Shallow River by H. D. Carlton

Description

Shallow River by H. D. Carlton

This is a good story with a HEA, but the horror you going through to get there is intense. I personally don’t have triggers to worry about, but if SA or Physical Abuse of an adult or child are your triggers you may just want to skip this one. It’s not a “one instance” either, it’s the whole dang book. I think the author did a good job describing someone who is a survivor/victim of abuse.

You feel sorry for them, but you also want to yell “leave him”. It’s a very frustrating situation as an outsider looking in, but it gives insight into the mindset that you deserve what is happening to you or it’s okay because they love you. There is a FF scene that I don’t feel enhanced the story any and I could have done without it.

River has been sexually and physically abused her whole life. Her mother is a drugged out prostitute, who has never protected or properly loved her child. River gets out of this bad town and goes to college where she falls in love with Ryan, but he’s unobtainable because he’s dating Alison. When he breaks up with Alison, River makes her move and soon she and Ryan are dating. He’s now a lawyer in his father’s company, she’s finishing up school and has moved in with him. He doesn’t want her to work.

Alison tries to warn River about Ryan, but it feels like she’s just trying to break them up. Ryan becomes increasingly more condescending and aggressive with River. It soon becomes clear that he is gaslighting her and alienating her from the outside world. She goes to dinner with him and his family only to discover that he has a brother, Mako. This is weird because Ryan always said he was an only child. During this dinner it’s clear the brothers do not like each other. When they get home Ryan hurts River and accuses her of liking Mako. Throughout the story there are many times that Ryan hits, throws, rapes, and sodomizes River. He even drugs and then rapes her as well. He later admitted that he had been slipping her antibiotics to counteract her birth control.

During this time, Mako who is a detective and knows his brother and what he’s capable of, tries to catch River away from Ryan and convince her to leave him. River, not wanting to be a damsel, refuses his help, but starts to feel differently towards Mako. After River is brutally attacked and raped by Billy, her abuser from her past, Ryan ignores her and is angry at her for “getting” herself in that position. When he leaves her stuck on the couch and forced to wet herself, then hits her for it. She decides it’s time to leave. She calls Mako who rescues her and takes her to his house, but unfortunately, a few remorseful words from Ryan and she’s back with him a week later. He’s better for a bit, but then reverts back to his true self. He explains that because she left him he cheated on her with his secretary.

He makes her feel as though it’s her fault, and that it cancels out because she let Billy rape her. His anger and distance continues on and eventually one night he tells her to get dressed up nice that they were going out. When he takes off his shirt she notices red lipstick and realizes that he’s still cheating on her. This somehow breaks the hold he has on her and she’s ready to fight back. The next time he attacks her she fights back grabs a knife and knocks him out with the drugs he had been using to knock her out. She drags him to the attic and strings him up. While he’s tied up she goes to Alison’s house, confesses that she’s killed him(he’s not dead). Alison calls Mako and suggests that he check on River. He goes to the house when Ryan doesn’t answer the phone and when no one answers the door and he hears noises he goes in the house expecting River to be hurt.

He find River and a tied up Ryan. He agrees to help her kill Jim and get rid of Ryan. Ryan confesses that his father had raped him since he was eight and when he was thirteen that’s when they adopted Mako, but their father wouldn’t touch Mako because he knew Mako would report him. This is why Ryan has always hated Mako and never considered him a brother. However, when River starts to feel compassion for Ryan and thinks she shouldn’t kill him, he states that he still would’ve done what he did to River because she was weak and let it happen. River kills Ryan and her and Mako feed his body to the pigs.

During this whole story, there was a side story about the Ghost Killer. Mako was the detective on the case and it comes out that the Ghost Killer had killed Mako’s real father, then comes out that River knew who he was all along and didn’t tell Mako. Mako mad by this revelation leaves her home alone, where Billy, the Ghost Killer, attacks and kidnaps her. He takes her somewhere and repeatedly punches and rapes her then confesses that he is actually her father. She, with the help of Mako and his partner, shoot and kill Billy. Mako and River get married and it ends two yrs later with her pregnant.

✅ Genre:  Romance novel, Contemporary romance, Psychological Fiction.

✅ Premium Quality Books.

✅ High Printing quality.

✅ Eye Friendly.

✅ Eco Friendly paper.

✅ Matt cover (Paperback)