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A review by eirasnow
Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
5.0
This is a case of "when a book doesn't have to be awesome or mind-blowing and perhaps you can't really recommend it to everyone because it isn't THAT amazing, but boy this book and me are soulmates."
I'm totally sold since the prologue. I've enjoyed this book from start and down to the very end. It is truly a rare case. As much as I love reading books, there are usually those moments of getting bored and wanting to end the current chapter and be done with it. But this book, there was no moment of "get it over with". While at the same time, I couldn't tell why. I just love this book so damn much and every word and detail are important to me. Angst, hurt and recovery themes are my cup of tea, and this book had all those. Perhaps that's also one reason why this book and I built a happy relationship.
Even more rare and surprising was I listened to this book from book subscription service, and decided I'd love to own a copy and then I went ahead to purchase the newest paperback editions of the entire series for nearly 50 dollars, and then I purchased the audible edition of the first book. I've almost never done something like this. I don't like rereading books unless it's extremely necessary (even then I would try to skim along to get just enough information I needed), let alone purchasing books I've already read or listened to. And this happened to be one book I've listened to, and would love to reread again.
Characters might play a major part
Characters are very important to me. I'm a lover of character-driven stories more than plot-driven ones. Of course every story is a blend of both, but sometimes each story leans more to one side than the other. This book is definitely more character-driven.
Cameron. I didn't expect to love Cam. Not at all. He's not my type of hero. His personality is so Alpha. I'm a Beta fan. But Cam caught me off-guard and I fell for him. David Stuart, the narrator, did an amazing job in voicing Cam. He was okay when he did Ethan and Philip, but the way he voiced Cam totally brought his personality to life. He's the type of Alpha I wanted to root for, despite moments of his stupidity in making decisions. In fact, instead of getting frustrated with him, Cam made me smile in his bad decision making. I've read plenty of romance with Alpha heroes, but I hardly ever met one I really came to love (Beta heroes, on the other hand, usually won me over very easily simply by being Beta).
Ethan. I didn't get to know Ethan very well in this book, but I loved his personality so far. He was a quiet, calm and steady guy. I'm curious about Ethan's story, and I'm already excited to see Roberts peel off Ethan's character for me to get to know him better in the second book which I'm going to read.
Philip. Not really a fan of Philip's type of character, but he's a pleasant guy. I'm honestly less excited to read about Philip's story in the third book, but I do want to get to know him better and am quite ready to love him like I already did to Cam (and Ethan).
Seth. I adore Seth. Stuart's voice and narration of Seth was charming. The voice he used for Seth was kind of similar to Philip, so maybe it wasn't the best voice but I felt nothing but love for Seth, even when he swore and be a jerk a boy could be. Seth wasn't a sweet boy. He was wounded, flawed, and he tried to bare fangs at people, but all he tried to do was protecting his own self. This is where his brothers came to save him, because they were all flawed and wounded, and they were the right people for Seth.
I loved that this book emphasized the importance of family. Of course the romance was there and still played a major part, but the family themes and interactions between the brothers were equally balanced. Ethan, Philip, and Seth weren't just standing there in the background. They came to life. I'm quite sure the family issues and struggles would keep going to play major and important role throughout the stretch of four books.
Last but not least, Anna. I loved Anna. David Stuart was surprisingly good in voicing her. She was calm and a very strong woman. She was perfect for Cam, and she totally deserved Cam's total adoration and loyalty. It was refreshing to see such a calm, steady and smart female protagonist. Maybe I had read a little bit too many YA books with frustrating female protagonists who kept making stupid decisions I couldn't relate to, but Anna was far from that case. There were times she really showed her vulnerability and flaws, which were completely necessary, realistic and relatable. She's the type of woman I admire.
I only wished the book was a little bit longer, especially for the ending to be more closely knitted together and tied with pretty little bow tie. But it was great nonetheless.
I'm totally sold since the prologue. I've enjoyed this book from start and down to the very end. It is truly a rare case. As much as I love reading books, there are usually those moments of getting bored and wanting to end the current chapter and be done with it. But this book, there was no moment of "get it over with". While at the same time, I couldn't tell why. I just love this book so damn much and every word and detail are important to me. Angst, hurt and recovery themes are my cup of tea, and this book had all those. Perhaps that's also one reason why this book and I built a happy relationship.
Even more rare and surprising was I listened to this book from book subscription service, and decided I'd love to own a copy and then I went ahead to purchase the newest paperback editions of the entire series for nearly 50 dollars, and then I purchased the audible edition of the first book. I've almost never done something like this. I don't like rereading books unless it's extremely necessary (even then I would try to skim along to get just enough information I needed), let alone purchasing books I've already read or listened to. And this happened to be one book I've listened to, and would love to reread again.
Characters might play a major part
Characters are very important to me. I'm a lover of character-driven stories more than plot-driven ones. Of course every story is a blend of both, but sometimes each story leans more to one side than the other. This book is definitely more character-driven.
Cameron. I didn't expect to love Cam. Not at all. He's not my type of hero. His personality is so Alpha. I'm a Beta fan. But Cam caught me off-guard and I fell for him. David Stuart, the narrator, did an amazing job in voicing Cam. He was okay when he did Ethan and Philip, but the way he voiced Cam totally brought his personality to life. He's the type of Alpha I wanted to root for, despite moments of his stupidity in making decisions. In fact, instead of getting frustrated with him, Cam made me smile in his bad decision making. I've read plenty of romance with Alpha heroes, but I hardly ever met one I really came to love (Beta heroes, on the other hand, usually won me over very easily simply by being Beta).
Ethan. I didn't get to know Ethan very well in this book, but I loved his personality so far. He was a quiet, calm and steady guy. I'm curious about Ethan's story, and I'm already excited to see Roberts peel off Ethan's character for me to get to know him better in the second book which I'm going to read.
Philip. Not really a fan of Philip's type of character, but he's a pleasant guy. I'm honestly less excited to read about Philip's story in the third book, but I do want to get to know him better and am quite ready to love him like I already did to Cam (and Ethan).
Seth. I adore Seth. Stuart's voice and narration of Seth was charming. The voice he used for Seth was kind of similar to Philip, so maybe it wasn't the best voice but I felt nothing but love for Seth, even when he swore and be a jerk a boy could be. Seth wasn't a sweet boy. He was wounded, flawed, and he tried to bare fangs at people, but all he tried to do was protecting his own self. This is where his brothers came to save him, because they were all flawed and wounded, and they were the right people for Seth.
I loved that this book emphasized the importance of family. Of course the romance was there and still played a major part, but the family themes and interactions between the brothers were equally balanced. Ethan, Philip, and Seth weren't just standing there in the background. They came to life. I'm quite sure the family issues and struggles would keep going to play major and important role throughout the stretch of four books.
Last but not least, Anna. I loved Anna. David Stuart was surprisingly good in voicing her. She was calm and a very strong woman. She was perfect for Cam, and she totally deserved Cam's total adoration and loyalty. It was refreshing to see such a calm, steady and smart female protagonist. Maybe I had read a little bit too many YA books with frustrating female protagonists who kept making stupid decisions I couldn't relate to, but Anna was far from that case. There were times she really showed her vulnerability and flaws, which were completely necessary, realistic and relatable. She's the type of woman I admire.
I only wished the book was a little bit longer, especially for the ending to be more closely knitted together and tied with pretty little bow tie. But it was great nonetheless.