Review: Four and a half stars for Aesa & Decker!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 15, 2014
A beautifully written, emotional, original romance. So different from everything else around at the moment.Four and a half stars for Aesa & Decker!I absolutely loved the atmosphere of this book. I felt like I could smell the sea salt, feel the spray on my face and hear the crashing waves! Amber Lynn Natusch does a superb job of really drawing the reader into the lives of these Alaskan fishermen and their families, beginning with that absolutely beautiful cover.Twenty seven year old Aesa (pronounced Ice-Ah) Frederikson ran away from her father and the life she’d always know, nine years ago. She ran from everything she lost and the cruel, unrelenting Bering Sea that took it from her. Her relationship with her father was strained, to say the least, due in large part to his unconditional love for the ocean and his job as a crabber.“The smell of the sea called to a part of me – somewhere deep in my DNA. I wanted to hate it, fight it, but I could not. With eyes closed, I stood on the shore of the Bering Sea and reflexively inhaled the salty sweetness that stole my childhood, my mother, and nearly my sanity.”However, nine years on and Aesa is swallowing her fear and her pride and returning to try and repair the relationship with the only family she has. When Aesa decides to accompany her father on his ship, she encounters so much more than she bargains for. Not only does she begin to build bridges with her father, she also finds a man who will cause her great conflict. Decker. (pronounced Swit-Swoo) A man she could fall in love with, but a man who is everything she has always wanted to avoid… a fisherman, a man who needs the sea like the rest of us need air and a man who will spend weeks or months apart from her, risking his life every day, if she were to pursue a relationship with him. But nevertheless, a man who she connects with like nobody she’s met before.The majority of the first part of this book is more about life on board the ship and less about the romance between Decker and Aesa. Their relationship is slow and steady to develop. In some ways this was a little frustrating… I wanted stolen touches, building sexual tension and all that yumminess… but in other ways, it was much more realistic. Decker, Aesa and the rest of the crew had jobs to do on board the boat. The life of a fisherman is a dangerous one and they all took their roles at sea seriously. Their priority was the job at hand and their safety, and so, their romance took a back-seat in the beginning.“They were soldiers of the sea, born and bred to battle her, taking her bounty along the way. Some succeeded and lived, others failed and died, but that was the life he’d been destined to have.”However, once on solid ground, their feelings are quick to develop and it’s kind of an all or nothing scenario! One minute they are denying their feelings and the next it’s full steam ahead.“I have never felt about anyone else the way I feel about you. Something about you has burrowed into me, and I do’t want to let it out. If you think you share even an ounce of that same feeling, I need to know right now.”But obviously, no romance novel is ever smooth sailing (pun totally intended) and Aesa and Decker face some harrowing lows and some heart breaking realisations.“I’ll never let you fall again.”At first I really wasn’t all that taken with Aesa. She was snippy, defensive and a little snobby. But you soon come to realise that this is all an attempt to keep herself and her heart safe from hurt. She has experienced loss, disappointment and abandonment and she is an expert in living a life without feeling or emotion.'She had a weakness for running.I had a weakness for her.'Now, Decker I loved! He’s calm, sure, all-seeing, kind, yet so strong and male!“A man doesn’t seek out a woman because he wants to screw her and leave, nor does he leave her because he can’t screw her at all. That’s an a**hole. A real man goes after a woman because he knows that life with her far surpasses that without her. He should be stimulated by her very presence, lack of clothing withstanding. That is a man.”Physically he’s strong, as he’s a dedicated fisherman. But mentally, Decker has his own secrets and his own past, that has attributed to the man he has become.“I’m not trying to hide my past,” he said in earnest. “I’ve learned a lot from it. It’s made me who I am today, and I’m proud of who I’ve become.”Having said that… perhaps ‘secrets’ is not the right word in this instance. This book is so refreshing because there really are no secrets at all. Decker lays everything out on the table very early on. He isn’t ashamed or deceitful. It was so great to read a book where the characters don’t want to hide their pasts and lie to one another. The issues that Aesa and Decker have to overcome in 'Undertow' are real issues, not difficulties brought about due to dishonesty or half truths.“I am a man. I don’t run. I don’t lie. I don’t cheat, and I don’t use. I don’t find enjoyment in games, either. I’ve paid for my mistakes in life and learned from them. I know what I want, Aesa, and I want you. Nothing more. Nothing less.”As you’ll see, I have knocked off half a star. This is only because, for me, there was something teeny missing. I just felt that the build up between Decker and Aesa could have been made more of. I did believe their love, by the end of the book, but when they originally got together, I just wasn’t entirely convinced by them. But like I said, by the end, I was totally on board (oh, these boat puns are just coming thick and fast, aren’t they?!)“I am not going to leave you any more than I’m going to let you leave me.”However, for the most part, I really did love this story. It’s so nice, and rare, to find something that is so unlike all of the books out there at the minute. There are soooo many contemporary romance around, and that’s obviously a great problem to have, but it does mean that true originality is becoming increasingly hard to come by. But it is so exciting to read about romance in such an unlikely place.I love a book that shows us that love really can be found anywhere and everywhere. The possibilities are endless with regards to where a relationship can develop and it’s great to see authors trying to branch out and find new ideas to surprise and engage us with. I also love learning about different industries, communities and ways of living, and 'Undertow' was a great insight into the lives of the Alaskan fishermen and also those at home, who love them.'Undertow' Statistics• Steam Rating (out of 5): ♥• Ending: HEA• Length: 227 pages• Narrative: Alternates between Aesa and Decker’s POV. First person. Past tense.• Series: ✗• Can this be read as a standalone? Yes• Themes:Crab fishermenGrief• Writing: GoodReview by Smitten's Book Blog