Beside Still Waters

For me, a three star review means the book was all right. That pretty much describes how I felt about Beside Still Waters. It was a nice story, but there were elements about it that didn't quite connect with me.

But first, let me share what I liked about the book.

I liked the small town/community feel of the story. There was some humor that made me chuckle, and Lynnette has a writing style that kept me turning pages. The faith content was good, and the story had an over-arching theme of how the Lord is our Shepard who can be trusted to lead us through all circumstances.

The first part that didn't resonate with me came when Zoe marched to Washington Nolan's house and proposed to him. I'm not fond of girl's “pushing the question” in real life–and I'm even less fond of it in fiction.

The next turning off point had to do with the bad guys of the story. I like to feel concerned about what a bad guy is about to do, but in this book, I couldn't help laughing out loud as I read the scenes where the bad guys appeared. I'll lay the blame on my brother, who has made me a big fight scene critic.

And the the last reason I couldn't fully enjoy the story was another personal preference. I counted twelve viewpoints in the story–twelve different characters offering a look into their heads. Lynnette managed the story in a way that made it easy to keep track of who was who, but it wasn't a style I was particularly fond of. I prefer not knowing what all the characters are thinking and would rather be able to make my own guesses about what a side character's motives could be.

All that said, if none of the above-mentioned is your pet peeve, then Beside Still Waters is a lovely read that will sweep you back to a simpler time.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book, but my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.