At The Water's Edge by Sara Gruen | Good Book Fairy Reviews

At The Waters Edge by Sara Gruen– 368 pages

Book Blurb:

After embarrassing themselves at the social event of the year in high society Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve of 1942, Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off financially by Ellis’s father, a former army Colonel who is already embarrassed by his son’s inability to serve in WWII due to his being colorblind. To Maddie’s horror, Ellis decides that the only way to regain his father’s favor is to succeed in a venture his father attempted and very publicly failed at: he will hunt the famous Loch Ness monster and when he finds it he will restore his father’s name and return to his father’s good graces (and pocketbook). Joined by their friend Hank, a wealthy socialite, the three make their way to Scotland in the midst of war. Each day the two men go off to hunt the monster, while another monster, Hitler, is devastating Europe. And Maddie, now alone in a foreign country, must begin to figure out who she is and what she wants. The novel tells of Maddie’s social awakening: to the harsh realities of life, to the beauties of nature, to a connection with forces larger than herself, to female friendship, and finally, to love.

My Review: 3.5

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I’m torn on this review as I wonder if I’d had a different opinion if I didn’t know Sara Gruen wrote it. Her previous book, Water for Elephants, was a strong 4/5 review and although I enjoyed this book, there was a lack a depth that I’d expected from this author.

Storyline was good and I will never complain about a book set in the Highlands of Scotland. For that alone, they should make a movie of this one! I had no idea that the blackouts and rationing reached this far into Scotland.

The three flawed Americans we’re an entertaining trio to read about however it was easy to know that there was a very unusual love triangle at hand. The attraction between Maddie and Angus didn’t come alive for me as much as I wanted it to. I think she was just in need of a real man to have sex with and he filled the void, no pun intended.

There were many storylines going on and most worked well together: survival, class differences, war, romance, abuse; however the history of the Loch Ness and and how it relates to Ellis’s dad just seemed far-fetched. Many monsters, both real and symbolically filled these pages.

Overall, this is a good read, light and enjoyable.