When I first sat down to write this review I wasn't sure on where to start. Most of the time when I have this problem it's because while I liked the book, it didn't evoke powerful feelings in me. You know, nice but forgettable. Yeah... not this time. Hydraulic Level Five isn't something that I am going to forget. I'm in the midst of a serious book hangover friends.Hydraulic Level Five is the story of Kaye and Samuel, ex-spouses who are brought together again for his sister's, her best friend, wedding. Despite brief run-ins, Kaye has managed to avoid Samuel for the last seven years and she's thrown for a loop when she finds out Samuel will be in town earlier than she expected- and that he'll have his publicist/maybe girlfriend with him. Now I don't have an ex-husband but I've had a few ex-boyfriends that I've avoided like the plague. None of them were the love of my life like Kaye and Samuel were to each other and I still couldn't stand to see them so I'm amazed at the strength Kaye has to not only see Samuel (and the girlfriend), but to interact with him and in the church that they were married in no less. While Samuel is in town Kaye decides that it's time for him to give her some answers about why he left her to "find himself" and why he never came back once she assumes he did. I've read a few good books this year but none of them have given me a book hangover like Hydraulic Level Five did. The angst is full throttle throughout the whole book and Sarah Latchaw pulls you into Kaye and Samuel's individual pain and heartache as if was your own. I literally cried along with Kaye in parts and felt her anger in others. I did feel for Samuel's past tragedies and how they changed him but at the same time I also wanted to smack him upside the head and tell him, "see what thinking for others gets you!" Maybe it's just a man thing but I felt that he was okay with what he did to Kaye as long he thought she was happy now. However immature or just plain crazy their choices were they felt real to me. Neither Samuel or Kaye were perfect by any means but they didn't sweep the past under the rug to pretend that everything was ok. While the hurt fuels the first part of the book, the second half brings in feeling of hope that maybe Samuel and Kaye rebuild the friendship that began when they were children.Hydraulic Level Five is completely in Kaye's point of view but we are treated to some insight into Samuel's thoughts by the way Sarah Latchaw weaves in flashbacks and parts of his books in each chapter. There are also small notes between him and Caroline the publicist throughout that give us more insight to their relationship as well. The "secondary" characters play just as big part of the story as Samuel and Kaye do. Their friends and families feelings are very strongly felt and shows that Samuel and Kaye weren't the only ones affected by their breakup. While some loose ends are closed, there is no nicely wrapped ending and I'm thrilled that there will be a second book. Samuel and Kaye's story is far from over and I'm eagerly looking forward to see if they can ever work their way back to each other. It's an amazing debut for Sarah Latchaw and Hydraulic Level Five is a wonderful, heartbreaking story of second chances in life. I expect many wonderful stories from her in the future.
Dear Brighton
read. write. review.
When I first sat down to write this review I wasn't sure on where to start. Most of the time when I have this problem it's because while I liked the book, it didn't evoke powerful feelings in me. You know, nice but forgettable. Yeah... not this time. Hydraulic Level Five isn't something that I am going to forget. I'm in the midst of a serious book hangover friends.Hydraulic Level Five is the story of Kaye and Samuel, ex-spouses who are brought together again for his sister's, her best friend, wedding. Despite brief run-ins, Kaye has managed to avoid Samuel for the last seven years and she's thrown for a loop when she finds out Samuel will be in town earlier than she expected- and that he'll have his publicist/maybe girlfriend with him. Now I don't have an ex-husband but I've had a few ex-boyfriends that I've avoided like the plague. None of them were the love of my life like Kaye and Samuel were to each other and I still couldn't stand to see them so I'm amazed at the strength Kaye has to not only see Samuel (and the girlfriend), but to interact with him and in the church that they were married in no less. While Samuel is in town Kaye decides that it's time for him to give her some answers about why he left her to "find himself" and why he never came back once she assumes he did. I've read a few good books this year but none of them have given me a book hangover like Hydraulic Level Five did. The angst is full throttle throughout the whole book and Sarah Latchaw pulls you into Kaye and Samuel's individual pain and heartache as if was your own. I literally cried along with Kaye in parts and felt her anger in others. I did feel for Samuel's past tragedies and how they changed him but at the same time I also wanted to smack him upside the head and tell him, "see what thinking for others gets you!" Maybe it's just a man thing but I felt that he was okay with what he did to Kaye as long he thought she was happy now. However immature or just plain crazy their choices were they felt real to me. Neither Samuel or Kaye were perfect by any means but they didn't sweep the past under the rug to pretend that everything was ok. While the hurt fuels the first part of the book, the second half brings in feeling of hope that maybe Samuel and Kaye rebuild the friendship that began when they were children.Hydraulic Level Five is completely in Kaye's point of view but we are treated to some insight into Samuel's thoughts by the way Sarah Latchaw weaves in flashbacks and parts of his books in each chapter. There are also small notes between him and Caroline the publicist throughout that give us more insight to their relationship as well. The "secondary" characters play just as big part of the story as Samuel and Kaye do. Their friends and families feelings are very strongly felt and shows that Samuel and Kaye weren't the only ones affected by their breakup. While some loose ends are closed, there is no nicely wrapped ending and I'm thrilled that there will be a second book. Samuel and Kaye's story is far from over and I'm eagerly looking forward to see if they can ever work their way back to each other. It's an amazing debut for Sarah Latchaw and Hydraulic Level Five is a wonderful, heartbreaking story of second chances in life. I expect many wonderful stories from her in the future.
