W is for Water

I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.

Focusing on an A to Z of my TBR (to be read) list, each letter will have books starting with that letter on my list, a book I’ve read and reviewed (with the review!) and one of my books matching the letter with a link about more info about the book.

If you’d rather check out my folklore post for today, go here.

My TBR

About the Book I’ve Read

Low Water by Jennifer Lane

Two lives marked by trauma. One chance to rediscover hope.

In the sun-drenched Lowcountry of South Carolina, a swim coach haunted by tragedy and a psychologist devoted to healing cross paths just as their lives unravel.

He once believed Olympic-sized dreams and terrible dad jokes could get him through anything, but waves of grief threaten to pull him under. She has built a career navigating others through pain, yet she struggles to confront her own.

When their worlds collide, Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD forces the question: is it possible to dive into the past without drowning? Neither expects the other to become a lifeline. But with connection and courage, they search for a way forward—one stroke at a time.

Striving, tender, and surprisingly funny, this is a story about resilience and learning that the best way out of the deep end is together.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

I knew when I picked up this book that it would be a challenging read: a man has to deal with severe PTSD and his psychiatrist is in an abusive marriage – and she doesn’t realise it.

His storyline was easier to deal with: facing his grief, his anger, etc. was quite therapeutic in a way. None of his stuck points are triggers for me, but it might be for other readers.

Her storyline made me want to yell at her from the moment she meets her husband for the first time and he throws a tantrum like a toddler. So many red flags with that one. I found the way he gaslit her from the start quite interesting (she’s trained to read people after all), and very distressing. The way the gaslighting and abuse escalated could only end the way it did – and the ending of both storylines were quite smart and fulfilling.

The swimming stuff was quite interesting and I learned more about it as a sport (my dogs jump into the pool when I swim to save me from drowning…).

Great worldbuilding. Every setting made me feel like I was there without overdoing it.

There are a few great quotes:

“It’s not what happens to us that determines how we react, but rather, the way we interpret events. Our thoughts lead to feelings and behavior.”

“Think of a carbonated beverage that gets shaken up. If you unscrew the lid, it spews all over the place. But then the bubbles die down. Same thing with natural emotions—they’ll soon die down if you let them out. Emotions are temporary. They don’t keep gushing forever.”

And then the line that sums up Avery’s life: “My husband…” Hyperventilated breaths make it hard to speak. “…is a monster.”

I love this joke: That look of mischief is back, dancing in his eyes. “Today I had someone knock on the door, asking for small donations toward the local swimming pool.” I brace myself. “I gave him a glass of water.”

I think with Jordan’s anger outbursts and Avery’s marriage to a psychopath, I’d classify it as a domestic thriller, though it does have the feel of a psychological thriller at times.

Highly enjoyable if you’re in the mood to delve into people’s minds and see an abusive marriage through from start to finish.

My Book

Water Fae (Origin of the Fae #4)

I hope you enjoyed this. For more books I’ve read and reviewed, check out either my Pinterest board about reviews or my Goodreads profile. Alternatively, you can check out my reviews on BookBub. Have you read any of the books? Loved or hated any of them?

You can now support my time in producing book review posts (buying books, reading, writing reviews and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion.

*FYI, my reviews are my honest opinion and if something bothers me, I tell it straight. How else will anything change? My opinions are based on being a voracious reader and book buyer, not an attack on the author.*