he be crazy about her when he didn’t even know her or let those insta-love-ish feelings fall out of his mouth? Brett’s character, at least for me, resembled a cardboard cutout of perfection, rather than any actual man. Where were his flaws and why were Cath’s made so prominent? I guess you could chalk Brett’s character traits up to the whole fairy-tale theme, if you’re like me, looking for some type of excuse or rational explanation.

This past year has definitely taught me a valuable and hard-learned lesson—just because I’ve loved one or even several of an author’s books in the past, does not guarantee I’m going to adore them all. While I won’t go so far to say this book is horrible, I much prefer the suspense riddled, fast-paced, exciting K.A. Tucker to the lighter, softer side.

I struggled between a 2.5 (rounded down to a 2, because I rarely round up) and a 3 star rating; in the end, I decided to be a little generous.

Thank you for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book. I had some trouble staying connected to the characters and the plot in this story. I am choosing to not review it at this time as I don't want to deter any readers from purchasing the book and reading it. I completely understand that just because I didn't end up loving the book doesn't mean others won't. I am still more than happy to help promote it on my blog. Thank you again for the opportunity to read it.

Catherine has had a rough go at life. Rebelled against her strict mother led to a relationship with a teacher that led her to be shunned by the town. She meets Brett in under distress and begins a whirlwind of a relationship with him but will his status be too much for her to take?

My favorite thing about KA Tucker's books is the characters that she writes. She writes them in a way that makes them feel like you know them personal and the emotions that writes for them are so vivid and real that it makes you feel the same emotions as the characters. We attach ourselves to Catherine's story and understand how and why she did the things that she did. It's an everyday struggle for her to provide for her daughter and we see the sacrifices she makes for her.

Brett we don't dive too much into. Yes there are stories and moments when we see the man he is, but for the most part he is the embodiment of a perfect man. And for me that was just too much. I like my flawed men that change for the love of a good woman. But not him he is pretty perfect already.

With that said, it brings me to the only part of the story that I had a time accepting. I have read every one of her books and I always loved the realistic nature (i.e. Timeframe used) for each of the relationships she wrote about. In this book, though, that time frame didn't seem to exist. Brett and Catherine went from strangers to being in love after only one meeting. Yes how they met certainly can accelerate feelings, but for me, I would have thought each side would have wanted to know each other more, especially Catherine considering she had a daughter.

I am not sure how I feel about the end. There wasn't really a conflict and in turn resolution. A part of me likes that because it gives a final HEA for the characters but at the same time, it felt unfinished.

Post will be live May 24th @ 12am cst.

Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Atria Books via NetGalley
Genre: Adult Sports Romance
Standalone

My Until It Fades Review . . .

It has been forever since I read a K.A. Tucker book and what a mistake that was. I forgot how much I love her writing. And I absolutely loved this book. I can't remember the last time I read a book that I couldn't put down and had to keep reading.

This book had almost all of my favorite elements.

Sports Romance. Check
Rags to Riches. Check
Second Chances. Check
Modern day real life fairy tale. Check

Catherine Wright is a single mom and Brett Madden is a hockey icon and media darling.

Catherine Wright has made some bad choices but she was only a teen so you can't blame her. Unfortunately the consequences of her choices are still leaving a mark on her.

Clearly, the scars from Scott left me with run much deeper than I'd like to admit. "Come on, please? Just do it and see where it leads. Give me at least a shred or hope before I start dropping cats off on your doorstep."

Catherine may have been at the right place at the right time or fate was intervening but she ended up on a stretch of road that changed the lives instantly of all that were involved. After a split decision to save the stranger about to burn up, she just wants her life to stay normal but it will now be anything but after she saved NHL star Brett Madden.

Brett just wants to meet the person whom saved him, but he didn't expect to fall head over heels for that same person the moment he met her.

"Why do people even care? They don't know us. What happens between us has no impact on them."
"Because it's like a fairy tale!"

The last thing Catherine wants is to be in the spotlight but she now can't get away from it. Unfortunately her scars run deep so she can't see far from her mistakes.

"What do you mean, why?" He chuckles. "Because I'm crazy about you and you won't even answer my calls. I need to know how to fix that so you'll give me a chance. Please."

Brett has to fight like mad to convince Catherine to give him a chance. It's not easy for her especially because her whole life is upside down. Some for the better but its still all different and she's having a hard time with all the changes.

"Life is too short to do what other people think you should do. That's what I know."

One of my favorite characters is her daughter and how smart she's for such a young age.

"But what if he hurts me?"
"Then you just try it again."
"But you're not trying again."
There's a hint of accusation in her tone. At least, that's what I hear.
"That's . . . different."
"Why?"
I struggle for an answer. "it's not something I can explain right now. Maybe when you're older."
"Is it because you're scared?"
"Yeah."

Taking risks are tough and living life in fear is tougher. For Catherine, all she knows is how to survive, not how to live. So, even though she's still making bad choices she doesn't know any different. Brett is determined to have his HEA and that includes Catherine and all her choices good and bad. But it won't be an easy road when its full of insecurities and fear but at least their is hope as well. Which will make it worth the risk.

"Just remember that you're not alone in any of this. You have a lot of people who care about you. Including your family. And you'll find that you can deal with a lot more than you realize." He pauses. "If you decide that it's worth it."


Everything about this story I adored well almost everything. Except the dreaded . . . giggles. Argh! I hate gigglers in fiction and that was truly the only thing I didn't like. Until It Fades captivated me from the beginning to the end. I adored it and loved every second of the story. It's been forever since a book as done that and I'm so happy I got that experience again with this book. I can't wait for more K.A. Tucker, and this time I won't let so much time lapse between reading her stories.

4 . 5 Almost Perfect thumbs up!

This story was amazingly well written.
The delivery of the heroine's story packed quite the punch.
I will add that loved the first half of the story more than the last but that's my personal preference for slow burn romance talking.
I felt like there could have been more anguish squeezed from the hero, given his experiences in this book :)
All in all, I give this 4 stars.

What a wonderfully sweet story this book is! I fell in love with Catherine from the very first page to the end. As a teenager, she made a few mistakes and she's a really sweet girl. First, there's an inappropriate relationship with her teacher. Honestly, he was the adult, he was the one at fault. She was a young impressionable girl who thought she was in love.

Next comes a relationship that isn't healthy at all but ends with her being pregnant, alone and with a daughter. She overcomes gossip she hears about herself in her small town with small minded people.
She's working to support her daughter as a truck stop waitress. All is as well as it can be until one night she rescues Brett Madden from a auto accident.

Brett isn't just some man she rescues, no, he's a hockey star and media magnet. Wherever he goes, the media is sure to follow, they love him and he loves being in a positive spotlight. The last thing Catherine wants is to be talk of the town again and with Brett, it wouldn't just be her town talking about it would be a national media frenzy.

Brett just wants to find the woman who saved him and thank her but Catherine is trying to maintain a quiet, positive life for her daughter. The chemistry she feels for him though, can't be denied but can Catherine learn to live in the public eye? Can Brett live the quiet life that Catherine craves and needs for her daughter?

Wonderfully written book and I plan on reading more of the author's work.

This is a really well done romance, I enjoyed it. Super quick read. I found it refreshing in the sense that it was a little slow-burn, a little mysterious. Very light on angst or drama. It feels very mature, there's a lot of carefully considered and practical plotting which is a nice change. Solid premise. Tropey characters and situations but the author doesn't take it too far, something about it still came across as fresh. Really good, I recommend this for a quick weekend contemporary read that has a substantial and romantic story arc.

I would like to thank K.A. Tucker, Atria Books and Netgalley for giving me this book for my honest review.
Review by Stephanie
5 Stars
OMG I am a serious K.A. Tucker junkie so I needed this book when I saw it on netgalley! K.A. Tucker’s books are always a sure thing for me; they are full of amazing storylines, amazing characters and just amazing all around! Until It Fades was different than what I have read by Tucker, I felt like it was a little lighter. I was obsessed with this book!
Catherine is a single mother with her hands full. She likes to keep to herself but one night everything changes when she saves someone…….

This book was amazing! K.A. is an amazing writing and this book is another example of this! The characters are so developed and complex! Catherine broke my heart over and over in this book, I literally wanted to give her a hug. Then there is Brett…..the someone Catherine saved. Oh did I tell you he is a hockey player?!?! I loved Brett, he is so hot and bad ass but completely caring and amazing! LOVED him! But my favorite character in this book was a little 5 year old spit fire…..Brenna.

Until it Fades is a must read!

KA Tucker can write anything. Right? Aren't we all in agreement? I mean seriously everything she writes has me glued to my kindle and completely absorbed--so absorbed that when I reach the ending I'm always trying to tap for the next page and am sad when there aren't any. Until It Fades had me sneak reading at work, staying up way later than I should, and rushing home before the girls got off their buses so that I could fit more reading time in.

I'm sure as you scroll through the reviews of this novel on Goodreads or Amazon you'll see lots of reasons why readers love this novel and the pairing of Catherine and Brett and most likely I'd agree with most (if not all) of the reasons but for me I think the thing that really worked for me was the various family dynamics. Whether it was the flashbacks to her nightmarish teen experience or what was happening 7 years later, I liked the moments of honesty and love that were a constant and thatthe families involved weren't just the biological ones but the ones we make on our own-our friends and our loves. The contrasts of then and now, of her family and his, of her work family and the people of her town made for a rich reading experience.

I'd be remiss if I didn't say that I appreciated that Tucker tried to keep Catherine's experiences as a single, poor mom were as real as possible and yet never felt grim--just real. I also liked that as much as Brett helped her, she helped him which feels like the only way they could work.

As with all of Tucker's books I can't help but see what she'll do next and hold out hope that we might see the characters again some day.

"For the fairy-tale lover in all of us" is from the author's dedication for this book and it fit perfectly. A rags to riches, doomed and saved, ostracized and applauded(take your pick)type of read, this is at times a perplexing, sad and angry book, before moving on to giddy, smile inducing, and just all around feel good. This book definitely has all the "feels."

When Catherine was seventeen she fell in love with her thirty year old English teacher. And he totally took advantage of it. When caught, he gets away with it, and Catherine ends of taking the heat for it. Total reversal of what usually happens, due his family being pretty much the royal family of this small town in Pennsylvania. Everyone thinks she lied, she loses any friend she might have had, and her life is in shambles. It doesn't help that she has the mother from hell, one that wouldn't know what an encouraging smile or hug was, if her life depended on it. The story jumps forward in time and now she is a single mother, working at a diner and barely scrapping by. One night her life changes when she saves the life of a megastar athlete.

How much do I love this book? Let me count the ways. First, it features wonderful main characters. Catherine, or Cath as she is called, has made big mistakes in her life, but has also managed to scrape out a living of sorts for her and her daughter, with very little help. Her daughter is her life and she is a wonderful mother. Brett, the athlete, is a super nice guy, one that hasn't been ruined by the spotlight due to being brought up by loving, involved parents-even if his mother is a superstar actress. Brenna, Cath's daughter is a total delight in this book. You can sure tell this author is a mother to daughters! Cath's mother is a horrible excuse for a mother, all about how anything effects her, regardless if it hurts Cath. She is truly the villain of this story-well, along with her English teacher anyway. Second, the romance was so wonderfully written by the author. Of course, it's not an easy ride, but then I wouldn't like it near as much if it were. Third, it's just such a feel good book. I finished the read with a big smile on my face. Sometimes you just have to read a book like this! I can see re-reads in my future for this one.

K.A. Tucker fans will not be disappointed. It's not her usual sort of book, but it certainly should be a genre that she explores for future books. Don't get me wrong, I love her romantic suspense, and her young adult paranormal books are what cemented my love for her writing very early on, but this definitely is another way for her to go.

Highly recommended to contemporary romance readers and anyone that likes an adult fairytale. Recommended to readers 17plus.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria books for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was a sweet and romantic story. I am not a romance book reader, but this one sounded so cute I had to request it. I too was once a single mom, so I felt that I could relate to the character. I loved Catherine and Brett and the words just flowed effortlessly on the pages. It made for a very enjoyable read. This book was quite different from the last K.A. Tucker book I read, which was He Will Be My Ruin. I loved that book, just as I equally loved this sweet book.

Until It Fades is a beautiful and romantic story. The characters are relatable and the story was so compelling that I couldn't put it down until I read the whole book.

I love that it isn't an insta love. It's a slow build up between Catherine and Brett. They're attraction for each other was undeniable. I also love how important the secondary characters were.

K.A. Tucker writes an unforgettable, flawless, unique and beautiful story that will leave its readers talking about for weeks or even months later.

Yet again, K.A. Tucker did not disappoint. I have loved every book I've read; in fact, the Ten Tiny Breaths series is one of my favorites ever. I enjoy the romance in these books, but they don't feel like typical "romance" books either. The characters have much more depth and there's just more of a story. I really liked Catherine as a character, wanting to be independent and not need others, but learning to accept help and find that she can forgive herself for her past. And Brett? Well, let's just say I could use one of him in my life! I will be recommending this to friends.

Like always, K.A. Tucker draws me into her story from just a few short paragraphs. Before I realize it, I'm coming up for air and I've finished the book. Tucker said that she needed to write Until It Fades because she needed something light. But I don't think there is anything light about this book. It was so rich in plot and character growth. It was a loving, heart warming romance that kept me turning the pages.

At first, I didn't love Catherine. She was a complicated teen in love with her art teacher. I knew that the book was going to follow Catherine as an adult, but we start the story with her at 16. I loved that we got to see how Cath changed and grew right from the start. And let me tell you, book boyfriend Brett....swoon! He was wonderful. I loved him so much. He was just so perfect for Catherine.

I just loved everything about Until It Fades. The romance, the personal growing the characters did, the supporting cast, and the storyline. Arg! I want to still be reading this book. It was a long one and I just wish it had been a bit longer, only because I loved it so much!

I was apart of the cover reveal for this book a bit ago. When I first read the synopsis I knew it was a book that I needed to read no matter what. I like to think I'm still new to the New Adult genre but this book seemed to have everything that I have enjoyed within the genre so far, a passionate romance that made me want a real life version of the male character for myself. Imagine my surprise when it ended up being a lot more than the that.

The story is told in a dual timeline so there is an understanding of how Catherine is currently living and how exactly she got there. I'm not going to go into any details about how Catherine ended up being a single mother working as a truck stop waitress because that is a big plot pint that makes up the story. Catherine's current lifestyle in a way lead her to be in the right place at the right time to save Brett.

The formatting of the story, switching between Catherine's past and present, made the story a little slow at times for me. I understand why it was done and felt it was very effective to reveal important details but I felt that it was done too much. I didn't always care to relive those moments. Instead I would have like to see Catherine open up a little and talk about a few of the moments to get a sense of how she was feeling at the current moment in her life as opposed to when it first happened. Another thing I noticed was that while it didn't seem like insta-love, the romance happened pretty quickly. This might just be my personal opinion but a few months seems fast, especially considering Catherine's trust issues.

Despite those things, this book is more than the surface level the synopsis gives us. It's centered around making mistakes and dealing with the consequences and growing from the experience. It also deals with the meaning of family and friends, reconciliation, and being in love. I highly recommend Until It Fades, especially to those who love the genre.

Ever since I saw this cover, I was dying to get my hands on it. I have read two books by KA Tucker in her Ten Tiny Breaths series and LOVED those, so I couldn't wait to see her newest hockey romance!

Catherine Wright's life has ended up far from where she thought it would be. As a high school student, she had aspirations to go to college in the city, study art, and live happily ever after with the love of her life. Now, she's a 25-year-old single mother working as a waitress. One night, though, she saves the life of a hot shot hockey player and finds herself thrust into the spotlight. Catherine wants to protect her daughter and ignore the attention, but the man she saved shows up on her doorstep wanting to thank her and everything changes. There is no denying Catherine finds him attractive, but she's no dreamer and no man like Brett could ever love someone like her. But is the spark a figment of her imagination or does Brett really feel it too?

From the moment I started this book I could not get over how adorable it was. Catherine has already had enough attention from her town when she was in high school and then when she had a baby very young. I understood how she didn't want attention for saving Brett's life and how she just wanted a quiet, safe life for her daughter. Catherine was such a good mom and it was so sad how much she wanted to give her daughter but really couldn't. It was just them against the world. So when Brett showed up, it was so stinking adorable how much Brett liked Catherine. This one was definitely a slow romance where Catherine didn't even realize that Brett liked her and, when she thought that he might, she pushed him away. She had already been through so much heartbreak and didn't want to put her heart out there again.

While Catherine had extreme doubts when it came to a relationship with Brett, it wasn't annoying or unbelievable. Catherine had literally just saved his life and didn't know if his emotions for her were just left over from being thankful or if he really truly saw something with her. Catherine had to really put herself out there in the public eye after having an emotional experience with that in the past, so you really feel yourself wishing you could protect Catherine and stop all of the people who judge her. And did I mention that I loved Brett? Because I freaking loved that man.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book! While it wasn't an action filled sports romance since our athlete was injured and didn't actually get to play his sport during the book, I still loved how hockey was Brett's life and Catherine found herself thrown into his world. Emotionally charged with amazing chemistry between our two main characters, Until It Fades is a must read!