A little bit about what you'll find reviewed here

A little bit about what you'll find reviewed on this blog: I believe the best books involve characters you wish you could read more about long after the book is finished. Recently, I've been searching for hidden gems from the past. I read mostly fiction, and I'm a bit of a prude. I don't normally enjoy books with sex or excessive language.

Who I am:
I raised two wonderful girls, and I'm super proud of them. I enjoy reading (of course), sewing, cross stitching, photography and writing. I live in the high desert portion of Washington (which I didn't know existed until my husband and I decided to move here) and have really enjoyed my time out here. I am excited to see what God has next in store for my life!

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

The House at Saltwater Point (Lavender Tides #2) - Colleen Coble


This is the second book in the series.  The first one was called The View from Rainshadow Bay.  When I read that one, I wondered if the series would have something to do with Shauna’s siblings (Shauna is the heroine from the first novel whose siblings disappeared when she was a child).  I was right.  Probably the third one will be about Brenna, the final sibling.

Grayson is trying to find a dangerous man named Nasser.  His long-lost sister shows up and turns his life upside down and coincidentally, exploring his childhood home brings him closer to catching his nemesis.  If you’re familiar with Coble’s work, you’ll recognize where he’s been living, Hope Beach.  And there’s mention of Rock Harbor as well with regards to Brenna (the third sibling).  Anyway, he meets Ellie and their lives become intertwined.

Ellie’s sister is missing, presumed dead.  All the evidence points to her being up to no good, but Ellie refuses to believe it.  She’s lived with guilt and shame for years about the death of her other sister, and tries her best to prove herself worthy.  She even wears glasses as a shield though her eyes are perfectly fine.  She’ll do what it takes to clear her sister’s name, even working with Gray.  He seems to think Ellie refuses to accept the truth about her sister, and Ellie accuses Gray of not keeping an open mind.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as most of Coble’s other books.  I wasn’t able to connect with these characters much, especially Ellie.  She didn’t seem to grow as a character at all.  At the end, she’s basically the same person she was at the beginning: plagued with low self-esteem and insecurity.  The plot was a little too out there for me as well.  It reminded me of a James Bond film, complete with incompetent villains.  You know, the ones that claim to want people dead but refuse to actually do anything about it – even when given the opportunity.

I wanted to like this one.  As it was, I put it down more than once and left it for quite some time before picking it back up.  Don’t get me wrong, Coble is one of my favorite authors, and this is the first semi-dud I’ve read from her in a while.  I believe most other people won’t have the issues I did with it, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped.  I’m still looking forward to the third book.  I want to know about Brenna.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.




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