“Not all broken things need to be fixed. Sometimes they just need to be loved. It would be a shame if only people who were whole were deserving of love.”
This book was simply amazing. Every time I read a Brittainy Cherry book, I fall more and more in love with her writing. She doesn’t just tell you a story, she takes you on an amazing journey. These characters, they’re so raw and real, and so amazingly developed, you can’t help but fall in love with them. Brittainy is a one-click author for me, if she writes it, I’ll read it.
“The world keeps spinning because your heartbeats exist.”
The Silent Waters is Book 3 on The Element Series, although this is a series of books that revolve around the elements, Book 1 (The Air He Breathes), Book 2 (The Fire Between High and Lo), these books are complete standalones. The books are totally unrelated and the characters do not cross books. So you could skip the previous 2 books, although I strongly suggest you read them all. You will not be disappointed, they’re all amazing.
The Silent Waters tells the story of Maggie May and Brooks, neighbors, childhood best friends, and eventually lovers as they go through the best and worst experiences of their lives. From the prologue through the epilogue the story spans a few decades. Now, I’m not sure how much I want to say, I know I must sound like a broken record but sometimes you need to go into some books blind and discover them by yourself. And I definitely thing this is one of those. So, I will try not to spoil major plot points.
“I hadn’t known you could hear someone’s voice so clearly in the silent moments.”
Maggie May is a beautiful, smart and lively child that experiences a traumatic event that marks it forever. She is such a beautiful and amazingly developed character, I dare you not to fall in love with her. I felt so much for her and her struggles. She was truly remarkable.
“I didn’t always feel like smiling, but Brooks? He made me feel as if smiling was all I ever wanted to do.”
“He drove me crazy. His hold, his touch, his voice, his words. Everything about his soul lit me on fire, and I was proud to burn beside him.”
“I loved him. I wasn’t certain when it had happened. I wasn’t certain if it was a group of moments collected over time or simply the heroic act he’d performed while I was sleeping, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter when, or why, or how it had happened. It didn’t matter how many moments gathered together to form the love. It didn’t matter if it was right or wrong.”
And Brooks, what can I say about Brooks. He’s amazing and beautiful, patient and understanding. He was Maggie’s anchor, her beacon of light through the darkness. He was hers, completely. I loved everything about Brooks. He also went through a dark time and was able to overcome everything life threw at him. He’s definitely at the top of by Brittainy heroes, along with Logan.
“She quietly chuckled and rolled her eyes. I loved that. I loved when she laughed, even though it was so quiet. It was the closest thing I had to her voice.”
“It was freeing to feel so much with someone who felt it too. It was during those moments that I felt I learned the most about her. It was in those moments that she learned the most about me.”
“I love you, Maggie May,” he whispered, looking into my eyes. “I mean, I keep staring at you, and I can’t help but think, ‘Wow. I’m really loving this girl right now.’ You know? Everything about you, I love. The easy days and the hard ones, too. Maybe I love you even more on the hard days. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say it yet, because I don’t know if you’re ready, but that’s okay. You take all the time you need, but I wanted to let you know, because when you love someone, I think you gotta scream it, otherwise the love in your chest becomes a bit heavy. It weighs you down, and you start wondering if the other person loves you, too. I’m not worried about that, though. I’m just sitting here, next to you, looking at the small freckles on your face that most people miss, thinkin’ about how much I love you in this moment.”
The love between them was definitely my favorite part of the book, it was so pure, so real, so powerful. It’s what kept them both going in difficult times and what kept me hopeful that they totally deserved a happy ending.
“Do you promise me the same type of love I’ve read about in my books? He shook his head, yawning. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer as I became engulfed by his warmth. “No, Maggie May. I promise you so much more.””
“Maggie May, you’re my favorite song.”
Being in love with someone didn’t mean you only loved them during the sunbeams. It meant you stood by their side during the cloudy nights, too.
“I was thankful for it all, the quiet moments and the painful ones, too. I was thankful for her willingness to allow me to bleed out against her. I was thankful for her bleeding out onto my soul.”
This book, it will hook you from the prologue all the way to the author’s note at the end. I felt a lot while reading this book. Happiness, sadness, fear, frustration, love, anger. It was truly a journey. It was also so moving and inspirational. And beautiful, just beautiful. As you can see, I have so many highlights, it’s not even funny. So much beauty in those words!
“That’s what true love meant to me. True love meant you could laugh at mistakes. True love meant you could whisper secrets. True love meant you never had to dance alone.”
“Love didn’t come with guidelines. It flowed into a person with only hope as its current. There wasn’t a list of rules to follow, making sure you cared for it correctly. It didn’t give you instructions to keep it pure. It simply showed up quietly, praying you wouldn’t let it slip away.”
So, needless to say, I absolutely, 100% recommend The Silent Waters. It’s one of my favorite books this year. It has all the feels and you will not be disappointed! And if you haven’t read the other 2 books in this series, do me a favor and pick those up too, they’re amazing. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
“What he didn’t know was that he was the biggest adventure of my life. He was my favorite journey, my anchor that always led me home.”
“Moments. Humans always remember the moments. We recall the steps that led us to where we were meant to be. The words that inspired or crushed us. The incidents that scarred us and swallowed us whole. I’ve had many moments in my lifetime, moments that changed me, challenged me, moments that scared me and engulfed me. However, the biggest ones—the most heartbreaking and breathtaking ones—all included her.”
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Popular Highlights in this book
A person never reads an outstanding book twice and walks away with the same beliefs. An outstanding book always surprises you and awakens you to new ideas, new ways of looking at the world, no matter how many times the words have been read.Highlighted by 2,420 Kindle readers- “Not all broken things need to be fixed. Sometimes they just need to be loved. It would be a shame if only people who were whole were deserving of love.”Highlighted by 2,113 Kindle readers
- Those who believed in you when you didn’t believe in yourself were the ones to hold close.Highlighted by 2,005 Kindle readers
- It amazed me how a heart could shatter in a crowded room and the sound couldn’t be heard by a single person.Highlighted by 1,701 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
3.5 STARS
Words have the power to help, heal and even save lives... but what happens when your voice is stolen? 😱📚 “𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞." 📚Maggie May grew up with her father and never had a real home until he fell in love and decided they would move in with his new wife and her two children. When she first arrives at the house, she meets the boy next door, Brooks Tyler, and immediately falls in love - she even plans their wedding, to which he finally agrees, even though she is only 10... 💙But on the intended wedding day a few days later, something terrible happens to little Maggie May. Something that changed everything and turned her from an opinionated, happy and naughty girl to a girl without a voice and even years after, the only one who could hear her, is Brooks. What happened that day? Will she ever find her voice again...? 🌊📚 "𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞." 📚The beginning was so great! I cried with laughter from their young love (even though the hero did not want it at first 😂) and the story went on to become full of pain and depth. 💙But at some point, it become pretty depressing, with too much drama and the plot dragged on for no reason... I have to admit that towards 85% I was a bit exhausted, and if I hadn’t heard the audio, I would probably have skipped parts of it. 😬Plus, the hot guy on the cover looks 40+ so I thought it was going to be a "more mature" story, but it didn't happen, and any connection between Brooks and the guy on the cover is coincidental... LOL. 😂Despite everything, Brittainy's writing is special and moving as always... and of course, broken characters are my kryptonite, and there are two of them in here. 👑
Top reviews from other countries
Mel
Fantastic MUST READ that will have you in tears!
Reviewed in Canada on February 18, 2021
Ananya
Another heart breakingly beautiful story by Ms. Cherry
Reviewed in India on August 25, 2020
Rae
This broke my heart and then healed it again
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2019