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Review

4 uniquely edgy stars

This is the fourth and final book in KA Tucker’s Burying Water series, and it brings something really different. While it does fit in nicely with the rest of the books of the series, it is only loosely tied and can easily be read as a standalone.

Ivy Lee was appeared in the last book – Chasing River. She is from the same home town as the other characters in the series, but has escaped small-town living to live her life on her own terms. She is a very gifted tattoo artist and makes a good living with it, travelling from place to place, never putting down roots or committing to anybody or anything. She has recently returned to San Francisco and is working with her much-beloved Uncle at his shop, and is starting to think about settling down for the first time in her life. But then her Uncle and a client are brutally murdered in his shop, with her as the only (partial) witness, and her life is thrown into turmoil once again as she is left reluctantly handling his affairs when all she wants to do is run away.

Sebastian (AKA ‘Ice’) is an ex-Navy SEAL and current badass. He works for an old military friend who runs a private security company, taking highly dangerous, highly secret jobs all over the world and doing his bit to help make the world a safer place. His latest job is to retrieve the security video from the shop of a tattoo artist which holds a confession which could have far-reaching repercussions, and that includes getting to know the artist’s niece in order to get the video and find out what she knows about its content.

It’s a fantastic set up. The crime element and the shadiness of Sebastian’s role in the story adds a nice sense of intensity, and from the moment that Ivy and Sebastian meet, their chemistry is palpable and you know it’s going to be a wild ride.

Ivy is a unique heroine. She is heavily tattooed, has half of her head shaved, and seems quite cold and closed off. She hasn’t been through any trauma or have any past demons, she just is who she is, and she is a very self-assured woman who makes no apologies for who she is, and I love her strength and confidence. Similarly, Sebastian’s experience at war has left him a changed man and he has become an emotionless loner who lives a life without any attachments.

She’s good at hiding her emotions.
Just like I am.

This isn’t a conventional love story. Because of who Ivy and Sebastian are, it’s dark and gritty and there are no flowery romantic declarations. The romance is definitely there though. They share an instant attraction, and the sexual tension builds brilliantly when Sebastian hires Ivy to do a large tattoo for him. They banter and quip, and even though they don’t open up and talk about feelings, there is a definite connection there and they realise that they have a lot in common. Sebastian infiltrates himself into Ivy’s life, and their physical attraction slowly becomes something more.

Maybe it’s that the stakes are somehow higher now than they were yesterday. Maybe it’s that she’s starting to care. Maybe it’s that I’m starting to care.

But as they fall for each other, Sebastian’s secret continues to plague him. Ivy doesn’t ask (it’s not who they are), but she knows something is going on. Can their new-found relationship survive his deception? Can he keep them both safe from the danger that continues to threaten her? And are these two enough for each other to stop their wandering and find something permanent together?

Who are you, really, Sebastian? Besides the stranger who strolled in and seized my heart?

I really enjoyed this book. Like I said, it’s not a conventional romance, and these two aren’t your usual couple, but I really liked the feeling of danger and edginess that underpinned the story. The crime element ties it in to the other books in the series, but Ivy and Sebastian are so very different, it makes the story unique, and I really like that. KA Tucker’s writing is spot on as usual, getting us right into the hearts of her characters and even though they aren’t the overly-emotional types, there is a lot of heart to this book, and it’s a really nice balance of well-developed characters living a gritty/alternative lifestyle, crime, mystery, sizzling hot chemistry, and edgy romance.

It’s a great read – 4 stars.

 

Burying Water series