Hidden Waters

The Tattered and Torn Series, Book 3

By: Catherine Cowles

Narrated by: Ava Erickson, Sebastian York

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

The world had tried to break her.

Addie has dreamt of freedom for as long as she can remember - peace away from the torment of her old life. But now that it’s finally within her grasp, she’s struggling to take those first steps into her new reality.

The last thing she wants is a new roommate to see the scars she’s desperate to keep hidden, especially not the ruggedly handsome man who steals her breath and sends her heart into overdrive.

“I’m nobody’s hero. Trust me.”

All Beckett wants is to silence the demons of his past. The first step is to make amends for not being there when his family needed him the most. That means settling in Wolf Gap for good, even if the town reminds him of all the ways he failed.

He never expected to share a home with a blonde-haired beauty with haunting hazel eyes. But he’s held captive by her quiet strength and the way she sees everything he tries to hide.

Soon, an unlikely friendship becomes so much more. But when forces from Addie’s life slink out of the shadows, they could both lose everything they fought so hard for - down to their very last breaths…

©2021 Catherine Cowles (P)2021 Catherine Cowles

New favorite book in the Tattered & Torn series!

YOU GUYS! If you are a fan of Catherine Cowles, particularly Tattered and Torn, YOU ARE NOT READY! This was everything I could have hoped for Addy and Beckett! *Chefs kiss*

Hidden Waters, the third book in Catherine Cowles’ Tattered and Torn series, find us with the long-awaited couple Adaline (Addy) Kemper and Beckett Easton. Addy Kemper was finally able to escape the horror of her past after 24 years of abuse at the hand of her father. But unfortunately for Addy, in a town so small, the fear of retribution for escaping her father lurks. While finding refuge in her cousin’s fiancé’s vacant house in town, she soon finds herself sharing the home with his brother.
Beckett Easton makes his way back into town after years as a travel doctor. Easton is battling with the demons of his past, and while he is finally ready to settle back at home, he finds himself without a place to stay while his new home is being built. Cue forced proximity!

I absolutely loved this book! Addy was so kind and resilient; it was such a rewarding journey to take with this heroine while Beckett was so supportive of her journey. He was the empathetic, swoony, and fiercely protective hero every reader will fall in love with!

I listened to this book on audio, and Catherine recruited only the best in narration with Sebastian York and Ava Erikson. They did a great job of bringing these characters to life. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

Addie's story!

Addie escaped her family of off-the-grid folk and is now trying to live a "normal" life in Wolf Gap. With the help of her cousin, who also escaped the cult-like community, she has a job and a safe place to live. This place is the sheriff's house, her cousin's fiancé. She wasn't expecting a roommate, though - Beckett, the sheriff's brother, who's coming home from his long stint as a doctor overseas. She's a little apprehensive, but she can't say not to Hays - after all it's his brother. 

Beckett immediately feels protective of the shy and skittish Addie. Soon he's feeling honored to be introducing her to a series of firsts: pizza, cell phones, hot chocolate. He has his own demons to battle and Addie's presence seems to be a balm to his soul.

But by now we know that the little town of Wolf Gap can be a dangerous place to live, and the darkness that comes from Addie's family is following her everywhere. What changed? She has Beckett now.

I love Catherine Cowles and, as I've mentioned before, she reminds me of the old school Nora Roberts' romantic suspense novels and that's high praise in my book. 

Beckett is top shelf boyfriend material and I love how kind and patient he is with Addie, but what I love most is that Addie is no push-over! She won't bow down to anyone nor take handouts  and she is determined to grow into the woman she knows she can be.

Like in all the books, our hero and heroine go through danger as is par for the course in Wolf Gap and I was on the edge of my seat rooting for things to work out for them in the end. Great book! 

Narration: Ava Erickson and Sebastian York. Enough said. 

Possible triggers: FMC escaped a very abusive family situation. Feelings of abandonment and guilt, misogyny,harrassment, violence  

Hidden Waters

𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

Is Catherine Cowles trying to win an award for how amazing her audiobooks sound?? Because like… SHE’S DEFINITELY IN THE RUNNING!!

Anywayyyyy, this book was so enjoyable!! I’m not generally someone who enjoys a heroine that seems to be so scarred that she’s kind of timid and mousy, but it definitely worked in this book! Beck is just ahhhh, everything. The way he could read Addie like a book and seemed to know what she needed was perfect to me. No matter his feelings for her, he was always willing to be there for her as a friend first and that was absolutely awesome in my opinion. Addie was always trying to please everyone but Beck always put her first and that was 😍

I am enjoying this series so much and can’t wait to jump into the next book! So glad I was put onto this author!

5 stars

I loved Addie and Beckett's story! Loving this series!! Love this author! And Ava Erickson and Sebastian York were fabulous as the narrators!

Amazing once more

Not surprisingly so, this 3rd installment in the Tattered and Torn series was just as amazing as the first 2! I absolutely LOVED Addie and Beckett’s story.

Their friendship, their chemistry, their love…everything about them together was absolutely perfect.

Beckett helped Addie come out of her shell. He helped her find her way again, carve her own path. Just as well, Addie helped Beckett face ghosts from his he kept running away from. She helped him heal wounds he kept trying to cover up.

So yes, the emotional and romantic side of this story was phenomenal. Add to that the page-turning suspense, and I was addicted. While it was pretty obvious who the “bad guy” was, it wasn’t all that simple, so I kept wondering what all could happen next.

I can’t wait for the next book to come out!

A top 2022 fave.
5/5 stars to the story and narrators

Hidden Waters is Fantastic!

Catherine Cowles has written an amazing story of strength, romance, kindness, suspense, and love. The story of Addie and Beckett is amazing, especially when told by the fabulous voices of Ava Erickson and Sebastian York. This is a story you do not want to miss.

Fantastic audio!

Hidden Waters is the third book in the Tattered and Torn series by Catherine Cowles, a small town series. I had the best time binging/catching up with the books out so far in the series. This book was angsty and emotional and I loved it!

Addie is the cousin of Everly, the heroine of book (Tattered Stars), and she lived in the same type of environment growing up…their fathers were preppers, anti government, believe in living off the grid/off the land, don’t seek medical care, all those type of things. Addie did escape and get away and now in this book she’s having to learn to live a “normal life” so to speak: getting her GED, learning to drive/drivers license, getting a job, learning about computers and technology. She’s been living in her cousin Everly’s home when Everly asks if her brother-in-law can move in with her for a bit while his home is being built.

Beckett is a doctor and he returned to Wolf Gap after his sister Hadley got injured in the previous book (Falling Embers). He’s been living back at home with his parents while his house gets built but is going a little crazy cooped up there. His brother Hayes, the local sheriff and hero of book 1, tells him Addie is fine with them becoming roommates for a bit. I really liked seeing the friendship that Addie and Beckett form, they both have some emotional trauma from their pasts that they have to work through and I liked seeing them open up to one another about that. Beckett decides to setup a clinic near the people who live off the grid and further out of town so I liked seeing how Addie assisted him with that. Of course it isn’t a Catherine Cowles book without some kidnapping 😅 but I really enjoyed the romantic suspense element to this one! I just really enjoy this series and all the cast of characters, I cannot wait for the next books!

Hidden Waters

We meet Addie in book one; she is Ev’s cousin. Her family believes women are there for the men in every way and if you don’t do your job you will be taught how.

She finds the strength to leave, and she blooms. I loved that it was her choice, and we saw how hard it was to leave. That is the thing people say just leave but when it's all you have ever known then you can’t.

Beckett is the brother that left and is now back. He is a doctor who has seen some of the worst things humanity has to offer. It's as if they heal each other.

Great book. Can’t wait for the next.
Ava and Sebastian are amazing together!

Great book! Strong Heroine!

This is another great romantic suspense by Catherine Cowles. I’m speaking largely about the heroine, because I take exception with another reviewer’s comments that the the heroine, Addie, was weak. Cowles consistently crafts strong heroines, and Addie is clearly among them. She’s resilient, brave, and has survived tremendous difficulty throughout her childhood, Lacking experience and unsure of oneself in social situations isn’t weakness when one hasn’t had any experiences typical of others their age. Addie’s knowledge, skills, and incredible empathy is different than others, but that’s not weak. Addie consistently strives to improve, steps out into unknown circumstances, and is determined to be independent.

I loved the gentle way the romance grows and I was particularly struck with how patient and kind Becker was throughout their friendship and later courtship. Narration was stellar.

✨ 4.25 ✨

Hidden Waters was a beautifully written story about healing, overcoming the past and finding true love. I absolutely just loved the heroine in this book and everything she overcame; definitely my favorite book so far in the series.

I was able to listen to the audiobook at the same time and I have to say that the narrators did a fantastic job and definitely made me enjoy the story a lot more.

While this book can be read as a standalone it is the third book in the Tattered & Torn series. So I would just recommend reading the prior books first for more context. I would also suggest checking the content and trigger warnings before reading as well. It is dual POVs of the main characters and has the force proximity trope as well.

The overall storyline and plot while a bit slow at times was still beautifully written. The heroine’s backstory and everything she went through absolutely broke my heart. She definitely deserved the world and I was just blown away with her character growth.

The hero was amazing as well. I loved how patient, protective and understanding he was. His devotion and love for her was just so beautiful.

The suspense aspect was also great; while heartbreaking I just loved how strong the heroine was throughout the whole situation.

The romantic development between the main characters was a bit slow, which was understandable but nonetheless still beautiful. They had some amusing, heartfelt and spicy moments as well.

The ending was a bit rushed to be honest and kind of brushed over certain aspects but still had a great conclusion.

Overall, just an incredible read with an amazing heroine.