Read with Fern

“I look at Ted, and for once, I see a brother instead of a rival. I wonder how long that will last.”

Beneath the Surface, Kaira Rouda

⭐⭐

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Spoilers Beyond This Point

But just because they’re not motivated to doing anything out of pocket doesn’t mean these characters aren’t up to some insane things. Richard, the father, is the closest to a compelling character. He is successful in the being the all-knowing CEO who can keep tabs on everyone at the same time. However, he doesn’t have the terrifying “I could ruin your life in a second” vibe that I’d expect of someone that holds that much power. Instead, he seems to pander to all three of his children without a master plan behind it.

Sibley, the youngest and only daughter, is also close to being compelling. She took the time to befriend her long-discarded uncle, who’s helping her try to take over the company through shares. She also seduces a man who knows the ship captain, and convinces him to steal millions of dollars of jewelry. Unfortunately, even with all this foresight and ambition, Sibley is written as petulant and childish, so her feats pale in comparison.

And then there’s John. John literally pushes his wife overboard because she threatens Richard, and he’s still not interesting. John is the oldest child in every stereotype possible. He’s working for his dad’s company, cleaning up all the unseemly messes his family creates. However, no one cares. Honestly, I didn’t even care. Rachel, his to-be-murdered wife is more interesting than him and she gets half the dialogue he does.

Ted doesn’t even require a full paragraph. Ted is annoying because he’s the whiny, entitled, rich golden boy that’s in every story. He’s poorly written, with no charm. The “twist” that he and Richard’s new wife Serena are starting an affair is only believable because Serena has ulterior motives.

The only character I felt like I was supposed to root for was Paige. And yay, she wins the whole contest and becomes president of Richard’s company. I wish I liked her, or at least cared enough to feel like it was justified. Instead, it felt Paige’s whole reason to be in the book was to perkily say “yes, dear” to every Kingsley man and “boo, you whore” to every woman. Truthfully, she and Ted were equally nothing, which makes them a perfect pair.

Overall, this book tried to be a thrilling family drama. Instead, it was a slow family drama. At 270 pages, I expected to feel like the story was flying past me with it’s many twists and turns. Instead, I felt like I was trudging through each plot point, begging for something to kick up the pace.