So, this started off so good and then around the 30 percent mark started to flounder. Coates is a great writer, the story just drags. I started to get impatient while reading and then the story felt like it was stuck at a certain point. The ending is abrupt as well. 

"The Water Dancer" follows Hiram Walker. A son of a slave and the master of the house, Hiram dreams of being "Quality." Hiram also dreams of his father looking at him the way he looks at his half-brother Maynard. As Hiram gets older and is being groomed to take care of Maynard, a tragedy unfolds leaving Hiram realizing that he needs to get away and get freedom in the Underground. The book follows Hiram as he goes through trials and tribulations along with some magical realism thrown in. 

Hiram was an interesting character, but I started to grow bored with him towards the end of the book. The book flip flops around regarding freedom and the Underground and then weirdly sticks on a romance for the the last 40 percent of the book. I really wish we had gotten more of a glimpse into the character Sophia's mind.  

Not too much to say about other characters, they don't seem very developed. Hawkins and Corrine just talked like riddles and I got tired of reading their dialogue.

The writing at first evoked a lot of feelings in me, but once we get to Hiram's escape and then capture again the book just dragged from then on. Also the whole Underground that is described in this book made zero sense to me and I started to get irritated while reading.

Not too much to say here besides feeling disappointed. Maybe tighter editing could have helped smooth things out. 

Three tributes to T.S. Eliot, two very short, one too long...

Hughes' approach to literature is a bizarre amalgum of comparative mythology and assumed symbolism - whether deliberate or subconcious on the author's part. It's entirely alien to me. Perhaps I would understand it better if I re-capitulated Hughes' education in mythology and anthropology but I doubt I would relate to it any better. Hence the longest of these essays was kinda wasted on me. The second, howver, departs from Hughes' norm and talks about the structure of The Wasteland and I found it a lot more accessible and useful. I could have done with more of that.

Meet the Author:

Rebecca Brooks lives in New York City in an apartment filled with books. She received a PhD in English but decided it was more fun to write books than write about them. She has backpacked alone through India and Brazil, traveled by cargo boat down the Amazon River, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, explored ice caves in Peru, trekked to the source of the Ganges, and sunbathed in Burma, but she always likes coming home to a cold beer and her hot husband in the Bronx. She likes outdoorsy guys with both muscle and heart and independent women ready to try something new.

About the Book:

Falling head-first into the wrong woman’s bed was not how Reed Bishop’s night was supposed to go. Now a gorgeous, half-naked ballet dancer was threatening his manhood…with a book. He can’t blame her.

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Wrong Bed, Right Girl by Rebecca Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is book #2, in the Accidental Love series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader understanding and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.

Talia has just won her freedom. Another dancer in her troupe has left from an emergency, she gets a small apartment and principal position. Then she abruptly meets him.

Reed is just doing his job. If he does not do his due diligence, people die. He wants to solve this case without losing innocent lives. Then he meets her.

The attraction for both of them is immediate. The chemistry is spot on and the heat just builds. I loved that we learned about both of them as individuals, and that they brought out more in each other. Had great humor, and yet was still serious and sweet at times.


***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley and its publisher.

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This is book #2, in the Accidental Love series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader understanding and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.

Talia has just won her freedom.  Another dancer in her troupe has left from an emergency, she gets a small apartment and principal position.  Then she abruptly meets him.

Reed is just doing his job.  If he does not do his due diligence, people die.  He wants to solve this case without losing innocent lives.  Then he meets her.  

The attraction for both of them is immediate.  The chemistry is spot on and the heat just builds.  I loved that we learned about both of them as individuals, and that they brought out more in each other.  Had great humor, and yet was still serious and sweet at times.  I give this a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley and its publisher.