Until It Fades: A Novel

Catherine Wright has not had it easy, she fell for the wrong man early in life and it destroyed her until she found out she was pregnant with Brenna and she did what she had to do to provide. She has kept her head down and done her best to stay out of the spotlight. One night driving home though she sees a crash and saves the unconscious man from the wreckage. Little does she know that it is Brett Madden, a hockey great who is supposed to be heading to the playoffs soon.Now Cath is trying to keep her identity hidden but the crash has caused a media frenzy and they all want to know who rescued Brett. Cath's past is about to come back but she never figured on Brett wanting to be by her side. Can Cath trust that what Brett says about building a future be really true or will he be another valuable lesson in life?This was a wonderful read. Tear jerking at times but I thought Cath was such a strong character. The chemistry between Cath and Brett is intense and I liked the fact it was a slow burn. Brenna is adorable. Every character was terrific, definitely will read more from this author.

Ok so after seeing this book hyped up on the book tok I spent the $8 and dove in, which is the most I’ve ever spent for a digital book on Amazon btw. I think the premise of the story was interesting and could hold interest. It just is really slow and drawn out, yet at the same time so much stuff is either just repeating inner dialogue and or surface stuff. A lot of the big things get glossed over and never addressed really. I found myself struggling to stay focused. This is not what I would classify as a spicy read, it like 1 notch above a closed door or fades to black IMO. There is a lil bit of pg13 spice but not until almost the end. And if your a reader that likes the spice scenes this is not gonna hit.I wish we actually had more of the 2MC actually developing their relationship and also the MMC a with her daughter more was definitely needed. Instead it was like surface level. Also, there was some time line issues that bothered me. It was written several times that weeks had passed then more weeks and then they referenced it being only a month since the accident which was impossible given he spent 2weeks in the hospital, then given the rest of the timeline referenced it would have been several months.Also, there was only 1 very superficial conversation about the death of the driver who was his best friend. It seemed very unrealistic that he wasn’t more affected by that loss than was portrayed. I don’t think that was handled well at all or realistically.And the ending felt unsatisfying AF. Like it was a longer book and it dragged on then boom abrupt ending. Not even a HEA just a kinda we’re ok for now ending. Very frustrating. I always review based on how I feel immediately after reading the book, how it leaves me feeling and if I’m honest I’m mad, disappointed and unfulfilled with the way I feel about this book. It needed more, and the pace was lagging then rushed during the parts that needed development then boom end page. It had so much promise but I didn’t feel the passion between the couple, I didn’t feel characters had development or an arc at all.

The author did such a great job at giving us the full back story of Catherine and Bretts lives. Which made their love story a lot better because we know why they are who they are. Such a great book and will make your heart melt.

This story is so relatable to anyone especially us girls that hit our teenage years and wanted to let go of our parents ,fall in love ,feel like a adult and chase our dreams, consequences be damned and let our hearts make our decisions.The character Catherine was me and you and so many of us that I felt her from heart to soul.And that is what makes a story a 5 star read for me, when you really feel all the emotions and feel the character where you can see parts of your own self in them and that's what makes KA Tucker storytelling just so darn wonderful, bravo to this author because this book was more than a love story, its a growing up story and it was about relationships with your parents that go south during your teen years, it's about falling in love so hard for someone who makes you believe it's mutual, or so you think !!!!!God first true love heartache can break you at that age,wouldn't want to be 16 ever again myself but visiting that age in this fictional read gives you all the memories that we all have survived, hopefully and so very thankfully. Catherine is a amazing character, you just wanted to hug her ,help her,admire her and say I was you ,I could have been you easily !!!I laughed hard at times, really hard thanks to Gord Mayberry, you clueless,cheapskate car dealer character who was delusional and highly entertaining, to adorable Brenna who will tell the whole world what color her mom's underwear is just like every other honest and loved 5 years old daughter will do.To Keith who loves Catherine no matter if it's not the same kind love she feels for him ,God I just wanted the Epilogue to include a love for Keith , gosh we could all use a friend like Keith .To brother Jack who also stills your heart, best player little brother ever.To Lou and Leroy who remind you that family is not always blood related but God or they so damn important to your life,and to Scott ,yeah you know this character, the teacher that is a predator, we all had a few of them in our high school days but because they didn't act on it with us we just called them "perves" but to the Scott 's that prey and act on their ways on the young trusting love filled hearted girls that believe,well may you always have a rotten life and please Karma be that bi@ch for those horrible human beings in life and the beyond,and that includes all those abusive boyfriends as well .And Ms Tucker if you read your reviews and I really hope you do ,thank you so much for all the feels, the love and the full on belly laughs that you effortlessly weaved through this heart and soul read ,you said in your acknowledgements that you were worried this story might be to much of a departure from your other reads , worried maybe it would be to trope-y, let me just say I hope that all of your next and future books are as thoughtful, moving, inspiring and fun as this read was for me, it had it all , soooo good!!!!! It reminded me that although at times high school years are wild and fun those years can also be painful and gives us all too many lessons learned to count , all the" what if's" and the "Thank Goodness" nothing happened years later . You made me really remember ,think and feel and that is what makes this book a epic read, I kept thinking,hoping that Brenna's dad twist would be the icing on the cake and you piled that whip cream deep and high with the biggest cherry on top ever, I was so hoping you were going in that direction and was so hopeful you were going to give us all the gold medal with that turn and I was totally thrilled that you did exactly that , bravo !!!.The ending was perfect and though we lost Seth ,you kept it real because some mistakes like Krystal 's you can say sorry for if you truly mean it , some mistakes change your life for the better or the different yet you wouldn't change a thing and then there are those deadly mistakes sadly and very unfortunately are unforgiven,and take all , and it's real and you kept it real with some super Hockey fairy tales and magic sprinkled in , just so very good, thank you so much for your beautiful read and please keep them coming because you do "love " reads very very well !!

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!

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 really loved this book, it was funny, romantic and a great storyline. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. It just kinda ends not really wrapping it up well. I definitely wanted more.

What can I say? I love K.A. Tucker's stories. This was a 5 star read for me, she never disappoints!

Des personnages très attachants. une romande digne d'un conte de fées, tout ça dans une ambiance forcément un peu cliché, mais j'ai apprécié ma lecture, elle m'a vraiment fait rêver malgré le côté "bateau", j'ai aimé connaître ces personnages, leur vie, leurs liens, leurs rêves, leurs avancées, leurs peines et leurs joies. C'était un roman très humain et émouvant