Review: Four Seconds to Lose by K.A. Tucker

Four Seconds to Lose

(Ten Tiny Breaths # 3)

By: K. A. Tucker

Pub. Date: November 4, 2013

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 416

Source: Netgalley

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.

I was looking forward to Four Seconds to Lose ever since I first met Cain in the first story. Being a strip club owner, you definitely have preconceived notions about his character. But he is the complete opposite of what you might think. He is sweet, caring and honest, and opened a strip club so the ladies would have a safe place to work and a place where he can help them. You have to admire a man like that.

Charlie is very young, she’s 18, but it posing as a 22 year old. Her stepfather is a gangster who gets his daughter to go on drug runs for him and she wants out of a life that she never wanted in the first place. She decides she needs to save up as much money as she possibly can so she can afford a new identity. She gets a job at Penny’s-the strip club that Cain owns, and from the first moment Cain and Charlie meet there is a connection.

I loved Charlie. I couldn’t wait to find out more about her. Her stepfather has used her and has put her in extremely dangerous situations. Cain has lived with an excruciating amount of guilt for the past 10 years. He couldn’t save his sister from being murdered and he couldn’t save the women he loved from being killed either. He doesn’t think he is good enough for anyone, especially a girl like Charlie, who screams innocence (yes, even as a stripper!). The two of them deserved a happy ending more than two characters ever have.

I really enjoyed seeing past characters from the first two books. Cain really does have an amazing group of friends, and they all know how to have a good time! I loved the scenes where they were all together.

K.A. Tucker definitely has a talent for creating the most messed up characters, and I am so excited to read what she writes next!