Release Date: 2011
Pages: 358, ebook
Goodreads Rating: 3.89 stars
My Rating: 3/5 stars
My Content Rating: PG (Nothing more than kissing)
Summary from Goodreads: A sweet, mysterious teen romance with a refreshing fantasy twist.
California teen Sadie James thinks her life couldn't get any better. She has great friends, an energetic mother she adores, and the beach practically in her own backyard. But her carefree life is turned upside down when she's rescued by a mysterious and strangely familiar boy who won't even tell her his name. Each time the boy appears, Sadie's unexplainable attraction to him deepens along with her need to unravel his secrets. The boy is there to protect her, but as wonderful and exciting as it might be to have an irresistible boy with crystal green eyes protecting her every move, every minute of the day...why does Sadie need one? As Sadie finds answers, she realizes her life isn't as perfect as she thought. Not only is she caught in a world of dangerous secret agents she never knew existed, but it turns out her true identity may be the greatest secret of all.
The book follows Sadie, a 17-year-old girl with a seemingly wonderful life who starts to suddenly suffer from bouts of depression that she can't explain. Things get even more complicated when a strange boy rescues her after a car accident. Sadie feels connected to this boy, but he has secrets that he can't share with her, and he may not be able to protect her from a dangerous stranger who wants to use her for his own gain.
The negatives:
- Instalove. This book definitely employed the dreaded instalove. Sadie meets Rayne and instantly feels connected to him and can just tell from his eyes that he is in love with her. Now, to give Anderson a bit of credit, there is supposed to be an actual reason for this instalove (at least to some degree - I won't spoil what the actual reason is). But, we don't find that out until halfway through the book and by that time I was already thoroughly exasperated with Sadie's adoration of Rayne. Because of this, it took me awhile to really care whether or not Rayne and Sadie ended up together.
- More answers needed. By the end of the book, we still don't really know who the Water Keepers (Rayne's people) are, where they come from or why they help certain people. I also had no idea who the bad guy was except that he was an escaped prisoner who used to be a councilman. What had he done? Why had he become an evil dude and what was the significance of his black birthmark that matched Sadie's? Couldn't tell you. I understand that this is part of a series and that there are mysteries that are probably being held over until future books, but I felt like I wanted a bit more understanding of Rayne's world in this book. The one mystery that is revealed in this book (regarding Sadie's father) is not much of a mystery - I had pretty much figured out this twist very early on in the book.
What I enjoyed:
- The unique concept. While I wish that the concept had been developed a bit more and that we had been given more information about the Water Keepers and the rest of Rayne's people, I was impressed with the uniqueness of the concept. This is a new paranormal twist that I've never seen before and Anderson has created an intriguing world that I want to learn more about.
- Rayne and Sadie. Even though I wasn't initially thrilled with the instalove going on in this book, by the second half of the book, I was definitely more on board with the romance. I especially loved Rayne and I liked seeing the world through his eyes. He was sweet and caring toward Sadie, and he really did always want to do the right thing by her. He feared that her feelings for him were manufactured rather than real, so he did his very best not to take advantage of the situation, even when he didn't want to resist. In the end, I enjoyed Rayne and Sadie's romance and wanted them to be happy together.
Deep Blue Secrets was a cute book that was somewhat marred by instalove and a lack of world-building, in my opinion. I still overall enjoyed the book, though and I'll probably check out the rest of the books in the series to see what happens with Rayne and Sadie and to learn more about Rayne's unique world. 3/5 stars.
I moved near him and his hand guided me in front of the bench, but I turned to face him instead of sitting down. He immediately shifted back, pulling slightly away. I wasn’t sure if it was the bump on my head suddenly clouding my thoughts, or the romance of being swept away and rescued by a gorgeous, mysterious boy, or this little ache in my heart of forgotten memories and dreams, but something deep inside me drew me towards him. I wanted to reach out and hold him, but I held the feelings back, unsure if I should act on them. Instead, I stood there unmoving, still gazing up at him. He was tall compared to most high school boys I knew. I searched his face for any sign of reciprocation and moved closer. This time he didn’t move away. “Thank you again,” I said softly, looking up at him through my lashes. There was a long, heavy pause as I waited breathlessly for his response. His glowing eyes met mine, and their radiance hypnotized me. I could see nothing else. Then I felt it again, the unexplainable connection between us. Time slowed around us like a force field pulling us together. I had no desire to resist it; I let the feelings draw me in, and I inched forward, wishing for his lips on mine. His hand lifted gently to my waist, sending a thrill through me in every direction. Never before had I felt the desire to kiss someone so fervently, the divine first kiss I had always dreamed of. There was no trace of resistance left on his face. He leaned into me and my heart raced. Our faces grew slowly together as I looked from his dazzling eyes to his inviting lips.
Deep Blue Secrets is available for free!
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