Review: Waterfall Effect

Waterfall Effect by K.K. Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has been a while since I read a romantic suspense book that really blew my mind, so it’s no surprise to find out Waterfall Effect instantly grabbed my attention. It sounded like the perfect book to remind me why I enjoy the genre so much, the perfect book to satisfy my desire.

Fortunately, I was not mistaken.

Within pages, I was sucked into this story. It took mere chapters before I was lost, unable to put the book down. This one gripped me from a very early point, for so many different reasons, and I found it difficult to turn my attention away from the story I was enjoying so much.

The first thing to grab me was the writing. It’s one thing to say a book is well written, but another to find as many beautiful lines as you do in this one. I feared I would find myself bored of the water metaphors, yet each one seemed to be more beautiful than the last. The story flowed so well, certain lines bathing you in beauty – honestly, I was in love with the words.

Beautiful words are one thing, yet they are not enough to hold my attention. I need a good story too, and this one certain delivers. During this story, I dealt with a little bit of disappointment. Romantic suspense falls upon a continuum – some will be romance heavy, others will be suspense heavy. I prefer the latter category – those with lots of suspense. Waterfall Effect, however, is the former category – heavy on the romance. There were times when a part of me was hoping for a wee bit more suspense, where I wished it was more in line with my tastes, but this is just a personal preference. Later in the book we do get more of the action, there is a mystery throughout, and the suspense does exist – it may not have been to the level I usually like, but it worked. The story grew slowly, things develop in such a way that you’re constantly curious as to what will happen next, and I found myself won over by the more romance heavy read.

In terms of the story, I think my favourite part was how I was kept guessing. I did work out who the bad guy was, although there were plenty of times where red herrings existed to throw me off. I doubted so many of the characters, found myself willing to shift my belief. When we get all the details at the end, I found myself loving the way all the details came together. It may not be to the level of my crime fiction books, but for a romantic suspense read this one certainly keeps you on your toes in relation to the characters and motive.

Speaking of the characters, I loved them. I really enjoyed our main characters, came to love them so much. There was such history there, so much to enjoy. The side characters were a lot of fun, too. I love romantic suspense stories told in little towns, but the town needs to be done right. A lot of this comes down to the characters, and in this one we were given a great cast. There was good, bad, and those sitting in the grey area between. There really was so much fun to be had with the characters.

Overall, I adored this one. I was addicted throughout, and there is no doubt I will be reading more K.K. Allen in the future. If you’re looking for a great romantic suspense book, this one is well worth the read.

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