At Sea
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4.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
In “this haunting, genre-defying novel” (Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author), a woman risks everything to learn the truth about her family after the man she loves the most in the world unexpectedly disappears and takes their son with him.
When Cara and Brendan first meet, she’s fresh out of college, still grieving the recent death of her mother, and spending time on Martha’s Vineyard while trying to figure out her next steps. She’s swept away by Brendan’s humor and charm, and intoxicated by his thrilling, dangerous secret: he can breathe underwater. Able to stay beneath the waves for longer than should be possible, Brendan reveals that he is part of a secret experimental unit of the US Special Forces. And Cara, struck by the power of his conviction, by his unstoppable charisma, and by the evidence before her, believes him.
Their summer romance turns serious. Then Cara gets pregnant. When their son, Micah, is born, she’s sure their happy ending is underway. Still, she’s thrown by Brendan’s dramatic moods, his unexplained disappearances, and the weight of his secrets. Cara is determined to stay strong for her young family—until he and baby Micah vanish, leaving her desolate and alone and questioning everything she once thought was true.
Five years later, Cara is still struggling to move forward, married to another man and trying to rebuild her life, when a local fisherman announces he’s spotted two people—one of them a small child—treading water in Nantucket Sound, far from any vessels and miles from shore. The news rekindles Cara’s never-abandoned hope that her little boy may still be alive. As she fights to untangle delusion from reality, and revisits a past she’s worked hard to reconcile, Cara is determined to learn the truth about her lost love and finally find her son in this “book you won’t be able to put down” (Jessica Anya Blau, author of Mary Jane).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A young woman falls in love with a fishlike man in Fedor's mesmerizing fantastical debut. Unable to find a job or internship after college, Cara stays at her aunt and uncle's house on Martha's Vineyard, a haven with fond memories of summers with her now-deceased mother. She meets Brendan, a member of the Army's Special Forces, who reveals that his superhuman ability to stay underwater for long periods of time is the result of gill-like enhancements made by the military. Though Brendan's mood swings and abrupt disappearances are concerning, Cara falls for him and abandons her plans to move in with a friend in New York City. After getting pregnant with Brendan and giving birth to their son Micah, Cara stays with Brendan until he and Micah abruptly disappear. Five years later, Cara is still living on Martha's Vineyard and married to Graham, a comparatively stable guy whose "style is based entirely on comfort and practicality." Still, she never gives up hope that she will find Micah, especially after a local fisherman says he saw a man and a boy swimming together far out in the ocean, and when she runs into Brendan at her art gallery. Fedor's neatly plotted narrative keeps the pages turning, and Cara's emotional pull toward her lost family makes the far-fetched conceit feel believable. This sparkling debut will hook readers.
Customer Reviews
Kinda weird, but fine
The ending of this book was the best part. I liked how the author wrapped it up. I still had lots of unanswered questions, but I think that’s how it was meant to be. Decent storyline. I hated Brendan’s character the entire time but I felt like the author wanted the reader to like him??? I was getting mixed signals, but he just felt weird from the beginning. Honestly wasn’t horrible or amazing just a nice, easy, simple read.
Excellent read
My only note is that the ending came on too fast and didn’t definitively clear up the question.