It was ana amazing read for me since I am very fond of reading thriller and that is the reason why I am giving this book a 5 star.

Sweet Water by Cara Reinard is a family drama that takes the reader down a path so twisted that you will not know what to expect. Sarah and Martin Ellsworth are awakened to a parent’s worse nightmare: a middle-of-the-night call from their teenage son Finn. They race to his location, a forest, where they find his girlfriend deceased and Finn drugged and beaten up. The Ellsworths, Martin and his parents, unite to cover their tracks and pretend that Finn was not involved in the young girl’s death. The story moves between the nineties when Sarah and Martin met at college to the present day’s chaos. What happened in the forest? Did Finn kill his girlfriend? What are Martin and his relatives covering up? Can Sarah find where her loyalties lie? Will the police arrest Finn? The characters are interesting and well-drawn. The plot is original and a challenging read. Sweet Water was enjoyable and tense. I look forward to reading more by Cara Reinard. Highly recommended. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The GOOD NEWS is that "Sweet Water" eventually became an interesting thriller with a wonderfully layered revenge plot.

The BAD NEWS is that "Sweet Water" doesn't take do that until the last quarter of the book. And despite my best efforts, I never liked the main character. While Reinard is a great writer, the main character in "Sweet Water" comes off as a pathetic, thoughtless and spoiled housewife.

All of that said, I do want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this. The last quarter of this book was quite good!

It was ok but I struggled to keep reading. It just wasn’t for me but I still would suggest people make their own judgment on this

This was very average... didn't suck, but didn't blow me away either. There was a bit too much going on in the multiple timelines, and some of the twists were so obvious I hesitate to call them twists. Still, it was an entertaining read at the time, just not something memorable.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

From the very beginning, a disarming tone is established that suggests not everything is what it seems. Alternating between the past and present, readers discover who Sarah is and follow her as she attempts to cover-up her son’s possible involvement in his girlfriend’s death. This is a slow-burning mystery that provides a compelling view into the painful price of power and privilege that far too many in this family are willing to pay.

Sarah’s perspective is presented in a very conversational manner. She talks to you like an old friend, but what you begin to learn makes for an uncomfortable relationship. Caught up in the perfect life she has always dreamed of, Sarah is swept off her feet by the ultimate realization that nothing is ever as it seems. And as much as the flashbacks added layers to the context and characterization, there were times where I felt the momentum and tension were lost in order to learn more about the past. This back and forth slowed the pacing and provided no clear course for how things were going to come together, making it difficult to form an initial connection to the characters. This is in no way a negative reflection, as this is definitely a unique and riveting way of telling the story; however, some readers may not have as much patience.

None of the characters are at all likable, as they are all greatly flawed and irritating due in large part to their horrible decision-making skills. Each is also incredibly unreliable. Just enough information is unveiled at any given time so that no one knows who to trust and neither will readers. Ultimately, these convoluted and conflicted relationships unravel with very little hope for a reconnection.

The story offers quite the discussion on parent-child relationships and how the cycle of dysfunction can unfortunately come full circle.

But on a much lighter note, all of the band references would make for an awesome playlist to enhance your reading experience! Should I actually go ahead and create it myself, I’ll update with a link!

Overall, this was an entertaining and easy read that will resonate with many readers, especially those fans of mysteries or thrillers.

In Sweet Water, author Cara Reinard weaves a riveting domestic thriller that captivates the reader's attention from beginning to end. Set in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania suburb of Sewickley (Shawnee word for sweet water), the reader follows Sarah Ellsworth, as she goes against her wealthy in-laws controlling and secretive coverup, determined to find out the truth of what really happened in the woods between her eighteen year old son Finn, and his seventeen year old girlfriend Yazmin Yeltri.

Sweet Water is a slow-building, multi-layered, gripping, and complex story that has a great mixture of intrigue, secrets, deceit, manipulation, romance, dark pasts, suspenseful twists and turns, and enough tension and drama that will keep the reader thoroughly engaged and riveted until the surprising conclusion.

Told in the first person narrative by Sarah Ellsworth, she brings the reader into her family's story alternating between the past when she met her husband Martin in her freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University, to the present as she goes against her wealthy in-laws controlling and manipulative power and influence, as she seeks to uncover the family secrets and deceit, and truth of the tragic events that happened in the woods between her teenage son Finn and his girlfriend Yazmin.

I loved getting to know the Ellsworth family secrets and devious pasts, and how all of the pieces finally fit the puzzle. I would be remiss if I didn't admit that I did not like the Ellsworth family. I thought they were conniving, manipulating, ruthless, calculating, and pompous, who thought that their wealth would always protect their family. "Wealth comes at a steep price, you have to pay in pieces of your soul to protect your fortune." I loved how the author drew the readers in and kept them in suspense as the story unfolded, and when you add in the surprising ending, it doesn't get any better than that!


Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book via NetGalley from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/01/sweet-water-by-cara-reinard-vbt-book.html

2.5 The description is so much better than the book. It never really grabbed me and got bogged down. I wanted to know how it turned out but it took me a little over a week to read.

Sweet Water had its ups and downs for me. With a slow start it had room to build, and build it did. While I found the end of the book predictable from early in the way that the author got there was interesting enough to keep the pages turning (and with increased speed at about the mid way point). I would recommend this book.

Lately, I have been lucky with Netgalley approvals, and in a sea of yeses this novel highly intrigued me.

Sarah is a wealthy wife and mother in a high-class Pittsburgh suburb. She lives in the most exclusive neighborhood with her engineer husband and feels she is good person - she works at a women's shelter, she is dedicated to her family. So how did she find herself in the woods in the middle of the night, covering up a murder?

The timeline jumps between Sarah's upbringing, her college years, and the present. The daughter of a single father, she is able to attend Carnegie Mellon on a scholarship since her dad works in the maintenance department. There she meets Martin - fresh off her first love, Josh, who disappeared with no word. Martin is from an esteemed and extremely wealthy family. He is also pledge master of his fraternity when a pledge dies. But Martin was not even there that night - right?

Based on this presumption, Sarah starts her life with Martin. When their teenage son Finn calls them to tell them his girlfriend is dead, Sarah finally gets to see how far the family will go to save one of their own - and the real Martin.

The story kept me turning the pages, but I there are things that bothered me throughout.. Some of it was repetition, which may be edited out of the final copy.

But my main issue was with how quick Sarah was to think the worst of her son. He was found drugged at the scene of the murder, but for a mom - she seemed to think the worst. She oscillated between wanting to protect Finn and wanting him to be held accountable for his crimes. And while it is understandable that she would not want to raise Finn to believe he could get away with murder, literally, she was jumping to conclusions before she even knew the whole story.

Even at the end, when it was proved that Finn was drugged and the death was not his fault - it was self-defense - Sarah was unsure if the law was fair, and that Finn got no jail time. This comes across as a bit far-fetched for a dedicated mother whose son proved again and again that he was better than his father.

Overall, I felt that our protagonist went from trusting everyone to trusting no one - but I guess a murder can do that to you.

Cara Reinard was a new author for me, and I am always searching for new ones especially in one of my favorite genres. I found the book to be a fast paced one, that quickly pulled me into the storyline. Growing up poor Sarah, now has the life anyone could dream of married to her college sweetheart. What more could anyone ask for, all that comes crashing down after receiving a phone call from their son. How far are you willing to go to protect your child, are you willing to break the laws just because you have the money and means to do it. What follows is a book that will change Sarah in many aspects, what she once believed now is wiped away in the actions following that phone call. Overall I enjoyed this read, it did have a few moments that I felt could have been handled differently but what book doesn't to some extent. I would recommend this book to those that enjoy the genre of books.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and am under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Sarah and Martin are called to the woods by their son Finn. Upon arrival they find him in a drugged state and Yazmin dead. What follows are the lengths a rich family will go to to bury secrets. The book goes back to when Sarah and Martin first met and present day.
There are some really unlikeable characters, Sarah is weak and just goes along with everything.
I received this book from Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review

Every parents nightmare is a 'date' gone bad. But what if it's more than that? What if it's not just your son's life as he knows it in question, but everything you think you know bout your family? In this book, it's not just a mystery, but how a family unravels back to when things all went wrong. Much like Monday morning quarterbacking, when we look back we can see where the wrong decision was made. But in this book the author shows, via flashbacks, how in the moment we can get sidetracked and loose our way, and not even realize we took a wrong turn. But now that wrong turn is having issues in the present for sarah and her family. Can she find the courage to right two wrongs and bring justice and peace to everyone? A real page turner, don't miss this one!

I really liked this book. It dealt with some tough issues - hazing, mental health issues, lying, stealing. The characters were really believable, although I thought Sarah was naive or just looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. I really liked Josh's character, but I didn't like that he just disappeared when things went a little crazy.

I received an e-ARC of this book by the author and publishing via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

THe book started off well... A couple's young son contacts them from the woods where his girlfriend's dead body is found. Going back and forth in time, the relationship between the parents is described, As the daughter of the college janitor, she enters college on a scholarship and is immediately gets involved and marries a man from a very rich family. Years later when her son in involved with the murder, she discovers the family that she married into is not the family that she thought, Unanswered questions, etc. at end of the book, What happened to her teenage boyfriend who reappears, does she tell her other son who is father is? So So book

This is on the edge of your seat kind of book. I enjoyed it tremendously. 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2 star raised to 5 for goodreads rating. Thank you Thomas & Mercer, Netgalley, and Cara Reinard for this book for the exchange of my honest review.

I always start my reviews with brutal honesty and admit that I signed up for this book without properly knowing what it was about. I briefly read the premises and learned that it centered on the murder of a girl and a mother who had to face the possibility that her son might be a murderer. But I possibly couldn't see what a surprise this book would be for me!

First, I immediately noticed how flowing and fast-paced the narration was. Sarah, our protagonist, is certainly a woman living under a lot of stress when we get to meet her and her condition reflects on the way she presents the facts. At first impression, I was sure that I was not going to like her because I did not enjoy how her insecurities affected the narration, meaning, for example,that she second-guessed everything anyone said, slowing the narration due to her doubts. I also loathed how she appeared completely submissive when it came to her husband and thought that she was going to be yet another weak character. But I was wrong. Sarah's character lives a great change during the book, a transformation that turned her into a more enjoyable narrator and certainly a better woman. If in the beginning I was not satisfied by how she presented the story, I was then relieved to have such a dynamic protagonist because in this way, the reader did not have a moment of peace. She managed to get me completely absorbed into the story and I was glad to have her perspective as it turned out to be objective and humble.

Speaking of the story then, I was really surprised by the twists the author managed to hide from me! I was sure that the main theme of the book would have been Yaz's murder but there were so many more elements present that all led and converged to Yaz's case. Everything in this book turns cohesive and coherent and for me it was the best part of Sweet Water, where in the end, the author built a case against a deeply corrupted community.

So this book had great characters, a sick town, an interesting case -or cases? - and also a little bit of romance. For me, it had a little bit of everything I need in a thriller and because of that, Sweet Water brings home 4 stars from me! I will certainly be checking out more works from Cara Reinard!

A fast paced read that sucks you in immediately and holds you through the whole book. The main character was raised poor but ended up married to a rich heir. She learns it is really hard to hold her morals in a vilely evil family that is able to buy their way out of anything. A highly recommended thriller.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2021/01/19/%f0%9f%8e%a7-sweet-water-by-cara-reinard/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

There is the dual aspect of a murder mystery along with a family secrets thriller in Sweet Water.  I admired the main character, Sarah. She really tried to do the right things and she cared for other people. She was <em>so</em> naive though.  She definitely allows herself to see what she wants to believe. Sarah's father is an amazing man and parent.  He loved and supported her in everything, even when she made choices he didn't like.

I can totally understand her need for more information and not believing her son could murder someone.  It would be very hard to trust law enforcement to make an effort, even if you are wealthy. I worried about her efforts to dig out the truth because it was likely someone out there did commit murder. In fact, I was sure her husband or crazy in-laws would kill her!

There was a companion to the present with flashbacks to how Sarah met her husband and ended up marrying him. It was useful to have that history and the other relationships in her life.   It also clarifies why she had some blinders.  It's certainly easy to be lax with the wealth to not worry about any needs and enjoy the extras available.

I enjoyed Sarah's courage to find and tell the truth. Her personal growth and willingness to be honest are uplifting in a time of bad happenings.

<h4><strong>Narration:</strong></h4>
The voice seemed to fit well with Sarah. She is the main character so we are in her thoughts and point of view.   The performance brought the emotions to life in the story.  I enjoyed listening at 1.25x speed.

<strong>Listen to a clip:</strong>
https://soundcloud.com/brilliance-audio/sweet-water-by-cara-reinard-1

Does money really change everything? Sarah was raised by a single dad so when she met Martin, a well off trust fund baby, she was head over heels. Fast forward 20 years later, will murder, drugs, corruption, and secrets make Sarah believe her perfect life was all a lie?
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Ok, this is a really great read that will hold you in suspense until the end. I really like the main character Sarah and bow she changes throughout the book, I feel it makes her really likeable. I got really sucked into the story sonit was a pretty quick read for me. I would definitely reccomend.

Thank you Cara Reinard, Thomas & Mercer, and Netgalley for this great ARC!