Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I’m using last week’s prompt, which was: Titles That Would Make Good Band Names.
1. The Royal We
6. Ninth House
Tag Archives: The Killing Tide
Most Disappointing Reads of 2019
I feel like 2019 was an overall disappointing reading year for me. There were several books I was really looking forward to and they just let me down. The following are the books I had the highest expectations for and ended up giving only 2 or 3 stars.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Killing Tide by Dani Pettrey
99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne
Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins
Woman in the Water by Katerina Diamond
The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
What are some of your disappointing reads from 2019?
Review: The Killing Tide (Coastal Guardians #1) by Dani Pettrey
Synopsis from Goodreads:
When one Coast Guard officer is found dead and another goes missing, Coast Guard Investigative Service special agent Finn Walker faces his most dangerous crime yet. His only clues are what little evidence remains aboard the dead officer’s boat, and the direction the clues point to will test Finn and the Guard to their limits.
When investigative reporter–and Finn’s boss’s sister–Gabby Rowley arrives, her unrelenting questions complicate an already volatile situation. Now that she’s back, the tug on Finn’s heart is strong, but with the risks she’s taking for her next big story, he fears she might not live through it.
Thrown together by the heinous crime, Finn and Gabby can’t ignore the sparks or judgments flying between them. But will they be able to see past their preconceptions long enough to track down an elusive killer, or will they become his next mark
I received a copy of this title via the publisher. It does not impact my review.
The Killing Tide will be available August 6, 2019.
It’s always a disappointing thing when a book by one of your favorite authors doesn’t end up working for you. This was the case for me and The Killing Tide.
What I Liked
-I thought the actual mystery aspect of the story was well done. It was pretty well-paced and Pettrey did a good job of weaving together multiple cases.
-I liked the setting and that many of the main characters are in the Coast Guard. That’s something new I haven’t read a lot of before and I found it pretty interesting.
-I thought Pettrey did a good job with incorporating the characters’ faith in into the story. There wasn’t really any big lesson, it was just daily life and I liked that.
What Didn’t Work for Me
-Gabby drove me crazy for pretty much this whole book. The first time we meet her she narrowly escapes an attempt on her life and she ends up going to her brother so he and his Coast Guard friends can help protect her. But then she fights against the notion of needing to be protected the whole time and continually runs away from the people who are supposed to be watching her, which I just found really annoying and selfish. And her whole defense is that she needs to chase the story because God made her passionate about it and to ask her not to do it is wrong. Um, pretty sure that’s not how God works. She just really, really rubbed me the wrong way and pretty much ruined the book for me.
-The romance didn’t really work for me. We find out that prior to the events of this book, Gabby and Finn had started a relationship, which was cut short when Gabby moved away. They both already had strong feelings for each other when the story starts and so we miss all of the build up. I never really felt their chemistry when they’re reunited and so I never got invested in them as a couple.
-There are a lot of characters that are thrown out in the beginning. I had a really hard time keeping them straight. It took about half the book before I could start to tell them all apart. While I don’t have a problem with any of them, none of them really stood out to me as someone I would be excited to read about next.
-I think my biggest problem with the book, though, is the way that Gabby was involved in the official investigation. Let me preface this by saying Gabby is not in law enforcement, she is a reporter. Throughout the story Finn has her help him process a crime scene where there were multiple murders, she uses Coast Guard computers to do her own research on the case, she accompanies Finn while he is investigating leads and persons of interest, and she is part of debriefing sessions of multiple cases. And the reason for all this? She’s incorrigible and would just go out and investigate on her own if they didn’t include her, so might as well keep an eye on her. THIS IS NOT HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT WORKS. My brother is a police officer and I talked to him about some of these things and asked what would happen if he involved a civilian like this while working. He would be fired. I understand for the sake of fiction there are certain allowances made, but I feel this is just way too unbelievable. And this is a complaint I have about several books by this author.
Overall
Overall, The Killing Tide was just not for me. Even though the pace seemed steady and there was a lot of action, I found myself bored for most of the book. I found Gabby so unlikable that it made it hard to get through the story at times. However, everyone I know that has read this have all really loved it, so it might just be me and my mood. I do plan on reading more from Pettrey in the future and am hoping my experience with this book is just an anomaly.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 2.5 Stars
WWW Wednesday: July 10, 2019
WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.
What are you currently reading?
The Killing Tide (Coastal Guardians #1) by Dani Pettrey. I’ve really enjoyed other books by this author, but this one just isn’t clicking with me so far. I think it’s partly due to this mood I’m in, but also because I find the female lead REALLY unlikable. I’m hoping it gets better for me, though, especially since I’m supposed to be part of the Suspense Squad to promote it.
What did you recently finish reading?
Bred by Ginger Scott. This was an addictive read and enjoyable, but not quite as enjoyable as I wanted it to be.
What do you think you’ll read next?
The Summer of Sunshine & Margot by Susan Mallery. I have this from the library, so I want to get to it before it expires, but I’m not sure if I’m in the right mood for it.
What are you reading?
Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is: Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019.
1. Shamed (Kate Burkholder #11) by Linda Castillo. Publishing July 16, 2019.
2. Dark Age (Red Rising #5) by Pierce Brown. Publishing July 30, 2019.
3. Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins. Publishing August 6, 2019.
4. The Killing Tide (Coastal Guardians #1) by Dani Pettrey. Publishing August 6, 2019.
5. The Last Widow (Will Trent #9) by Karin Slaughter. Publishing August 20, 2019.
6. Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay. Publishing September 17, 2019.
7. Where Do I Begin? by Elvis Duran. Publishing October 1, 2019.
8. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. Publishing October 1, 2019.
9. The Burning Shadow (Origin #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Publishing October 8, 2019.
10. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Publishing November 5, 2019.
Stephanie's Book Reviews 