Clear Water by Nina | The Most Beautiful Love Story in the Porter Universe

Baby listen, papa Hassan was definitely a rolling stone!

Clear Water is the fifth book in the Porter family series, and it has a completely different vibe than every other book in this universe. While there is still some drama here and there, this one truly reads like a love story destined to happen. It is pure joy.

Pavati Imani Porter is the daughter of Hassan and Oceana, yes, Lake’s mother. While her mother has always told her about her father & brothers, none of them actually know she exists. She and her cousin Woemi are being raised by Oceana’s strict, religious parents because both of their mothers had hard lives and were incapable of giving them what they needed.

At age 22, Pavati has a good head on her shoulders. She works as a social worker, is still a virgin, and has been the adoptive mother of 17-year-old Mujian (Muji) for several years. She loves Muji like she birthed him, pouring into him every chance she gets, even playing one-on-one with him, attending his games, and “coaching” him on his basketball skills.

Enter Daly, yep, Lake’s best friend and brother in every way that counts. Pav gets her hair done at his sister TJ’s shop, which is where Woemi works, and they’ve developed quite the rapport and friendship. Every time Daly sees Pavati, he is completely fixated on her. Not only is she beautiful, but he always says she reminds him of someone he knows. He asks TJ if she sees the resemblance, but TJ says no.

Daly has three sisters, TJ, Erie, and Kia, whom he has raised since they were children. Their mother was a drug addict, which was part of the reason he and Lake bonded so deeply growing up. Hassan always made sure Daly and his sisters had what they needed. Now, their mom has an infant and asks Daly to help her out. His sisters tell him not to do it because they know their mother, and sure enough, she abandons the baby and leaves Daly to raise him.

Daly solicits his sisters’ help in watching baby Emery, but that baby absolutely hates everyone except him. Enter Muji. Emery takes an immediate liking to Muji, and in turn, Pav. They are the only people outside of Daly that Emery will allow to hold him. Before long, they basically become a family, beautifully bonded through baby Emery.

When Daly shows Pav to his cousin Roddy, it finally clicks: she is the female version of Lake. His suspicions are confirmed when he follows Pav to a café, only for Avery, Ivy, and Chi to eventually join her there. She must be a relative. When he finally tells Lake about Pav, Lake is in complete disbelief and demands to see her. Once he lays eyes on her, he knows instantly, and they have to tell the rest of the brothers.

Daly’s infatuation with Pav is so apparent to Lake, who is highly amused at Daly pretending he doesn’t see her like that. Once Daly arranges for the brothers to finally meet Pav, she is moved to tears at the unexpected gesture. Even though she is a full-grown adult, the brothers treat her like their baby from day one, instantly loving and protecting her. She and Lake cannot stop looking at each other because they could literally be twins, and it creeps them out how deeply they feel for one another. That whole basketball court scene where they finally met had me in tears. It was so powerful. Even though they are all siblings, she and Lake share the same parents, so their bond is just on a different level; like Sav and Dem, but without the toxicity.

Pav and Lake eventually confront Oceana about why she hid her, which brings all of them closer together. My absolute favorite part is Avery and Oceana’s frenemy relationship; they love each other and Lake so damn much. Both Lake and Pav getting peace from their grandparents where their father was concerned was also very moving. No matter what his flaws were, Hassan loved his kids, and no one could deny that.

As Pav continues to help Daly with Emery, their bond and attraction to one another deepens, eventually leading to him telling Lake and everyone else that he wants to be with her. When Pav has her breakdown and Daly doesn’t know what happened, the way he makes sure she knows he is thinking about her is so heartwarming. Daly was so tender and real with her. I loved how he gave her every part of him while she did the exact same. This was my favorite romance because even when drama tried to step in, these two stayed ten toes down about each other and the love they were building.

And when they finally make love? CHILE! Daly is not to be played with, okay? Also, him not only going to every single person in her life to let them know he wanted her hand in marriage, but tapping into her world of poetry to propose to her gave me all the feels!

I loved how Nina curated each sibling’s individual relationship with Pav, especially Wreck and Dem. Dem finally discovering a sibling who shares his diagnosis was a breath of fresh air for me. I felt like it was so freeing for both of them to realize they weren’t alone in this world. Their relationship was everything. I also feel that Pav was the catalyst for Wreck finally taking ownership of the role he played in his and Gia’s demise, prompting him to work on himself both mentally and physically. I was so tickled when Pav showed up unannounced at Wreck’s while Daly was there, only to tell her brother she liked Daly. Baby, Wreck was HOT lol! He couldn’t stand to see his baby sister being fresh like that, but he trusted that Daly wouldn’t do her wrong.

Even her relationship with Daly’s sisters was beautiful, especially Erie. And baby, Emery just knew Pav was his momma, and no one could tell him otherwise.

All in all, Clear Water is officially my FAVORITE book in this series. I always loved Daly for his loyalty and support of Lake, and this one made me love him even more.

TW: parental abandonment, childhood trauma, addiction references

Rating: A refreshing, beautiful, and deeply moving romance. Daly and Pavati are absolute perfection and deserve everything good.