The Wine Club: Burying Water by K.A. Tucker (#ARCReview)

Burying Water 

by K.A. Tucker

Paired with:

journey red

Oregon Pinot Noir

Lexi: As a reader who prefers to stick to paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy type books, this contemporary really blew me out of the water. And it is labeled NA to boot! Burying Water was well written, had intriguing characters and a bit of a mystery that kept the pages turning. What was your overall impression of Burying Water?

Crystal: Burying Water was a powerful, heart-wrenching story that I simply could not put down! This is the kind of story I love, and Tucker did not disappoint. 

Lexi: Burying Water had an interesting blurb, a young woman left for dead is rescued but has no recollection of her past. The true restart to life. Only her past will not stay buried and you get to discover her history and the truth about what happened to her chapter by chapter. Tucker handled this very cleverly, the chapters traded between the past and present. This delivery was great, it gave tidbits of info and then presented more questions. Did you like the back and forth chapters too?

Crystal: At the start of Burying Water I was a little weary when I realized that the book shifted from past to present with alternating point-of-views with each chapter. It took a few chapters for me to catch the flow but as soon as I did....wow. I didn't think K.A. Tucker could do better then the Ten Tiny Breaths series but Burying Water shows that even with nine books under your belt, you can still grow as an author. 

Lexi: More than the chapter layout, I appreciated the well rounded characters. Water is as much a mystery to us as she is to herself, yet you want to know about her and what happened to her so badly. Jesse, the young man with secrets and answers. You get to see his POV and his feelings in the flashback chapters, giving you his view of the woman Water and making you fall in love with both of them. The villain of the story is scary, and the old rancher, Ginny Fitzgerald, is cantankerous but heartwarming. I don’t think I have a favorite! Can you pick one?

Crystal: I fell in love with all of the characters, both main and secondary...Except the big baddie of course, I just wanted to stab him. *insert Psycho shower scene sound effects here* Each one had an incredible amount of depth to them and played an integral role in the story. I couldn't help but fall for both Jesse and Water. Sheriff Gabe surprised me and so did Boone, I didn't think I would like his character. Ginny filled me with laughter and sadness, and I was pretty misty eyed by the end! The cast of characters was well-rounded and fit their roles perfectly.

Lexi: The only let down came near the end. There was build up surrounding the event that put Water into her amnesic state, and then Tucker resolved that conflict without the main characters having to do a single thing about it! It was very convenient and a bit of a let down, throughout the book you kept expecting a big confrontation or a fantastic chase. Neither happened. Yes this is vague, but it is a big part of the story and spoilers are not part of the review. Unless you bring us more wine. How was the ending for you?

Crystal: I have to say that I was surprised by the outcome. I kept looking at how much I had left in the book, wondering when the the showdown was going to happen and the villain was finally going to get his. But by 97% I figured it might end up being pretty simple and when I finally reached it, it was. This was a bit of a let down but for Water's sake, I think it worked for her character and the story. With the circumstances surrounding the ending, and the events taking place, I think anything more would have been too much. 

Lexi: Overall this book is worth raising a wine glass for, I couldn’t put it down and I will certainly read more from this author. *looks over with eyebrows raised in question*

Crystal: *tops off our wine and raises a glass* Burying Water is hands down, my favorite book from Tucker and one of my favorite reads of the year. It had everything that I look for in a N.A./contemporary romance title; angst, mystery, second chances, passion, love...and a couple willing to risk it all for each other. 

Title: Burying Water

Author: K.A. Tucker

Format: Paperback 368 pages

Published: October 7th by Atria

ISBN13: 9781476774183

Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N 

Source: NetGalley 

The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.