Still Waters by Emma Carlson Berne

⭐️

Synopsis

Hannah can't wait to sneak off for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend, Colin. He’s leaving for college soon, and Hannah wants their trip to the lake house to be one they’ll never forget. 

But once Hannah and Colin get there, things start to seem a bit...off. They can't find the town on any map. The house they are staying in looks as if someone's been living there, even though it's been deserted for years. And Colin doesn’t seem quite himself. As he grows more unstable, Hannah worries about Colin’s dark side, and her own safety. 

Dear Lordt

This book was soooo unorganized that it’s funny. The plot was all over the place. Things were happening that didn’t make sense. I’m super disappointed because the author had a great idea that could have been executed way more proficiently. It took me forever to finish this book simply because it just wasn’t grabbing my attention. There are so many reasons that contribute to the suckiness of this book that I don't even know where to start. 

Characters

The dialogue was so dry and inappropriate for the age of the two main characters. I kept feeling like Hannah and Colin were forty year olds instead of teenagers. There was way too much internal dialogue and Colin hardly spoke. This couple was the most boring couple in book history. 

Hannah was hands down the most annoying female character I have ever had the misfortune of coming across. This girl has been dating this guy for two years and still can’t tell him that she loves him. Soooo stupid. 

Unorganized Climax

So it takes a dilapidated, worn out lake house to bring this story to a climax. A house that Colin—might I add— didn’t even want to go to in the first place. Which he made verbally clear to his childish girlfriend. Colin starts having these episodes with no warning or easing into them. It’s just full on chaos. 

At first I thought it was just that the house was haunted or whatever. But no, it’s something much more unorthoxeod. His case of PTSD is severe but here’s the kicker. He’s taken someone else’s identity completely, which really doesn’t make sense. It’s so far fetched. He’s talking to Hannah as if she’s another girl. Making references to things that never happened and etc. 

The ending provides no answers, ultimately. We get no explanations from his parents who have seemed to play a huge role in why he had this awful experience. And at the end, Hannah finally tells him she loves him…