Abandoned by Booklikes

"Rising Tides" is Ethan Quinn's story and the strongest in the Chesapeake Bay series. I have to say though that the whole thing with Seth's biological mother has gotten beyond stupid at this point. There's a lot of things going on that I wonder why the police haven't become involved. We still have the magical realism elements popping up in this book that don't really work with everything else going on. Cameron is now married in this one and he and Anna are only in the last half of the book. Phillip barely feels real in this one and even when he is the subject of his own book still feels fake to me. 

Ethan Quinn is quiet and loyal. He loves being on the water and now is turning his hand at helping his brothers with their hand made boating business. That said, this book is pretty hard to read since it deals with child rape. Though Phillip and Cameron's childhood stories are tough to read about, Ethan's definitely affected me. Ethan feels as if what happened to him as a child now makes him unclean and unworthy of love as an adult. When childhood friend Grace Monroe finally makes her feelings for Ethan known, they stumble along to something, though Ethan is reluctant to have things become permanent.

I did like Ethan for most of this book, and then I didn't at times. His talking down to Grace after she is almost assaulted was definitely one of those times. I really got tired of the men in this series and how they supposedly talked to women they cared about. At least he apologized though so that was something. Ethan is probably the brother that gets Seth the most so it was great to see the scenes involving them together. And Ethan telling Seth about his past has Seth opening up even more about things. 

Grace was great and I felt for her. A young woman who had dreams of dancing that were taken away by her parents, she married a man she didn't really love who left her when she was about to give birth. She is now raising her 18 month old daughter on her own while working several jobs. I hated how Ethan and even other people acted like Grace was acting too prideful when her father treated her like dirt because she was pregnant before marrying, and is now divorced. 

The writing was strong in this one, though the flow was off here and there. I think there were too many things going on with Seth's mother, the insurance company still, rumors about Ray Quinn, etc. When the book just focused on Ethan and Grace and their budding romance it really works.

The ending did make me laugh and sigh at times though. Ethan finally gets told about himself and it finally starts to sink in that what was done to him as a child doesn't have to shape the rest of his life.