lolasreviews's review against another edition
3.0
Having really enjoyed the first two books in this series I was eager to read the third book. I don't know what happened, but I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first two books. Don't get me wrong it is a well written book and has a lot of the same aspects as the first two books, but I don't know, something was missing. Maybe I just got into a reading slump or something, but this book seemed to take me ages to read. And it wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, I did, but when I put it down I had no urge to pick it up and keep reading. I just didn't feel quite invested in the story or caring about what happened next.
I think what was missing for me was the suspense. I went in expecting a romantic suspense, like the first two books, but it is much more a contemporary romance. Yes there is a hint of danger with how River his brother is part of the IRA, an Ireland based terrorist organization, but they didn't really focus on it. And River his connection with that only was in the past. So there is the connection with crime, but it just didn't feel as intense and suspenseful as in the first two books. I think that's my mistake, expecting the same as the first two books and when the suspense element wasn't as important here I just felt a bit disappointed. I think it would've been better if I went in knowing the focus was more on the romance and less on the suspense.
Chasing River follows Amber who is travelling around the world. In Ireland she almost get's killed by a bomb, but a mysterious stranger saves her live and then takes off, before she can properly thank him. After that she's determined to find him and thanks him. Once they meet again they make a connection that slowly blooms into a romance. I liked Amber in Burying Water and was excited for her book, but now that we actually got her point of view it just felt lacking somehow. Amber is the stereotypical good girl, her father is the sheriff and she always follows the rules, but now when she's out travelling the world she discovers another side of herself. I liked Amber, although she could be a bit quick to judge at times, we know where she comes from and why she is that way. I liked seeing her change and open up in this book and become a bit more doing things from the seat of her pants, instead of planning everything. Although when you consider she's only in Ireland for a week it felt like things changed a bit too fast.
Then there is River, his family was part of the IRA, but nowadays the IRA isn't what it's supposed to anymore. His brother still supports the IRA how it's now, but it's more a terrorist organization now. River isn't happy with his brother choices, but he doesn't really do anything about it either. I liked seeing him learn how solving things yourself wasn't always the best thing and how sometimes it's good to ask someone else for help or let someone else handle things I liked how he changed things thanks to Amber.
Side character Ivy might have been my favourite part of this book. Amber get's to know her a bit more and I really liked seeing them talk things through and then make this weird kind of friendship after years of disliking each other. I thought Ivy was an interesting character and I can't wait to learn more about her in the next book.
The romance fell a bit flat for me in this book. I did like River and Amber. It's a classical bad boy and good girl romance and it was interesting to see two people who were so different fall in love. I just didn't quite feel the spark and connection between them as in the previous books. I did like them, but I never really got invested in this book or the characters. That might just be me or the mood I read this book in. I don't know.
The Ireland setting was fun and it felt like the author knew what she were talking about. There is some background and history about Ireland, the Irish talk differently and there are some descriptions. While I couldn't visualize everything as well as I hoped to I did learn a lot about Irish history and got a bit of a feel for country through this book, which was great.
To summarize: I think I read this book at the wrong time or mood as I didn't get as invested in the story as with the first two books. I felt that the suspense elements was more subtle and to the background and past than in the first two books and that was a bit disappointing. I liked Amber and River, but never really got invested in their story. It's a typical good girl meets bad boy romance and it was nice to see two people who are so different fall in love with each other, but I just didn't quite feel it. I did really like Ivy and I am glad we got to see more of her in this book and her appearances made me curious about the next book. I also liked the Irish history and learning more about the country. It was obvious the author did her research about the culture, language and history and it paid off. Although I would've liked to see more of Ireland and be able to visualize things better. So all in all this was a good book, but I just didn't got as invested as in the first two books. When I put it down I didn't have that urge to continue reading.
I think what was missing for me was the suspense. I went in expecting a romantic suspense, like the first two books, but it is much more a contemporary romance. Yes there is a hint of danger with how River his brother is part of the IRA, an Ireland based terrorist organization, but they didn't really focus on it. And River his connection with that only was in the past. So there is the connection with crime, but it just didn't feel as intense and suspenseful as in the first two books. I think that's my mistake, expecting the same as the first two books and when the suspense element wasn't as important here I just felt a bit disappointed. I think it would've been better if I went in knowing the focus was more on the romance and less on the suspense.
Chasing River follows Amber who is travelling around the world. In Ireland she almost get's killed by a bomb, but a mysterious stranger saves her live and then takes off, before she can properly thank him. After that she's determined to find him and thanks him. Once they meet again they make a connection that slowly blooms into a romance. I liked Amber in Burying Water and was excited for her book, but now that we actually got her point of view it just felt lacking somehow. Amber is the stereotypical good girl, her father is the sheriff and she always follows the rules, but now when she's out travelling the world she discovers another side of herself. I liked Amber, although she could be a bit quick to judge at times, we know where she comes from and why she is that way. I liked seeing her change and open up in this book and become a bit more doing things from the seat of her pants, instead of planning everything. Although when you consider she's only in Ireland for a week it felt like things changed a bit too fast.
Then there is River, his family was part of the IRA, but nowadays the IRA isn't what it's supposed to anymore. His brother still supports the IRA how it's now, but it's more a terrorist organization now. River isn't happy with his brother choices, but he doesn't really do anything about it either. I liked seeing him learn how solving things yourself wasn't always the best thing and how sometimes it's good to ask someone else for help or let someone else handle things I liked how he changed things thanks to Amber.
Side character Ivy might have been my favourite part of this book. Amber get's to know her a bit more and I really liked seeing them talk things through and then make this weird kind of friendship after years of disliking each other. I thought Ivy was an interesting character and I can't wait to learn more about her in the next book.
The romance fell a bit flat for me in this book. I did like River and Amber. It's a classical bad boy and good girl romance and it was interesting to see two people who were so different fall in love. I just didn't quite feel the spark and connection between them as in the previous books. I did like them, but I never really got invested in this book or the characters. That might just be me or the mood I read this book in. I don't know.
The Ireland setting was fun and it felt like the author knew what she were talking about. There is some background and history about Ireland, the Irish talk differently and there are some descriptions. While I couldn't visualize everything as well as I hoped to I did learn a lot about Irish history and got a bit of a feel for country through this book, which was great.
To summarize: I think I read this book at the wrong time or mood as I didn't get as invested in the story as with the first two books. I felt that the suspense elements was more subtle and to the background and past than in the first two books and that was a bit disappointing. I liked Amber and River, but never really got invested in their story. It's a typical good girl meets bad boy romance and it was nice to see two people who are so different fall in love with each other, but I just didn't quite feel it. I did really like Ivy and I am glad we got to see more of her in this book and her appearances made me curious about the next book. I also liked the Irish history and learning more about the country. It was obvious the author did her research about the culture, language and history and it paid off. Although I would've liked to see more of Ireland and be able to visualize things better. So all in all this was a good book, but I just didn't got as invested as in the first two books. When I put it down I didn't have that urge to continue reading.
emiliebookworld's review against another edition
4.0
****ORIGINALLY POSTED ON EMILIE'S BOOK WORLD****
By now it shouldn’t be a secret or a surprise that I love K.A. Tucker and her books. In the last year and a half I have devoured every book she’s published and I just can never seem to get enough. The last few months I was dying to read her latest, Chasing River, and I was not in the least bit disappointed by the story.
Amber Welles has never ventured outside the comfortable bubble of her small Oregon hometown, but she’s decided that it’s time to experience life for what it is. Setting off on a trip around the world, Amber is ready for an adventure wanting to see what the world has to offer. What she never expected was almost dying in a terrorist bombing in Dublin. At the last second, a stranger jumps in and saves her, before taking off again without giving her a chance to thank him. Determined to find her mysterious saviour, Amber keeps looking around Dublin hoping she’ll find the man who saved her life. The one problem is that River is doing everything he can to stay away from Amber, no matter how much he feels a pull towards her. It’s not just to protect himself and his family, it’s also for her own protection. But even if it means putting themselves in danger, Amber and River can’t keep fighting the forces that keep pulling them together.
Here’s the thing about writing reviews for books written by a favourite author: it’s HARD. If I’m being completely honest, all I really want to say about Chasing River is that it was freaking amazing and everyone should read it. But in my opinion, I could say the exact same thing about every one of K.A. Tucker’s books that I’ve read (so all of them), so that’s not entirely helpful. Unless you’re just going to take my word for it and walk over to your local bookstore to pick up any one of her books. So I’ll try to give you all a little more than that where Chasing River is concerned. For starters, this story gave me wanderlust like no other. I’ve been to Dublin and other parts of Ireland before, but reading Chasing River totally made me want to go back, even with the book starting off with a bombing in one of the busiest areas of Dublin. And speaking of that bombing and all its implications, I really enjoyed how much of the story was tied to the history of the IRA and how over time the organization has changed from what it originally was. It added another layer of depth to the story, beyond just the “traditional” suspense and the romance. Which, speaking of the romance, it should go without saying that I loved it. I loved the way the relationship between Amber and River developed, how despite that initial attraction they both tried to resist it, knowing that it was likely not going to end well. It only made it that much better when they did get together
In many ways I could related to Amber, especially when it comes to doing the “safe” thing and never really doing anything to stray from that supposedly “safe” path. Because that’s pretty much what I’ve done with my life so far. So I appreciated and understood that side of Amber’s personality. And I could totally understand her desire to want to go on an adventure, to see what the world had to offer. So it didn’t take long for me to connect to Amber and her story. And as much I would love to go off on a trip around the world the way Amber does, I would like to hope I wouldn’t end up almost killed in a bombing like she did. Or if that were the case, maybe there would be my own River on hand to save me. Because I wouldn’t mind having my own River, or even stealing this River from Amber and keeping him for myself, because, well, yeah. River was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but he was doing the best he could to do the right thing by his family and the people he cared about and that often put him in difficult situations. But I admired his loyalty, even if sometimes it led to him making some questionable decisions. It all worked out though, but there were still some close calls. But none of that stopped me from absolutely loving River. Also, Ivy was awesome. I loved seeing so much of her in Chasing River and it made me that much more excited about reading her story in Surviving Ice.
Chasing River was exactly what I had hoped it would be. This story was packed with intrigue, drama and romance, just the way I liked it. K.A. Tucker absolutely delivered with this story and I can’t wait to see what she does next with Surviving Ice.
By now it shouldn’t be a secret or a surprise that I love K.A. Tucker and her books. In the last year and a half I have devoured every book she’s published and I just can never seem to get enough. The last few months I was dying to read her latest, Chasing River, and I was not in the least bit disappointed by the story.
Amber Welles has never ventured outside the comfortable bubble of her small Oregon hometown, but she’s decided that it’s time to experience life for what it is. Setting off on a trip around the world, Amber is ready for an adventure wanting to see what the world has to offer. What she never expected was almost dying in a terrorist bombing in Dublin. At the last second, a stranger jumps in and saves her, before taking off again without giving her a chance to thank him. Determined to find her mysterious saviour, Amber keeps looking around Dublin hoping she’ll find the man who saved her life. The one problem is that River is doing everything he can to stay away from Amber, no matter how much he feels a pull towards her. It’s not just to protect himself and his family, it’s also for her own protection. But even if it means putting themselves in danger, Amber and River can’t keep fighting the forces that keep pulling them together.
Here’s the thing about writing reviews for books written by a favourite author: it’s HARD. If I’m being completely honest, all I really want to say about Chasing River is that it was freaking amazing and everyone should read it. But in my opinion, I could say the exact same thing about every one of K.A. Tucker’s books that I’ve read (so all of them), so that’s not entirely helpful. Unless you’re just going to take my word for it and walk over to your local bookstore to pick up any one of her books. So I’ll try to give you all a little more than that where Chasing River is concerned. For starters, this story gave me wanderlust like no other. I’ve been to Dublin and other parts of Ireland before, but reading Chasing River totally made me want to go back, even with the book starting off with a bombing in one of the busiest areas of Dublin. And speaking of that bombing and all its implications, I really enjoyed how much of the story was tied to the history of the IRA and how over time the organization has changed from what it originally was. It added another layer of depth to the story, beyond just the “traditional” suspense and the romance. Which, speaking of the romance, it should go without saying that I loved it. I loved the way the relationship between Amber and River developed, how despite that initial attraction they both tried to resist it, knowing that it was likely not going to end well. It only made it that much better when they did get together
In many ways I could related to Amber, especially when it comes to doing the “safe” thing and never really doing anything to stray from that supposedly “safe” path. Because that’s pretty much what I’ve done with my life so far. So I appreciated and understood that side of Amber’s personality. And I could totally understand her desire to want to go on an adventure, to see what the world had to offer. So it didn’t take long for me to connect to Amber and her story. And as much I would love to go off on a trip around the world the way Amber does, I would like to hope I wouldn’t end up almost killed in a bombing like she did. Or if that were the case, maybe there would be my own River on hand to save me. Because I wouldn’t mind having my own River, or even stealing this River from Amber and keeping him for myself, because, well, yeah. River was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but he was doing the best he could to do the right thing by his family and the people he cared about and that often put him in difficult situations. But I admired his loyalty, even if sometimes it led to him making some questionable decisions. It all worked out though, but there were still some close calls. But none of that stopped me from absolutely loving River. Also, Ivy was awesome. I loved seeing so much of her in Chasing River and it made me that much more excited about reading her story in Surviving Ice.
Chasing River was exactly what I had hoped it would be. This story was packed with intrigue, drama and romance, just the way I liked it. K.A. Tucker absolutely delivered with this story and I can’t wait to see what she does next with Surviving Ice.
shaunnah511's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Chasing River spends a lot of time building Ireland as a character. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like enough time was spent building the actual human characters in this story for me to really connect. River and Amber felt a little thin, and thus their love story did as well.
I also wish there had been more action. The pacing seemed a bit off to me, as though there should have been more happening, although the story does take place over the course of just one week.
I felt immersed in Ireland throughout, even the dialogue was great in terms of feeling authentic. I enjoy Tucker's writing style, and I actually wish there was more of secondary character Rowan - I kind of want him to get his own story! I just wanted more in terms of the intrigue and action found in the previous two installments in this series.
* I won a copy of this novel from the publisher through the First Reads program.
Chasing River spends a lot of time building Ireland as a character. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like enough time was spent building the actual human characters in this story for me to really connect. River and Amber felt a little thin, and thus their love story did as well.
I also wish there had been more action. The pacing seemed a bit off to me, as though there should have been more happening, although the story does take place over the course of just one week.
I felt immersed in Ireland throughout, even the dialogue was great in terms of feeling authentic. I enjoy Tucker's writing style, and I actually wish there was more of secondary character Rowan - I kind of want him to get his own story! I just wanted more in terms of the intrigue and action found in the previous two installments in this series.
* I won a copy of this novel from the publisher through the First Reads program.
kaylakaotik's review against another edition
4.0
Rating 4.5 stars
Unlike the first two books, I wasn’t left unsatisfied with the ending of Chasing River. Of course, I’d love more of Amber and River’s story, but it’s not because of a lack of conclusive ending. It’s purely wanting more of two characters I enjoyed. So, once again, K. A. Tucker delivers another book that I absolutely love.
Pros:
– Ireland: This book definitely gets bonus points for taking place overseas (and in a place that I’d love to visit).
– River: Swoon worthy! And I’m totally a sucker for green eyes.
– Ivy: Seeing Ivy in this book makes me impatient to get my hands on her book, Surviving Ice (expected publication October 13, 2015).
Cons:
– Not enough travel! Amber was set to travel the world and I selfishly would have liked to see more of it.
* This book was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *
Unlike the first two books, I wasn’t left unsatisfied with the ending of Chasing River. Of course, I’d love more of Amber and River’s story, but it’s not because of a lack of conclusive ending. It’s purely wanting more of two characters I enjoyed. So, once again, K. A. Tucker delivers another book that I absolutely love.
Pros:
– Ireland: This book definitely gets bonus points for taking place overseas (and in a place that I’d love to visit).
– River: Swoon worthy! And I’m totally a sucker for green eyes.
– Ivy: Seeing Ivy in this book makes me impatient to get my hands on her book, Surviving Ice (expected publication October 13, 2015).
Cons:
– Not enough travel! Amber was set to travel the world and I selfishly would have liked to see more of it.
* This book was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *
alexperc_92's review against another edition
5.0
Another great novel by K.A. Tucker! find more on http://milkywayofbooks.blogspot.gr/
K. A. Tucker did it again! She was able to introduce us not only to new characters but also connect the love for traveling with heart-pounding romance, characters who were swept by the facts and the circumstances as also introducing her readers to the History of Ireland! I liked Amber's bucke list and the small add from River in the end! It was the best one of her novels and I can't wait to read more!
K. A. Tucker did it again! She was able to introduce us not only to new characters but also connect the love for traveling with heart-pounding romance, characters who were swept by the facts and the circumstances as also introducing her readers to the History of Ireland! I liked Amber's bucke list and the small add from River in the end! It was the best one of her novels and I can't wait to read more!
noveltylynn's review against another edition
4.0
This book was cute! I did compare it to all of K. A. Tucker's other books and it did leave me a little disappointed, but it was still a good book, nonetheless. I love any books that are set in a different country and this book was no different. If you haven't checked out K. A. Tucker's books, you are missing out and you need to check them out! 4 stars for this one!
ambersbooksandcoffee's review against another edition
5.0
I chose to listen to this on a whim, so I had something to listen to while I work. When I tell you I could not stop listening, I COULD NOT STOP.
Come to find out this is part of the Burying Water series by KA Tucker, this one is book #3, but every review I’ve read about them is that these can be read as standalone books.
In this book you will meet Amber Welles, a young woman who is an American from Oregon that has saved up for two years to go on a trip to Ireland. She is prepared for every possibility, except for almost dying while in Dublin, because of a bombing. Due to the complete bravery of a stranger who happened to be at the right place at the right time, her life was saved. He leaves before she has a chance to thank him. This man who saved her, his name is River, he however couldn’t be identified as being at the scene so that’s why he ran. He goes on living his normal day to day life running his families pub. However, it starts to become more complicated because of his brother Aengus, and his criminal associations. Amber tracks him down to say thank you for saving her. River realizes how much he likes her, but how wrong she is for him. But even more realizes just how dangerous it is to have her around. Maybe it's because he saved her life, or maybe it's because he's completely different from everything she's left behind, but Amber finds herself chasing after River Delaney. Amber isn’t the kind of girl to chase after anyone. And River isn't the kind of guy she'd want to catch.
The suspense and romance in this book were so good. I loved this book so much and the fact that it was set in Ireland it made it that much better.
Have you read any of this series?
Should I go back and re-read through the series.
Come to find out this is part of the Burying Water series by KA Tucker, this one is book #3, but every review I’ve read about them is that these can be read as standalone books.
In this book you will meet Amber Welles, a young woman who is an American from Oregon that has saved up for two years to go on a trip to Ireland. She is prepared for every possibility, except for almost dying while in Dublin, because of a bombing. Due to the complete bravery of a stranger who happened to be at the right place at the right time, her life was saved. He leaves before she has a chance to thank him. This man who saved her, his name is River, he however couldn’t be identified as being at the scene so that’s why he ran. He goes on living his normal day to day life running his families pub. However, it starts to become more complicated because of his brother Aengus, and his criminal associations. Amber tracks him down to say thank you for saving her. River realizes how much he likes her, but how wrong she is for him. But even more realizes just how dangerous it is to have her around. Maybe it's because he saved her life, or maybe it's because he's completely different from everything she's left behind, but Amber finds herself chasing after River Delaney. Amber isn’t the kind of girl to chase after anyone. And River isn't the kind of guy she'd want to catch.
The suspense and romance in this book were so good. I loved this book so much and the fact that it was set in Ireland it made it that much better.
Have you read any of this series?
Should I go back and re-read through the series.
gvharlamert's review against another edition
4.0
I need more River and Amber! Such a FANTASTIC book. KA Tucker does it again. Highly highly recommend
meganmreads's review against another edition
5.0
Review originally published Love Literature Art and Reason
Chasing River was awesome! It was a lot different from the other K.A. Tucker books I’ve read, mostly because it took place in Ireland and dealt with Irish politics. Amber was the sister of Jesse from Burying Water and she wanted to take a couple of months to travel the world before settling down in her tiny Oregon town. One of her stops was Ireland, where she got involved in a terrible mess and met River Delaney.
I hardly ever read books set in Ireland that aren’t fantasies or written by Irish authors, so I really enjoyed the setting. I like that there was some focus on the IRA and Northern Ireland politics because it played a major role in me and my grandmother not visiting Northern Ireland on our trip in 2013. I was familiar with many of the places since I spent two weeks there and I loved experiencing everything through Amber’s eyes.
River was a complicated guy. His older brother got out of prison and aligned himself with some newer IRA groups who focused more on terrorism than the core values that the IRA used to stand for. River didn’t want anything to do with it, but he also wasn’t about to let his brother get arrested or in trouble because he felt that it was his duty to keep his family together. However, after saving Amber from certain death, he couldn’t help but think about her from time to time. And when she stumbled upon his family owned pub, River had no choice but to deal with her.
For Amber, who always did the right thing and was the perfect Sheriff’s daughter, getting involved with River was something she would have never considered. But she was supposed to be taking risks and making memories on her trip, so she decided to just for it and chase River until they could figure out what was happening between them.
While in my own experience, I found the Irish to be genuinely friendly despite me being an American, I realize that my time was spent in Southern Ireland, where that’s basically the case. River and his family were in Dublin, but hailed from Northern Ireland. It created a conflict because Amber was not only American, her family name had British roots and the Northern Irish still have issues with Britain. For River to be crushing on an American girl with British ancestry was a big deal for him.
I loved the conflict in Chasing River. I loved watching River fall for Amber and watching Amber take risks she never would have taken if she wasn’t purposely vacationing to find herself. I liked the way their relationship mirrored Jesse and Alex’s relationship and how Amber had to decide what was good and bad and understand shades of grey.
I highly recommend Chasing River. While it is the third book in the Burying Water series, it can be read as a standalone, as the other character’s and their backstories are not crucial to the story. However, K.A. Tucker writes awesome books that you don’t want to skip, so you might as well buy the whole series and read them all. I tried skipping over some books in the Ten Tiny Breaths series only to end up reading them all in order anyway. K.A. Tucker is my go to contemporary author and I highly recommend all of her books.
Chasing River was awesome! It was a lot different from the other K.A. Tucker books I’ve read, mostly because it took place in Ireland and dealt with Irish politics. Amber was the sister of Jesse from Burying Water and she wanted to take a couple of months to travel the world before settling down in her tiny Oregon town. One of her stops was Ireland, where she got involved in a terrible mess and met River Delaney.
I hardly ever read books set in Ireland that aren’t fantasies or written by Irish authors, so I really enjoyed the setting. I like that there was some focus on the IRA and Northern Ireland politics because it played a major role in me and my grandmother not visiting Northern Ireland on our trip in 2013. I was familiar with many of the places since I spent two weeks there and I loved experiencing everything through Amber’s eyes.
River was a complicated guy. His older brother got out of prison and aligned himself with some newer IRA groups who focused more on terrorism than the core values that the IRA used to stand for. River didn’t want anything to do with it, but he also wasn’t about to let his brother get arrested or in trouble because he felt that it was his duty to keep his family together. However, after saving Amber from certain death, he couldn’t help but think about her from time to time. And when she stumbled upon his family owned pub, River had no choice but to deal with her.
For Amber, who always did the right thing and was the perfect Sheriff’s daughter, getting involved with River was something she would have never considered. But she was supposed to be taking risks and making memories on her trip, so she decided to just for it and chase River until they could figure out what was happening between them.
While in my own experience, I found the Irish to be genuinely friendly despite me being an American, I realize that my time was spent in Southern Ireland, where that’s basically the case. River and his family were in Dublin, but hailed from Northern Ireland. It created a conflict because Amber was not only American, her family name had British roots and the Northern Irish still have issues with Britain. For River to be crushing on an American girl with British ancestry was a big deal for him.
I loved the conflict in Chasing River. I loved watching River fall for Amber and watching Amber take risks she never would have taken if she wasn’t purposely vacationing to find herself. I liked the way their relationship mirrored Jesse and Alex’s relationship and how Amber had to decide what was good and bad and understand shades of grey.
I highly recommend Chasing River. While it is the third book in the Burying Water series, it can be read as a standalone, as the other character’s and their backstories are not crucial to the story. However, K.A. Tucker writes awesome books that you don’t want to skip, so you might as well buy the whole series and read them all. I tried skipping over some books in the Ten Tiny Breaths series only to end up reading them all in order anyway. K.A. Tucker is my go to contemporary author and I highly recommend all of her books.
kalarosereads's review against another edition
4.0
I was excited to read Amber's story because of the glimpses we got of her character from Water's book. The first few chapters gripped me right away but then it became a little slow for me in the middle before picking back up again. However once I finished the entire book I appreciated the "slower" chapters as they gave a lot of insightful context and background to River's character and his family background. I have never read a book based in Ireland before so I really enjoyed learning about the history and the culture.
A huge theme of this book was loyalty, which also ties in to the continuing theme of this entire series where we get glimpses of different scenarios where there really is no black or white for "right" or "wrong". K.A. Tucker really forces the reader to recognize that "grey" moral area in between the traditional society rules.
Amber's character is initially portrayed as the quintessential rule following girl next door, however she has taken this trip to branch out from the stereotypes she has been pegged with her entire life. This book also made me even more excited to read the next book which will be Ivy's, as she served as a major side character in this book and between Amber and Ivy's new friendship they discovered they had both judged each other in very similar ways.
Amber finding out the truth behind her father's involvement in Jesse and Water's story was really well written, I enjoyed how it was intertwined with Amber's dad showing up when she least expecting it, proving that even though his decisions are not as straight and narrow as she always thought, he is still her dad and still has the same morals that he has always had. It gives Amber the courage to make her own decisions when dealing with a similar situation.
River's journey throughout this book is really intriguing to me, we learn about his family background and dynamics and what loyalty truly means to him. Amber helps him discover what is truly important and helps him find the courage to finally make the "right" decision to protect the innocent members of his family who deserve it, even if it means causing someone else he loves pain.
As always, I loved how K.A. Tucker ends her books in this series, there is no perfect wrapped up ending with a bow, it seems realistic and raw. And although I always crave more of the characters, I do prefer these kinds of endings.
A huge theme of this book was loyalty, which also ties in to the continuing theme of this entire series where we get glimpses of different scenarios where there really is no black or white for "right" or "wrong". K.A. Tucker really forces the reader to recognize that "grey" moral area in between the traditional society rules.
Amber's character is initially portrayed as the quintessential rule following girl next door, however she has taken this trip to branch out from the stereotypes she has been pegged with her entire life. This book also made me even more excited to read the next book which will be Ivy's, as she served as a major side character in this book and between Amber and Ivy's new friendship they discovered they had both judged each other in very similar ways.
Amber finding out the truth behind her father's involvement in Jesse and Water's story was really well written, I enjoyed how it was intertwined with Amber's dad showing up when she least expecting it, proving that even though his decisions are not as straight and narrow as she always thought, he is still her dad and still has the same morals that he has always had. It gives Amber the courage to make her own decisions when dealing with a similar situation.
River's journey throughout this book is really intriguing to me, we learn about his family background and dynamics and what loyalty truly means to him. Amber helps him discover what is truly important and helps him find the courage to finally make the "right" decision to protect the innocent members of his family who deserve it, even if it means causing someone else he loves pain.
As always, I loved how K.A. Tucker ends her books in this series, there is no perfect wrapped up ending with a bow, it seems realistic and raw. And although I always crave more of the characters, I do prefer these kinds of endings.