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A review by anna_pearl
Like a Ship on the Sea by Kellyn Roth
4.0
Hey, y'all! This is a bit of an unconventional review but I'm super excited to write it because not only did I meet the author in person, but I got an e-ARC copy, so that's why this review came so soon after the book came out (September 5th)! While I was obligated to write a review as a result of this e-ARC being sent to me, I was not roped into writing a positive review. This book earned it all on its own, trust me.
My Preconceptions: Blown Out of the Water
When I first got this book, I wasn't sure what to think of it. I figured, "The cover's beautiful and it addresses suicidality, so why not give it a shot?" All of my preconceptions were shoved aside, whether because they were wrong or simply because the degree to which they'd been conceived wasn't... fitting of what occurred. I thought it'd be historical fiction, for example, and it was, but it felt more contemporary than what I'd thought, rendering my preconception obsolete.
The Beginning
By the end of chapter one, I was fairly interested. Not riveted, perhaps, but interested all the same. The characters made me wonder how they were going to fit together, the setting was beautiful, and all the dynamics fit together like a puzzle waiting for me to piece it together. I found a lot of push-pull dynamics that made it hard to predict what was going to happen next. As with many romance books, you could guess from the beginning who was going to end up together (for the most part), but you couldn't tell how it was going to happen, even at the end.
From chapter seven onward, the true action begins, and it's where I began to be truly pulled through the story. From there until the end, I did not stop reading unless I had other responsibilities that pulled me aside and even then I griped and groaned and longed to be back reading this book.
My Favorite Parts
I'll admit, I'm a bit obsessed.
My favorite part of this book—and I mean this (mostly) as a joke—was the mention of Winnie Hilton's pet dog, Potato, who happens to be *ahem* not the most well-behaved dog out there. He entered only in Chapter 6, but he made me so happy with only a few sentences dedicated to him and I felt the need to mention him in this review.
My favorite character overall is Patrick Hilton, one of our MCs. His character arc is so drastic and it's amazing to see his transformation as the story goes on. At first, I was slightly curious, then I detested him, and by the end, he was making me swoon. Like girls, this kind of transformation is what we should all want in a guy.
Overall Thoughts and Summary
This story is poignant, vivid, and full of twists that I honestly didn't expect (maybe you can beat me in that aspect?), but I loved it primarily for its Christian-oriented approach. Almost every hard decision that the characters had to face they brought to God, and though I did find it hard to imagine at the end that none of the characters were outright atheists or denied the faith entirely (there were some doubters, but none that vehemently denied the faith, which shocked me), I did appreciate the rock-solid faith of the main character, Cassie. Patrick grew in his faith a ton, and by the end, he was as solid in it as Cassie was, which I admired.
Mental Health Rep
Finally, we have what a lot of you might've been waiting for: the mental health rep. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten, but there's something to say about leaving the best for last. Unfortunately, I didn't find the mental health aspect of this book to be as important as the impression I got by talking to the author. By no means am I upset that I read it, but just throwing that in as a disclaimer here.
The character who struggled with suicidal ideation (and attempted), did this due to grief. This was not the development of a person who had been depressed for a while, but instead a sudden event that she was unable to handle and therefore, she tried to "escape." She did fail, and it wasn't talked about in detail, but everyone was very careful about her after that. To the point where we remain close to her for the duration of the story, not just because she's the friend of one of the main characters, but also as if a reassurance that "no, she's not going to die."
Ultimately, while I appreciated the postpartum depression/child-loss grief rep, I would've appreciated a little bit more of a description going into this. It's one thing to warn a person that there's suicidality mentioned, but usually, when that happens one turns to "ok, there's depression," not "a woman lost her child in childbirth, nearly lost her life, and ultimately decides to throw it all away is the way to go."
Honestly, though, the pitching is all I have to complain about here. And I'm not faulting Kellyn at all because being put on the spot when it comes to asking what the mental health rep is about can be terrifying, but that's just something that made it hard to appreciate that part of the story.
Conclusion
It's with that, though, that I leave you all. I hope you enjoyed this book review, I hope that you read this book (Kellyn is an amazing person and her writing is also awesome, so I'm going to want you to support her in like... every way possible *sheepish grin*), and ultimately, I just hope that you aren't upset that you read this (and that it was so long. Sorry about that). Thank you so much for reading and have a blessed day!
My Preconceptions: Blown Out of the Water
When I first got this book, I wasn't sure what to think of it. I figured, "The cover's beautiful and it addresses suicidality, so why not give it a shot?" All of my preconceptions were shoved aside, whether because they were wrong or simply because the degree to which they'd been conceived wasn't... fitting of what occurred. I thought it'd be historical fiction, for example, and it was, but it felt more contemporary than what I'd thought, rendering my preconception obsolete.
The Beginning
By the end of chapter one, I was fairly interested. Not riveted, perhaps, but interested all the same. The characters made me wonder how they were going to fit together, the setting was beautiful, and all the dynamics fit together like a puzzle waiting for me to piece it together. I found a lot of push-pull dynamics that made it hard to predict what was going to happen next. As with many romance books, you could guess from the beginning who was going to end up together (for the most part), but you couldn't tell how it was going to happen, even at the end.
From chapter seven onward, the true action begins, and it's where I began to be truly pulled through the story. From there until the end, I did not stop reading unless I had other responsibilities that pulled me aside and even then I griped and groaned and longed to be back reading this book.
My Favorite Parts
I'll admit, I'm a bit obsessed.
My favorite part of this book—and I mean this (mostly) as a joke—was the mention of Winnie Hilton's pet dog, Potato, who happens to be *ahem* not the most well-behaved dog out there. He entered only in Chapter 6, but he made me so happy with only a few sentences dedicated to him and I felt the need to mention him in this review.
My favorite character overall is Patrick Hilton, one of our MCs. His character arc is so drastic and it's amazing to see his transformation as the story goes on. At first, I was slightly curious, then I detested him, and by the end, he was making me swoon. Like girls, this kind of transformation is what we should all want in a guy.
Overall Thoughts and Summary
This story is poignant, vivid, and full of twists that I honestly didn't expect (maybe you can beat me in that aspect?), but I loved it primarily for its Christian-oriented approach. Almost every hard decision that the characters had to face they brought to God, and though I did find it hard to imagine at the end that none of the characters were outright atheists or denied the faith entirely (there were some doubters, but none that vehemently denied the faith, which shocked me), I did appreciate the rock-solid faith of the main character, Cassie. Patrick grew in his faith a ton, and by the end, he was as solid in it as Cassie was, which I admired.
Mental Health Rep
Finally, we have what a lot of you might've been waiting for: the mental health rep. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten, but there's something to say about leaving the best for last. Unfortunately, I didn't find the mental health aspect of this book to be as important as the impression I got by talking to the author. By no means am I upset that I read it, but just throwing that in as a disclaimer here.
The character who struggled with suicidal ideation (and attempted), did this due to grief. This was not the development of a person who had been depressed for a while, but instead a sudden event that she was unable to handle and therefore, she tried to "escape." She did fail, and it wasn't talked about in detail, but everyone was very careful about her after that. To the point where we remain close to her for the duration of the story, not just because she's the friend of one of the main characters, but also as if a reassurance that "no, she's not going to die."
Ultimately, while I appreciated the postpartum depression/child-loss grief rep, I would've appreciated a little bit more of a description going into this. It's one thing to warn a person that there's suicidality mentioned, but usually, when that happens one turns to "ok, there's depression," not "a woman lost her child in childbirth, nearly lost her life, and ultimately decides to throw it all away is the way to go."
Honestly, though, the pitching is all I have to complain about here. And I'm not faulting Kellyn at all because being put on the spot when it comes to asking what the mental health rep is about can be terrifying, but that's just something that made it hard to appreciate that part of the story.
Conclusion
It's with that, though, that I leave you all. I hope you enjoyed this book review, I hope that you read this book (Kellyn is an amazing person and her writing is also awesome, so I'm going to want you to support her in like... every way possible *sheepish grin*), and ultimately, I just hope that you aren't upset that you read this (and that it was so long. Sorry about that). Thank you so much for reading and have a blessed day!