Hydraulic Level Five is a term used in whitewater rafting. In the book, HYDRAULIC LEVEL FIVE, symbolism is used to show the dangers of whitewater rafting and the pitfalls of relationships. Latchaw merges the two together to create a story of love, heartbreak, and forgiveness.

Kaye and Samuel have been childhood friends, lovers, a married couple and are now divorced. Samuel is now a published author and even has one of his books being made into a movie. Now living the celebrity life with book tours and red carpet events, Kaye seems so disconnected from his life. Their divorce has been final for seven years and Kaye is a wreck because Samuel is coming back to Colorado for his sister and Kaye's best friend, Danita's wedding. What is breaking Kaye's heart is that he is bringing Caroline, his gorgeous editor, as his date.

HYDRAULIC LEVEL FIVE is set in Lyons, Colorado, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Kaye runs a successful PR firm and gets a rush on the weekends with her friends by participating in various extreme sports including, whitewater rafting, mountain climbing and skydiving. Each chapter begins with a different whitewater rafting term that symbolizes what is going on with the characters in that chapter.

Throughout the book, the reader is also treated to snippets of Samuel's novels, as well as the memoir he is writing about his childhood with Kaye. In these, we are given pieces of Samuel's and Kaye's life that we might not initially see. With the story in a story, we are exposed to Latchaw's wide range of talents in her writing.

Besides Kaye and Samuel, the loving, close-knit Mexican-American family, the Cabral family, are a big part of the story line. Reading about the culture and traditions of this Hispanic family was a nice addition and gave the characters a firm foundation because every one of them were connected to the Cabrals in some way. Kaye's love and devotion to this family is challenged by Caroline. But, Kaye is determined to find out what made Samuel choose to give up on their marriage and not look back. An incident at one of Samuel's book signings, some pranks, and a shocking revelation about Samuel, culminate in a life-changing revelation for both Kaye and Samuel and the future of their relationship.

With Kaye and Samuel's relationship there were numerous highs and lows. The reader is one minute frustrated with their immaturity and the next fighting tears over their strong emotions. In the following snippets from the story, you can see the depth of their love for each other even among their failures.

"But...what if getting unstuck meant letting go of Samuel? Not just physically separating myself from him - I'd tried that already, and it hadn't worked. What if it meant letting go of the love I still harbored for him, buried amidst bitterness, anger, regret? Was that what Jaime meant when she said I wanted to be stuck? If so, I didn't know if I was strong enough to let go." Page 85

"Being his friend would also mean playing witness to his romances and eventual marriage, whether the woman was Caroline or someone entirely different. It would mean being there for his wedding, the birth of his children, and any other happiness that came calling. Was I strong enough for that? Was I masochistic enough for that? But if I got my answers from him and moved past his...stuckness, I might have those things, too. Marriage. Children. Companionship. Love? And as my friend, he'd also play witness to my happiness. It came down to this: was sharing each other's lives, and taking the joys that came with it, worth the heartache?" Page 165-166

For someone who doesn't typically read contemporary romance novels, I enjoyed the depth of characters, the detailed setting, the story within a story, and the passionate way the characters cared about their friends and family. The book doesn't just gloss over romance but hits at the hard realities of life including drug abuse, mental illness, and the pain of divorcing the person you thought you would be with forever. Latchaw is a strong novelist and one I hope has many stories to tell. ( )