A review by booksandmeforevermore13
Shattered Sea by Catherine Cowles

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Laiken had her life planned out with the boy she had known all her life and wanted to spend the rest of it with. She had her friends, her boyfriend, and his family, who had all but taken her in as their own. But one night, one choice changed everything and left permanent scars—both emotional and physical. Now, a decade later, she uses that pain as inspiration for her art while also trying to make up for all the guilt and regrets she still holds and all the lives it has impacted. 

Boden has been in the limelight all his life. But when things in his personal life become public knowledge during an already difficult time, he decides to take a break and go to Wolf Gap to avoid all the paparazzi and chaos, while also doing some research work for his next project.

He comes across an art gallery while wandering around the town, where a certain piece catches his eye with how it captures the raw emotions and pain that seems to resonate with his own pain. This is where he meets Laiken, who seems to understand and relate to the art in the same way as him, which sparks his interest in knowing more about what has that haunted look in her eyes.

But things get dangerous when Laiken's past comes back to hunt her, threatening to finish what had started a decade ago.

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The prologue had me crying. It was so intense, and even though I knew what was going to happen, I still kept hoping for a different outcome.

Laiken was such a strong, resilient, brave, and committed character. After having gone through so much and having lost so much, Laiken still pushed forward, trying to do her best. She had lasting repercussions from her accident that changed her life permanently, but she doesn't let it define her or lean on it as an excuse. She holds on to a lot of guilt over what went down all those years ago, which permanently impacted her relationship with everyone who was important to her, and she is still trying to make amends.

Boden has scars and regrets from his past and how his choices led to losing someone he loved. His relationship with his brother has reached its saturation point after all these years of trying to mend things with him. After spending all his life in the limelight, he finds the quiet and calmness of Wolf Gap refreshing and addictive, where the people see him for him and not what he can do for them. After his first interaction with Laiken, he feels a pull towards her with how she seems to understand pain and loss and wants to know more about her.

Laiken took her time warming up to Boden because she didn't want to feel something for someone again, only for him to walk away once he was done with the research. But when Boden gives her pieces of himself to make her feel more comfortable, she realizes that they are similar in so many ways and eventually opens up to him.

I truly loved the way Boden took care of her throughout the book because of her struggles. He also always put himself in the path of danger to protect Laiken. I loved how both their dogs were inseparable and super adorable. 

However, the romance aspect of this book felt a bit rushed given how Boden and Laiken were strangers. I felt like it progressed too quickly, and I couldn't properly relate to them as a couple. Yes, there seemed to be an initial connection through art and how they could relate to the hardships they'd both been through, but it still felt a bit rushed given how soon they fell for each other.

Also, both their situations seemed a little too similar, with their thoughts about their ex and how both Jase and Boden had a rocky relationship with their brothers. And especially after that prologue, I didn't like how Laiken downplayed her relationship with Jase, stating how maybe they were just better off as friends and maybe the romance wouldn't have worked out if Jase was still alive. I mean, I would've preferred if she had simply moved on rather than saying that.

I enjoyed the mystery in this book the most. The suspense was really intense in this one compared to the rest of the books in this series, and I was guessing till the very end, but I didn't see that coming.

From the glimpses of Ramsey we got in this book, I'm eager for his and Shiloh's book.