Review: Burying Water – K.A. Tucker

Posted 6 November, 2014 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 20 Comments

Review: Burying Water – K.A. TuckerBurying Water by K. A. Tucker
Series: Burying Water #1
Published by Atria Books on 7 October 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 386
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase
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4 Stars

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

Burying Water is filled with angst, with no memory of who she is, Alex ends up living next door to a guy she feels very connected to but she has no idea why.

My Burying Water review:

Burying water is well written, and because it’s in dual points of views, the readers actually know much more about Alex than she knows herself. Also, it’s written in present tense, so the story really unfolds at the same time the reader is reading it. Jesse is doing his best to keep her distance from her, but he also wants to make sure she’s getting better, and he really wants to be there if and when she recovers her memory. The sense of community is very strong, even if Alex ends up living on the property of a very ornery old woman. The way she tries to stitch together her life after being left for dead is nothing less of amazing.

I did have a little problem really connecting with Alex, though. I don’t know if it’s because of the memory loss, since she doesn’t really know herself it was also quite difficult for me to really get to know her too. And while I did get many glimpses into her past thanks to Jesse’s chapters, she just wasn’t that woman anymore.

There are a lot of difficult themes in Burying Water. Alex was in a very abusive marriage, where Viktor had more or less bought her, and she had no other family than him. If she did the smallest thing that displeased him, he set her back in her place by using either rough sex or his fists, so there are definitely triggers in this story. Alex is still a strong character though, and the way she picks herself up after leaving the hospital shows that she has a lot of drive to be self-sufficient and responsible. She wants to be able to live her own life, have a job and not depend on other people. This could of course be because she was trapped with Viktor and depended on him for everything in her ‘old’ life.

Jesse is a great character, and he certainly took a lot of risks to try to make Alex safe. Burying Water is very emotional, and I had several moments where I just wanted Alex to feel safe and at peace. At the same time, I thought the pace was really slow, especially in Alex’ chapters. I guess it was necessary in many ways, since she didn’t know who she was, and even with her notebook where she wrote down associations of words, and in the end those associations really made sense to her, too.

If you are looking for a tough read, with lots of emotions, and quite a lot of cruelty, you should pick up Burying Water. Tucker has a gift for writing characters who go through horrific experiences only to come out stronger at the other end. And while there are a lot of difficult things going on, there is also hope, and there is love and respect, too, even if Alex never managed to get that from Viktor.

Some of my favorite Burying Water quotes:

Well, that escalated quickly. I glance around the table to see everyone busy with their own conversations. Are they truly oblivious to this? Or am I just too in tune?

If the way I look right now bothers Viktor, he doesn’t let on. With that stone-cold mask, he doesn’t give much away, period.

I rest my hands on the wobbly railing and take in the smell of clean, crisp air; the vista of land and trees and the three peaks beyond. It’s a view more beautiful than… well, I don’t know if I’ve seen anything like this before.

She doesn’t get it. I don’t want a new name. “I want my name.”

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Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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20 responses to “Review: Burying Water – K.A. Tucker

  1. Tucker does seem to deliver emotional punches – at least from what I’ve seen in your reviews, Lexxie. It seems maybe you didn’t enjoy this one quite as well as you’ve enjoyed her others though. 🙁 I can see where it would be difficult to connect to a character who has no memory of who she was. I’m glad Jesse was there to balance out the story.

    I’ve yet to read Tucker although she *is* on my tbr, and possibly my kindle, thanks to you. 😉 I really do want to read her. It seems she writes deeply emotional stories, and you know I like those. Great review, my dear!

    Can you believe it’s Thursday?!? I hope you’re week finished up nicely. Did you get some Faerie Queen reading in? 😉 Happy Thursday, Lexxie! **BIG HUGS**

    • Yes, she definitely delivers emotional punches, Brandee. And I think I would have loved it even more if Alex had gotten her memory back earlier. Jesse was really awesome, though 🙂

      YAY, you should totally start reading her, like, right now 😀

      I can’t believe it’s Thursday at all. And no, no Faerie Queene… Yesterday, I read several episodes of Hawaii 5-0, and today, I’m binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy. *sighs* I’m just being really, really lazy.

      Thanks for stopping by, my dear. Happy Thursday to you, too! *BIG HUGS*

    • LOL I would never, ever send you hate-mail, Carmel! I get that not all stories are for everyone, and I’m glad I could save you the heart-ache 😀
      Thanks for stopping by.

    • Braine, this is actually the first book in a new series. But all of her prior books can be read as stand-alones… as they follow one or two main-characters, and they show up as side-characters in other books in the series.
      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  2. Great minds think alike Lexxie! I love that we both reviewed this one on the same day 🙂
    I was pretty fine with Alex (even though I could understand how you found it difficult to really connect with her) but I felt like with her chapters I was learning right along side her who she really was. Jesse’s chapters were definitely my favourite and loved how he gave us so much insight into Alex (pre accident).
    This one was dark and I loved it (even if it was hard to handle at times) but it was incredibly hope filled and heartbreaking. I never once found the story slow (I was entertained throughout the entire read) but it did overall just work for me. Great review Lexxie 🙂

    • I love that we both reviewed it today, too, Lily 🙂
      I see what you mean, we did learn everything along with Alex, at the same time. I hadn’t thought about that at all.
      The darkness was present throughout the whole story, too, the way Alex’ life was before she lost her memory just made me really sad.
      I can’t wait to read the second book in this series, though. Tucker is a great storyteller, and I am sure I’ll enjoy reading more about these characters.
      Thanks for stopping by. Lily!

    • I love double POVs, too, it just ups the ante quite a bit – getting to know two characters and seeing what they think of each other is always intriguing.
      I think you’d like this one, too, Silvia 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.

    • I think Burying Water is right up your alley, Naomi! It’s the kind of well-written NA you usually enjoy. And it was a great read, even if I would have liked to get to know Alex better.
      Thanks for stopping by.

  3. I love that it’s from dual POVs and in present tense. I have yet to read any books by this author though I own several, lol. Next year I’m really going to delve more into books I’ve been dying to read and own. Kind of an early New Year’s resolution. 😉

    I do enjoy tough emotional reads, not necessarily cruelty though, but I like complex characters who face whatever tough times the author throws their way. And I like reading about characters with memory loss. I think it makes the story really interesting. This sounds like a lovely read, and I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lexxie. 🙂

    Jennifer @ Donnie Darko Girl recently posted: The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel ~ Blog Tour: #Review & #Giveaway
    • Oh Jennifer, you really should read Tucker, her stories have a very ‘real’ feeling to them, and the characters are deliciously flawed, but completely open to bettering themselves in some ways.

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