A Hand to Hold in Deep Water by Shawn Nocher ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

We are heading into the Dog Days of Summer when it's too hot to do much of anything but read a good book. At first glance, A Hand to Hold in Deep Water by Shawn Nocher isn't your typical summer "beach read". But the lazy, sometimes meandering, unfurling of a story of a woman who must delve into the past to understand her present and move forward with her future is the perfect match for a lazy, late summer day.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

June 2021; Blackstone Publishing; 978-1094095219
audio, ebook, print (483 pages); women's fiction

When I saw the story had a lazy feel to it, I'm not saying that the story is slow but instead something that should be savored, not hurried. Like sipping a cold glass of sweet tea while rocking on the front porch with a fan droning overhead - you're in no hurry to go anywhere or do anything but enjoy the moment.

That's how I felt while I was reading A Hand to Hold in Deep Water. Sure I wanted to rush back to the book every day, but once I sat down I wanted to take my time. Yes, I wanted to know if Lacey figured out what happened to her mother but at the same time, I was enjoying the journey with her so much that I didn't care when we got there.

While this would make a great vacation read as you can lose yourself for hours within its pages, the pacing of the story and the desire to savor it does not lend itself to a quick read. This was supposed to be my pool book, meaning I read it only in the pool. However, we haven't had a great summer for the pool - too much rain and too much time would pass before I could get back to it. So it became my main read and it still took me a couple of days longer to read it than I thought it would. That's not a bad thing. I loved spending time with the characters and peeling away their layers to really get to know them.

If you are looking for a compelling story that you can take your time with, then you definitely need to pick up A Hand to Hold in Deep Water.

Buy A Hand to Hold in Deep Water at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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