My TBR List Review *May* ~ The Girl in the Sea ~ Lisa Akers #MyTBRL #BloggerShame

My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Michelle @Because Reading. 

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The Girl in the Sea by Lisa Akers
Let Me Go #3
Release Date: November 9, 2015/February 2017
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Source: I received an ARC from the author. This did not affect my rating and my review is provided voluntarily.
Rating: 3.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #BloggerShame
Goodreads

Synopsis
A Gripping Psychological Romantic Suspense Novel

Book 3 of the Let Me Go Series:
Olivia has a new job; one that unknowingly lands her right smack dab in the middle of a dark, depraved world of prostitution and sex-trafficking.
And to make matters worse, she's finally found someone. She thinks he's everything she wants, but he's strictly an online friend. While he tries to remain hidden behind his avatar, she's at last ready to put her rocky past behind her, if she can convince him to step out from behind the curatin.
But when she invites her anonymous friend to her sister's wedding on the beautiful, beachy, sub-tropical have of Bald Head Island, he says no; he's not ready to reveal his true identity. Instead, along with an unexpected squall that blows in, Grayson--the mysterious brother of the groom--arrives.
Olivia is rightfully wary of Grayson. He's a dangerous, real, flesh and blood man, after all. So, when her own heart beats out a warning tempo, she takes heed. Danger finds her anyway, as the beach is slammed with murderous hurrican winds, and the two are thrust together.
All is not as it seems, and she must dig deep if she is to unmask the mystery of the man, and save herself, by forcing him to confront his own inner storms and secrets, while he battles his two biggest demons: revenge and redemption.
Fiction: Romantic Suspense, Psychological Suspense, Family Saga 
Trigger Warnings: abduction, vague references to prostitution and sex trafficking, violence to women

First of all, my apologies for the late review. This past couple of weeks have been SUPER busy with Sky being home (for only 16 days total) and end of school craziness on top of getting both she and Jax ready to leave for the summer (drum corps again). I haven't had enough time to dedicate to reading and blogging. James and Jax left on Friday morning headed to Arizona and Sky and I leave this coming Tuesday for Oregon. *sniff* It'll just be Berk and I (and James, of course) again this summer.

Second of all, I received this book as an ARC a long time ago...so long ago that the title was different. Akers changed the titles of all the books in the trilogy but I don't know if the content changed or not. So I'm letting you know my review is of the ARC. I'm certain the overall story didn't change though and it was a good one.

What Worked:

• Format
  After having met and coming to adore these 3 sisters, I was grateful that the early portions of the book included their POVs along with Olivia's - who was the MC. We also got Grayson's POV - the other MC - and that not only enhanced his character but also amped the suspense.
• Story
  While Akers has always tackled difficult subject matter - abuse, PTSD - she incorporated a relevant subject in this story...human trafficking. I'm excited over the fact that she apparently did some spinoffs of this series that delve further into this element and I'll pick up those but in The Girl in the Sea, I admired the fact she didn't stray too far from her "roots" so to speak, focusing on the themes she's made the heart of this trilogy - survival, redemption, forgiveness, and strong familial bonds. Those are the things that kept me riveted to her books in the first place. We not only get Olivia's story - seeing how tights she is with her sisters after all they've survived - but we also get Grayson's, who is the brother of Olivia's younger sister's fiance. I like and am invested in all these characters and I appreciate Akers giving us this tight-knit group of "family". I also appreciated the suspense elements - and there were a few. I found myself worrying over how things would unfold and I admit to not having guessed parts of the outcome.

What Could Have Worked Better:

• Suspense
  There were certain areas that felt a little rushed and I feel like would have had more of an impact if things had been fleshed out a little more.

The Girl in the Sea was a good read and I'm kicking myself for having let this languish for so long. I will be looking into more from Akers for certain. I want to add that I'm rather certain, having looked at the difference in page count from the original publishing to the current one, that Akers did flesh out the areas I felt needed fleshing out. I'll have to see about getting an updated version. :)