Kiersten Modglin: Head Under Water

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/258322571-head-under-water

Book Blurb:

Opal Sullivan has a plan:
-Move home to help her mother grieve the loss of her best friend
-Stay in her childhood home until she finds a place of her own
-Keep far, far away from Will Kendricks

Opal’s plan falls apart before she can unpack the first box.
-Too many questions still linger around Ruth’s death
-Her mom has already found her a new roommate
-The new roommate is Will

Growing up as neighbors with best friends for mothers, Opal has never been able to untangle her life from Will’s. He was the boy who teased her, the teenager she hated, and the man she never understood. And after one night they’ve kept buried all these years, they stopped speaking altogether.

Now they have no choice but to break their rules if they want the truth about Ruth’s death.

Because something isn’t right.
The town and life that once felt so safe now simmer with unease.

When tragedy strikes again, Opal knows time is running out. The deeper she digs, the more certain she becomes: whatever truths they uncover might be more devastating than all the lies.

Pulled together by grief and suspicion, the boy she once despised becomes something far more dangerous—someone she can’t quite trust, and yet can’t bring herself to let go of. Are they ready to face the past they’ve both tried to forget?

Will might be her downfall…
Or the thing that saves her from it.

Tropes:

*High Gravity ALC *Mystery *found family *Teacher FMC *non-linear Narrative *Flashbacks

*Enemies --> More *thriller *small town *Secrets revealed

Thoughts:

This is my first book by this author but it won't be my last, this story weaves through the past and present as Opal (FMC) returns home to be closer to her mother after a tragedy strikes, her mother's best friend passed away the police are ready to close the case and rule it as accidental but things are not adding up and Opal is determined to get to the bottom of what really happened.

Opal is attempting to settle into her new life as she gets reaquainted with her home town, she got a job as a teacher at the local school and even finds that she has an old friend there from college... from flashbacks we know that her and this friend were dating casually but nothing serious happened, but maybe now is the time for second chances.  Opal could really use a friend especially since her mom and her mom's best friend (more like a second mom) has found her a place to stay... and it's with her childhood nemesis Will.

No worries they are both adults, doesn't matter that he made her miserable as children... and even went to the same college as she did so she couldn't get rid of him there either.  

As we get to know Opal and Will more see their past history together and have a better understanding of what really happened from both sides it's hard to miss that there was always a caring heart between anything Will did in the past, even if he may have went about things the wrong way.

Opal brings up concerns to her mom and Will's mom that their friend's early demise should be investigated further but no one but Will seems to think there may be more to the story.

Then tragedy strikes again and the need to figure out what really happened is more necessary than ever.  As Opal gets closer to the truth deep secrets emerge and danger gets closer will it be too late to tell the ones who matter most how she really feels?

If Will has been so terrible to her why does she feel safest when he's near?  

I enjoyed this story, I did wish that it focused a bit more on the mystery at times as it spent a lot of time going back in time to Opal and Will's college days, and the mystery seemed to be put on the back burner and I wanted to know what was happening!  

I did figure out some things before the end but I don't feel it took away from the story.  

I thank the author and High Gravity for this ALC!  It was single narration by Persephone Lee but she did really well with the story! 

If you enjoy a romance with a mystery add this one to your TBR!  

Have you read this one yet?  What did you think? 

Margot Keene: Tides of the Heart

 Maverick Key Series:  Book 2

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240927452-tides-of-the-heart

Book Blurb

Some dreams are never forgotten.

Dark secrets swirl beneath the waters of Maverick Key in the second suspenseful romance from Margot Keene.

Ever since her beloved Nathan disappeared and was presumed dead after a catastrophic dive, Crystal has done whatever it takes to heal and care for her young daughter, Natalie. Nathan had always harbored secrets he claimed were meant to protect her, but with his disappearance declared a closed case by local authorities, she may never know the whole truth about his work.

As the island's elite diving team scrambles to address a growing environmental crisis, a newcomer suffering from amnesia arrives in Maverick Key, bringing Crystal face-to-face with what she believed existed only in her dreams.

Author’s Note: A young widowed marine biologist struggles to rebuild her life after escaping an abusive relationship. Blending diving adventure, small-town romance, romantic suspense, and a touch of the speculative, this second book in the Maverick Key series returns readers to its unforgettable setting and into the lives of both new and familiar characters.

*High Gravity ALC  *Mystery *Romantic suspsense *scuba diving 

 *Underwater adventures  *second in series --> need to be read/listened to in order

 *some spice *danger  *Slow burn *small town *Amnesia MMC *State Challenge: Florida

Thoughts: 

After the ending of the first book I was really interested to see how this book would play out to start with we have Elliott a man who has been living life in Miami under a new identity r/t a series of events that are unknown even to him he has amnesia and was given the opportunity to basically start over in this new life... but there have always been questions about who he really is and his past.  After seeing a news story about events taking place in Maverick Key he feels drawn to this area and a close friend encourages him to follow his heart if he feels this might be what helps to unlock his minds secrets he has to try.

Crystal has been through a lot over the last several years she thought she would raise a family with the love of her life Nathan and they would grow old together... but after he disappeared during a dive gone wrong she ended up married to his best friend... who turned out to be hiding many secrets of his own (which led to his demise).  Now by herself once again she's trying to piece her life back together and learn how to raise her daughter as a single mom. 

Elliott's journey upon arriving to Maverick Key turns into a re-discovery of his past self... and even though he can't remember anything solid about his former life... he wants to.  While this part of the story was predictable I still enjoyed him learning to adapt to his old life as his true self even with missing memories he still was dreaming of Crystal and knew she was important to him he just needs to get to know her again.  

This was an emotional journey for both of our lead characters as Crystal helps our MMC try to remember the life they shared together.  The Story continues to weave in mystery elements with strange happenings under the water due to elevated temperatures, feelings of being watched or actually being watched by strange mystery men and while some questions do get answered there are still several left to be revealed... hopefully that will be coming in the next book.  This book had me wanting to know what would happen next. 

I did feel that that our MMC pushed himself back into his family role really quickly especially considering he still had amnesia and all of these people while they knew the old him they were essentially strangers to him... would have been interesting if the story told how his friends from Miami reacted to the news that he found his family.  Over all I really enjoyed this story and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.  

Listening to the Audio version of this book really brought this story to life for me, I loved the Multicast dual narration they did a great job with this and if you enjoy romantic suspense novels add this one to your list!   Thank you to the author and High Gravity productions for this early listen copy.  

Margot Keene: Maverick Key

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231718154-maverick-key

book blurb:

Falling in love wasn’t on the agenda. Neither was diving into danger.
Maddie Carter moves to Maverick Key to start over and open her own veterinary clinic, hoping a new beginning will help her cope with the loss of her brother, Nathan. Exploring the small seaside town and being near the ocean they both loved makes her feel closer to him, even if it also reminds her of everything she’s lost.

She doesn’t expect to find a circle of unforgettable friends or to be drawn to Scott, the brooding, protective ex-military cave diver who’s exploring the underwater cave system where Nathan lost his life.

Scott doesn’t believe in second chances. He’s seen what happens when people push limits and tempt fate. The dangers of the deep don’t forgive, and he refuses to let Maddie become another victim.

After Maddie uncovers clues suggesting her brother’s death may not have been an accident, her grief turns into determination. She’ll do whatever it takes for answers, even if it means diving into the same deadly secrets that claimed her brother and may cost her the man she’s falling for.

The Maverick Key Series is best enjoyed in order.

*High Gravity ALC  *Mystery *Romantic suspense *Grief *scuba diving  

*Underwater adventures *Widower MMC *first in series --> need to be read/listened to in order

*some spice *danger *third act break up *cliffhanger *secrets  *Slow burn *small town 

*Can't ever love again MMC 

Thoughts:

When I received the 2nd book in this series as an ALC from High Gravity I saw the note that they should be read/listened to in order and requested the first book in this series.  I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but I've been giving a lot of new to me genre's and authors a chance and have found a lot of hidden gems by opening up to new things.  

Maddie after her mother's passing moves to Maverick Key to feel closer to her brother who is presumed to be dead after a underwater cave diving tragedy his body was never found but after so many years it's a very slim chance that he wasn't lost to the ocean he loved so much.

Initially Maddie plans on opening up a vet clinic on the Island as that's what she spent so much time in school for, but staying in her brother Nathan's cabin she finds evidence that there may have been more to his diving accident than the authorities originally believed... why else would he have his notebooks filled with his underwater charts hidden in a secret compartment in his desk... and he wrote her a message in the secret code they used as children... she has to find out what is going on.

Shortly after arriving Maddie meets Scott formerly in the navy he is now working to continue her brother's legacy diving in the cove that her brother found that has unknown hidden treasures but Scott and his team are under pressure to produce something valuable and he has a nagging financial backer… some things can’t be rushed and he is going to make sure everything gets done right.  Scott is a widower and has his heart guarded but he can't help but want to get close to the beautiful Maddie even if it means putting his heart on the line again.

To make things worse for Scott there is another team that comes in with clearance for the area which may ruin everything he and his team has been working on... Wes is a show boating influencer and Scott knows he will draw attention to the area for all the wrong reasons... Just great... Wes has also noticed the beautiful Maddie... drama! 

The closer Maddie gets to figuring out what her brother was searching for the more danger lurks in the shadows... is she actually getting all that close or does the culprit just think she's getting close?  

Very vivid and detailed scenes related to deep water diving and cave diving... these situations made me feel nervous as there was always the element of danger if they got stuck with not enough oxygen or lost their path and things got too murky creating an element of panic for me.

I wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed at any given time throughout the story initially her plan to start a vet clinic is brought up but not sure if she ends up following thru with this longer term?  There are many characters introduced and I'm glad that I listened to this multicast audio as it helped seperate the characters for me.  There was a third act break up that I felt could have been shorter but maybe that's just a me thing.  

Overall I really enjoyed this audio book --> This was a multicast audio production and it really helped bring the story to life, the narrators did a great job!  I am looking forward to diving into the next book in this series!