Head Above Water

I’ve been avoiding this book as I knew it was super emotional and probably going to make me cry and while it delivered on both of those things, the REMARKABLE writing of this book completely blew me away!! It’s painful, emotional and raw, but yet such a beautiful love story that is so consuming! It hurt me and it broke me, but it was unlike any book I’ve read and was just a masterpiece!It’s an MM romance between Cannon and Easton who have been stepbrothers since they were kids. Their journey to love is one that is filled with heartbreak, pain, sadness, and sorrow but also so much passion! The emotion in this book is so palpable and will have you feeling all the strong feelings right along with them! It will take you on quite a rollercoaster ride with the perfect amount of slow burn and angst that just builds up so well until the spice just explodes! While it is super spicy, the emotion within that spice is so powerful and creates incredibly passionate and deep moments between Cannon and Easton! The writing was so well done that all of it flowed throughout the story so realistically! Also, I have to mention the deep comparison with grief and water throughout the whole entire book was absolutely stunning writing! Cannot rave enough about this book!**This book does deal HEAVILY with grief and loss so please check triggers before reading!WOW, WOW, WOW! One of the absolute best performed narrations I have ever listened to! Zachary Johnson and Michael Dean took an already emotional storyline and flawlessly performed it! This is already an emotional storyline BUT their voices had so much passion, sorrow, sadness and depth that made it such a powerful narration! I could just feel the words of the book radiating to my core with how they delivered the words on the pages. I’m not a huge crier for books but I sobbed multiple times because I could just feel the pain in their voices as if they were truly the character themselves. I will never stop recommending this audio because this is a performance that deserves all the praise!!! A freaking masterpiece!

Head Above WaterCE Ricci2021451 pagesOverall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️MM Contemporary RomancePlot: At age seven, Cannon Tate’s life changed forever when he lost his mom. Then it changed again two years later when his dad got himself hitched to a new family. In the blink of an eye, Cannon acquired a new mom and a little brother, neither of which he wanted. And he made his feelings on the matter very, very clear to everyone. For years, actually. Up until the day he left town for good and never looked back.Easton Caldwell is in love with his brother. His stepbrother, in actual fact, but everyone seems to forget about the step- part. It doesn’t really matter anyway because Cannon Tate is straight. And Easton is pretty sure Cannon hates him, ever since he left that night without saying goodbye, never to be heard from again. But the heart wants what it wants, and Easton can’t seem to convince his to be interested in anyone else.When tragedy brings the two brothers back home to Oregon after a seven year absence, things get complicated fast as they are forced to sort through old hurts and new feelings. Grief is a sea monster, threatening to pull them both under, unless they can learn to lean on each other.First Take: Oh. My. God. I could not put it down. It was so intense and so moving and I nearly cried so many times and I LOVED it. This is my first CE Ricci book and, just, wow. I can’t wait to read the rest of her stuff. Ok, it is sad with a capital S. It is heavy on feelings, specifically grief. It is an emotional roller coaster. And it moved me. That’s all I can say. I felt like I was bleeding right along with our heroes and it hurt so, so good. Pain is transcendent, it connects us all. And I felt really connected to Easton and Cannon. Sigh.Praises: This is a story about grief. It is a story about falling apart and the work it takes to put the pieces back together. And how we can’t really ever do it alone. There is some toxic stuff happening between these two sort-of brothers, and it was really satisfying to watch them unpack it all and learn to trust each other. Yes, it’s hard work. Yes, it hurts. But the ending is so, so good and all the best rewards come with effort. (Also, the taboo step-brother romance had my little heart pounding the whole time).Critiques: Trigger warnings abound in this story. It deals with loss, grief, depression, suicidal thoughts, and pain. Lots and lots of emotional, gut-wrenching pain. Have some tissues handy, for reals. I stayed up very, very late reading this one. There's lots of angst, so beware if that’s not your thing. I also feel like I should point out that neither of our heroes cope particularly well with their grief, at least at first, and so there are some kinda awkward moments that might have your skin feeling a bit itchy.Themes: Coming of Age, Family, Grief & Loss, Identity, Loneliness, Survival, Sacrificial LoveOverall Tone: This one is dark and twisty and makes you feel all the feels.Prose: Dual 1st person POV Easton & Cannon. Man, I love the way CE Ricci writes words. She somehow made grief feel beautiful, even in all of its terrible, awful glory. And I ate it all up. Keep in mind that the dialogue is pretty intense sometimes, as these two seem to have an uncanny ability to wound each other, like all siblings do.Steam: 💜💜💜💜 This one is deliciously, wonderfully steamy.Tropes: Step-Brother Romance, Second Chances, Shared Past, Athlete Hero, Betrayal, Secrets & Lies, Bi Awakening, Enemies-to-Lovers, Love Triangle, Small Town, First Love, Forbidden Love, Forced Proximity, Grieving Lover, TraumaCliffhanger: HEA (thank God!). No cliffhanger.Stand-Alones, Prequels, Sequels, & Tangents: Standalone novel. The main characters from Don’t You Dare, another CE Ricci standalone, make a very cute, brief appearance in this story.

The first time I read this book I didn’t fully absorb it, but loved it anyway. I just finished the second reading and let myself feel the story, which left me taking breaks to cry. Anyone who has survived the storms of grief will understand the pain of Cannon and Easton as they navigate through their own storms, while finding comfort and solace in each other. I didn’t think my heart could shatter more after reading the River of Rain duet, but this book obliterated it. Through the darkness and sorrow though, comes a beautiful story of two beautiful boys falling in love with a perfect and well deserved HEA. Read it, and have some tissues handy.

Estou apaixonada por mais um casal!! Obrigadaaaa por escrever histórias tão lindas, sentimentais, realistas e PERFEITAS igual tem feito com todos os seus livros.

Llevaba un rato queriendo leer a esta autora y vaya sorpresa que me tuve con este libro!! Me dejo mi corazón latiendo y con una sonrisa en la cara y el spice? Omg y el spice fue increíble 🤯🥵Recomendado! No querrás dejar de leer la historia entre Can y East!!

I have never been so emotionally invested in a book as when i read this book! These boys will be forever in my heart! Easton and Cannon have overcome so much together as well as separately. The grief and all the feelings that come with it were written so well! It’s messy, awful and unexpected at some times.Im not ashamed to say that i cried my eyes out at some points.But the journey these men went on was all worth it in the end because they truly found eachother 💙

Ich liebe das Buch. Auch wenn der Anfang so heftig ist. Aber das ist so ein gutes Beispiel dafür,was zusammen gehört findet zusammen.Egal wie viel Zeit vergeht oder was in der Zwischenzeit passiert.