Sleepwater Static by Kathrin Hutson – a Review

Sleepwater Static
Blue Helix series – Book 2
Release Date: May 26, 2020

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Description:
They say home is where the heart is. Now that Sleepwater’s on the run, home is just another place to hide.

Wyoming’s Sleepwater chapter is on the run, hunted for their ability to spin a beat. With little time to mourn the members they’ve lost, Bernadette Manney takes the group to the one place she swore she’d never see again: the cabin in Hollywood, South Carolina. It’s remote enough to lay low and catch a break, but not for long.

Their beats are condemned as mutations, radical terrorist tactics, and felonies punishable both by and outside the law. Bernadette thought Sleepwater would be safe here, but returning to her Southern roots unleashes more demons than she left behind. Her past, her love, and even her own flesh and blood won’t let her move on through a venomous society intent on rooting out her people. Now, to bring a mother’s first child safely into an unsafe world, Bernadette must face her own shame from before Sleepwater itself was born. But redemption and forgiveness may be too much to ask, and it may just be too late.

Review: 

Sleepwater Static by Kathrin Hutson is the second book in her Blue Helix series. We met Bernadette in the last book, she’s one of the original members of the group. They are now on the run, the government want them, the public don’t understand them, and they don’t understand what’s going on themselves.  You don’t need to read the first book, but it does help. There is lots going on in the first book that will put stuff into perspective. 

Again this book jumps from past to present, this time showing us Bernadette’s story, I liked the messages from her friend, it actually filled in a few questions, without going into too much detail. We get the why she left South Carolina, what her ability or “beat” is and why she is the way she is……

It’s been six months since the last book. They are on the run from the government facility that captured a few of them. The Doctor that captured them did something to them, something terrible and half of the group will never be the same again. Sadness fills the air, losing friends that feel like family hurts them all. But Bernadette has a job to do, she needs to get them to safety, her family cabin seems like the best option. 

I have to admit I did like the first book better. But this one had its own good points. You expect a main character to be young, well Bernadette isn’t, she’s not a young woman, she’s not even middle aged, she’s an elderly woman with arthritis!!! 

She’s seen a lot in her time, a bully for a father, a jealous sister, a club owner who took advantage of her gift, friends who turned on her. But the turning point was when she turned her gift on her daughter!! She couldn’t take the guilt, and so Bernadette ran, and never stopped running. She’s collected strangers along the way, turning them into a family of sorts. We also catch up with a few old friends from the previous book, and a few surprises along the way. 

I really like Bernadette, she’s a very complex character, a hard life made easier with a few wonderful years, then given a second chance with her new family. She also comes into contact with her old family, how will she react with that? 

The ending definitely ended a little abrupt, so I’m hoping it’s not the end. 

Description:
They say the pen is mightier than the sword. In Sleepwater’s world, words are literally more powerful than bullets.

Leo could always make people believe anything she says—really believe. When her chest burns and the words come from her mouth, her targets’ eyes glaze over, they forget their own thoughts, and they’ll do anything she says. It’s what keeps her alive after being on the run and living on the streets for years. But after using it on her girlfriend and her dad’s drug dealer, it’s
also what got her here on the streets in the first place.

Then Sleepwater finds her. When Leo discovers there are others out there with similar powers, scattered across the country, she can’t say no to the underground organization. After all, what’s a little sit-down with the only people who may ever understand her? What she doesn’t expect is to be thrust into Sleepwater’s guerrilla war, hunted by government agencies, and used as a weapon. Worse than that, she might be more valuable not for what she can do but for who she was before they found her.

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Review:  Sleepwater Beat by Katrin Hutson is the 1^st book in her Blue Helix series.  Leo can persuade people to see things her way, convince others they didn’t see it, or that they imagined it a different way. Living on the streets has taught her a few things, suspicion is one of them. So when a random man takes her in, she readily accepted the offer. (I was surprised she wasn’t more resistant, but could a spinner be making her mind up?).

To be honest, I think Leo was looking for a connection, maybe even someone to care about her. And when she gets a job spinning stories and illusions, Leo thinks she’s found a home…..

We do jump from past to present a lot, and it does take a little getting used to. But persevere, it’s well worth the read. I think it’s more of a thriller, the other “beat spinners” are hiding something, so it makes me wonder what they are really planning. They seem to know more about Leo than they are letting on.

The way I see the beat spinners are a type of hypnosis, the suggestion is in their voice, they can weave you into the story, so you think you are there. This reminds me of  the X-Men, people that are different from humans, in hiding from the rest of the world, scared to show their true selves. (But it didn’t use to be like that, now it’s illegal). But they also need to hide, wealthy people want them as “pets”, to show their abilities in clubs and private homes, the spinners are forming resistance groups, targeting drugs companies (this is one of the reasons why Leo leaves home) there are a few surprises that kept me reading. The ending didn’t stop on a cliffhanger, but it does leave a few unanswered questions.

The story is dark, Leo has had many knock backs in her life, her mother abandoning her, her father dying of an overdose, living on the streets. So I did understand where she was coming from, always wary, always angry. Sleepwater gave her another chance at a normal life, but she had to earn her way in, and I did find that a little hard going (it seemed as the rest of the group were always laughing behind her back). But there is something going on in the background, I get a feeling that the death of her father, the drug he was using and the Sleepwater beat spinners are all connected. You’ll have to read the book to see if I’m right?

I liked how all the people seemed to be lost, and Karl and Bernadette were bringing them all together. Each person had a different ability, no one seems immune. The voice seeps inside your soul and the mind brings it into focus. I think this borders on adult rather than young adult. There are a few moments in the book I felt aren’t suitable for the market it’s aimed for.

But I did enjoy it, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Reviewed by Julie B

Copies upplied for review