Bend (The Water Series Book 1) by Kivrin Wilson.
Surprise!!
Two posts in one night. I’m on a roll. I have an anatomy test at 8 A.M. Monday (tomorrow, technically) morning, but here I am at 3 A.M. on a Sunday writing another book review. Phew. I need to get my priorities straight.
This week on book reviews: Bend. It’s part of a series called The Waters which cracks me up because when I was younger, I watched this show called Avatar: The Last Airbender. Every time I see the title, I think Water Bender and then I crack up some more.
As a nursing student myself, I love stories where my main c’s are in the medical field. Mia (h) is a nurse practitioner (ironically, also what my ultimate goal is) and Jay is a handsome doctor in his second year of residency. Jay has these amazing blue eyes, according to the author. I’m mentioning this because I’m sitting here wondering if that’s why it’s part of The Waters Series? I mean, it takes place in SoCal, so there’s that. I don’t know. She focused on his blue eyes a lot (not that I’m complaining, I’m a specific reader. I like reading about eyes. There are the windows to the soul after all. Chris has beautiful hazel eyes. When he wears black or green, they look greener. God, I love staring into his eyes. I’m blushing. I like eyes, okay?)
MIA
Jay Bradshaw. My boyfriend’s best friend.
He was never supposed to be anything more—until he was.
When my college boyfriend betrayed me and left, breaking my heart, Jay picked a side. He chose me. He stayed, and for the past six years, he’s been my rock, my anchor, my compass…
Now we’ve grown up, finished school, and have careers. Me as a nurse practitioner; Jay as a doctor. He’s been everything I needed, but now I want more. I can’t stop thinking about him, and I’m done hiding it.
It’s time to find out if he wants me, too.
JAY
A friend. Not a lover. That’s who Mia Waters is to me.
I’ve tried damn hard to make sure our relationship stays that way. I’m the shoulder she leans on, the last one to talk to her before she goes to sleep at night… And after six years, she means more to me than my own family.
The moment I met her, I wanted her. But she belonged to someone else, so I pushed the need down. I didn’t take what I wanted. I’m not that guy. Her happiness meant more.
Until now. Until she asks me a question that shatters our unspoken boundaries. Have you ever thought about having sex with me? Six years of keeping her at arm’s length, and I can feel myself starting to give in and lose control with her.
I can’t let it happen. There are reasons I didn’t get close. She hasn’t let go of her ex-boyfriend, not really. And she has no idea about the lies I’ve told her.
What if she finds out about me? What if she finds out who I really am?
And what will she do when I leave?
*****SPOILERS AHEAD*****
Jay and Mia have been strictly friends for six years. Jay was Mia’s boyfriend’s roommate/best friend. She thought he was hot, but it meant nothing to her because she was in love with Matt (bf). (She compares finding Jay attractive while in a relationship to seeing a nice car, she appreciated it, but it’s just a passing car.) Matt was a douche. He cheated on Mia and Jay had to choose a side (like most friends have too. Sad, but true). He chose Mia (thank goodness) but only as a friend. They both felt something for each other, but alas, Jay thinks Mia isn’t over Matt (six years later?! Jay, please). What sets the book in motion is when Mia asks Jay a simple, yet very complicated question.
Have you ever thought about having sex with me?
It took me forever to finish this book. As previously stated, if I get into a book, it’s read in a couple hours, tops. This took me four or five days on and off to read. I’m super strict about DNF. I always try to finish books because I hope something will develop and change my mind.
I didn’t like this book as much as I felt like I should have. It had all the perfect components to it, but it didn’t deliver. For starters, I didn’t like either of the main characters from the get-go. Mia is stupid and Jay is a total jerk. These were adults. One with a masters and one with a doctorate, yet they acted like they were in high school. It was annoying. What’s even worse was they would acknowledge that they were acting childish/immature/petty but since they admitted it, it was okay. It seemed like the author wanted the reader to know she didn’t want them coming off as immature (didn’t work #sorrynotsorry).
Another thing that ground my gears was character development. There was none. It was nonexistent. I felt like if you tore the book in half, the beginning would seem like a completely different book than the end. The actions of Jay seemed so off the wall at the end that I was trying to figure out how/when his character became this super sweet guy. It was so sudden (it could’ve had something to do with him feeling like the world wasn’t on his shoulders anymore??). Mia was still immature though. One second she was trying to piss Jay off, then she was trying to take his pants off.
I skimmed a lot. It was boring. Too many unnecessary details. Pages of text that, if removed, would not take away from the book at all.
I really liked the storyline, but I just wish it was written better. I won’t be reading the next book in the series. It’s about Paige, Mia’s older sister, and her ex-husband (separated, not divorced). It has what I would consider cheating and adults acting like children, so no. Sorry Wilson, I’m sure you have plenty of fans and it saddens me to say I’m not one of them. Keep writing though. Never give up!
Rating?
One out of five stars.
XOXO Kaysee Castor
No copyright intended. Use of the material in this book is for an honest review only. I do not own anything here except my opinion.