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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ok I’m so agitated and unsatisfied with the ending. However, I was glued to this book (even after I spoiled it for myself because I couldn’t handle not knowing if Brenden was telling the truth). It was well written and thought provoking, and I feel as though this will be a book I think about long after I’ve read it. I’m on my knees begging and praying for a more clarifying sequel!
I read this because the author is a friend’s friend. And I still hated it. The characters, plot, and “twist”…insufferable.
Brendan is awful as a character from the instant he hits the pages. The love story makes little sense, given neither character had any redeeming qualities. Maybe they’re both attracted to banal conversation, arrogance, and wasp/Cape Code nonsense? Cara isn’t much better, inexplicably weak and simpering. Mental health issues as as a plot excuse for horrendous, and honestly violent, male behavior towards women is LAZY authorship.
Brendan is awful as a character from the instant he hits the pages. The love story makes little sense, given neither character had any redeeming qualities. Maybe they’re both attracted to banal conversation, arrogance, and wasp/Cape Code nonsense? Cara isn’t much better, inexplicably weak and simpering. Mental health issues as as a plot excuse for horrendous, and honestly violent, male behavior towards women is LAZY authorship.
From the first meeting between the main character and the central love interest I was like… “ok this guy sucks?” But also, it’s not that weird to date people that suck when you are 22. So sure, it’s believable enough. Through all the magical realism, my big takeaway from this book is that I think it’s a metaphor for what it’s like to love someone with PTSD from their military service.
You are not a fan of regular men because of how toxic some of them can be, but have you met a man with gills?
I knew the moment I saw “his gills” in the synopsis, that I probably won’t any of it too seriously. Honestly, this book does grab your attention because it’s just an interesting idea, and after finishing it, I’m generally satisfied with the experience.
Brendan screamed red flag from the beginning and it was just painful reading about his and Cara’s relationship. Cara is the main character in the book so of course we delve into her more than any of them. I felt that she is someone with who a lot of people can connect due to how disconnected she seems to be from a lot of people and even herself. It illustrates how emptiness in our lives really leads us to the wrong people. There is a lot more revealed for Brendan that makes us understand him more but still not a fan of him because of what he put my girl through.
We didn’t get a lot of focus on other characters, even though they all seemed interesting enough. All I know is that we all need a Graham in our life.
Sometimes you just need a weird book to spice up your life so yeah I recommend it. Why not?
****Thank you Gallery for a copy of this book.
I knew the moment I saw “his gills” in the synopsis, that I probably won’t any of it too seriously. Honestly, this book does grab your attention because it’s just an interesting idea, and after finishing it, I’m generally satisfied with the experience.
Brendan screamed red flag from the beginning and it was just painful reading about his and Cara’s relationship. Cara is the main character in the book so of course we delve into her more than any of them. I felt that she is someone with who a lot of people can connect due to how disconnected she seems to be from a lot of people and even herself. It illustrates how emptiness in our lives really leads us to the wrong people. There is a lot more revealed for Brendan that makes us understand him more but still not a fan of him because of what he put my girl through.
We didn’t get a lot of focus on other characters, even though they all seemed interesting enough. All I know is that we all need a Graham in our life.
Sometimes you just need a weird book to spice up your life so yeah I recommend it. Why not?
****Thank you Gallery for a copy of this book.
At Sea
By Emma Fedor
A story about young love, a possible double-life and a mysterious and sudden disappearance of the ones you deeply love. What could possibly happen next?
Synopsis:
Cara, a young artist fresh out of college meets a mysterious guy named Brendan one afternoon while vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard. She is grieving over the death of her mother and decides to spend the summer with her Aunt Moira and Uncle Ed to help clear her mind and figure out her post-graduate next steps. She’s immediately taken by Brendan’s good looks and charm. He also holds a secret that he has never told anyone-he can breathe underwater. He not only can stay underwater for long periods of time, he is also apart of a “secret experimental unit” for the US Special Forces.
This is a story about one young woman’s heart-wrenching first love and the ties that bind them together (loss and the weight of secrets).
Likes:
-I was convinced a few chapters in that this was going to be more of a supernatural/fantasy sort of book. As the story unfolded I realized that was not the case and felt more like a psychological thriller.
-Without trying to give away too many spoilers, I liked how Fedor had Cara still wondering if what Brendan had told her all those years was really true. She loved him so much and wanted so badly to believe him! As the reader, I couldn’t help but question it as well!
-More than halfway through the book I began to feel like the book was dragging and I almost put the book down. But given the subject of the book (mental illness), I like how Fedor took the time to develop the relationship between Cara and Brendan. The push and pull, frustration, fear, outbursts-a character like Brendan with all that he embodies needs to time to develop. Cara’s love for him was so strong and heart-wrenching that there was no way this character was going to simply walk away.
This is Emma Fedor’s debut novel and I would highly recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
By Emma Fedor
A story about young love, a possible double-life and a mysterious and sudden disappearance of the ones you deeply love. What could possibly happen next?
Synopsis:
Cara, a young artist fresh out of college meets a mysterious guy named Brendan one afternoon while vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard. She is grieving over the death of her mother and decides to spend the summer with her Aunt Moira and Uncle Ed to help clear her mind and figure out her post-graduate next steps. She’s immediately taken by Brendan’s good looks and charm. He also holds a secret that he has never told anyone-he can breathe underwater. He not only can stay underwater for long periods of time, he is also apart of a “secret experimental unit” for the US Special Forces.
This is a story about one young woman’s heart-wrenching first love and the ties that bind them together (loss and the weight of secrets).
Likes:
-I was convinced a few chapters in that this was going to be more of a supernatural/fantasy sort of book. As the story unfolded I realized that was not the case and felt more like a psychological thriller.
-Without trying to give away too many spoilers, I liked how Fedor had Cara still wondering if what Brendan had told her all those years was really true. She loved him so much and wanted so badly to believe him! As the reader, I couldn’t help but question it as well!
-More than halfway through the book I began to feel like the book was dragging and I almost put the book down. But given the subject of the book (mental illness), I like how Fedor took the time to develop the relationship between Cara and Brendan. The push and pull, frustration, fear, outbursts-a character like Brendan with all that he embodies needs to time to develop. Cara’s love for him was so strong and heart-wrenching that there was no way this character was going to simply walk away.
This is Emma Fedor’s debut novel and I would highly recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads contest.
The main character really annoyed me because she was so naive and stupid. She completely ignored red flags about Brendan and went forward with the relationship and having his child. She believed his completely bullshit stories about his life. I just was so annoyed at her and it affected my enjoyment of the book.
The main character really annoyed me because she was so naive and stupid. She completely ignored red flags about Brendan and went forward with the relationship and having his child. She believed his completely bullshit stories about his life. I just was so annoyed at her and it affected my enjoyment of the book.
Cara found out Brendan’s lied to her about so much and that he had mental illness but still trusted him and loved him. It felt weird and like pieces were missing. I think there were plot holes and the first half was very developed while the last bit was rushed. It didn’t fully make sense though I think the author did a great job of conveying how much of a daze Cara was in. I think updating the dates may be valuable, or getting rid of them and using “then” and “now.” I think the scene on Squib Pond should have been more detailed, it seems unbelievable that the meeting would be so short. I think Graham was a good character but needed more development to show how great he truly was. Brendan was definitely the bad guy but Cara’s love for him made him always the hero. Graham was supposed to be this amazing saving grace but he was mostly portrayed as pushy and angry, we missed out on the intimate healing/loving moments that could have deepened the story. I think Uncle Ed didn’t need to die, or he at least deserved more than 2 sentences with no emotion behind them. He was barely present in the book but he was still always in the background and as close as Cara grew with Moira, I think she would’ve been similarly close with him. I think the Army could’ve given Cara more clarification to insist Brendan was suffering from episodes. It seemed too quick and it’s obvious that the author wanted to imply Brendan wasn’t insane, but it didn’t feel genuine. Though if his mother had schizophrenia, he definitely did too. But I don’t think they would’ve even let him into the military with that as his family history. Cara was convinced it could take years to find the right medication but thought Brendan would be out of the hospital in a few weeks and could be stable enough to father her child? She harbored anger and depression for 5 years but wasn’t even mad at him? I questioned the whole book if she was the one with the mental illness instead. I thought the ending was a bit too ambiguous personally. I like endings that are open ended but this one wasn’t specific enough to have people even argue a side. I think suggesting one way or the other a little more would’ve made the book stronger instead of having us so excited to read the last words and them falling short. I don’t think this book needs a sequel so I would love to see it finish differently and more neatly. Overall, I think there was too much focus on meaningless details. The whole plot line with Lindsay started out so strong and then was barely dismissed. She wasn’t tied back in after all the mysterious hints that there was an ending to their super strong and close friendship. I think the scene after Brendan snapped at Lucia could have had more emotion and detail. Lucia recounted exactly what Brendan said, so there wasn’t really any drama there for me. I also think there were just too many plot lines happening. A huge focus was how her family was so important to her, and at the end it was just her and Graham, who we don’t even know if she loved based on how she acted with Brendan. I think this definitely was a thriller, in the style similar to Verity. We never knew what was happening next and romance was there, but the depth of kidnapping, mental illness, love blinding Cara, loss, and lies, there definitely was suspense. I would have loved to see Cara come to her senses, be an independent woman, and start a family with graham after she went on and on at the beginning about how perfect he was. Perhaps the “happy” ending could’ve been justice and progress. Graham and Cara with a baby (named after her mom) and Micah not breathing underwater, in therapy and taking graham as his dad, and Brendan in a mental hospital with no recollection of what happened at all because the military wiped his memory. I think the style was THERE and really well done, but I think the plot and character development could be tweaked for this book to really be amazing. I honestly loved this book. I couldn’t put it down despite everything I said. I loved it and I think I’m very much the target audience. I think with a different ending and fixing some plot things, that this book will sell incredibly well. The plot is so unique and encapsulating. I will 10/10 be recommending this to my friends who enjoy similar stories. Also, there were lots of spacing issues and punctuation issues.