![Sip Lake by [Joe Basara]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51zQ3WIM9OS.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Publisher:
Date of publication: June 22, 2021
Genre: Fiction, Coming of Age
Format Read: ARC
Received From: Author (Book’s former title was Cypress Lake)
Goodreads Synopsis:
Hospital orderly Owen Cloud falls in love, and to him, it seems someone has turned up the volume on the Buzz of Being. Everything is as it always was, only more. Three women he meets help him advance through three phases of love–passion, friendship, and finally generosity of heart.
“Sip Lake is what the locals call it. It’s great fishing, and I’ve got a boat, so why not move up here?”
Sip Lake by Joe Basara
When I first read the blurb for Sip Lake, I was interested. As you can see (lookup), the blurb is small, but it packs a punch. I was very interested in Owen and seeing how his journey with love was going to pan out. By the time I finished the book, I was “meh” about it.
Before I start the critical part of the review, I want to mention a couple of things. Sip Lake was originally titled Cypress Lake. I couldn’t find any mention of Sip Lake on Goodreads. It wasn’t until I googled the author’s name plus Sip Lake did I find out that there was a title change. While it didn’t affect my review, it was frustrating to find out after the fact. The other thing was the formatting on my Kindle was messed up. Again, no effect on my review, but it caused me to read the book very slowly because it was one continuous paragraph. So, what should have taken me a day or two took me a week to read.
Sip Lake was a medium-paced book with a well-written and interesting plotline. There were no twists in the plotline. It was a straightforward book that made me feel old (I was born in 1977).
Owen was an interesting character who had a rich inner life. But I did have an issue telling when his imagination took over. There were certain sections that I had to reread to figure out if it was imagination or not.
The romance angle of the book was interesting. Owen had an interest in several women and had two actively pursue him. I did think that he gave off stalkerish vibes at one point in the book (when he was trying to ask one of his co-workers on a date and kept calling her house).
The end of Sip Lake was typical. It did seem a bit rushed, and everything that happened did seem to come out of left field. I wondered why Owen decided on that person mainly because he was very adamant about his feelings towards her halfway through the book.
I would recommend Sip Lake to anyone over the age of 16. This was a clean book. There was no sex (some kissing), no violence, and some very mild language.