Gathering Water by Regan Claire

In anticipation of the final book in the Gathering Water trilogy being released in just ONE WEEK! I’ve decided to share my reviews for the whole series!!  Here’s what I thought of the first book.

Synopsis:
Della Doe Deare isn’t like most people. Most people begin their life on the day they enter the world; the day they’re born. Della, well, hers began on the day she turned eighteen. After all, it was the day she first heard her real name, and that of her mothers. With nothing but a couple of duffel bags and a folder full of questions, she travels home to coastal North Carolina to claim the house she inherited from a grandmother she never knew. She has two goals: discover why her mother ran away from home all those years ago, and avoid the family that had left her to rot in an inept foster care system. Hard to do when the family she’s been trying to avoid is dragging her into an unimaginable world… a world on the brink of war, and both sides want her dead. All Della ever wanted was to know who she was, but the journey to self-discovery might just lead to her destruction.

Find it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20693807-gathering-water
Order it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LhJkrY

My Review:
4 stars — I received an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

OK, this one started off really slow for me. I was seriously getting worried that I wasn’t going to like it as much as my friends did!! I can honestly say that the first 40% of the story was only a 3 star for me. But holy cow, when it took off, it took off with a bang!! I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning devouring the rest of the book — a SOLID 5 star plus!! Seriously, I couldn’t stop thinking about it once it was finished…

So, let’s get the meh part out of the way — I’m still trying to figure out what exactly wasn’t working for me. I found it really hard to get a read on Della personality wise….she just seemed very flat. And some of her initial reactions to the situations didn’t feel genuine….like, more like I was *told* how she freaked out when she learned of her new powers, but I didn’t see it in her actions and stuff. Thankfully, once Ms. Claire found her groove the characters truly developed, and the story just took over my imagination. So if you’ve started this book and been feeling like me, STICK WITH IT! You won’t be disappointed!!

Seriously, the chemistry between Della and Cash was hilarious — it made me want a cousin like Cash to hang out with. And while there wasn’t a lot of movement in the romance between Della and Dove, what was there was so sweet and perfect. That boy just makes me happy *sigh*. I’m still not entirely sure about Uncle Connor and Luke — there’s so much that’s hinted at with Luke and Toby’s story, and I just really want to know what is up with them. I can’t help but love them, but feel wary of them all at the same time.

I LOVED the magical world that we were dropped into — it was a bit confusing at the beginning, but the terms were reiterated and explained and once the book finished I felt I really had a grasp on their powers. The cheat sheet at the end was perfection. Definitely a new and unique world that was well developed.

The action had me on the edge of my seat….seriously, the clash with the Clade was basically the point where everything fell into place, and I got a better feel for who Della was as a person.

I thought the foreshadowing in the book was well done as well…I mean, I would like to tell myself I am just utterly intelligent and figured out the Father mystery b/c I’m so smart, but there were some well placed hints throughout the book so you felt like you had a leg up on the mystery at times.

I’m not huge on cliffhanger endings, but this wasn’t like a Buffy season 5 cliffhanger…. It was more of a setup sneak peak on where the series will be heading. I cannot WAIT until the next book is out….so sucked in, and have so many theories of where it’s going!!

So in conclusion — READ THIS!! It is a fabulous start to what will be an epic new paranormal series.