Review: Until It Fades by K.A Tucker

UNTIL IT FADES
by K.A Tucker
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 27th 2017
Source: ARC received for review
Rating: ★★★★
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Twenty-four-year-old truck stop waitress and single mother Catherine Wright has simple goals: to give her five-year-old daughter a happy life and to never again be the talk of the town in Balsam, Pennsylvania: population two thousand outside of tourist season.

And then one foggy night, on a lonely road back from another failed attempt at a relationship, Catherine saves a man’s life. It isn’t until after the police have arrived that Catherine realizes exactly who it is she has saved: Brett Madden, hockey icon and media darling.

Catherine has already had her fifteen minutes of fame and the last thing she wants is to have her past dragged back into the spotlight, only this time on a national stage. So she hides her identity. It works.

For a time.

But when she finds the man she saved standing on her doorstep, desperate to thank her, all that changes. What begins as an immediate friendship quickly turns into something neither of them expected. Something that Catherine isn’t sure she can handle; something that Catherine is afraid to trust.

Because how long can an extraordinary man like Brett be interested in an ordinary woman like Catherine…before the spark fades?

Until It Fades was a different sort of story by K.A Tucker, but it still maintained some of those quintessential elements that make her books hers and special. I wasn't expecting to be so swept away by the story as I was. But damn, K.A Tucker got me attached to these characters, and this slow-burn romance. My heart is full after reading this one!

Catherine's past wasn't a pretty one - she has an affair with a 30 year old art teacher at 17. When her mom catches her, she is forced to make a testimony to the police. Only days later, she retracts the testimony to help the art teacher, in the process tarnishing her reputation. Fast forward 8 months, Catherine winds up pregnant. Like I said, Catherine can't catch a break, and it was hard to read about some of the decisions she made as a teen. A grown up Cath was a lot more easy to relate to. She had learned from her past, and was making amends in her life by giving her daughter the best possible life she can, and trying to repair the damaged relationship between her and her family. Given her circumstances and reputation, things were anything but easy for Cath, but she worked hard, and was so completely selfless, especially when it came to her daughter.

In a fateful turn of events, she winds up saving the life of hockey player and media darling, Brett. Brett, who I grew to love so much. He was very unlike any of the fictional hockey players I've come across in books. He was compassionate, sweet, and a gentleman in every way. The car accident that left him in crutches and one of his best friends dead altered his life entirely, but tried to work through it. Luckily, he has a great family to help him through his difficult time. And Cath!

The romantic relationship that grew between Cath and Brett was very slow burn. There's a lot of attraction between them, but because Cath has been hurt so many times in the past, she was hesitant to pursue any relationship with Brett, especially because of his fame. She, of course, eventually gives in to his persistence, and what followed was a lovely romance that gave me all the feels. He treated her with patience, and was an absolute gentleman with her. I loved the depth of his emotions for her, and even better? Brett grew a relationship with her daughter too. He honestly swept me off my feet with just how swoony he was! He was the perfect hero for a romance novel like this one.

Until It Fades was emotional and gorgeously written, and while the romance took a while to get going, I found the waiting to be one of the best things about the book. K.A Tucker is a must-read author!

What's your favorite K.A Tucker book?
Let me know in the comments below!