Deep Blue Secret (The Water Keepers Book 1)

This book was interesting and well-written. It wasn't an "I can't put it down" book, but it was good. I would read more by the author.

Great read! Really enjoyed these books, will not disappoint at all!

Book – Deep Blue Secret (The Water Keepers #1)
Author – Christie Anderson
Star rating - ★★★☆☆
Would I read it again – Undecided.
Plot – good, interesting, original – definitely a teen read
Characters – relatable, funny, interesting (at the start)
(end up) boring, repetitive, childish
Movie Potential - ★★★☆☆
Ease of reading – easy to read.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **

Story:

This book began with a great start. I was instantly intrigued but happy to float for a while before stepping right into the action. This feeling dwindled gradually as the book went on and more increasingly 'floaty' areas occurred.

The idea of the sad song on the MP3 really reminded me of Beautiful Creatures, and the playing of '16 Moons' with Lena. I was completely entranced by the description and atmosphere the 'Rose and Driftwood' picture created in the story. I think it was pure genius. It was a real 'moment' for me, and for Sadie. I really looked forward to meeting 'Rain' but I did think it took too long to get to the point of his part in it all. Yes, the mystery built tension and confusion in Sadie, but when the big 'reveal' happened, it was a little anti-climactic.

I do have a few niggles with the writing. E.g. - the use of 'sight' instead of 'site' and so forth. To me 'sight' is vision and 'site' is location and that wasn't how it read in the story. Sometimes there's speech at the beginning of a paragraph and a little description in the middle, but often there's no speech mark to show that it's gone from description to speech, which can get confusing since the whole thing is in first person.

I found that the further I went into the story, instead of the action hotting up, it stayed kind of level with the beginning, which made it feel a little slow. I kept taking breaks from reading when it slowed down, to do other things, and I would lose my motivation to start up again. I think there were a few chunks we could have done without. I know Sadie is sad and depressed and confused, but I don't think we need to be reminded of it quite so often. And I'm not sure I like her being this super nice, super pretty, 'understated' girl that all the boys fight over. I don't think it's needed here and it's a little overdone in the genre, I think. It's a little disappointing to see when her character began so differently.

Characters:

I like Sadie as a main character. She's nice, grounded, sweet and normal. She's a teen girl who has all the usual teen drama with some added extras. I'm really not sure about Heather. She goes from nice and fun to weird and almost unnatural at times and it gets a little confusing trying to decide if her character is good or bad. I'm not if that was intentional, but that was how I read it.

By the end of the first chapter, I was totally ready to trade in the intriguing Nick and the stalkerish Justin, who slightly peaked my interest, for the mystery dude with coordination issues and iridescent skin. Talk about unique!

I really love the connection and innocent need there is between Rayne and Sadie. It's sweet and age appropriate enough to keep this book YA. It's also nice to have an MC girl who isn't totally desperate for a boyfriend, or who wants nothing but fluffy pink hearts and romance in her life. This attitude does tend to slip, the more Sadie is around Rayne, but the fact that it's there at all, is a nice change from the usual YA's I read.

However, I did tend to forget Sadie's name as I was reading. It was only mentioned sparingly, and I mean nearly not at all, during the first 30% of the book. Once things began happening, there was more of it creeping into the story, reminding us of our main character's name and identity. But it did take too long. I write my review notes as I read, so that I don't forget important points or reactions and I kept having to write MC instead of Sadie, because it took too long to look back and find her actual name. Being told in the 1st person, it does make sense that it's not mentioned a lot, since Sadie isn't self-centered or focused on herself that much, but it feels silly to forget her name at all, since she is the MC.

I was very interested in Vass and the Cayno prison. It was a nice addition to the story. I could see this having a really big impact on the story, however that didn't really happen. It had a lot of potential, but it was kind of rushed through and then ignored later.

Syreen was a very interesting character, when she was first mentioned. I had my suspicions about her and Sadie, but I really did have to wait and see how that panned out, because it felt like forever before she came back into the story again. I loved the way Sadie wrote letters to her father, even though she doesn't know who he is. I think it was a great way for her to feel connected while venting her feelings. It was a very original and heartwarming option.

I have to say that Justin and Nick made even ME want to strangle them. I got very angry with Heather during the whole issue with the two boys. If I were Sadie, I wouldn't have gone to her house for any reason, never mind stayed long enough for anything to happen.

I had a few issues with the big 'confrontation' at the end of the story as well. Voss and Rayne do 'battle' over Sadie. But to be quite honest, the really good fight scene was vastly overshadowed by the pathetic whimpering thoughts of Sadie. Here are my big issues -
1. She only got 'caught' because she's a stupid idiot who doesn't listen to people who are trying to protect her.
2. Why did Rayne sit there like a lump, mooning over her body instead of taking her to safety first? Why? Because the author knew that doing that would delay them in time for Voss to find them. But that's unrealistic. A guy trained like Rayne, with sole concern over Sadie's safety would instinctively get her to safety and THEN make sure she was okay, knowing they would get caught if they stayed too long. I have no issue with the confrontation, since it's necessary, but the way in which it was engineered didn't fit the personalities of the characters.
3. Why does Sadie stand there, useless, and not go for the gun right away? She could have done a lot of things, that she didn't because all she did was stand there and panic. That wasn't helping any one.

Overall -

The book started well and had promise. The plot was unique and interesting and it kept my attention for the first 20% of the book. However, at that point, it got increasingly difficult to continue reading. My interest in the story waned and everyone began acting out of sorts. As a reader, I wasn't getting any answers and that diminished my interest in continuing the story. By 70%, I'm sorry to say that I gave up. My really big issue with this story is that the more I read, the more immature Sadie seems for her age. She's supposed to be 17, but she acts more like a fourteen year old with a first crush. It doesn't gel. There's this big mystery about Voss and what he's up to, but by this point I've lost my will to care what the answer is.

I don't understand the ageing process of Rayne and his people, or why it's necessary for the story. It just seems like an odd addition that makes the story even more unbelievable. Sadly, when I find a story unbelievable, even a fantasy/paranormal story, I can't get into the story well enough to see it through. I may finish this book one day, but it won't be right now. Or even very soon.

I really feel like the more Sadie discovers, which isn't much, and falls for Rayne, the more childish she gets, which makes the story more difficult to follow or care about. I got to the 'slap' incident and I'm very sorry but that was the end of the line for me. The whole scene was a little ridiculous. But like a trooped I kept going. And it didn't get much better.

This book has taken me what seems like forever to get through It was good to begin with and then as the story got more elaborate and more complicated and more secretive, the less interested I was. I'm sure other people will love it and find it highly intriguing, but it's giving me a headache trying to keep all the pieces together to figure out what's going on. I think maybe it's a little too much crammed into one book. If it were half the length, it may have been easier to get through, with the end nearer in sight, but it's not and that's a shame.

Amazing I am in love with this series! It's a definite must read!!!!

When I first began this story, I wasn't sure what I would think about it because it seemed like such an unassuming tale during the first chapter. But just as quickly as I set this idea in my head about how the book was going to turn out, it suddenly made my pulse race and my eyes were glued to the words. I was desperate to know more about this story and this is coming from a girl who wasn't confident in the idea that I would even mildly enjoy it. Ha! This book was a wonderful read. I really did like it once everything truly got going. Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson is the story of Sadie, a girl who believes her life is perfect and has the greatest people in her life. But suddenly her life just isn't so awesome anymore. Her life is spiked with depression, causing her to lose interest in everything she used to love at sporadic moments. She doesn't know what is causing this sudden loss of who she is and she is desperately trying to keep her life together before it falls apart completely. That is when a boy appears in her life with vibrant green eyes that seem to shine and look familiar to her in a way she doesn't understand. What she does understand though is that whenever he is around, she feels safe and at peace like she might just be happy again. There is a catch with this strange boy; he refuses to get close to her. Everything about him is shrouded with secrets that he guards obsessively and she wants to know why. What is this boy's secret? Why is she suddenly facing such strong bouts of depression? How can she feel safe with someone that she hardly knows? It seems that her life might've just gotten more complicated.The writing in this story is very relatable for me and the author seems to have mastered the talent of bringing a teenage voice to the story. This style, of course, has benefits and disadvantages but for me, I really enjoyed the story as it was written. I like the fact that it reminds me of the way some of the stories I've written sound and it reminds me a lot of some of my other favorite stories. The plot of the story is pretty amazing and well thought out. The world the author created is complex with its own history, way of life, foods, and work. I always love seeing how much work is put into the creation of a story and this just proves my point.The lovely main character for this tale is Sadie, a friendly, loving, and protective girl who just wants to have a happy life. I love the fact that she is a romantic in a world of cynics. She has this desire to live a fairy tale and have her happily ever after. If anyone deserves it, it would be her and her mom, of course. She has a kind heart and a stubborn mind. Because of the kindness that seems to rule her actions, she has a hard time ever telling anyone no or pushing answers out of people. If I were to tag a title on her I would definitely say she is a pushover in the beginning. I didn't particularly love that quality but she grew up a lot in the story and somehow managed to gain some self confidence which gave her the power to just say no. One thing that I adore about her is the fact that she has never been kissed. I think that is another show of her romantic notions. She wants it to be with someone she loves, someone who loves her back, and she wants it to be perfect. You only get your first kiss once, right? She can't help but feel smitten towards the boy with the familiar green eyes and that leads to her being unable to get him out of her head even though she is certain he feels nothing towards her. Now, I've heard of this sort of thing before where the main character writes letters to some person who will never receive them as a venting process. I adore the fact that she is writing to the father she never knew and that she is open about everything she is feeling. Depressed or happy, she wants her father to be a part of her life even if he didn't want to be.Her mom is definitely full of energy, something that I wish I could say was the same about me but I am more like Sadie in that way. She works as a nurse at the nearby hospital, working sometimes crazy hours and that leads to them spending sporadic amounts of time together. Determined to keep their relationship close, she and Sadie spend one night a week together doing girl stuff and reconnecting over random activities they plan. I admire her strength and willingness to sacrifice everything for her daughter. Her goal in life seems to be making sure her daughter is happy and has a good life. She still mourns the fact that Sadie's father doesn't take part in her life at all but instead of being upset that he left her alone, she continues to ache for his presence in her life. It's pretty hearbreaking. I think that she deserves a happily ever after, whether it is with the man who is Sadie's father or someone new. She is too awesome to be left alone for the rest of her life.I'm going to put a name to the pretty boy with the green eyes because I really think that it is too hard to type that every time I mention him in this paragraph. Anyway, his name is Rayne. Just getting that out of the way before I dive into his character. He is assigned to protect Sadie and watch over her to make sure that no harm comes to her as she grows up. But there is a catch. He cannot be seen by her and forming an attachment with her is strictly forbidden by the people who are in charge of him. It is clear through the story that he is struggling to maintain a formal relationship with the beautiful main character but his sense of honor seems to cloud any chance of giving into their attraction. Which is frustrating, trust me. His job is that of a Water Keeper, meant to heal and aid people who have lost their way in life and bring them the happiness they seek through this thing called the Healing Water. When he began to feel something towards Sadie, he blamed it on the bond created through the continued use of the Healing Water and that their feelings aren't actually real. But he better see the light or else I'm going to write a really epic rant about him. I know, I know, there is a million other characters that I should and could discuss during this review but I think that this is enough for now. Go read it, my friends. It's definitely worth it.

Anderson offers a creative alternate world that will give a readers a relax from the the typical paranormal story. Admittedly, I found found this book slightly frustrating. While I loved the characters, and could see the potential growing through this book; it was obvious that the climax was not going to be reached in this particular book. Sadie is a very special and down to earth character that readers will enjoy. This mystery of her past will keep readers guessing with this easy paced story. The alternate world that Anderson has previewed throughout the book still remains a mystery holding my attraction to this story. My overall impression of this read is a enjoyable and imaginative read.

Sadie lives a charmed life. She has great friends, an awesome mom, an a great place to live. However, she's been noticing a random boy. A random boy for whom she feels a very strong and mysterious attraction. After a severe car accident, Sadie soon learns the true nature of her relationship to this boy. Sadie has a heritage she had no clue about, and her life is soon to take a dramatic turn.This was a very unique and original idea. I was a bit confused at the beginning, but it all fell into place the longer I read. Sadie was a pretty easy character to like. One thing I particularly liked involved the attraction of Sadie and Rayne. It is common in YA novel to find the heroine suddenly attracted to a mysterious boy for no reason. I've never really enjoyed this aspect of YA books, but I've just kind of learned to overlook this aspect. This author took the chance to take something that's almost expected of YA books and have an actual explanation. One that helped propel that plot. That was pretty awesome.One thing I do wish we got more of was an explanation as to how the "other" world Sadie learned about (for lack of a better term) worked. It was hinted at, but I never really got a good grasp of how that reality was connected to Sadie's reality. Are the different worlds? Alternate realities? I'm not really sure even after finishing the book. In the end though, that didn't take away from my overall enjoyment. This book has an interesting plot and a lot of romance. I thought this was a great book, and I definitely want to read the next book. Book provided for review.