Armed with two years' worth of savings and the need to experience life outside the bubble of her Oregon small town, twenty-five-year old Amber Welles is prepared for anything. Except dying in Dublin. Had it not been for the bravery of a stranger, she might have. But he takes off before she has the chance to offer her gratitude.
Twenty-four-year-old River Delaney is rattled. No one was supposed to get hurt. But then that American tourist showed up. He couldn't let her die, but he also couldn't risk being identified at the scene—so, he ran. Back to his everyday life of running his family’s pub.
Only, everyday life is getting more and more complicated, thanks to his brother, Aengus, and his criminal associations. When the American girl tracks River down, he quickly realizes how much he likes her, how wrong she is for him. And how dangerous it is to have her around. Chasing her off would be the smart move.
Maybe it's because he saved her life, or maybe it's because he's completely different from everything she's left behind, but Amber finds herself chasing after River Delaney. Amber isn’t the kind of girl to chase after anyone.
And River isn't the kind of guy she'd want to catch.
Armed with two years' worth of savings and the need to experience life outside the bubble of her Oregon small town, twenty-five-year old Amber Welles is prepared for anything. Except dying in Dublin. Had it not been for the bravery of a stranger, she might have. But he takes off before she has the chance to offer her gratitude.
Twenty-four-year-old River Delaney is rattled. No one was supposed to get hurt. But then that American tourist showed up. He couldn't let her die, but he also couldn't risk being identified at the scene—so, he ran. Back to his everyday life of running his family’s pub.
Only, everyday life is getting more and more complicated, thanks to his brother, Aengus, and his criminal associations. When the American girl tracks River down, he quickly realizes how much he likes her, how wrong she is for him. And how dangerous it is to have her around. Chasing her off would be the smart move.
4 Loving Ireland stars
I love K.A. Tucker. I’m a huge fan of her Breathing series. I would say that the Burying Water series is more suspenseful and less romantic. Chasing River is a standalone. I like how each book in the Burying Water series is unique and different.
Burying Water, book 1, is about a girl who loses her memory
Becoming Rain, book 2, is about a girl who is an undercover cop
Chasing River, book 3 is about a girl who travels to Ireland
With each book I read, I can tell Tucker did her research. You are completely consumed with Ireland in Chasing River. Suffice it to say, if you like Ireland or the culture, this book is for you.
Before the story even begins, Tucker gives you an introduction to her book. I’m glad she did this, it really set the tone and pace of the read. She goes into the history of Ireland, mostly the war between the Protestant and Catholics.
Amber is a nurse, but she takes a break to travel the world, mostly Europe. She’s in Ireland for one week and as she tries to find her way to a tour group, she gets ambushed by River. River throws himself on top of her before a bomb explodes.
Wow, what a beginning. I was hooked from the first chapter and I HAD to find out what will happen. Who is River? How did he know to throw himself on top of Amber? What will Amber do? River quickly checks to see if Amber is okay and runs away from the scene.
Amber is just taken aback by the experience, but she wants to find out who River is and why he saved her.
River works at his parents’ pub. He isn’t your typical twenty-something. He’s been incarcerated and he has HUGE family issues. I liked River because he was a bit mysterious to me. Like I said, this series is a bit suspenseful, so I was curious to know his story. Why does River have issues with his brother? Why did he run away from the scene?
When Amber and River do meet up, the relationship is a slow build-up and I kind of liked that. The romance is very mild and there’s hardly any steam. It may not be everyone’s cuppa. I think this book has the least amount of romance.
“It scares me that he could have been. That I might not have ever known what this feels like.”
If you read the reviews, everyone’s opinion is pretty much split. The book is thick on Ireland’s history and culture, it will definitely make you want to visit, but the romance is kind of put on the burner. I would probably categorize this more of a fiction read, than a romance fiction novel.
I still love K.A. Tucker and I’m still going to continue to read this series. Oh and this one is my favorite cover.
An Arc was provided
He comes out of nowhere, from the left.
My only warning is the sound of his feet pounding against the grass. I turn my head just as he plows into my side, sending me sailing through the air. Pain explodes in a dozen different body parts as I hit the hard ground, my lungs grappling for oxygen.
He’s on top of me in an instant, crushing me under his weight, his thick arms roping around either side of my head, smothering me. I can’t breathe, or scream, let alone fight him off right now.
I manage just one fleeting thought—that this man, with his forehead pressed against mine and his ragged breaths assaulting my face—is about to rape me in broad daylight in a city park.
And then I’m plunged into a strange void that devours all my pain and fear.
A wave of pressure races past a split second before all of my senses are swallowed by a deafening bang that rattles my brain and the ground beneath me. Then . . . nothing at all. Only eerie silence and air.
I know that time has passed, but I can’t say whether it’s been a split second or ten minutes or an hour when I realize I’m lying on my back, staring up at a plume of white smoke, the familiar sweet metallic scent of expended gunpowder permeating my nostrils, my head stuffed with cotton. That eerie silence has given way to a high- pitched ringing and I cringe as it echoes in my eardrum. Maybe I cry out, too. If I do, I can’t hear it. I’m struggling to string together enough thoughts to understand what the hell just happened.
“Are you okay?” The question floats in from somewhere distant. And then suddenly a man hovers over me, a fringe of coppery hair like an untidy halo framing his face, staring down at me through mossy green eyes.
“What happened?” I manage to ask, though my voice sounds far away. At least I’m no longer winded.
“An explosion. A bomb.”
A bomb? A chill runs through my limbs as my brain wraps around that word, delivered in a light Irish brogue.
I sense hands slide along my thighs, over my knees, curling to the undersides, but I don’t think to deflect them. “You’ll be fine,” he mutters, a sigh of relief sailing from his lips. He shifts on his knees, making to stand.
And I seize his forearm, surprising myself with a sudden wave of strength as I hold him down. “Stay.”
His muscles tense beneath my fingertips. “I can’t. But please know that I didn’t do this.” Honest, pleading eyes implore me silently for a few heartbeats, and then he’s gone, running—albeit staggered and off-balance—before I can ask more questions. I roll my head to the side and watch him disappear into a line of trees, a dark stain blooming in the material of his vibrant green T-shirt.
SERIES
About K.A. Tucker: Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.
If I could go anywhere, I would choose London or Paris....those are two places I would love to visit!!!!
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