Good Morning Everyone :)
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and that your week is off to a great start so far.
My weekend was actually pretty good, although it definitely didn't end up going quite as I'd planned. I was finally able to go back to work for a bit which was nice, and I ended up spending some quality time with both my hubby and my nephew.
However, the weekend also included me working a shift at work that I'd never worked before, and so I spent a lot of the weekend feeling extremely tired as I'm not used to being awake at such weird hours.
Aside from working and spending time with family, I still managed to do quite a bit of reading, and I thought I'd start the week off with sharing a review of one of the books I finished this weekend with you all.
The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels:
Source: Publisher as part of the Revell Reads Blogger Program
Publisher: Revell
Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019
Genre: Women's Fiction/Christian Fiction
Synopsis:
Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family's ignominious past. She thought she'd finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels.
When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father's scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. That book--a first edition Catcher in the Rye--is soon followed by the other books she shared with Peter nearly twenty years ago, with one arriving in the mail each day. But why would Peter be making contact after all these years? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she's about to be exposed all over again?
With evocative prose that recalls the classic novels we love, Erin Bartels pens a story that shows that words--the ones we say, the ones we read, and the ones we write--have more power than we imagine.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
This is probably one of the hardest reviews I've written during all my years of book reviewing. On one hand, there were a lot of things I personally enjoyed about this book. However, on the other hand, certain components of it ended up being nothing like what I was expecting, and left me extremely disappointed. The Words Between Us ended up being not quite what I was expecting, and wasn't the guaranteed five star read I'd been prepared for when I read the synopsis.
Let's start off with what I did enjoy about this particular title.
I love when fiction books are set in bookstores. It's one of my favorite settings, and I thought Erin Bartels did a pretty good job of developing the second hand bookstore that Robin Windsor owns in a way that made it feel familiar and cozy to the reader. The many passages that are devoted to Robin's love of books and book characters were some of my favorite, and I enjoyed just how many passages the author managed to include throughout. I also have to talk about how beautiful the prose is throughout the entirety of the story. Erin has a way with words and her writing that reminds me of many favorite classic literature stories, and this writing style worked perfectly with the type of story she's telling throughout The Words Between Us. I'm a huge fan of timeslip novels, and I loved that this novel was told entirely with that kind of format. The reader follows the main character, Robin, throughout two different time periods of her life for the entire story, and I thought it was very well done. The story never got confusing to the reader, the story stayed interesting right throughout, and I enjoyed the way that eventually the timelines started to blend together.
I also can't finish my thoughts on what I did enjoy about this book without highlighting the character of Dawt Pi. She was by far my favorite character throughout the story, and I loved how much her faith, her family, and her beliefs continue to mean to her no matter what comes her way. Dawt Pi is an immigrant from Myanmar, and I loved this inclusion in the story. For a couple of years I had a group of co-workers at my workplace that had emigrated from Myanmar, and they were the kindest and hardest working people you could have ever encountered. A lot of Dawt Pi's story reminded me of the stories that they used to share with my about their life before coming to Canada, and I applaud Erin Bartel for including this in a way that felt authentic and realistic.
Now unfortunately, it's time to talk about what I didn't enjoy about this particular title.
I read quite a few secular books, and there's many that I consider favorites. However, when I pick up a title from a Christian publisher, I'm not expecting to read a book that mainly reads like a secular title. One of the biggest drawbacks for me with The Words Between Us is that God, Jesus, faith and Christianity play a very minimal role. The only time faith is ever mentioned is through the character of Dawt Pi, and it doesn't play a central role to the rest of the story. I found this disheartening, and this story could have been so much more if the main character, Robin, had found Jesus in the wake of all the turmoil crashing down upon on her life. It really would have turned a good story into a great one.
Alongside with the lack of faith content, came the inclusion of content I felt was out of place in this kind of title. Throughout the course of the story; drinking, partying, alcoholism, cheating, divorce, dressing skimpily, and lying for personal gain are all included in certain parts, and I didn't think any of it was necessary. It felt like there were many characters hurt and crying out for Jesus, and unfortunately that wasn't the way that any of it was represented to the reader.
Lastly, I can't conclude this review without mentioning that I wasn't personally a fan of the ending. I know a lot of other reviewers really liked the way that the author chose to conclude her story, but I personally found it underwhelming. It didn't answer a lot of the questions I'd developed throughout the story about the characters, and I was left wanting much more from the story.
All in all, I did honestly enjoy this one. The writing was great, the dual timeline was handled flawlessly, the characters were represented authentically, and the plot kept me guessing. However, I have to take into consideration the many issues I had with the content when I give my final rating, and that's why I'm giving it a three out of five, instead of the four or five star read it might have been.
I will still recommend this title, but I'm not a fan of this new trend that seems to be emerging with Christian fiction titles not actually including much true spiritual content.
Thanks to Revell for allowing me to review this as part of the Revell Reads Blogger Program!
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher, Revell, as part of the Revell Reads Blogger Program. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required to give a positive review.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and that your week is off to a great start so far.
My weekend was actually pretty good, although it definitely didn't end up going quite as I'd planned. I was finally able to go back to work for a bit which was nice, and I ended up spending some quality time with both my hubby and my nephew.
However, the weekend also included me working a shift at work that I'd never worked before, and so I spent a lot of the weekend feeling extremely tired as I'm not used to being awake at such weird hours.
Aside from working and spending time with family, I still managed to do quite a bit of reading, and I thought I'd start the week off with sharing a review of one of the books I finished this weekend with you all.
The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels:
Source: Publisher as part of the Revell Reads Blogger Program
Publisher: Revell
Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019
Genre: Women's Fiction/Christian Fiction
Synopsis:
Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family's ignominious past. She thought she'd finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels.
When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father's scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. That book--a first edition Catcher in the Rye--is soon followed by the other books she shared with Peter nearly twenty years ago, with one arriving in the mail each day. But why would Peter be making contact after all these years? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she's about to be exposed all over again?
With evocative prose that recalls the classic novels we love, Erin Bartels pens a story that shows that words--the ones we say, the ones we read, and the ones we write--have more power than we imagine.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
This is probably one of the hardest reviews I've written during all my years of book reviewing. On one hand, there were a lot of things I personally enjoyed about this book. However, on the other hand, certain components of it ended up being nothing like what I was expecting, and left me extremely disappointed. The Words Between Us ended up being not quite what I was expecting, and wasn't the guaranteed five star read I'd been prepared for when I read the synopsis.
Let's start off with what I did enjoy about this particular title.
I love when fiction books are set in bookstores. It's one of my favorite settings, and I thought Erin Bartels did a pretty good job of developing the second hand bookstore that Robin Windsor owns in a way that made it feel familiar and cozy to the reader. The many passages that are devoted to Robin's love of books and book characters were some of my favorite, and I enjoyed just how many passages the author managed to include throughout. I also have to talk about how beautiful the prose is throughout the entirety of the story. Erin has a way with words and her writing that reminds me of many favorite classic literature stories, and this writing style worked perfectly with the type of story she's telling throughout The Words Between Us. I'm a huge fan of timeslip novels, and I loved that this novel was told entirely with that kind of format. The reader follows the main character, Robin, throughout two different time periods of her life for the entire story, and I thought it was very well done. The story never got confusing to the reader, the story stayed interesting right throughout, and I enjoyed the way that eventually the timelines started to blend together.
I also can't finish my thoughts on what I did enjoy about this book without highlighting the character of Dawt Pi. She was by far my favorite character throughout the story, and I loved how much her faith, her family, and her beliefs continue to mean to her no matter what comes her way. Dawt Pi is an immigrant from Myanmar, and I loved this inclusion in the story. For a couple of years I had a group of co-workers at my workplace that had emigrated from Myanmar, and they were the kindest and hardest working people you could have ever encountered. A lot of Dawt Pi's story reminded me of the stories that they used to share with my about their life before coming to Canada, and I applaud Erin Bartel for including this in a way that felt authentic and realistic.
Now unfortunately, it's time to talk about what I didn't enjoy about this particular title.
I read quite a few secular books, and there's many that I consider favorites. However, when I pick up a title from a Christian publisher, I'm not expecting to read a book that mainly reads like a secular title. One of the biggest drawbacks for me with The Words Between Us is that God, Jesus, faith and Christianity play a very minimal role. The only time faith is ever mentioned is through the character of Dawt Pi, and it doesn't play a central role to the rest of the story. I found this disheartening, and this story could have been so much more if the main character, Robin, had found Jesus in the wake of all the turmoil crashing down upon on her life. It really would have turned a good story into a great one.
Alongside with the lack of faith content, came the inclusion of content I felt was out of place in this kind of title. Throughout the course of the story; drinking, partying, alcoholism, cheating, divorce, dressing skimpily, and lying for personal gain are all included in certain parts, and I didn't think any of it was necessary. It felt like there were many characters hurt and crying out for Jesus, and unfortunately that wasn't the way that any of it was represented to the reader.
Lastly, I can't conclude this review without mentioning that I wasn't personally a fan of the ending. I know a lot of other reviewers really liked the way that the author chose to conclude her story, but I personally found it underwhelming. It didn't answer a lot of the questions I'd developed throughout the story about the characters, and I was left wanting much more from the story.
All in all, I did honestly enjoy this one. The writing was great, the dual timeline was handled flawlessly, the characters were represented authentically, and the plot kept me guessing. However, I have to take into consideration the many issues I had with the content when I give my final rating, and that's why I'm giving it a three out of five, instead of the four or five star read it might have been.
I will still recommend this title, but I'm not a fan of this new trend that seems to be emerging with Christian fiction titles not actually including much true spiritual content.
Thanks to Revell for allowing me to review this as part of the Revell Reads Blogger Program!
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher, Revell, as part of the Revell Reads Blogger Program. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required to give a positive review.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
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