Customer Reviews

Rising Tides (Chesapeake Bay)

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rising Tides is the second book in the trilogy of the Quinn brothers. This second book of the trilogy was my favorite so far! I haven't read the third one yet but I will. This book was very simple with a few twists and turns. I would highly reccomend this novel!

Ethan is the eldest brother and a fisherman, still living in the Maryland shore town where he was raised by Ray and Stella Quinn. He is a quiet, seemingly content man but you later learn that he has kept his emotions and such to himself for many years. Ethan shared Ray's loves of the sea, boating, and fishing. Ethan seems satisfied with his life until he comes to face his past demons when youngest brother, Seth joins the family and with a similar past. Ethan is drawn to Seth having realized they both experienced horrific abuse at the hands of their natural parents during their early childhood. Because of this common thread, the story of their relationship is quite an emotional read. Ethan establishes a strong paternal relationship with his youngest brother and together, they are both able to put their past to rest. During the course of this book, Ethan realizes he is worthy of a loving relationship with Grace Monroe and her daughter Aubrey whom you will meet in Rising Tides and fall in love with. Ethan is the strongest of the Quinn brothers and through his love for his family and his job, he is able to give each of this brothers the emotional grounding they need to get through their family tragedy and learn to enjoy their lives once more.

I love Nora Roberts books! I like it when she writes something more than a romance or mystery. The real life topic in this book is child abuse and the devastating, life long effect it can have on families and people. Nora manages to get across this very disturbing subject and still write an enjoyable book with a wonderful romance!

Ethan Quinn loves the ocean and still lives in the Bay. He works hard running his commercial fishing boat as well as working at the family business building boats. Ethan is strong and reserved trying to direct his brothers in the direction of a business that will thrive and support them all.

Grace Monroe has loved Ethan for as long as she can remember. She has tried to get close to him, but has never been able to as he always puts up roadblocks. Grace works multiple jobs, is raising her daughter Aubrey, but can't break Ethan.

When Ethan and Grace come together, it isn't an explosive impact, but more of a slow burn. They have both loved each other for years, but Ethan has issues in his past that prevent him from being able to love Grace. As they deal with the past, Ethan provides a stabilizing influence to the family he loves.

Great second book in the series. Ethan has a emotional and heartbreaking story. This fragile family moves to be closer to each other, but still have a lot to learn about family and the daily routine.

"Rising Tides" is the second book about the three Quinn brothers. This story revolves around Ethan and his relationship with Grace Monroe. Ethan has had perhaps the most disturbing past of the three boys adopted by Ray and Stella Quinn, but he has managed to become a wonderful, caring man and successful fisherman. Ethan and Grace have been friends for years. Grace cleans houses (including the Quinn's) and waitresses in order to support herself and her two year old daughter, Aubrey. Grace works incredibly hard and is a wonderful, complex character. Grace has been in love with Ethan for years and vice versa, although neither of them has acted upon it. This story is full of love and sadness, romance and fulfillment, as Grace and Ethan finally come together. It is a truly touching and lovely story, and is probably my favorite of the three.
Seth's story is also continued in this installment, as his mother begins to pose more of a threat to him. The interaction between Seth and his brothers makes this more than just a simple romance. NR does a fabulous job of dealing with difficult emotions and complex relationships. She really makes the reader care about these characters and what happens to them.
I highly recommend this book. It is full of all the aspects of life, and mixes moving and poignant scenes with humorous and amusing ones that will make you laugh. This is an excellent read and you do not want to miss it!

Rising Tides is the story of the eldest Quinn brother, Ethan. Ethan is a fisherman, still living in the Maryland shore town where his was raised by Ray and Stella Quinn. He is a quiet, seemingly content man but you later learn that he has kept his emotions and such to himself for many years. Ethan shared Ray's loves of the sea, boating, and fishing. On the whole, Ethan seems satisfied with his life until he comes to face his past demons when youngest brother, Seth joins the family. Ethan is drawn to Seth having realized they both experienced horrific abuse at the hands of their natural parents during their early childhood. Because of this common thread, the story of their relationship is quite an emotional read. Ethan establishes a strong paternal relationship with his youngest brother and together, they are both able to put their past to rest. During the course of this novel, Ethan realizes his dream to be a shipbuilder and also along the way realizes that he is worthy of a loving relationship with Grace and her daughter Aubrey whom you will meet in Rising Tides and fall in love with. I believe Ethan is the strongest of the Quinn brothers and through his love for his family and his job, he is able to give each of this brothers the emotional grounding they need to get through their family tragedy and learn to enjoy their lives once more.

Ethan is a believable character in this book. The pain he suffers from past abuse is very real and life like. The way in which he can help Seth turns this book into more than a romance. Grace is a wonderful woman who does everything she can to fight for the love she deserves with the man she wants.

I always appreciate Nora Roberts books. I like it when she writes something more than a romance or mystery. The real life topic in this book is child abuse and the devastating, life long effect it can have on families and people. Nora manages to tackle this very hard subject and still write an enjoyable book with a wonderful romance.

Although each book can stand alone, it is much nicer I find, to read the trilogies together in order. The characters grow and the plot builds until you reach a very satisfying ending.

RISING TIDES is the second book in the Chesapeake Bay trilogy and focuses on Ethan. Ethan is the quiet brother who loves the ocean. He's the one who started the family boat-building business and not only works there, but also runs his commercial fishing boat. He's the one who tries to direct the brothers into a successful future business, but isn't afraid of the hard work involved in getting them to achieve that success.

Almost as a sub-plot is the fact that Ethan has been in love with Grace for as long as he can remember, but considers her off-limits because of a dark secret in his past. As he gently guides Seth (the newest adopted brother) into the future, he is led to accept his past by the ghost of his father and not to place blame on himself. It's an Interesting concept and very effective.

These two sub-plots are entwined, so you don't really understand which is more important until you learn the secret that is keeping Ethan from fully realizing his dreams. Once that secret is revealed, the sub-plots are merged. This sounds confusing, but is well written and flows nicely together.

This series just keeps getting better with each book! Nora Roberts shows wit, charm and romance in RISING TIDES. It's also a very different style for her (and her fans), as she's writing from a male perspective. As I was reading it, I realized I was seeing things through the eyes of Ethan, and not Grace. This writing style didn't draw me into "living" the story, but instead kept me as a very interested bystander.

This book is definitely worth reading. In fact the entire Chesapeake Bay trilogy is an excellent choice for entertainment reading.

I loved the whole trilogy. But I fell harder for Ethan than the other brothers. He's the stong, mostly silent type, who uses his brain and thinks things through. My type of man. Grace and Aubrey are very lucky to have him to come home to. What happened to Ethan as a child makes you cringe, but that he overcame that to become the man he did is a true testiment to what love can do. Excellent!

I've bought the whole trilogy and somehow I thought that this one is the best from all three. I loved Ethan's character from the first time (Sea Swept, I mean). He was the calmest of all Quinns and it was wonderful to read his story with Grace. Not too much "explosion" between them like Cam & Anna or Phillip & Sybill. But that's the way I liked it. Ordinary, simple, but engaging till the very end.

Ethan was the most calm of the Quinn brothers. He seemed to content to work on his fishing boat, but then he's saddled with the responsibility of caring for his new brother Seth, with whom he has a lot in common. Then there's his quiet love for Grace, a woman he's known for years. He wants her, but he fears he's not family material, because of his brutal past. The author dips into the subject of child abuse and its' forms with a sensitivity and depth, making one feel much sadness for the hero, and yet wanting the reader to scream "Go for it anyway!". Though Ethan is calm, I sensed a fire in him that he was afraid to unlease, and the author creates a scene that demonstrates his loss of self-control in a revealing way. Grace proved herself to be a strong woman, raising a child on her own, working at the local restaurant and being a part-time housekeeper for the Quinns, despite her delicate looking features. This was my favorite book in the series.

Containing both emotion and power Roberts is able to portray Ethan Quinn in a fascinating way. While managing to keep in mind his patience and quiet ways, Roberts maintains the plot while still keeping readers happy and the characters thriving.



Also recommended: The MacGregor Grooms, and the rest of the Quinn books