Review: Until It Fades by K.A. Tucker

Until It Fades by K.A. Tucker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Catherine has had a very rough life so far - and she's only 24! After having an affair with her art teacher when she was 17 and being forced to report it to the police after her mother found out, she has been an outcast and has been treated really terribly by her small little town. It doesn't help that the teacher was loved by all and his entire family owns basically the entire town or is in charge of something very important.

So Cath is furious with her mother for making her report it, and decides to move out when she is 18 to take care of herself and to never have to listen to her mother again.

The only bad part is that she needed a job, but no one would hire her. When she was at an interview at a small diner, Cath got sick and found out that she was pregnant. Not the best interview.

But 6 years later, Cath is now taking care of herself, her little girl Brenna, is living in a little house on her own, and she is kind of getting along with her parents. For the most part. And while Cath isn't living the rich life, she is managing to make enough money to live a happy-ish life.

When she is leaving a terrible blind date, Cath comes across a sports car that got into a terrible accident. She gets out of the car to check on the passengers. The driver didn't make it, but the guy in the passenger seat is still alive. Cath is able to get him out, though how no one knows because he is unconscious, over 6 feet tall (to her 5' 4"), and his foot is stuck in the crushed car.

What Cath didn't realize when saving this man is that she saved a very famous, well loved hockey player named Brett. And since Cath has a very sketchy past that she wishes everyone will forget, being in the spotlight as Brett's hero is going to be nothing but trouble. Especially since she doesn't want her 5 year old girl to know about her bad teenage years.

But Brett is now always around. At first, Cath thought it was because he wanted to help her like she helped him, but she soon finds out that they may have a connection between the two of them. She certainly feels something for him, but it's too much of a fairy tale story to be true.

Liking and being with Brett has consequences, though, because he such a popular, famous person, who also has a movie star mother. Cath is going to have to make a decision soon if she wants to be with him, and how many of her deep, dark secrets are going to be released into the media.

I love K.A. Tucker, so when I saw this book on the shelf at the library, I knew I had to check it out and read it! And I'm glad I did, because I really liked it! It was a slow going story, but with enough suspense to keep me engaged in the story to find out all of the little secrets that are revealed throughout the novel.

Cath is a stubborn girl who definitely sticks with what she believes in no matter what anyone else says. She can handle the criticism and she has an extremely tough outer shell to ward off all of the evil things the people in her town say about her.

And she has made such a good life for her. It may not have been what she wanted overall, but she has the complete love and adoration of her little girl, and she has even made enough amends with her mother to involve the rest of her family in her life.

She is also so selfless saving Brett out of that car, especially when the fire started. I don't think I would have been brave enough to get close enough to find out of anyone was alive in there. And to have it destroy her car - that is just devastating.

The relationship between Brett and Cath was adorable. You could tell that Brett was so into her, and Cath was oblivious to everything around her. She thought it was gratitude that she saved her life, but she was the only one who thought that. Everyone else knew what was happening right in front of their eyes.

I hate that the town shunned Cath when she was a teenager. Yes, she had a crush on her teacher and yes, they had an affair. But the person who should have been punished and shunned was the teacher, since he was the adult and knew not to get involved with a student. To blame the student, to blame Cath, was just a terrible thing to do and that whole town should be ashamed of themselves. And to find out that the teacher has perhaps done it again and again? Just awful.

Brett is an amazing guy who has some inner demons and some tough choices to make about his career and life. But I did love the way he gave Cath time to figure out what she wanted, rather than forcing her to make a decision or taking away her choices. He was so gentle with her in that regard. Also, seeing him with Brenna was just too adorable. He's a natural :)

I really enjoyed this book and am so glad that I found it and read it! K.A. Tucker is great and she wrote an amazing story full of second chances and a new beginning :)

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