Book Review: Burying Water, by K.A. Tucker

We lie among the fluffy pillows, listening to the fire crackle, smelling the burning leaves - I stuffed a few handfuls into the woodstove, just because I love the smell of burning leaves.

Her breathing evens out, her heart beats steady against my side.

I absorb all of it.

As I fall fast and hard.

K.A. Tucker is maybe best known for her Ten Tiny Breaths series, and I've reviewed all of the books in that series. Because of that, I was excited to see that she was coming out with a new book (which, according to the afterword, sounds like it may be a new series, actually). Burying Water has Tucker's flair for prose, combined with new characters and situations that are different than most in the TTB series, and it's a great read.

Official synopsis:
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.

This book was told in both the present and the past - in the present we have Jane Doe, who wakes up one day in a local hospital. She can't remember anything about herself, and she was found with her face cut by a knife, wearing a party-girl dress and very high high-heels. After three months in the hospital, her doctor suggests that she move in with Ginny Fitzgerald, an older lady who could use the help and the companionship.

In the past-tense, Jesse is the narrator, who tells how he meets Alexandria Petrova - Alex, for short - who is married to a Russian mobster, though she doesn't know he's in the mob, at first. Even though she's 22 and beautiful, Viktor is already bored with her, and he beats her frequently. She needs to get out, and Jesse is going to help her, but he's already started falling for her, which makes life difficult.

I was interested in seeing how the two stories intersected in this book. Jesse knows that Water is Alex, but also knows it's best that he doesn't tell her that, even though he and his family live next door to Ginny. His mother, Water's doctor, and his dad, the town sheriff, met Alex once too, and are also keeping quiet; his sister, Amber, had never met her.

I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes a good story - this definitely has many layers to it that help contribute to the plot, and it was interesting to see how Water and Jesse's stories eventually intertwine near the end.

4.5 stars out of 5.

Burying Water will be in stores on October 7th; click here to purchase a copy.

*Disclosure: I received an e-copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.