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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
A young woman (Cara) fresh out of college, staying with family on at their east coast island home for the summer, meets a charming young U.S Special Forces operator (Brendan) who, despite initial hesitation, she falls in love with. The young man has a secret ability to breathe under water that he uses for the special forces, but there’s more to him lingering just below the surface. Right when when their love is perfect and their son (Micah) becomes the piece that completes them everything falls apart. Brendan and Micah go missing and Cara is left devastated. The characters were really well written for this book. Cara and Brendan seemed really well matched to me despite his ongoing issues. Its sad that got in the way of things. Not a super big fan of Graham. He was a well written, well developed, but I felt like he was only pretend supportive of Cara and I didn’t like that. I loved the plot as a whole. I went into it expecting to get sci-fi thriller and got a lesson on how mental illness affect multi-generations of families. The pacing though seemed fast and slow at the same time. At times I was like OMG HURRY UP and then other times I was like wait we just sped through that moment.
The characters were really well written for this book. Cara and Brendan seemed really well matched to me despite his ongoing issues. Its sad that got in the way of things. Not a super big fan of Graham. He was a well written, well developed, but I felt like he was only pretend supportive of Cara and I didn’t like that. I loved the plot as a whole. I went into it expecting to get sci-fi thriller and got a lesson on how mentally illness affect multi-generations of families. The pacing though seemed fast and slow at the same time. At times I was like OMG HURRY UP and then other times I was like wait we just sped through that moment. I loved that Brendan left her whale carvings as messages. Probably one of my favorite parts of the story. I felt like the end where the government people were like, “BUT DID YOU SEE him have these abilities?” And Cara was like, “uhhhh no maybe not really?” When it was clear at the beginning of the book she did. This was a frustrating moment because she’s making him look more crazy. I feel like the audience this was intended for will really like it and can already anticipate their questions.
Overall I highly enjoyed the book and hope there is more to the story or at least from this author. This will make a great book club book! Would definitely recommend to my reading circles. 5/5 rating.
The characters were really well written for this book. Cara and Brendan seemed really well matched to me despite his ongoing issues. Its sad that got in the way of things. Not a super big fan of Graham. He was a well written, well developed, but I felt like he was only pretend supportive of Cara and I didn’t like that. I loved the plot as a whole. I went into it expecting to get sci-fi thriller and got a lesson on how mentally illness affect multi-generations of families. The pacing though seemed fast and slow at the same time. At times I was like OMG HURRY UP and then other times I was like wait we just sped through that moment. I loved that Brendan left her whale carvings as messages. Probably one of my favorite parts of the story. I felt like the end where the government people were like, “BUT DID YOU SEE him have these abilities?” And Cara was like, “uhhhh no maybe not really?” When it was clear at the beginning of the book she did. This was a frustrating moment because she’s making him look more crazy. I feel like the audience this was intended for will really like it and can already anticipate their questions.
Overall I highly enjoyed the book and hope there is more to the story or at least from this author. This will make a great book club book! Would definitely recommend to my reading circles. 5/5 rating.
3.5⭐
Featuring ~ single 3rd person, dual timeline, debut, missing husband and child
Cara's ex, Brendan, went missing with their son 5 years ago. Brendan apparently has gills and can just live underwater, so are they chilling under the sea with Ariel or are they really missing or has something involving his job caught up with him?
Now there's been a spotting of a man and child floating in the water, maybe it's them or maybe it's just a coincidence.
I like that it was written with a dual timeline so Cara's past life with Brendan was slowly built up to what led to the disappearance. I don't know about Brendan as a character though. He was fun at the beginning of their relationship, but his mental health seemed to decline. Why would he think his son could also breath underwater when he didn't have the same procedure as he did? Like that doesn't seem like something that would be inherited, I don't think.
Cara's current husband, Graham, seemed very patient and understanding under the circumstances.
Overall, an interesting debut with a premise that I don't think I've read before. I'd give Emma another shot.
*Thanks to the author, Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
I was able to listen to a copy as well.
Narration:
Carlotta Brentan ~ 10 hours 19 minutes ~ a fine job
Follow me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook
Featuring ~ single 3rd person, dual timeline, debut, missing husband and child
Cara's ex, Brendan, went missing with their son 5 years ago. Brendan apparently has gills and can just live underwater, so are they chilling under the sea with Ariel or are they really missing or has something involving his job caught up with him?
Now there's been a spotting of a man and child floating in the water, maybe it's them or maybe it's just a coincidence.
I like that it was written with a dual timeline so Cara's past life with Brendan was slowly built up to what led to the disappearance. I don't know about Brendan as a character though. He was fun at the beginning of their relationship, but his mental health seemed to decline. Why would he think his son could also breath underwater when he didn't have the same procedure as he did? Like that doesn't seem like something that would be inherited, I don't think.
Cara's current husband, Graham, seemed very patient and understanding under the circumstances.
Overall, an interesting debut with a premise that I don't think I've read before. I'd give Emma another shot.
*Thanks to the author, Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
I was able to listen to a copy as well.
Narration:
Carlotta Brentan ~ 10 hours 19 minutes ~ a fine job
Follow me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook
This book really surprised me. The initial premise seemed a little out there, but it turned into a really interesting story. Pretty darn good!
I struggled with this. The book presents as a romance with a supernatural twist but ends up being far from that. The idea of the book is unique and has so much potential but falls flat. The ending leaves you with questions and holes in the plot. And I hated Brenden! Cara is naive and lacks real world knowledge. I feel this book is glorifing toxic relationships without resolution. I had high hopes for this book, the cover art and blurb drew me in and I was so excited to start it. It quickly went down hill for me.
Someone could potentially love this book, it just wasn’t something I was able to vibe with.
Someone could potentially love this book, it just wasn’t something I was able to vibe with.
4.5 Stars. At Sea is the story of Cara, who moves to Martha’s Vineyard after college graduation. Her mother has passed away and she needs to figure out what to do next. She meets Brendan, who claims he can breathe underwater due to experimental surgery that he received from the armed forces. Brendan also occasionally disappears and has mood swings. Cara gets pregnant and thinks everything will be ok, but then Brendan and young Micah disappear. The story of the early relationship is interwoven with Cara’s present, 5 years later. She still holds out hope that her child is alive and will return. This book had me turning pages quickly and I was very into the story. It did include some uses of ableist language, including the R word, which I hope will be edited in the final version. The mental health representation was done well otherwise.
Cara and Brendan meet while she's greiving her mother's death while at Martha's Vineyard with her aunt. She's trying to determine if she should move to NY... he confides in her and shows her the gills he has. I mean, she touches them and all. He keeps disappearing on missions and showing up. She sees he talks to people (arguing at times)... then she gets pregnant. Brendan fears their son could be like him. Then one day Brendan and their son disappear only to show signs they're back 5 years later. She's convinced he has the same mental issues as his mother... all the signs are there right?! Sometimes the ones you love is where you need to place all of your faith
Entertaining, cinematic, and strange! I would have enjoyed more character development (I didn't entirely buy the romantic relationships), but the plot was fast-paced and intriguing. Anyone who loves haunting mysteries of the sea will enjoy this, I think.