Brittainy C. Cherry

Moments.Our lives are a collection of moments. Some utterly painful and full of yesterday's hurts. Some beautifully hopeful and full of tomorrow's promises.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 him.I was ten years old when I lost my voice. A piece of me was stolen away, and the only person who could truly hear my silence was Brooks Griffin. He was the light during my dark days, the promise of tomorrow, until tragedy found him. Tragedy that eventually drowned him in a sea of memories.This is the story of a boy and girl who loved each other, but didn't love themselves. A story of life and death. Of love and broken promises.Of moments.(Book Three in the Elements Series. Complete Standalone.)

The Silent Waters

Yasmin Dunnewind

A note to the boy that exchanges books filled with annotations 

It was honestly amazing, I cried and felt my heart ache more than once. I recommend this book to everyone, but please do read the tw!!

Favorite quotes ||

The world keeps spinning because you heartbeats exist

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

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

All this time I thought you were reading to escape the world, but now I know, you didn’t read to escape it; you read to discover it

You can’t just read these books and think that means you’re living. It’s their story, not yours, and it’s heartbreaking to watch someone so young toss away their chance at writing their own story

You’re my favorite kind of sound

Those who believed in you when you didn’t believe in yourself were the ones to hold close

People could hide their true selves for a while, but over time, the masks always fell off

That night I realized a few things about life. Sometimes the rain was more pleasing than the sun. Sometimes the hurt was more fulfilling than the healing. And sometimes the pieces of a puzzle were more beautiful when scattered apart

It amazed me how a heart could shatter in a crowded room and the sound couldn’t be heard by a single person

While it was nice to see the story between the 2 love interest play out, I felt that after a certain point it just started dragging on and the author was creating more unnecessary obstacles. It could’ve ended 100 pages sooner.

Lea ;)

"When Will My Life Begin?" by Mandy Moore

“The world keeps spinning because your heartbeats exist.” SOBS
“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.”

Brittainy Cherry is forsure one of my favorite authors now esp when I need a good cry! Her books are so well-written with well-developed relationships. I also appreciate that the author gives depth to the side characters instead of leaving them as one dimension background characters. The author beautifully writes such heartbreaking stories along with incorporating the four elements. Similar to Persuasion, Brittainy Cherry's books are a perfect mix of profound moments stirred with wonderful entertainment. hehe

After becoming mute due to her trauma, Maggie turns to books as her main source of happiness/entertainment/adventure. I love that throughout the story, her loved ones started loving books too esp her sister which in turn strengthened their relationship. Brooks also started reading books bc Maggie loves books omg LOVE THAT!! “It’s one of your favorites?” Yes. “Then I’ll read it twice” They would trade books and read together too!! Later on, he would still make time to read books and send the books with his annotations in them despite his busy schedule as a rockstar omg 
"I loved crying over a book in front of a sausage fest of grown men. It really upped my cool points."

Even though Maggie seems weak, she is not a weak character at all! She shows her strength through her love for her family. She also shows her strength by overcoming and braving through her trauma! 

The way Brooks loves Maggie was so effortless and patient - his love for her is so dreamlike! He served the obsessed boy trope so well!!! Literally, he can’t be with any other girl bc they would be third and the girls know it tooooo even when Maggie and Brook were just friends. Third to music and Maggie
"She said she couldn’t handle being the third choice in my life.” Third? “Music…and, well…” He gave me a grin that was more of a grimace. “You.”
"Third in your life. You’ve got your music, your book girl, and then the rest of the world, and no matter how hard the rest of the world tries to keep up with your attention, you’re never fully there.”

(view spoiler)[ “Maggie May” by Rod Stewart 
OMG the epilogue with their kids and their dog Skippy and cat Jam!! AWWWW "dance with me?" <33  (hide spoiler)]

fav quotes of so many:
"Like hand jobs? Or rim jobs? Or blow jobs? Or nip-lick jobs? Or pineapple-upside-down-cake jobs? I know what you’re thinking, all of these seem like unpaid positions, but trust me, if you do them right, you’ll be paid in full.” HAHAHAHA

"You’ll be the best librarian in the history of librarians, and I’d visit your library to read every single book." I LOVE THISSSS

"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"

"I knew it seemed dramatic, but those books, those characters—they were my friends, my safe haven, my protection."

"I’d fallen in love with hundreds of different men from hundreds of different books."

"All this time I thought you were reading to escape the world, but now I know, you didn’t read to escape it; you read to discover it.”

"Someday you’re going to wake up and leave your house, Magnet, and you’re going to discover the world. Someday you’re going to see the whole wide world, Maggie May, and on that day, when you step outside and breathe in your first breath, I want you to find me. No matter what, find me, because I’m going to be the one to show it to you. I’m going to help you cross things off your to-do list. I’m gonna show you the whole wide world."

"I loved how he could see me when the rest of the world forgot I existed."

"It amazed me how a heart could shatter in a crowded room and the sound couldn’t be heard by a single person."

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Maggie?”
"Happy" - OMG SAME

"Get fixed? What if I wasn’t broken? What if this was just me?"

"I love you, Magnet, both as a lover and a friend. Those are two things that will never change, even when my heart needs a break."

"P.S. I’m always around to listen to your silence."

"I needed her to know she was and always would be my biggest dream."

"Maggie always reminded me of music. She was my music."

"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 want to show you the world, Maggie May. I want to take you on the biggest adventure of your life.”
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. - GAHHHH THEY HAVE MYHEART

Megan

I never thought I would cry so hard..😂😂
Brooks is everything I love him so much he is such a sweetie 
<3

Catarina Freitas

4.5 stars

“The world keeps spinning cause your heartbeats exist”.

ouch ♡

Habiba Herisha

Haven't read something that good in a while ....

Taniareads 

this book surprised me. did not expect to like it so much! the writer describes maggie's trauma in a very real way. however, i expected more in overcoming Brooks' trauma, it was too rushed.

Turtle lover

this is gooood. well i am torn bet 4/5 stars. i guess 4.5 stars. 

my entertainment level: ✨✨✨✨

story : ✨✨✨✨✨

love/angst : ✨✨✨

jenn kause

I saw this recommended on BookTok and I must’ve come into the book with preconceived ideas but it just didn’t fit it for me. The writing style just isn’t it for me (which is obviously okay for other people)- so I think this read for me just wasn’t what I was expecting or looking for.

Kirsten

Madelynn snobl

AMAZING 

This story made me laugh and cry, once I started reading I couldn’t stop. Please everyone read this. I love how obviously this a love story, but it’s sort of a back burner one. Maggie May finding her way through life after her voice was stolen from her as a child. It’s about her life, and the way she got her voice back— had me crying happy tears.

chloe mcpherson

Once again Brittainy C. Cherry has made me love, cry, laugh, within the first 5 chapters. I can’t begin to explain how this book makes me feel because you just need to read it for yourself to be able to experience it. Everything Maggie felt, I felt. Everything Brooks felt, I felt. 
Brittainy’s writing is just so good, the plot is wonderfully written, all the characters are so lovable even if they are being mean, the romance is just everything because you can physically feel the chemistry between the characters, Brittainy just had the talent for making you feel things. 

It probably wasn’t a good idea to start this at 2 in the morning because I could just not put it down and now I’ve had no sleep, but it was so worth it! 
This book is definitely my favourite of hers so far, Brittainy has easily become my favourite author and I’m just so excited to read the next book!!!

sade head

Eduarda Lemos

Este livro segue a história de Maggie. Maggie, aos 6 anos, já planeava o seu casamento com Brooks Girffin, o rapaz dos seus sonhos. No entanto, algo acontece que a deixa traumatizada para a vida, fá-la perder a sua voz e a sua essência. Durante o seu crescimento, Brooks foi o seu ponto seguro, o seu ombro amigo. Apesar de não comunicarem por palavras, a música era o seu elo de ligação. 

Durante todos esses anos, Maggie não contou a ninguém o que aconteceu naquele dia, não voltou a falar nem a sair de casa. Foi a sua amizade com Brooks e o amor do seu pai que a manteve viva, além das histórias que lia que eram a sua maneira de viajar e ver o mundo.

Eu gostei muito da história deste livro, tive uma ligação quase imediata com Maggie, vivi com ela e sobretudo sofri com ela. A amizade dela com Brooks, ainda que ela sonhasse com algo mais, foi linda de se ver. Ele ajudou-a a aprender a comunicar novamente, ainda que não fosse por palavras. O amor incondicional do seu pai foi outro ponto que adorei ver, levou-me às lágrimas. 

No entanto, este livro tem vários pontos negativos, desde logo a maneira como é tratado o trauma da Maggie. Se é verdade que este tipo de situações pode destruir pessoas e famílias e isso vê-se muito bem neste livro, também é verdade que a falta de procura de um profissional por parte da família foi uma falha muito grande. Numa situação em que uma criança sofre um trauma ao ponto de não falar e ter medo de sair de casa é impensável que não se percorra este mundo e o outro para a ajudar, coisa que não se viu aqui, houve uma aceitação do trauma por parte da família, desistiram de a ajudar.

Outro ponto que quero destacar foi o romance que se desenrolou entre Maggie e Brooks anos mais tarde, acho que foi muito repentino e mal explorado. A história que existia entre aqueles dois e a amizade que nutriam merecia um romance melhor, mais desenvolvido. Ainda assim gostei muito de os ver lutar contra os seus demónios, apoiando-se mutuamente. 

Por fim, a descoberta do trauma de Maggie pelo Brooks e a família e as consequências que daí advieram também foram muito apressadas e mal desenvolvidas, o que tiram o pouco encanto que ali havia.

Esmee hogeboom

The Silent Waters is the third book in The Elements Series. 
I had big expectations going into this book, because I loved the other two I read. But I felt a little bit disappointed. 

This story is about Meggie and about Brooks. They are neighbors and childhood friends. Meggie experiences a traumatic event when she was a child that marks her forever. She loses her ability to talk and becomes mute. I felt so much for her and her struggles, but I thought sometimes it was a little bit unrealistic. I just didn’t believe how she recovered from it and how everything felt rushed at the end of the book. 

Brooks is an amazing book boyfriend. He is kind, beautiful and really patient with Maggie. He really respects her and I love to read about that. He also went to a dark time in his life, but together with Maggie he gets trough that. 

Meggie and Brooks are characters who belong together. I not only liked the romantic relationship, but also the family relationships. Especially between Maggie, her father and Cheryl. It felt real and beautiful.

Even though I liked the characters I felt like this story was a little bit slow at times. I got a little bit bored because of that.

Kenna Stacks

It’s a Miracle I Could Finish it With All These Tears in My Eyes

I don’t write a lot of reviews, but I couldn’t put this one down. I cried so much and truly felt so many of the words straight to my soul. As a trauma survivor, I could relate to the characters. It didn’t feel forced and it was beautifully and respectfully portrayed. This book makes you want to fight. For yourself. For those you love. And to hold on to your anchor while you search for the light that pulls you out of your own darkness. So beautifully done. I hope all this made sense. Just go read it. *wipes at eyes that won’t stop tearing up*

Sarah Hayes

** spoiler alert **
           Did i cry? Yes
Are there flaws? Yes
Did i pick the 'person'? instantly. 
Was it a good read? Yeah sure. 

I liked this book, i did. But i found some continuity issues, like after Maggie May needed a SAK in hospital, why wasn't there any police investigation? Why wasn't Brooks questions by police about how he had found her? Is it not common in America for scenes like that to be investigated further into? 

And then AS SOON AS we met the killer/the abuser, i knew isntantly.

This was a great romance, but an atrocious mystery/thriller in terms of the trauma.

Amanda 

If you ignore the mega sized plot holes, this is a touchingly beautiful romance.

Nikki

This is literally something else. ❤️
Will post the review later.
PS. I will read anything she writes.

Kathryn

“You okay today Maggie May?”

This is a trauma focused, romantic read that is perfect if you need the feels. Light, quick, entertaining and really enforces the importance of finding your voice.

(And Brooks is essentially a dream guy, that doesn’t hurt either 😏)

3.75 ⭐️

Anna // read.all.night 

Hmm. 3.5? I feel weird about this. 
The whole premise was strange 
And the way it continued 
and the way it stopped 

Also it’s fade to black 

But I liked them together they were cute af. 

Idk man

Dani Mitchell

A fascinating tale of growth and love. Living through a traumatic event and trying to put all her pieces back together, Maggie finds love and hope for a better future. Read it in a day, absolutely worth a read!! 

The Silent Waters

Reviews