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Family Secrets #14
Uncharted Waters
Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso
251 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
167 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Linda Castillo
97 books6,553 followersLinda Castillo is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Kate Burkholder mystery series, set in the world of the Amish. The first book, Sworn to Silence, was adapted into a Lifetime original movie titled An Amish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, a nomination for the Mystery Writers of America’s Sue Grafton Memorial Award, and a nomination for an “Audie Award” for best mystery audiobook. Her work has appeared on numerous bestseller lists and earned a spot on the Boston Globe’s shortlist for best crime novel.
In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, three Appaloosas, and two feisty, but loveable Blue Heelers.
She loves hearing from readers. Contact her at books@lindacastillo.com.
In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, three Appaloosas, and two feisty, but loveable Blue Heelers.
She loves hearing from readers. Contact her at books@lindacastillo.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 19, 2018
2.5
Drew Evans used to be a search and rescue pilot with the navy until the day his best friend died. Drew blamed himself and knew that his friend's wife would too, so he failed to keep his promise to take care of her and his friend's infant son. Drew had also harbored a secret love for his friend's wife, Alison, so it was all the more important that he stay away, so he wouldn't betray his friend, even in death. But Alison and her son, Kevin, show up where he's living and hiding away from his guilt, and they're interested in being friends. But Drew can't keep things just friendship, but he has no interest in being more. The guilt of wanting Alison as much as he does already drives him to madness and every time he kisses her and walks away from her, he hurts her just a little more. But Drew can't be what Alison deserves. Alison at first, thinks their attraction is a fluke and something that can be overcome for the sake of their friendship. She soon realizes that she loves Drew and can't stay away, but if he can't think of her as anything but his friend's widow, then they'll have no future together.
Gah! This series is chock full of my least favorite tropes...and this story includes the mother of all my least favorites - the hero in love with his best friend's widow. I think the reason I like this one so little is because it first and foremost involves a dead (and usually beloved) spouse, so the heroine feels some degree of guilt for moving on. Then of course the hero feels tons of guilt for lusting after his best friends wife and, in the words of the hero in this story, "picking up where his friend left off." So what we have is a story full of guilt and the resulting emotional drama and push and pull as both characters deal with it. This can still be entertaining, but it's a bit much for me.
Now Drew is a character with a tanker truck-load of baggage. All of his baggage is absolutely justified, considering he never dealt with his friends death, nor his role in it, he never dealt with the guilt of sort of being in love with his friend's wife or his cowardice to face her or his failure to keep his dying friend's promise. He's got a lot to deal with and in four years, he hasn't touched none of it. So he's a hot mess. And when faced with Alison, he's both unable to resist her and struggling to protect her from his hot-mess self. He fails miserably. The two the follow this pattern in which they both succumb to their lust, the hero hurts the heroine with his guilt, they promise to talk but don't and/or they explain away the incident and at the end of the discussion the hero almost always ends up walking out. Lather, rinse, repeat. 3 times. And yet the masochist of a heroine keeps going back for more. In fact, after the 3rd time he's wallowed in his guilt and made her feel like nothing but a mistake, she goes ahead and has sex with him. Of course, he'd just spilled the reason for all his guilt, so she figured he was cured of all his baggage and they could be HEA. Well, to no one's surprise, he wasn't and he just finished up their regular pattern.
Even this I could have probably been okay with (if a little baffled at the heroine's lack of self-preservation), if the hero had actually been able to work through his guilt in a realistic manner. Unfortunately, his complete turn around happens in a matter of hours without any introspection or resolution of feelings. One minute he's still wallowing in his guilt about the best friend (and his guilt for hurting the heroine) and the next she's in danger and he jettisons the guilt and declares his love and desire to marry her. I would have believed the best friend's ghost or some sort of sign from the other side over that. That kind of heavy baggage and guilt doesn't just disappear...not believably anyway. So that was a tough sell for me.
Drew Evans used to be a search and rescue pilot with the navy until the day his best friend died. Drew blamed himself and knew that his friend's wife would too, so he failed to keep his promise to take care of her and his friend's infant son. Drew had also harbored a secret love for his friend's wife, Alison, so it was all the more important that he stay away, so he wouldn't betray his friend, even in death. But Alison and her son, Kevin, show up where he's living and hiding away from his guilt, and they're interested in being friends. But Drew can't keep things just friendship, but he has no interest in being more. The guilt of wanting Alison as much as he does already drives him to madness and every time he kisses her and walks away from her, he hurts her just a little more. But Drew can't be what Alison deserves. Alison at first, thinks their attraction is a fluke and something that can be overcome for the sake of their friendship. She soon realizes that she loves Drew and can't stay away, but if he can't think of her as anything but his friend's widow, then they'll have no future together.
Gah! This series is chock full of my least favorite tropes...and this story includes the mother of all my least favorites - the hero in love with his best friend's widow. I think the reason I like this one so little is because it first and foremost involves a dead (and usually beloved) spouse, so the heroine feels some degree of guilt for moving on. Then of course the hero feels tons of guilt for lusting after his best friends wife and, in the words of the hero in this story, "picking up where his friend left off." So what we have is a story full of guilt and the resulting emotional drama and push and pull as both characters deal with it. This can still be entertaining, but it's a bit much for me.
Now Drew is a character with a tanker truck-load of baggage. All of his baggage is absolutely justified, considering he never dealt with his friends death, nor his role in it, he never dealt with the guilt of sort of being in love with his friend's wife or his cowardice to face her or his failure to keep his dying friend's promise. He's got a lot to deal with and in four years, he hasn't touched none of it. So he's a hot mess. And when faced with Alison, he's both unable to resist her and struggling to protect her from his hot-mess self. He fails miserably. The two the follow this pattern in which they both succumb to their lust, the hero hurts the heroine with his guilt, they promise to talk but don't and/or they explain away the incident and at the end of the discussion the hero almost always ends up walking out. Lather, rinse, repeat. 3 times. And yet the masochist of a heroine keeps going back for more. In fact, after the 3rd time he's wallowed in his guilt and made her feel like nothing but a mistake, she goes ahead and has sex with him. Of course, he'd just spilled the reason for all his guilt, so she figured he was cured of all his baggage and they could be HEA. Well, to no one's surprise, he wasn't and he just finished up their regular pattern.
Even this I could have probably been okay with (if a little baffled at the heroine's lack of self-preservation), if the hero had actually been able to work through his guilt in a realistic manner. Unfortunately, his complete turn around happens in a matter of hours without any introspection or resolution of feelings. One minute he's still wallowing in his guilt about the best friend (and his guilt for hurting the heroine) and the next she's in danger and he jettisons the guilt and declares his love and desire to marry her. I would have believed the best friend's ghost or some sort of sign from the other side over that. That kind of heavy baggage and guilt doesn't just disappear...not believably anyway. So that was a tough sell for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2016
Actual rating is 3.5 stars. I got this Kindle book for my birthday and enjoyed it. However, if you are love Castillo's Kate Burkholder series, do not expect this book to equal any of those [that I have read thus far]. Uncharted Waters is a bit of a paranormal book since it involves a genetically engineered character.
On the plus side, it was entertaining enough that I read it in one day. Still on the plus side, for personal reasons I have not been able to read a novel just for fun in 3+ months and really did "escape" for awhile with this one.
On the negative side, I am used to Linda Castillo's characters and plot to have more depth. I'm pretty sure there is not a sequel to this one which did not bother me at all whereas I don't want the Burkholder series to ever end.
What did surprise me was that this is a RECENT book with a publication date of March 14, 2016. Given the lightest of the book's characters & plot I expected the book to have been published much earlier if you get my meaning. An enjoyable read.
On the plus side, it was entertaining enough that I read it in one day. Still on the plus side, for personal reasons I have not been able to read a novel just for fun in 3+ months and really did "escape" for awhile with this one.
On the negative side, I am used to Linda Castillo's characters and plot to have more depth. I'm pretty sure there is not a sequel to this one which did not bother me at all whereas I don't want the Burkholder series to ever end.
What did surprise me was that this is a RECENT book with a publication date of March 14, 2016. Given the lightest of the book's characters & plot I expected the book to have been published much earlier if you get my meaning. An enjoyable read.
February 1, 2018
Okay
I'm a big fan of the Late Burkholder series and Berkeley, however this romance falls a bit short. Lots of repetitive emotions in the first few days, like a seesaw... a real base for the emotions is not described. Just not a solidly built story. eLibrary book
I'm a big fan of the Late Burkholder series and Berkeley, however this romance falls a bit short. Lots of repetitive emotions in the first few days, like a seesaw... a real base for the emotions is not described. Just not a solidly built story. eLibrary book
May 16, 2019
I liked this when I wasn't frustrated with Drew. I liked all the characters and enjoyed the chemistry between Drew and Alison and liked Drew's interaction with Kevin. There was some rather steamy scenes between Drew and Alison .
August 25, 2021
Was not expecting a romance book by Linda Castillo as have read her more suspenseful books. It was good.
March 26, 2016
A Castillo classic.
With UNCHARTED WATERS, readers will find it different than the Kate Burkholder books because it was created before the Amish series and is a stand alone title. But it is a solid read, and I recommend it for anyone who loves a good story.
I took a closer look at this book because of another review and noticed it is a previously released Harlequin novel repackaged in a more modern cover, something I've seen publishing houses do A LOT with ***many*** successful authors as they've grown in their careers.
Sometimes, if an author moves on to another publishing house and their popularity grows, a previous publisher's marketing department may to choose to capitalize on that and make the works they still hold rights to look similar to newer novels, riding on the coat tails of work the author's current publisher has helped the author achieve to make a profit. If they do this it is often without any consultation with the author, and they get away with it because they still own the rights. In ***MY opinion,*** this is unfair and shady as heck.
Other times, an author and their publisher choose to repackage earlier titles to update their look for the times and offer them to readers who are new to their work and would like to read earlier titles. Two that come to mind are Debbie Macomber and Emily March. This is not an intent to be deceptive in any way, shape, or form. It is an act of love to readers, and yes, a way to sell their books to new readers. Hey, writers get hungry and have bills too, and if they are lucky, persistent and work hard they get to use their life's passion to make a living. How many of us can say that?
Before readers can cry foul and think they have been deceived, a responsible way to follow a favorite author or check into other books an author has written is to check their website. Many, many authors offer a comprehensive list of their novels listed by publishing date, series clusters and upcoming releases. Many of these are printable and readers can use them while shopping online and in their favorite bookstores. Another way to see if you might have read a book by an author in question is to check the copyright page in the front of the book to see the original copyright date, and any other title in which it may have been published.
Via the Linda Castillo Facebook page:
"It has come to my attention that Harlequin is re-releasing several of my older romantic suspense titles with the covers redesigned to look like the Kate Burkholder thrillers—and to look like new releases. Don’t get me wrong—I’m proud of these older books, which I wrote very early in my career. But readers of those Harlequin novels had vastly different reader expectations. A reader who buys one of these older books believing they’re getting a new thriller could be disappointed, hence the problem. I hate the notion of disappointing any reader, so I’m letting you all know about the situation."
With UNCHARTED WATERS, readers will find it different than the Kate Burkholder books because it was created before the Amish series and is a stand alone title. But it is a solid read, and I recommend it for anyone who loves a good story.
I took a closer look at this book because of another review and noticed it is a previously released Harlequin novel repackaged in a more modern cover, something I've seen publishing houses do A LOT with ***many*** successful authors as they've grown in their careers.
Sometimes, if an author moves on to another publishing house and their popularity grows, a previous publisher's marketing department may to choose to capitalize on that and make the works they still hold rights to look similar to newer novels, riding on the coat tails of work the author's current publisher has helped the author achieve to make a profit. If they do this it is often without any consultation with the author, and they get away with it because they still own the rights. In ***MY opinion,*** this is unfair and shady as heck.
Other times, an author and their publisher choose to repackage earlier titles to update their look for the times and offer them to readers who are new to their work and would like to read earlier titles. Two that come to mind are Debbie Macomber and Emily March. This is not an intent to be deceptive in any way, shape, or form. It is an act of love to readers, and yes, a way to sell their books to new readers. Hey, writers get hungry and have bills too, and if they are lucky, persistent and work hard they get to use their life's passion to make a living. How many of us can say that?
Before readers can cry foul and think they have been deceived, a responsible way to follow a favorite author or check into other books an author has written is to check their website. Many, many authors offer a comprehensive list of their novels listed by publishing date, series clusters and upcoming releases. Many of these are printable and readers can use them while shopping online and in their favorite bookstores. Another way to see if you might have read a book by an author in question is to check the copyright page in the front of the book to see the original copyright date, and any other title in which it may have been published.
Via the Linda Castillo Facebook page:
"It has come to my attention that Harlequin is re-releasing several of my older romantic suspense titles with the covers redesigned to look like the Kate Burkholder thrillers—and to look like new releases. Don’t get me wrong—I’m proud of these older books, which I wrote very early in my career. But readers of those Harlequin novels had vastly different reader expectations. A reader who buys one of these older books believing they’re getting a new thriller could be disappointed, hence the problem. I hate the notion of disappointing any reader, so I’m letting you all know about the situation."
June 13, 2016
Easy read
An easy read. A little repetitive and predictable. Sweet love story. Not the same intrigue as her Amish based books.
An easy read. A little repetitive and predictable. Sweet love story. Not the same intrigue as her Amish based books.
May 27, 2017
Predictable but nevertheless a sweet story that is a nice read for those who enjoy a tasteful romance story. I would have rated it higher except for the predicable factor.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews