Model Credit: Drew Trucklewww.ericbattershell.com
Cover Artist: Sybil, PopKitty Design
Dying to experience life, I cross an ocean to get away from my fears. I find my safe haven in the form of Detective Aiden Holden. He shows me what love is, but then our lives collide. Our little world shatters, and I’m caught in the crossfire.I’m forced to return home, to let go of the only person who has made me feel like I could be more.
How do you return to a cage once you’ve tasted freedom?
My only hope is that Aiden will cross an ocean for me.
The Ocean Between Us by Michelle Heard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Ocean Between Us (A Southern Heroes, #1) (ARC) was graciously provided to me by Ardent Prose PR for an honest review.
An Ocean’s Undulating Waves Lead to Love, Light and Peace..
The Ocean Between Us is an emotional story. It’s a powerfully gripping, heart-breaking, soul-shredding, desperate-for-happiness, heart-warming, breathtaking kind-of-story. The kind of story that has left me in a daze as it is unlike anything I have ever experienced. The one saving grace for me throughout this entire read was one of the main characters. And his name is..Aiden Holden. Aiden broke the mold when he was created, and broke the mold for every-single-male in every-single-book for the rest of eternity. I needed to wrap him up and put him in my pocket for safe keeping early on in the story. While this story is a different kind-of-story, one with deep, dark, questionable actions, it is also one that is interlaced with that desperate and necessary kind of soulmate kind-of-love. As this is my most recent read of a new release, as I almost always have numerous things to say about each read, my thoughts are actually having a slightly difficult time being able to form logical bits and phrases due to the overall weight of this story. It was quite the read.
The Ocean Between Us by Michelle Heard is one of those books that took control unlike any other. It wasn’t an easy book, and as I had to search for and constantly grab a hold of the good, it definitely took its toll on me. It is a very unique story and might not be for everyone as it had many dark, twisting, and downright painful triggers at seemingly every turn of this long story. As this reader will read just about anything, I even had to take frequent breaks to allow myself to regroup. Because of this need, it lead me to wonder whether it was all, at times, too much. In retrospect, yes I do believe it was. But, in order see the sun through all of the darkness, I held onto my very own security blanket by the name of Aiden and read through to the very end and was very glad to have done so.
As this most recent read was from a new author, as soon as I caught glimpse of the cover and read the blurb, I was hooked, so, I welcomed this new chance. As I’ve never read anything by this author before, I really had no idea of what to expect. Well. Ever been blown over by a feather? The slightest of breezes? Yeah, well, neither have I..until I read this story.
The Ocean Between Us is a massive read, not only in length but also in the actual plot. In all my years of reading, I have never..NEVER come across a book such as this one. Let me emphasize it again…EVER. Since completing this read, I have greatly needed to organize my rampant thoughts, as they have been scattering around like ants to an anteater. This is an extremely deep and complex story with a varied and seemingly endless plot lead by a brutal and challenging road for both of its main characters. And for this, there was the greatest of need for sun and light and flowers and squishy love and overall blissful happiness.
The two main characters, Aiden and Emma, were two of the strongest characters to have ever been created. Each originating from completely different sides of the world, each being polar opposites in every sense of the word. As each had such different lives, one from South Africa and the other from South Carolina, as almost like being guided by the arms of fate, each wound up under the same roof in more ways then one. With this first known step, both individuals unknowingly walk towards that one person who would change their lives through indescribable and almost desperate means..forever. I love the two main characters for many different reasons. Aiden is more than a knight-and-shining-armor. This brave, incredibly strong and caring soul is light and peace and breathtaking happiness all rolled-up in one. He is..everything. I adore him. Emma is one determined young soul who wears multiple hats necessary for survival. I without-a-doubt believe she had someone watching over her as it is unknown how she was able to survive all that which she wound up ultimately rising above. I admire her for her strength, resilience and overall determined spirit.
This story also had plentiful secondary characters, many of whom seemed to have already have comfortable places set within the story, seemingly making cameos, who I greatly enjoyed reading, albeit being a bit confused as to their placement and background, as some were more developed than others. Collectively, they were a welcomed asset to the story.
However…as my reviews are always delicately honest and truthful, for this story, I found that the plot was brutal, gripping, deep, heart-breaking, shocking, oddly beautiful, at times, and as mentioned briefly, it was also too much. As a veteran reader, who always reads with an open-mind, much of the plot was excessive and quite possibly thought to be..unnecessary. Because of these added moments, I thought that some of the important details were over-shadowed for their complete and true emphasis. Specifically, I needed to see more character background and development to be able to literally feel that complete connection between the two main characters. I felt quite a bit, but, I needed to feel more. Thinking back, it’s almost like too much and not enough. In addition to another round of editing, I also felt that there needed to be more development in other areas as well. For example, the setting, the culture, and, actually the ending. Beautiful as it was.
So, all-in-all, The Ocean Between Us by Michelle Heard was an incredibly gigantic read that despite its soul-crushing moments, its actual need for more depth, and its need for a brief stint with editing, it is a story that was deeply-written through clearly lengthy moments as it does have many beautifully written, and, detailed descriptive writing that was done extremely well. I’m glad to have been able to have shared in the peace and happiness of Aiden and Emma…:)
*star rating: 4.30 ‘I liked it’ stars*
