Thursday, June 28, 2012

BOOK REVIEW: SKIP ROCK SHALLOWS by JAN WATSON


Skip Rock Shallows
Author:         Jan Watson 
Release:
June 2012

Synopsis:

Lilly Gray Corbett has just graduated from medical school and decided to accept an internship in the coal camp of Skip Rock, Kentucky. Her beau, Paul, is doing his residency in Boston and can’t understand why Lilly would choose to work in a backwater town. But having grown up in the mountains, Lilly is drawn to the stubborn, superstitious people she encounters in Skip Rock—a town where people live hard and die harder and where women know their place. Lilly soon learns she has a lot to overcome, but after saving the life of a young miner, she begins to earn the residents’ trust.

As Lilly becomes torn between joining Paul in Boston and her love for the people of Skip Rock, she crosses paths with a handsome miner—one who seems oddly familiar. Her attraction for him grows, even as she wrestles with her feelings and wonders what he’s hiding.

About the Author....             

Jan Watson won the 2004 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest for her first novel, Troublesome Creek. Her other awards include being named the best Kentucky author in 2012 by Kentucky Living magazine, a nomination for the Kentucky Literary Award in 2006 and second place in the 2006 Inspirational Readers Choice Contest sponsored by the Faith, Hope, and Love Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Jan has published six novels. As a registered nurse for 25 years at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, she incorporates her nursing experience in the hospital's mother/baby unit into her novels. Jan resides in Kentucky.



READER REVIEW

In 1908, women doctors were still a rarity and unheard of in small mining towns like Skip Rock, Kentucky.  But Lilly Corbett was raised in Breathitt County, so when, upon graduation from medical school, she was offered an internship in Skip Rock, she was eager to go there.  Acceptance does not come easily from the mountain people, but with time, the little town feels like home.  Unfortunately, her fiance does not understand her feelings.  And then, there is the handsome stranger in town, who is harboring secrets.  One secret directly concerns Lilly, although she has no idea who he is.

Although parts of the novel were somewhat predictable, it was a good read.  Coming from Kentucky and generations of coal miners, I found this to be particularly interesting.  One thing and this is not directed at this particular author, but Kentucky is larger than than just the mountains of Appalachia, but when people write about Kentucky, and especially if there is coal involved, they always write about Eastern Kentucky.  I assure you they have mined coal in Western Kentucky for generations.  But the novel was very good and the characters were believable.  Definitely a 4 star novel.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blogger Network <http://www.mediacenter.tyndale.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”        

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