Synopsis:

Innocence marked her…

Violation crippled her…

Love left her raw…

The life she carefully rebuilt is challenged when she is confronted with the sins from her past. The carefully applied protection is at once ripped away, leaving her exposed and vulnerable.

Her single night of indulgence with the silver-eyed stranger is only the beginning. He sees right to the heart of her and she is unable to ward off emotions that have been deeply buried. With the sting of betrayal still fresh in her soul, she’s surprised to find herself opening up to the honest integrity of the sharp-eyed, rough-looking biker.

When he lost everyone who mattered, he was left without roots and learned to be content simply living in the moment. Completely unprepared for the feisty blonde bartender with old pain marring her clear-blue eyes, he questions his own rules of detachment, as she unwittingly finds a way under his skin.

Appearances deceive and when the masks fall away, revealing deep, dark secrets, there is nothing left but to hang onto each other and survive the storm.

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“Cruel Water” (Portland, ME, #2)

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Other book in the PORTLAND, ME, series:

“From Dust” (#1)

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BLP REVIEWS

Tracy  ~  I wish I was better at writing reviews. At times, I struggle to eloquently write what I need to, to fully convey my thoughts and feeling about a read…. hell, I’ve done my best with this and hope you understand what I’m trying to say!!

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I’m sure we all have a ‘go to’ list of authors whose books we 1-c without even needing to read the blurb. The books that, while they may be emotional and heart-wrecking roller-coaster rides, they help lift us or bring us out of a book funk… Since I read her first ever book, Freya Barker has been way up there on my list of faves ‘go to’ authors!

I flove the Cedar Tree series that Freya also writes but have to admit that the Portland, ME series is fast becoming my out-and-out favourite!

Freya has a tremendous ability to bring her characters and their situations to life in a very realistic and believable way. She writes about likable people who you can feel a pull and connection to, who have multiple layers. They run a gamut of emotions and show and experience feelings and sensations that we can all, to varying degrees, relate to. Some have difficult pasts and histories that have cut deep, caused scars, pain and damage that they hide so well but that, on occasion, come back to haunt or taunt them.

We got an inkling from meeting Viv in ‘From Dust’ (book 1) that something dark and devastating had happened in her past and that behind the smile and lightness there lurked a pain and darkness that, under the wrong circumstances, could pull her under. I loved her and my heart broke for how she felt, what she had gone through and where she could end up without the support, love and care she so deserved.

Ike had experienced his share of pain, loss and guilt and was himself lost and adrift, in need of someone to lighten his life, anchor him and heal the pain he feels.

Our couple had, what was supposed to be, a blistering one night stand but, as is often the case with life, this turned out not to be the case and they were brought together again.
They were two broken people with shattered hearts who were perfect for each other and, if they could overcome their fears and doubts, they could become whole again.

Their story, especially Viv’s, was raw, devastating and heart shredding but so powerful, emotionally charged and captivating that you can’t help but be swept up in the tsunami of feelings and emotions that it evokes and hope like hell you survive the experience.

The inclusion of character we met in the previous book – the staff at The Skipper, Pam (Viv’s friend and therapist), along with Viv’s brothers, the various friends and bar patrons all add to the palpable sense of family, community and friendship that Freya builds in her books.

The attraction, heat, passion and sexual pull between our main characters is intense and the sex is off the charts hot. One of my favourite things about Freya’s storytelling is the very healthy injection of desire, sexual appetite and need that her characters display, regardless of the age ~ as in real life, just because they are no longer horny teenagers doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have active and fulfilling sex lives!! 😉

I absolutely adored ‘Cruel Water’. It’s another fantastic installment in the series and I give it 5 much deserved stars!

Rebecca

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More from Freya Barker:

CEDAR TREE SERIES:

Slim To None (#1)

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Hundred To One (#2)

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Against Me (#3)

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Clean Lines (#4)

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Upper Hand (#5)

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Like Arrows (#6)

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Author Bio:

Freya Barker inspires with her stories about ‘real’ people, perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy.
A recipient of the RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for best first book, “Slim To None,” Freya has since published eight books. She continues to spin story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

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