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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was sadly disappointed in this book. I loved the main characters Erin and Brendan in Waking Olivia, but I unfortunately felt like their characters changed a lot in this book. I just didn't love the story although I could sadly relate to Erin in many ways. I felt like she deserved way better than her manipulative fiance Rob, and better than Brendan too. I still ultimately wanted to see more of Brendan and his relationship with Will that I did not get in this book either. This book was more sad somehow than Waking Olivia was despite Olivia having an even darker backstory than Erin's (although Erin's is dark and depressing in its own right), without the moments of levity that WO included. I'm still happy I read it, and happy with the ending, but it wasn't as enjoyable of a read.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Drowning Erin was my first book by Elizabeth O'Roark. It was a fast read that definitely brought out all the emotions I expect in a romance novel. In Drowning Erin, we meet a young woman who seems to have everything she could possibly ever ask (or want) for. But sometimes appearances are deceiving. When her fiancé leaves on a work assignment, Erin is left dealing with their 'temporary' roommate Brendan. As her fiancé's best friend, Brendan should be totally off-limits but Erin and Brendan also have a history that exists between them and sometimes temptation leads to circumstances one never expects to happen.
There was no shortage of angst in this book and for that alone, I felt like she deserves five stars. Angst is often hard to write because it can make a book too tragic... Yet this author managed to layer the moments of angst with lighter, less emotional moments beautifully. Also, in Drowning Erin, readers could actually relate with Erin's character on multiple fronts, Erin could easily be your sister or your best friend. We could understand the situation she found herself in at home and at work. We could literally feel her anger as her workplace situation became more and more volatile and her frustrations in the stale and unhealthy relationship she has with Rob. In writing Drowning Erin, Elizabeth made me hate Brendan's manwhore ways and sympathize with Erin all while rooting for Erin to actually get involved with Brendan in the first place (and I never root for cheating on any level!) It was hard not to find sympathy with Erin since in a stroke of pure genesis Elizabeth O'Roark layered the storyline by only giving readers brief glimpses into Brendan's feelings (until the very end of the book). By making the vast majority of this book told strictly by Erin's perspective, readers didn't know where Brendan stood with the changes in their relationship and we couldn't relate to him as easily...he was truly a diamond in the rough for most of the book. This single aspect left me completely unable to put the book down because it allowed for a sense of mystery and painted Branden as an enigma. I was wholly invested in seeing what rabbit hole Elizabeth O'Roark was leading me down. I loved how I didn't feel like this story had been told before and can not wait to read more work by Elizabeth O'Roark because Drowning Erin certainly introduced me to a new author to add to my list of favorites.
There was no shortage of angst in this book and for that alone, I felt like she deserves five stars. Angst is often hard to write because it can make a book too tragic... Yet this author managed to layer the moments of angst with lighter, less emotional moments beautifully. Also, in Drowning Erin, readers could actually relate with Erin's character on multiple fronts, Erin could easily be your sister or your best friend. We could understand the situation she found herself in at home and at work. We could literally feel her anger as her workplace situation became more and more volatile and her frustrations in the stale and unhealthy relationship she has with Rob. In writing Drowning Erin, Elizabeth made me hate Brendan's manwhore ways and sympathize with Erin all while rooting for Erin to actually get involved with Brendan in the first place (and I never root for cheating on any level!) It was hard not to find sympathy with Erin since in a stroke of pure genesis Elizabeth O'Roark layered the storyline by only giving readers brief glimpses into Brendan's feelings (until the very end of the book). By making the vast majority of this book told strictly by Erin's perspective, readers didn't know where Brendan stood with the changes in their relationship and we couldn't relate to him as easily...he was truly a diamond in the rough for most of the book. This single aspect left me completely unable to put the book down because it allowed for a sense of mystery and painted Branden as an enigma. I was wholly invested in seeing what rabbit hole Elizabeth O'Roark was leading me down. I loved how I didn't feel like this story had been told before and can not wait to read more work by Elizabeth O'Roark because Drowning Erin certainly introduced me to a new author to add to my list of favorites.
Good story, not my favorite Elizabeth book!! I think I just couldn’t stand a lot of the back and forth and the constant confusion for Erin. I also didn’t love how fast everything happened!! I wanted more pining!
this book was sweet. feel like i liked it just as much as the first book… not more or less. ending was disappointing lowkey wish there was an epilogue?? but maybe i’m just used to epilogues either way i enjoyed this one!
A bit too convoluted in parts, with a bit too obvious "oh but I didn't see that" plot, but still a fun book.
I liked this book, but not as much as I liked the first in the series. Erin and Brendan had great chemistry and I liked them from the get go. What I found slightly off-putting was Erin's flip flopping between Rob and Brendan. Rob had sleazeball written all over him and it annoyed me that someone as smart as Erin was just meh about it.
For me this was a 3.5*, but I rounded up because I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters.
For me this was a 3.5*, but I rounded up because I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters.
You can’t just screw somebody to dissolve your relationship issues, which is what the fmc and mmc did here -
I mean, she can't write anything bad, so here we go - 5 solid stars.