Cover Image: Where the Sea Takes Me

Where the Sea Takes Me

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Member Reviews

This is the second book in the series and continues relating what happens to Sienna Jones after she returns from a life changing summer in Indonesia working with orphan victims of the tsunami. It was there she met and fell in love with Dani, but fate stepped in and she returned home with her father, leaving him behind. I suspect it is important to read book one in the series, Where I found You, before embarking on this one - I certainly appreciated having done so as it fills in much of the background information and initial character building to make the story more relatable.

Two years later her father calls to inform her that Dani is coming to visit them but two years are a long time . . . will they feel the same about each other? Will he have married his Indonesian fiancée? What about her best friend who wants to be more, Spider?

The first story had Sienna working in an orphanage for tsunami victims whilst this one has her joining Team Hope to help victims of people trafficking in Cambodia. The story is well paced, insightful but filled with extra drama as Spider really doesn't want her to go. I had to feel sorry for him as he really wants Sienna to be more than his best friend. As a mother, I had a few qualms with this story - I definitely wouldn't want my daughter to be travelling out to a location where she'd be in danger of being taken to become yet another sex-slave for the traffickers without more mature adults and protection being provided to keep her safe. However, it is a unique story, a good read, involving taking chances and making the most of the opportunities life gives you whilst helping others. 

I requested and was given a copy of this novel, via NetGalley, with no obligation. This is my honest review of the book after choosing to read it.

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4.5 Stars
The romantic story which started in book one continues in book two. However, the setting is different and the characters are much matured, no less interesting though.
Deni worked hard and finally got his chance to study in USA. Sienna thought she had left him for good, but now here he is ... in her home, in her country, and she can't contain her excitement. Although, her love for him is still the same but now there are many complications. Spider wants more than being her friend, he has been so patient with her and she feels as though she owe him more. Also Deni probably has a wife somewhere in Indonesia. So she decides to just cherish their time together and not worry about the future. After all this is the guy she said yes to when he proposed.
Deni knows that differences between them may very well drift them apart again. But he plans to try his best and may be in the end they could be together somehow. For now they have a mission to worry about. As he accompanies team Hope to Cambodia, he feels as if history is about to repeat itself.
I loved this story just as much as I had loved book one. It's a great read and I think all romance loves will enjoy it, especially if you like stories closer to reality and touching sensitive issues.

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I went into this book knowing I was missing the start of the character development from book 1 but the description made me have to dive right in. The story is strongly about a girl who wants to make a difference in the world, in a positive way while experiencing life and adventure. I quickly became fond of Sienna but never really felt a connection to Deni which may be due to a lack of reading his story in the first book.

The raw emotion of the child trafficking in this book is delivered well for being such a tough topic. It brings real world problems to the front of mind just by reading a story. This piece of the story was solid.

I will be reading book 1 soon to get an understanding of Deni, and because I love Siennas character.

3.5 out of 5 stars without reading the first book.

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I was about 75/80 % done the book before I realized that this was the second in the series. Doh! Aside from that, this was a pretty enjoyable read.

I have only read one other book about sex trafficking so when I noticed this book I thought I would give it a shot. There isn’t many books like this to my knowledge. I think there should be more because this does happen a lot.

Sienna is pursuing her love of charity work which I find really noble of her.

She has a best friend named Spider whom happens to be in love with her. He wants to be more than just a friend but she just wants to be friends.

Just when everything seems to be going great Deni comes into Sienna’s life and it messes up everything for Spider.

I found this book to be very well written and very informative. It’s crazy to think that there is a world like this out there.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and options are my own. Thank you to Netgalley in providing me this book.**

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About halfway thru the book I realized this was the 2nd book in a series. I'm now getting the first book because I loved this one so much. I found myself rooting for Sienna and Team Hope. She is so dedicated it to it. Of course there is a love triangle. (there always ALWAYS is) . There were some tough subjects in here but King handled them beautifully.
Great read and I will be reading the first one.
Thank you Net Galley!

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I'm so sad that my review isn't going to be the glowing appraisal that I had hoped for. I truly enjoyed the first book (both editions) and was longing for a satisfying conclusion to Deni and Sienna's interrupted romance. Although, I can't deny that there was a HEA/HFN ending, it was the journey to that point that frustrated me. Not due to angst or conflict, but due to the fractured writing. Not at all what I've come to expect from Kling after reading 4 of her previous stories - with Paint My Body Red being one of my all-time favorite YA books.

I now wish the story had stayed open-ended or with the 1st ed. conclusion. Although I got to know most of the characters well in the first book, not one of them felt fully developed in this one. If I hadn't met Deni in the first book, I wouldn't have known him at all, let alone be convinced of the romance. The whole story moved at a clipped pace with scenes ending and starting abruptly. Therefore, not feeling complete and leaving me with unanswered questions or having to make my own leaps. I liked the message behind the human trafficking story line, but it could have been so much more while entwining itself with Deni and Sienna's story. Overall, I'm happy to have a positive ending for Deni and Sienna, but I just wish it was better executed. Of course, all reviews are subjective and I wholly embrace my personal reading quirks.

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3.5 stars. This was a quick burn romance for YA readers and a pretty enjoyable read. I like that it brings light to the sex trafficking industry because not much attention is given to this travesty and it happens present day in every country. An issue I had is that teens are going after the same people who would think nothing of taking them and making them sex slaves too. It would have been nice to see one or two reliable adult friends they could have had with them because the danger is high even in that circumstance. This was my only major complaint.

Sienna (Sea) is still pursuing her passion of charity work. Spider, her best friend who wishes he was more, cant stand the time it takes her away from him and says as much. Dani, the boy who taught her there was more to life than grief two years ago, reappears in her life when Sea least expects it. She gets the opportunity to do charity work for relief of victims of the sex trafficking industry in Cambodia and she jumps at the chance to go. So does Dani, which angers Spider to no end. Now that Dani is in her life again she knows he is hiding something. Is it worth taking the chance of having her heart broken?

Thank you to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review

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Deni and Sienna are back together after two years. We learn what happened to Deni during that time only by his telling a summary of it. Spider seemed to not be what he should have been just by his actions in this one. I thought he was a very good friend to Sienna and wouldn't act the way he did even with the ways things were going with Sienna. I liked the romance between Deni and Sienna and enjoyed reading about their trip. Both of them experiencing a new place together was a plus. The reason for the 3 star was the fact that they were going after a sex trader by themselves. These are 2 teens in a strange country with no past experience in doing this. It seemed really reckless and off to me. If they would have stayed focused on the therapy part of it and left the tracking down to adults it would have been a 4 for me. I received an ebook at no charge for which I voluntarily provided an honest review.

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Ahhh! Be still my beating heart. This book truly touches your soul. As per usual i accidentally stumble into the middle of a series or in this case the second book before reading book 1. However, with this this book I didn't feel that you had to read book 1 for this to make sense but I highly encourage as I went back and read it and it really deepened my love for this set of books. 

The plot to this book was well written and I feel like the writer really did their research before hand. It gives you a more immersive experience into charities, how they work and the ups and downs of them. Seeing it from the perspective of the main character was quite nice. It feels like a peek behind the curtain of living that kind of life.

The romance in this book will make you swoon..especially if you read book one. You truly see two characters grown and open up and look at their inside self to decide what is or isn't best. The ending was absolutely perfect for this novel and gets 5 stars from me!

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled: Teen for a copy of this e-Arc in exchange for my honest review!

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Where the sea takes me is the sequel to Where I found you. In the first book, Sienna found a way to kick-start her life after depression. She lost her mum and gave up on life. A trip abroad to work as a Good Samaritan was just what she needed. While there she met a boy, Deni he made her realise her life wasn't over. Now two years later, Sienna still dreams of her two weeks with Deni, but her own life has moved on. Her best friend, Spider wants her to be his, but she can't stop thinking of the boy that got away. Spider is the easy option. Her best friend and companion, but Sienna's heart is placed elsewhere. When Deni is presenting a film he made locally, Sienna gets to see the boy she dreams of again. The girl she was before her mum passed is gone, and what is left is the girl who wants to help others.
Her latest good venture takes us to Cambodia to help some young girls. This isn't Spiders sort of thing and Deni is keen to follow her. This is about going after what matters, but unfortunately Sienna can't please everyone.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is a continuous story, however, contains catch up information. I would recommend you read book one first. It is likely there will be a book 3.

4 stars out of 5. An interesting story, but I did feel sorry for Spider. Sienna should have been honest with him. I felt she was leading him on. He wanted more and Sienna was happy to keep him as a friend.

This series is unique and the storyline is more than the average book. It's likeable but also unlikeable in the same breath.

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Much to my dismay, about a third of the way through this book, I realized it was the second book in a series! I finished anyway because I was so far into it, but I definitely plan to read the first book because I missed A LOT!
Besides that, I did really enjoy this book. Sienna is a college freshman who lost her mom a couple years ago and also traveled to Indonesia after a tsunami to help the people there. Her parents did work like this before and her father continued it after Sienna's mother's death. While in Indonesia she met and fell in love with an orphan there. She could not stay and be with him and left to go back to California, heartbroken. In this book, her love Deni comes to California out of the blue and they reconnect in an awkward way. Sienna and Deni go on a trip to Cambodia to help refugees there and spend more time together and are able to find their way back together. I loved all the backstory about Cambodia and the refugees they were treating, along with the whole international sex trade operation which is obviously still very active. I admired Sienna's and everyone in the book's passion to help others, especially those who can not help themselves. Very interesting book along with a sweet love story.. Looking forward to reading the first book soon!!!

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The Quick Cut: Girl and guy end up in each other's lives again 2 years after a devastating tsunami brought them together. Drama ensues as they take a trip for charity and their relationships are effected.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I got really excited when I read the description for this book because it sounded so unique and different. It's rare when there's a story told from the perspective of charity. So as soon as I received this ARC, I love into it.

Having read this one, it was definitely worth it. Even with it's weak points and soft spots, this is a story worth telling with a character and family you want to root for. Sienna's passion for the past few years of her life has been Team Hope and the good work they do in third world countries. It's a passion she shares with her family and one that was struck two years ago when she met Deni.

In the years since they met, Sienna has done everything she could to forget Deni and move forward with her life. A big part of that has involved Spider, her guy friend that isn't her boyfriend (but definitely wants to be). Just as Spider asks Sienna to move in with her, Deni shows up: he finished a documentary, won an award, and is coming to town. Everything falls apart with Spider right after Deni shows up and the male competition begins.

So when an offer to go on another Team Hope trip happens and Deni is coming with, things get complicated as emotions get involved again. Will their feelings grow like last time? What happens when she goes home again and they're split apart?

Sienna is relatable and easy to understand where she's coming from. Even when things with Spider get chaotic and he throws massive temper tantrums, she acts responsible. She cares even after he disappears from people's lives and insults her passion for Team Hope (in front of her entire family). Her downfall is that, like any chick, she lets her emotions get the best of her. She loses focus and it gets her in trouble. This happens even in Cambodia when they're on their mission helping the girls learn to swim.

A significant theme in the book is child trafficking and the impacts to the children, families, and the countries it happens in. The material is handled really delicately and well in my opinion, including information about how the survivors have PTSD. Helping these girls learn to adapt afterwards is really touching to read, especially when you see how much they struggle at certain points.

As well handled as the tough subjects are, the author could have done a better job on the softer ones. I get that Spider is meant to be the bad boy here, but he's dropped like a hot rock. The guy is such a big presence at the start and then by halfway through, completely disappears with zero closure on his story. It's absolutely frustrating. Why?!?!

With a great story and a powerful point, this romance tale has plenty to say in a story that will teach you about a topic that's impacting society today.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Sienna and her family work as part of a relief organization. Two years ago, she met Deni while working in Indonesia to help rescue tsunami victims. They fell in love but Deni has a fiancee that he thought had died. Sienna leaves with a broken heart when his fiancee comes back. Sienna is back in California in college when Deni comes to her home so he can show his film of the tsunami rescue efforts. She has a boyfriend and Deni has a fiance but they still have deep, passionate feelings for each other. A mission to Cambodia comes up to assist victims of sex trafficking and Sienna is going. Her boyfriend is unhappy about her leaving and because Deni is going ,also. They separate until she can decide what she wants. They meet someone while there whose sister has been kidnapped by the traffickers and try to help rescue her and others. Sienna worries about losing her heart to Deni again and he has secrets he won't share. Will Sienna have to live without Deni ? Will the girls be rescued from the sex trade? This book is well written and researched. It will break your heart but gives hope at the same time. It is full of love. Sex is hinted at but no intimate details. This book stands on its own. This is second in a series. I bought the first book because the author writes what touches the soul. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review.

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