New Adult is one of those genres that has popped up a lot in the past couple of years. The term was coined to signify novels in the age group of about 18 to 22 year olds (and a little above that) to provide a middle ground between young adult and adult fiction. The genre includes mostly college aged people finding love, and romantic scenes are a lot more explicit than in YA (they're probably close to the level of some erotic adult romances).
Although there are some that are light and fluffy, others have a bit of an edge to them. Examples that immediately pop into my head are After by Anna Todd (which I gave up on around the halfway point because the book wasn't that great) and Confess by Colleen Hoover (which I read and thoroughly enjoyed). The former focused on an on-and-off relationship that was abusive at some parts, while the latter was more attentive to a budding relationship with an artist and hairdresser (both with their own secrets). But there are definitely other ones than the two I mentioned, and I definitely believe this would fall onto that list.
I first found Burying Water at Barnes & Noble on a Realistic Romance endcap. Reading the synopsis made me very intrigued, as I realized that it was more of a romantic suspense novel than just a plain romance. I later discovered that this book is actually the first in a (so far) four book series (the books are unrelated and could be read out of order or randomly, but are read best in order because characters from previous books are mentioned, show up, or are explained) which has different forms of water in the titles (hence why I will name this series the Water series). Knowing that, I was further convinced that I would start here in the lines of books in K.A. Tucker's collection, instead of beginning with Ten Tiny Breaths (an originally self-published book that managed to be picked up by a major publishing company and made her a household name).
So, how was Burying Water? Did it keep me on the edge of my toes, but did it also have me swooning? Or was most of it boring and dull, with the romance having no real drive to make it interesting?
The answer to those questions is yes and no, but I'll let you know why that's the case as the review goes on. Burying Water surprised me, because even though I wasn't expecting something different, I knew I would get an interesting book. It was an intriguing read, one that kept me flipping pages and determined to find out what happened. The main problems of the book lie in the POV of the main male character (there's two people telling the story in a very interesting way here), but for the most part, this book holds up as a gritty and well-written escape into a multi-colored world with hidden truths, dangerous activities, and a girl at the center of it all.
The book opens with a young woman waking up in the hospital with no idea why she's there or what happened to her. But that's not the only thing she doesn't remember; she also has no idea who she is.
Although there are some that are light and fluffy, others have a bit of an edge to them. Examples that immediately pop into my head are After by Anna Todd (which I gave up on around the halfway point because the book wasn't that great) and Confess by Colleen Hoover (which I read and thoroughly enjoyed). The former focused on an on-and-off relationship that was abusive at some parts, while the latter was more attentive to a budding relationship with an artist and hairdresser (both with their own secrets). But there are definitely other ones than the two I mentioned, and I definitely believe this would fall onto that list.
I first found Burying Water at Barnes & Noble on a Realistic Romance endcap. Reading the synopsis made me very intrigued, as I realized that it was more of a romantic suspense novel than just a plain romance. I later discovered that this book is actually the first in a (so far) four book series (the books are unrelated and could be read out of order or randomly, but are read best in order because characters from previous books are mentioned, show up, or are explained) which has different forms of water in the titles (hence why I will name this series the Water series). Knowing that, I was further convinced that I would start here in the lines of books in K.A. Tucker's collection, instead of beginning with Ten Tiny Breaths (an originally self-published book that managed to be picked up by a major publishing company and made her a household name).
So, how was Burying Water? Did it keep me on the edge of my toes, but did it also have me swooning? Or was most of it boring and dull, with the romance having no real drive to make it interesting?
The answer to those questions is yes and no, but I'll let you know why that's the case as the review goes on. Burying Water surprised me, because even though I wasn't expecting something different, I knew I would get an interesting book. It was an intriguing read, one that kept me flipping pages and determined to find out what happened. The main problems of the book lie in the POV of the main male character (there's two people telling the story in a very interesting way here), but for the most part, this book holds up as a gritty and well-written escape into a multi-colored world with hidden truths, dangerous activities, and a girl at the center of it all.
The book opens with a young woman waking up in the hospital with no idea why she's there or what happened to her. But that's not the only thing she doesn't remember; she also has no idea who she is.
'I open my mouth to answer. It's such a simple question. Everyone has a name. I have a name. And yet..."I don't...I don't know," I stammer. How do I not know what my name is? I'm sure it's the same name I've had all my life. My life. What do I remember about my life? Shouldn't something about it be registering?' (pg. 9)
It turns out that the woman was sexually assaulted, losing a baby that she was carrying and having several fractures, including a cut on her face that will leave a permanent scar. Also due to the attack, she suffered from severe head trauma that has resulted in psychological amnesia. With no identification, she's left to be taken care of by a kindly doctor named Dr. Atwood. Eventually, after three months, an old woman named Ginny Fitzgerald arrives for a gallbladder removal, and the amnesiac woman and the other woman connect, and the amnesiac woman decides that maybe it's time to rebuild her life.
However, there seems to be something going on with the Welles family next door, and it has to do with Dr. Atwood's son, Jesse. He had a hard time in high school, and because of this, he's never really been attached to his family. He's hardly in the town of Sisters where he grew up, and he currently resides in Portland.
'"Well, he used to hang out with these two hooligans-Ian and Dirk-and everyone knew them as a trio of trouble. Anytime something happened in town, you could guarantee that those three were involved. But...Jesse always seemed different from those two. They were loud and obnoxious and...rude. Jesse wasn't. So when Tommy Myers was stabbed at that party-" "What?" Stabbed? Dakota nods. "I don't know exactly what happened, but there was this house party and Tommy got stabbed on the street after a fight. Sheriff Welles threw Ian, Dirk, and Jesse behind bars. Ian and Dirk said it was Jesse who stabbed Tommy."' (pg. 155)
Strangely, Jesse moves back into his parents' house, and he and the amnesiac woman, who has renamed herself Water, form a relationship. But this isn't the first time that Jesse and this woman have been together; in fact, their love has been going on for a while.
Interwoven between Water's chapters in the present are Jesse's parts of the tale, told half a year prior to Water losing her memory. One night, Jesse is driving from his job at a mechanics garage in Portland when he sees a car with a flat tire on the side of the road. He's about to pass on by, but then he sees that the occupant of the car is a young woman.
After attaching her spare tire to replace the broken one, the girl thanks him and brings up a topic out of the blue.
After attaching her spare tire to replace the broken one, the girl thanks him and brings up a topic out of the blue.
'"Are you happy?" Her question cuts through the quiet night like a rude interruption. "Uh..." What? I shift nervously on my feet. "In your life. Are you happy? Or do you ever wish you could start over?" What the hell...do I say to that? I wasn't ready for deep, thought-provoking questions. She steps in closer.... "I mean, if you could just start over fresh...free yourself from all the bad decisions you've made...would you do it?"' (pg. 17-18)
After this conversation, the woman unexpectedly kisses Jesse and leaves. In the next couple of weeks, Jesse discovers that she's actually Alexandria (or Alex) Petrova, the wife of a Russian man named Viktor Petrova, who owns a shady car dealing business and treats his wife absolutely horribly. But no matter how hard he tries, Jesse can't avoid this woman, and his feelings for her are complicated.
'"[Viktor's] right; it's my fault. I should have filled up twenty miles ago." "No, Alex. I hope you don't believe that. If you do, then he really is right and you have no common sense." I catch the hurt flash across her features and instantly regret my words. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Not that way. It's just...he's an asshole. He talks down to you. He was out fucking some bartender last night; we both know that." With only a second's consideration, I do what I shouldn't. Her face is mere inches from mine, so close....that I barely have to lean in to kiss her.' (pg. 127-129)
It isn't long before Water begins to pick up memories of her past life in the spring, and it doesn't take long for Jesse as he enters head first into a secret love affair with Alex. Will Water remember her past life? Will Jesse in the present tell Water that he knew her? Will the Jesse of the past know how to get Alex out of the mess she's in? Or will everything become chaos?
One of the things that I can say this book does right is the writing. Tucker's writing is vibrant and worded nicely, passages with descriptions of buildings and appearances done well. There's also a great comparison of hiding the truth to being like burying water from a stream that doesn't seem to quit.
'"He said the truth is like that water: it doesn't matter how hard you try to bury it; it'll always find some way back to the surface. It's resilient."' (pg. 224)
It's very true in the context of the story as well. One of the big plot twists from this book is that people were hiding information about Water, because it turned out they had met her before when she still had her memories (if you think about this for a while, you might be able to figure out who it was, because it wasn't just Jesse). Once Water found out, everything she thought she knew shattered, and she felt like she couldn't trust anyone anymore. Throughout the entire novel, she's desperate to find the pieces of her former life, and by examining other people, she's able to think and hypothesize about who she once was. By knowing that people had an idea of who she was the entire time, she couldn't have the knowledge of her past.
'"I watch a lot of people, wondering what makes them who they are." I watch what kind of food they load onto the conveyor belt at the grocery store, and what they order at Poppa's.... I watch the way some people dart across a busy main street while others wait for the light so they can use the crosswalk; the way some parents offer annoyed shushes to their children's incessant chatter while others provide calm answers; the way a group of women will sit at a coffee shop table, while at the next table another group sits, oblivious to anyone else and just enjoying one another's company. I watch and I wonder what makes people who they are. Is it the sum of learned behaviors and experiences? And if they, like me, can't recall those experiences, would they still do those things in the exact same way?' (pg. 233)
Reading from the point of view of someone who is suffering from amnesia yet wants to get her memories back together was fascinating. Tucker tapped into the psyche perfectly, and whenever a Water chapter hit, I was engrossed and flipping pages.
Other characters in Water's section made up for a very well-rounded cast. The scenes with the Welles family were always really funny, as Water, Meredith (Dr. Atwood), Gabe (the sheriff and father), Amber (Jesse's twin sister), and Jesse play off each other really well, and they always look out for each other, even if they think they don't need it. Watching Ginny and Water live together was awkward and comforting in a way, and watching Ginny warm up was a relief.
You might have noticed that I forgot to mention the characters that popped up within Jesse's plot line. By talking about those people, I'm leading into the weakest part of the story for me: Jesse himself and his story.
Whenever I read a Jesse chapter during Burying Water, I would automatically find myself grappling to read from Water's POV. It's not that I found Jesse a particularly bad character; it's because I found him an utterly bland one. His point of view was essential to the story, as it gave us clues into Water's past, but the problem was that I never found him that interesting. Whenever Alex was near him, he would go into a description like this:
'That's when my eyes get caught up in a pair of long, bare legs right beside me, covered in goose bumps from the cold. Forcing my head back down with a low exhale, I grab the spare.' (pg. 16)
or he would rant about how much better Alex would be without Viktor,
'"I wouldn't make you wear that shit," I hear myself say. "I'd let you dye your hair whatever color you wanted. I'd let you shave it off; I'd let you wear men's sweatpants. I'd do anything I could to keep you in school. I'd never leave you alone in the dark." My eyes settle on that lip again, the truth hidden by a streak of red. "I'd never lay a hand on you. Not like that, anyway."' (pg. 175)
or the two lovebirds would screw.
'We keep that slow rhythm, our mouths breaking apart just long enough to let her little moans out, her arms and legs wrapped around my body, her thighs squeezing me tight, her nails dragging along my shoulders and back. Until I can't hold out anymore.' (pg. 145)
The formula grew kind of tiring, and by the time things finally started to look up, I didn't particularly care anymore.
I also found the other characters to be nothing special. Luke would have been interesting had he been given some more focus (he gets his own book next, so that should be fun) and Alex (Water in the past) completely annoyed me. She kept on getting beat up over and over again by Viktor (submissive and doormat are the words I would use to describe her), and she never felt the need to get away from him. She constantly rejected Jesse's pleas for her to leave, and when she finally decided it was time to get out of there, I wanted to have a talk with her. Couldn't you have decided this earlier? Why now and have this bit of development pop out of the blue?
I also found the other characters to be nothing special. Luke would have been interesting had he been given some more focus (he gets his own book next, so that should be fun) and Alex (Water in the past) completely annoyed me. She kept on getting beat up over and over again by Viktor (submissive and doormat are the words I would use to describe her), and she never felt the need to get away from him. She constantly rejected Jesse's pleas for her to leave, and when she finally decided it was time to get out of there, I wanted to have a talk with her. Couldn't you have decided this earlier? Why now and have this bit of development pop out of the blue?
As a result, Water's story consistently pulled through in the end, while Jesse's story sputtered out long before the finish line, leaving the two parts not really integrating as a whole for me. I liked Jesse better in Water's point of view, even though we knew he was with her before. Their moments together were sweet, even if I sometimes felt Jesse was too confident (you could tell he was hiding something though).
But now comes the tricky part: do I still recommend Burying Water, even if one story felt lacking in some regards? The answer to that question is yes, and let me explain why. The writing is solid throughout, the pace is fast and engaging, Water's story is a very interesting read, and the suspense will keep you turning pages. Jesse's plot line may be stale, but there's bits here and there (Jesse's work at the mechanics garage, the trio of Alex, Jesse, and Luke, Viktor's strange behavior, and Luke's shifts in loyalty) that make it worth it. If you're looking for something different in the New Adult genre, or if you like a good book where you can connect important pieces of plot and character into multiple storylines, pick this one up and see if you like it. Burying Water is available from Simon & Schuster under their Atria branch in paperback and e-book formats, along with an audiobook if that is preferred.
After reading Burying Water, I'm curious to see how Becoming Rain (which will feature Luke) will stand as a sequel and standalone, and how Ten Tiny Breaths (K.A. Tucker's first work) will be (it's currently in my cabinet of books to read), but I'll find out when I get there. Until next time!
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