OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Feeling of Water" by Tyler Pike.]

Karan is a shy, disfigured girl who still suffers hallucinations and panic attacks due to an awful accident six months ago. In her hallucination, she remembers (or at least thinks she remembers) what happened during the accident - she ended up somehow in freezing water struggling for her life as her father drowns beside her, but then her father pulls her out of the water and saved her. But that can't be right, she thinks to herself, unable to even trust the few memories she has.

One day, at the restaurant where her and her dad frequently go, she begins talking to a girl named Alice. She's a mysterious girl with magnificent eyes that almost don't seem natural, and she convinces her to try to get over her fear of swimming. At a pool the next morning, after being forcefully thrown into the water by Alice, she learns not only is she not afraid of water, she absolutely loves it and is a masterful swimmer, despite her father saying she never swam in her life. Questions are raised: is her father who he says he is even though her life suddenly feels like a lie? Is Alice someone she can trust, despite Alice somehow knowing things she shouldn't possibly be able to know about her?

The Feeling of Water is billed appropriately as a psychological thriller. Every moment seems to contradict previous knowledge to some extent, and since the book is less than 100 pages it just moves from surprise to surprise almost nonstop. Unlike most thrillers, the book is still suitable for the YA crowd, and the book is both easy to devour in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyable to read. It also does a magnificent job of making the reader want more.

Wanting more is good, because this is actually book two in the Alice Brickstone series. I was concerned upon learning it was book two, but the "about the book" section states that although it's book 2, both books 1 and 2 can be read in any order and don't spoil anything about the other book. The author even suggests on his website that folks should read this one first as it's shorter, which worked out perfectly. As such, there's not a single moment in which the reader is left confused, and the book has a perfect conclusion.

The author does a fantastic job with the descriptiveness in the book, but especially so during tense moments like describing the accident hallucination and the moments when Karan swims for the first time. I'm happy to give the book 4 out of 4 stars due to the overall, consistent enjoyment of the book. The only flaws I could find were that it's a little predictable at one point and there was one grammatical error I found.

Finally, while it had no bearing on my review score or the review itself, at the end of the book there was a page that says that by signing up for the author's newsletter, you'll get both this book and book one in the series for free. I signed up and sure enough, within about 5 minutes I had a free copy of book one and another link to a copy of this one as well. I couldn't even find the book for sale, and it's a pretty awesome way to get started on a series and see whether it's for you or not!

******
The Feeling of Water
View: on Bookshelves

Like CataclysmicKnight's review? Post a comment saying so!

Fantastic review, CataclysmicKnight! You'll note that the mailing list opt-in that you mentioned only promised "part one" of book one in the series, which includes only about 1/3 of that book, but I'm happy to send you the full novel anytime. Just drop me an email. Cheers, Tyler

Great review, CataclysmicKnight! Sounds like a great book and one that I would enjoy!
Congratulations to Tyler Pike for such a positive review!
Also, through that website, I was able to download two books. Thank you! Can't wait to start reading them!

Thanks, Hsimone, I hope you like the books. If you want a full copy of Girl in the Air, let me know and I'll send it to you or send you an Amazon gift voucher for it.

This book sounds really intriguing. I just downloaded it and will have to give it a try...it seems like it will be a quick read which is something I need at the moment.

I downloaded the books as well, thank you.

Congratulations to the author on the positive review.

Just a reminder, members of the review team are prohibited from having private conversations with any authors who have requested a review (Review Team Guidelines, Policies, and Terms).

Great review, sounds like my kind of book! Have also downloaded The Feeling of Water.

Congratulations Tyler Pike!

Sounds like a very very interesting book. I like it already. Will be checking it on Amazon right now. Congratulations to Tyler Pike on such an obviously well written book. Great review.

Thanks for your interest , Kimmyschemy. Love to hear how you go with it.

Oh hey, this is awesome! Loving all this interest in the book! and that's a very good thing to point out, Gali.

I recently finished reading this book and Girl in the Air, the first in the series. I loved both! Thank you for peaking my interest, CataclysmicKnight!

Great review. I liked the way you wrote the review and you made me interested in reading the book.