Thursday, May 5, 2011

Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry


Learning to Swim follows the story of a woman named Troy Chance as she tries to piece together the mystery of the little boy she rescued after he was thrown off of a ferry. This novel was a quick read and there were only very minor lulls in the story.

I really liked Troy as she struggled with doing the right thing in regards to the young child and what her true desires were. She has a lot of compassion and it was easy to want to cheer her on as she tried to conquer every twist and turn that the next few months gave her. However, with the other characters it was clear that author Sara J. Henry was trying to make the reader guess if they were to be trusted or not, and sometimes the attempts were just paper thin.

Also, the mystery side of things was wrapped up fairly quickly, almost too quickly. I would have liked for there to been a little more suspense or explanation before just wrapping everything up with a neat little bow. The ending did leave something to be desired, I’m not sure if it is because Henry is looking toward a sequel or if that’s how things just end, but there really needed to be a little something more for the reader to feel like the story was complete.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The Woman He Married by Julie N. Ford


I won this on a Goodreads Giveaway.

This book tells the story Josie, a reluctant stay at home mom trapped into a marriage with man who doesn't seem to love her or understand her.

At times I found this book interesting and was rooting for Josie, but there were other times I found myself disgusted at her and couldn't stand to keep reading about her story. I guess you can say I had a love/hate relationship with this book, much like Josie has with her husband.

The book itself seemed to drag at parts and I felt the reader was left too long waiting for a resolution. Also there was once character that I felt needed more of an ending, but the preview for the next book appears to address that for me.

I gave this book three stars because I saw a lot of myself in Josie, because I am a stay-at-home mom who sometimes wonders where my life went, but at the same time, I think she really needed more of a spine. For such a spunky, brave, spirited woman, it seemed a little over-the-top for her to constantly be catering to her husband and cowering at his every word.