Four Seconds To Lose

Four Seconds To Lose
By: K.A. Tucker
Published Nov 4, 2013 by Atria Books
396 Pages

Summary via www.goodreads.com:

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
My Review: **SPOILERS INCLUDED***

This is the 4th book in the Tiny Breaths series. I have loved them all so far. This one, while I found to to be a page turner and one that I couldn't put down, didn't do it for me as much as the others.....

This book started out really strong. We meet Charlie and Cain in this story. They're perfect for each other, minus some secrets. Charlie is running from her past under an assumed name. Cain is dealing with the death of a past love.  He clearly pics up on the fact that she's not as professional of a dancer as she claims to be. He knows there's more to her but looks the other way.

Cain was in love once with a girl named Penny. Penny was killed by her fiancee and Cain has always regretted not telling her how he felt, thus leading to her death because she got involved with a bad guy.

Charlie, it turns out is working as a drug deliverer for her step father, who has been using her to make these drops since she was little.  She has a big plan to save money and get away for good. Working in Cain's club as a dancer is merely a stepping stone, and one that will help her to make a lot of money.

Along the way, these 2 can't fight the fact that they have feelings for each other and Charlie's plan to run gets put by the wayside, until a drop that goes horribly wrong. She knows she has to leave in order to protect Cain and herself.

While this book had all the makings of a great book, there was something missing. It seemed drawn out and like there was such a build up, but then we never really got over the hump.  I read this book in 2 days. And don't get me wrong, it was still a great book. After the first 2 though, the author has a lot to live up to because those were REALLY good books. 

I think what got me was the ending. So, in the end, Charlie's step father, who was a very dangerous man was killed. However, it was just like that. She's been running and plotting and running and plotting for the whole book and in a matter of 2 pages the step dad is killed. It seemed too easy when she was running for her life before. Then what really got me is the fact that we knew Charlie was using an assumed identity. In the very end we hear that her real name is Penny. Penny was also the woman Cain loved who died. It just didn't seem to be that thought out. 

I have high hopes that K.A. Tucker's next book is going to be her best yet. She is one of my favorite authors and I just love her writing style.

This book, all things considered, was a 4 star read for me.