Skip Rock Shallows by Jan Watson

Today I'm sharing my review of Skip Rock Shallows by Jan Watson, courtesy of the Tyndale Blog Network.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

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.

MY THOUGHTS:
I attempted a previous book by Jan, but felt like I’d tuned into a Walton’s episode a half hour late. I was afraid I’d done the same thing when I agreed to review Skip Rock Shallows and saw that the main character was ‘Lilly Corbett,’ the same Lilly from the book I felt lost in.

Somehow, the books aren’t listed as a series, but they are definitely chronological.

The good thing about Skip Rock Shallows: it felt like a standalone novel to me. Phew! A few things were mentioned about the past that probably would have been easier to understand if I’d read the previous books, but I did not feel lost or confused.

Quite the contrary. I truly enjoyed Skip Rock Shallows.

Lilly Corbett has arrived in Skip Rock, Kentucky to complete her medical internship. Skip Rock’s residents don’t take kindly to a female doctor. Lilly has her work cut out for her, amid mistrust and superstition.

I loved the Kentucky hills setting. I loved Jan’s description of mining life -- although it gave me shivers to think of working in the cold, dark belly of the earth. I loved the tight-knit, down-to-earth people of Skip Rock.

I would have enjoyed a longer ending. The conclusion tied up a bit too quickly for me, needing a longer epilogue....or just another chapter or two! Then again, perhaps Jan has more planned for Lilly in another book?

Skip Rock Shallows was a cozy, curl-up-in-a-blanket-on-a-rainy-day kind of read. I recommend - and it makes me want to go back and attempt rereading Still House Pond!

AND FOR YOU, a peek into the book:
You can read the first chapter of Skip Rock Shallows HERE.

Thank you to Jan and Tyndale Blog Network for sending me a copy to read and review!

Also reviewed on Amazon and Christianbook.



**DISCLOSURE: I was given a free product in exchange for an honest review. Please read my full disclosure policy HERE.**