*ARC* Undertow - Review

Undertow (Dragonfly #2)

By: Leigh T. Moore

Published: July 18, 2013

337 pages

Source: ARC given by Netgalley for review from publisher (Thanks!)

(Goodreads / Amazon)

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Summary:

"An incredibly powerful sequel to Dragonfly. I found myself riveted to the last page by the dept of feeling, loss, tragedy, and love in this gorgeously woven story. This is a definite must-read." --Jolene Perry, author of Out of Play

Falling in love will pull you under...

Bill Kyser has a plan to take the sandy farms of his hometown and turn them into a world-class tourist destination--and become a billionaire in the process.
Alexandra "Lexy" LaSalle has a plan to change her life by becoming a world-famous artist.
Meg Weaver has a plan to hold onto Bill no matter what she has to do.

Three friends, three dreams.
One fatal decision will change all their lives forever.

In Dragonfly, Bill Kyser gave Anna the three journals that held the story behind the powerful developer's seclusion and the damaged lives of his family members. 

Anna hoped to find a way for Julian to know the truth, but as she digs deeper into the tragic events of the past, she realizes silence could be the only option. 

Now she's in an alliance with the man she formerly feared. And if Julian finds out what she knows, she could lose for good the boy she's starting to love.

MY REVIEW:
Book 2 starts during Christmas break of Anna's senior year of high school.  She is still trying to figure out her feelings for Jack and Julian.  Mainly whether or not she still loves Jack because she won't allow herself to act on any feelings for Julian until she knows, wanting to be fair to him.  In the beginning of the book she hasn't read the journals that Jack's Dad, Bill Kyser, has given her due to not having alone time to do so.  Fairly quickly into the story though she begins to read them and the reader is then taken back in time along with Anna to when Bill, Meg (Jack's mom) and Lexy (Julian's mom) were teens through their mid 20's.  One thing is certain, they were some ambitious young people and we get to see how they achieved their success so quickly.  These journals will supposedly explain why Anna should trust Jack's Dad and his decision of silence.  But by reading them she is put into the middle of a web of lies that could potentially destroy the relationships she has built with Bill Kyser's children.

I was disappointed with this turn of events in book 2.  After getting immersed in the story line of Anna, Jack and Julian I really wanted to know what happened next with them.  This installment in the series doesn't get any closer to the resolution of their story but rather just gives the back story of the parents.  I feel like these journals would've made better novella's, perhaps each one having its own, rather than a whole book dedicated to them.

Having said that, I did enjoy reading about their past and the decisions they each made that led them to where they are present day.  Learning about their past definitely makes the reader more sympathetic towards them.  The challenge is to try not to be judgmental towards any of them because they were all at fault for misguided intentions.

Favorite Quotes:
"...nature was the perpetual evidence of God's power and his love for us.  I could hear them say it demonstrated the breadth of his range, that he could create something as complex and destructive as a human being, yet also something as life-giving and beautiful as a flower."

"The journey of a thousand miles began with a single step.  The road to hell was paved with good intentions.  Intentions were not actions.  It was the action that puts you on the other road.  The road to heaven.  The road to winning."

"And then she goes behind my back and does this.  In my own home, in my bed.  The one place where I should feel safe."

"Lies were what had led to the end of their story, and I hated bringing lies into ours."

Final Rating - 3.5 stars

This post is part of the ARC Thursday featured on Words Fueled by Love.