A review by efly
At Sea by Emma Fedor

4.0

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.