Book Review: Skip Rock Shallows by Jan Watson.

Lily Gray Corbett has just graduated from medical school, and she is temporarily stationed in the backwoods, superstitious town of Skip Rock, Kentucky. She has a handsome, charming, and funny fiancé, as well as a very bright future. That is, until she meets a quiet, but kind miner, who is mysteriously familiar. Her heart is torn between staying with the backwoods group of rednecks in Skip Rock, or going to the sophisticated elite of Boston. Her heart is being torn in both directions, and she only prays that she can decide what to do.

I loved:

• The use of scripture.  I have not seen very many books that mention scripture consistently throughout them, so I was happily surprised how much this book had in it.
• The mention of God. Unlike the last book I received from Tyndale Publishers, (Beckon: click here for review) this book was center on God rather than God being an afterthought.
• The vivid descriptions. I have taken many writing classes, and one of my favorite things to learn about was descriptive writing.  Jam Watson has definitely mastered this aspect of writing. Her descriptions are lovely, imaginative, and lively.
• The character development. She really described the characters well, to the point where you could almost talk to them.

I did not love:

• The structure, or the lack thereof.  Although the book was somewhat intriguing, it was very unstructured. It lacked conflict, and it resolved too quickly. *SPOILER SENTENCE* To me, it seemed like Monday she was in love with her fiancé, Tuesday she decided to break up with him, and Thursday she was in love with Tern. *END OF SPOILER* Now, this is just my opinion, but it seemed to be scattered.
• The proximity to Dr. Quinn. Now I don’t know about you, but my grandma and me watched every episode of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. I am not saying they are exactly alike, but there are many similarities. However, I must give Jan credit; she still stayed unique in her writing, for the most part.

Overall:

I believe this book was beautifully described, but it was not an edge-of-your-seat kind of book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes very well described settings, but I would not recommend this to anyone looking for an adventurous, danger-filled, or thrilling book.

Libbi H.

Thanks Tyndale House for the opportunity to honestly review this book for free.