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mike_bolter's review
5.0
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I started this book. An anti-Waterworld? Some Mad Max? If I had to toss out some pop culture references to describe it I’d say It’s a bit Steel Dawn, Red Dawn, and V. OK V might be a little bit of a stretch but it’s what came to mind. You’ll see why when you read it. But no Aliens that I know anyway!
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, it has some great characters including Zach and Vivienne our main characters with wonderful chemistry between them. The pacing is excellent with the point of view switching between our two main characters in a way that just keeps things flowing smoothly along. So much so in fact, I thought I was only around half way through the book when I was viciously blindsided by a cliffhanger ending! The setting and atmosphere do a great job of sucking you in with some science tossed in for good measure while remaining plausible enough to not require a huge suspension of disbelief.
For the record, I have no issues with cliffhangers as a rule. But I was engrossed in the book and didn’t notice I was at the end, went to continue to the next chapter and *WHAM*
I’m very happy to have found a new to me author & I can’t wait for the next book so I can find out what happens!
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I started this book. An anti-Waterworld? Some Mad Max? If I had to toss out some pop culture references to describe it I’d say It’s a bit Steel Dawn, Red Dawn, and V. OK V might be a little bit of a stretch but it’s what came to mind. You’ll see why when you read it. But no Aliens that I know anyway!
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, it has some great characters including Zach and Vivienne our main characters with wonderful chemistry between them. The pacing is excellent with the point of view switching between our two main characters in a way that just keeps things flowing smoothly along. So much so in fact, I thought I was only around half way through the book when I was viciously blindsided by a cliffhanger ending! The setting and atmosphere do a great job of sucking you in with some science tossed in for good measure while remaining plausible enough to not require a huge suspension of disbelief.
For the record, I have no issues with cliffhangers as a rule. But I was engrossed in the book and didn’t notice I was at the end, went to continue to the next chapter and *WHAM*
I’m very happy to have found a new to me author & I can’t wait for the next book so I can find out what happens!
lolasreviews's review against another edition
I read until 45%. Waterproof wasn't the book for me. While I liked the idea, there wasn't enough world building to my taste and the world building that was there didn't seem to make sense. I didn't care about the characters, I didn't feel like I really got to know them and couldn't seem to remember who was who because there wasn't enough information about them individually. I didn't care about the story and the writing style didn't work for me.
xoxotawnydee's review
3.0
Waterproof.. I'm not really sure what to say about this book. I wanted to like it soooo much. I thought it had a good storyline, and I love dystopian stories. Add that to the back and forth POVs and I was so there. So I'm not exactly sure why I didn't feel this book as much as I could have.
I thought the romance happened way too fast, We were told they were just friends over and over and then suddenly they are sleeping together. But I understand that they have been friends since middle school or something so I let it slide. Not to mention that it doesn't last long in the scheme of things. The book isn't really about their romance, but more their survival. So that was good.
But then the rest of the story just confused me. It took a really long time to get to the scientific reasoning behind what the government was doing and Riley's obsession with Vee was unnerving.
I loved all of the characters, and I liked the plot so as I said, I'm not sure why it didn't click well.. but with an ending like that I'm sincerely hoping for a sequel and I'm sure that I'd like the next one better now that I understand the truth behind what they are doing.
I thought the romance happened way too fast, We were told they were just friends over and over and then suddenly they are sleeping together. But I understand that they have been friends since middle school or something so I let it slide. Not to mention that it doesn't last long in the scheme of things. The book isn't really about their romance, but more their survival. So that was good.
But then the rest of the story just confused me. It took a really long time to get to the scientific reasoning behind what the government was doing and Riley's obsession with Vee was unnerving.
I loved all of the characters, and I liked the plot so as I said, I'm not sure why it didn't click well.. but with an ending like that I'm sincerely hoping for a sequel and I'm sure that I'd like the next one better now that I understand the truth behind what they are doing.
mlboyd20's review
4.0
I would like to thank the author for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. Doing so does not sway my judgment in any way.
Going into this book, I was a little skeptical. The overly bad-ass heroine and the wannabe bad-ass hero together trying to make it through hell without getting killed. There was even a point that I stopped reading and went to the prequel to get some more info. I came back, and low and behold, this book really took off from there on. The chemistry that wasn't there at the beginning seemed to suddenly click and the story itself took us from the savaged humdrum of post-apocalyptic life to something more.
Vee is pretty bad ass, but her character isn't one of those sissy girls that suddenly becomes that way, but she seems to have always had a bit of a tough side to her and knows how to stand her ground. Zach has been wanting to reach out further to her, in a personal way, but was unsure of how to go about it. I mean, they're not thinking about prom night anymore but instead knowing every step they take can make or break their small band of deserters.
The author has come up with an ingenious and well thought out crisis. The world takes water for granted and we know we can live so many days without food, but not without water. Just the other day I was thinking about the water cycle and wondering just how, with all the human consumption and with all the other things we use water in and for, how does the cycle even come close to coming full circle?
The beginning of the book is a little, excuse the pun, dry, but come about 25% into the book and you start learning more about the group they are in and how they start to understand that the attraction they are feeling is mutual. Unlike some dystopia books, where they fight it off because life is so crappy, they actually embrace it and it's great seeing love blossom in a world where it would be so easy to shut it out.
There is action, adventure, loss, hope, romance, deception and triumphs all mixed into this book. Anyone who likes the dystopian genre would find this a great read and happily add it to their collection. I do recommend it for those ages 16+ due to some situations in the story itself.
Going into this book, I was a little skeptical. The overly bad-ass heroine and the wannabe bad-ass hero together trying to make it through hell without getting killed. There was even a point that I stopped reading and went to the prequel to get some more info. I came back, and low and behold, this book really took off from there on. The chemistry that wasn't there at the beginning seemed to suddenly click and the story itself took us from the savaged humdrum of post-apocalyptic life to something more.
Vee is pretty bad ass, but her character isn't one of those sissy girls that suddenly becomes that way, but she seems to have always had a bit of a tough side to her and knows how to stand her ground. Zach has been wanting to reach out further to her, in a personal way, but was unsure of how to go about it. I mean, they're not thinking about prom night anymore but instead knowing every step they take can make or break their small band of deserters.
The author has come up with an ingenious and well thought out crisis. The world takes water for granted and we know we can live so many days without food, but not without water. Just the other day I was thinking about the water cycle and wondering just how, with all the human consumption and with all the other things we use water in and for, how does the cycle even come close to coming full circle?
The beginning of the book is a little, excuse the pun, dry, but come about 25% into the book and you start learning more about the group they are in and how they start to understand that the attraction they are feeling is mutual. Unlike some dystopia books, where they fight it off because life is so crappy, they actually embrace it and it's great seeing love blossom in a world where it would be so easy to shut it out.
There is action, adventure, loss, hope, romance, deception and triumphs all mixed into this book. Anyone who likes the dystopian genre would find this a great read and happily add it to their collection. I do recommend it for those ages 16+ due to some situations in the story itself.
richelf's review
2.0
Just not engaging enough for me and only managed about 4 chapters ,to much of a YA-romance type story and a writing by numbers style.
readingwithbuddy's review against another edition
5.0
I do love a good post - apocalyptic novel and this one is both brilliantly written and narrated. This continued the story and they are now all in the factory/city. That brought its own unique story line - the ending was brilliant. Cannot wait for part 3.
I was given a free copy by the author but this is no way influenced my review.
I was given a free copy by the author but this is no way influenced my review.
nixwolfwood's review
4.0
This book picks up about five years after the end of waterfall, Zach and Vee have been living life as deserters to avoid the draft.
This one had much more hands gripped to the edge of your seat action, which made it hard to put down. It was interesting to see how things have gone downhill with the lack of water.
There was one scene that I felt was out of place in this story - with the drinking. I don't want to give out spoilers, but that part just seemed very odd to me.
Finding out what the government's solution to the water crisis was hard to stomach, and I believe the author handled it well.
I am interested to see what direction the story is going to go in with the next book.
4/5 platypires
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/waterproof
This one had much more hands gripped to the edge of your seat action, which made it hard to put down. It was interesting to see how things have gone downhill with the lack of water.
There was one scene that I felt was out of place in this story - with the drinking. I don't want to give out spoilers, but that part just seemed very odd to me.
Finding out what the government's solution to the water crisis was hard to stomach, and I believe the author handled it well.
I am interested to see what direction the story is going to go in with the next book.
4/5 platypires
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/waterproof
tien's review
4.0
The concept of Waterproof really piqued my interest. What would we do without water? Living in Australia with water restrictions and especially now that we are coming up to the hot summer months, we really do have to be strict with our water usages: limit our shower time, only water the garden at certain appointed times during the week (limitation guided by councils), etc. Hence, this is an issue that is always on the forefront of Australian concerns.
The opening of the book was explosive and I immediately found the 2 MC, Zach & Viviene, to be endearing. Viviene is magnificently bad-ass –a sword wielding one, and is absolutely protective of Zach. (can’t get any hotter than that!) Zach isn’t completely helpless but the way he admired Viviene’s ‘bad-ness’ and the way he interacted with her warms my heart. The relationship between them was like a beacon of light, pure & innocent, in a darkly sinister world and it was a great foil / contrast in such a hopeless situation.
The science part of the book, I thought, could be a bit over the top (and at times, it just went over my head) that I was really sceptical about it. Although, Amber is the scientist here whilst if I see / hear science, I’d run the opposite direction, so I suppose, it’s got its potential for possibility.
I find that things are never what it seems when it comes to Amber Garr’s books. With Waterproof, every time I thought we’re heading in the right direction, we were off track and again and again until it ended with a cliffhanger! I can’t wait for the next instalment for this dark tale.
The opening of the book was explosive and I immediately found the 2 MC, Zach & Viviene, to be endearing. Viviene is magnificently bad-ass –a sword wielding one, and is absolutely protective of Zach. (can’t get any hotter than that!) Zach isn’t completely helpless but the way he admired Viviene’s ‘bad-ness’ and the way he interacted with her warms my heart. The relationship between them was like a beacon of light, pure & innocent, in a darkly sinister world and it was a great foil / contrast in such a hopeless situation.
The science part of the book, I thought, could be a bit over the top (and at times, it just went over my head) that I was really sceptical about it. Although, Amber is the scientist here whilst if I see / hear science, I’d run the opposite direction, so I suppose, it’s got its potential for possibility.
I find that things are never what it seems when it comes to Amber Garr’s books. With Waterproof, every time I thought we’re heading in the right direction, we were off track and again and again until it ended with a cliffhanger! I can’t wait for the next instalment for this dark tale.
artemishi's review
3.0
Waterproof is a YA dystopian that I didn't quite click with. It reads like a summer blockbuster movie: a lot of action, a lot of unrealistically amazing sex, a lot of dialogue establishing how characters are connected to each other, a twist, a big reveal, and a cliffhanger. However, although it was entertaining as a fluff read, I had absolutely no emotional connection with the characters.
I don't quite know if it was because of the unrealistic level of emotions with the world (i.e. it's been only five years since the collapse of civilization, but brutally killing people produces zero emotional impact on the MCs) or the fact that it revolves around conspiracy that has some world-building plot holes (we can synthesize DNA protein and have enough gas for hummers, but there are no helicopters do spot deserters? Why is it the world is livable only five years after a nuclear holocaust?).
If you're looking for a somewhat shallow action story that's written like a movie, this book may work for you. Otherwise, it (unfortunately) doesn't quite live up to the intriguing premise.
I don't quite know if it was because of the unrealistic level of emotions with the world (i.e. it's been only five years since the collapse of civilization, but brutally killing people produces zero emotional impact on the MCs) or the fact that it revolves around conspiracy that has some world-building plot holes (we can synthesize DNA protein and have enough gas for hummers, but there are no helicopters do spot deserters? Why is it the world is livable only five years after a nuclear holocaust?).
If you're looking for a somewhat shallow action story that's written like a movie, this book may work for you. Otherwise, it (unfortunately) doesn't quite live up to the intriguing premise.
nexusgoblin's review
4.0
Waterproof is another one of those rare indie gems that bring something a little new to the table and make you excited for the next book. It’s not just another dystopian with some rehashed horrible government and one person trying to make a change. It’s a dystopian with real characters who are fighting to survive for themselves, not because they have a high calling. Not to mention it has some new ideas.
The story is told in dual POVs and while I normally don’t like novels that switch back and forth I did appreciate it with this one. Not only do we get the extra insight into each character we also get to see two separate stories once the characters have split up. I love having that added anxiety of knowing something a character doesn’t. Over all the story is about surviving in a world where drinking water is hard to come by and people are willing to do anything to get it. I know of another book that deals with water like this but I haven’t read it, so this is fresh and I really enjoyed the newness of the idea. Especially once other plans are revealed later in the book. I’ll admit to reading it in shock and then declaring the idea stupid, but the more I read the more I enjoyed the different quality to the idea.
As for our characters we have a hand full but Zach and Vivianne (Vee) are the main focus. Their relationship plays a huge part in this and it’s honestly a good thing. They already have a set relationship before the book starts and they have the history together, so it doesn’t feel rushed and they feel comfortable. I was a little under prepared for the sexy times though because I mislabeled the book when I got it and thought it was YA, oops. I really liked Zach and Vee, they both felt real and realistically hardened to certain aspects of their life. They’re only in their twenties and when crap hit the fan they were younger than that, so it’s logical that certain things are easier for them. Zach has the realistic mind of a male and his POV doesn’t shy away from the more personal aspects of it. In fact this book doesn’t really shy away from anything and I appreciated the blatant humanity of all of it, sometimes I just get tired of reading cut and dry books. There are also other great characters like Hunter, Sasha and Trevor that I really enjoyed, but would have really liked to see more from them. They are great side characters and it’s clear they have their own personalities but I would have liked to get to know them better before things were kicked into high gear. Also there are characters called Sam and Dean…I have no idea if this was intentional but I kind of squealed a bit and immediately pictured them as the Sam and Dean from Supernatural. In fact I have no idea what they were supposed to look like.
Overall I found Waterproof to be a rather quick and enjoyable read that really pulled me in from page one and made me want more. Especially with the ending, cliffhanger alert…It’s a interesting story with a new idea and a great flow.
The story is told in dual POVs and while I normally don’t like novels that switch back and forth I did appreciate it with this one. Not only do we get the extra insight into each character we also get to see two separate stories once the characters have split up. I love having that added anxiety of knowing something a character doesn’t. Over all the story is about surviving in a world where drinking water is hard to come by and people are willing to do anything to get it. I know of another book that deals with water like this but I haven’t read it, so this is fresh and I really enjoyed the newness of the idea. Especially once other plans are revealed later in the book. I’ll admit to reading it in shock and then declaring the idea stupid, but the more I read the more I enjoyed the different quality to the idea.
As for our characters we have a hand full but Zach and Vivianne (Vee) are the main focus. Their relationship plays a huge part in this and it’s honestly a good thing. They already have a set relationship before the book starts and they have the history together, so it doesn’t feel rushed and they feel comfortable. I was a little under prepared for the sexy times though because I mislabeled the book when I got it and thought it was YA, oops. I really liked Zach and Vee, they both felt real and realistically hardened to certain aspects of their life. They’re only in their twenties and when crap hit the fan they were younger than that, so it’s logical that certain things are easier for them. Zach has the realistic mind of a male and his POV doesn’t shy away from the more personal aspects of it. In fact this book doesn’t really shy away from anything and I appreciated the blatant humanity of all of it, sometimes I just get tired of reading cut and dry books. There are also other great characters like Hunter, Sasha and Trevor that I really enjoyed, but would have really liked to see more from them. They are great side characters and it’s clear they have their own personalities but I would have liked to get to know them better before things were kicked into high gear. Also there are characters called Sam and Dean…I have no idea if this was intentional but I kind of squealed a bit and immediately pictured them as the Sam and Dean from Supernatural. In fact I have no idea what they were supposed to look like.
Overall I found Waterproof to be a rather quick and enjoyable read that really pulled me in from page one and made me want more. Especially with the ending, cliffhanger alert…It’s a interesting story with a new idea and a great flow.