Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

Burying Water (The Burying Water, #1)

by K.A. Tucker

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 neighbour, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won't Ginny let him step foot on her property? And whydoes 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.

Reviewed by KitsuneBae on

4 of 5 stars

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This review first appeared on Thoughts and Pens.

Alright. I’ll keep this review short and as spoiler-free as possible. So here’s the thing with Burying Water, we have a female heroine, Water, who miraculously survived after she was found barely breathing in rural Oregon. Then we have the love interest, Jesse Welles, who is trying so hard to stay away from our female MC. Sounds cliché, isn’t it? I would have immediately ignored this book based on that premise alone but the synopsis was intriguing enough to make me ask a lot of questions. What happened to Water? Why is Jesse staying away from her? Reading between the lines, I already have this hunch that it’s not because Jesse is the “Stay-away-from-me-because-I-am-carrying-a-lot-of-baggage” type of guy. So what the hell is the reason? This is the main question that certainly plagued me when I dove into Burying Water.

The first chapter instantly introduced me to a horrifying scene. And I immediately knew that Burying Water is going to be different from K.A. Tucker’s previous series, Ten Tiny Breaths. This book was darker and BOLDER. As the mystery surrounding Water’s attempted murder was gradually revealed, I could barely hold my breath because I couldn’t believe that Tucker would attempt such storyline. I’m pretty sure that there would be a lot of people who will be disturbed with the story of Burying Water. Many eyebrows will be raised. And annoyed (or angry at the worst) questions will surely be fired towards Tucker. Is being miserable enough reason to break one of the oldest and most valued rules of humankind? The storyline was definitely risky and I am still not sure whether to applaud or boo Tucker for it. All I know at this moment is that I am happy with Burying Water.

The Tucker trademarked-feels are still present and the steamy scenes had me curling my toes. Told from alternating POVs, with Water’s perspective as present and Jesse’s as the past, the characters of Burying Water were definitely fleshed out but I doubt if every reader will love them after what they’ve done. The messages that this book is trying to convey are definitely painful and would render you constantly asking for questions about right and wrong.

The story’s setting—Sister’s Oregon—was definitely lovely and the way Tucker describe it made me want to pack up and move there ASAP. Tucker fans will also find delight that like the Ten Tiny Breaths series, there’s a great focus on familial and friendship relationships here. Really, if you have been piously following Tucker’s books then you will have an idea that she writes awesome ships.

Burying Water was almost a perfect book with its dark and mysterious tone but there are some things that really bugged me. The ending was too perfect for my taste given the dire situation of our main characters. The manner that the conflict was resolved was way too convenient that I have a hard time believing it. Oh, K.A. Tucker, you can do better than that!

Overall, Burying Water, despite its convenient resolution, was a perfect way to start a new series. It tells a tale of forbidden romance without suffering the so called “New Adult curse.”


***I received this book for free from Atria through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you, Atria and Simon and Schuster!***

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  • Started reading
  • 3 September, 2014: Finished reading
  • 3 September, 2014: Reviewed