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.
What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?
What I Recently Finished Reading:
I had a hard time finishing this book. My formatting was messed up and the paragraphs all ran together until almost the end, then it morphed into paragraphs. So, that meant that I had to take my time when reading it. I also had a hard time finding the book. The author changed the name from Cypress Lake to Sip Lake. When I couldn’t find it on Goodreads, I googled it and found a forum with the author addressing it.
What I am currently reading:
I am almost done with Fairest. Actually, Goodreads marked me as finished but I am 75% done. It is an interesting take on the Snow White/Evil Queen fairy tale. I feel awful for Alina (for some reason, she is called Natasha in theblurb) and I can’t wait to see where this story goes. I also loved the Russian angle too!!
What books I think I’ll read next:
There is little change from my IMWAYR post. Still a whole bunch of ARCs. I am hoping to get these read by next Monday. They all look like fast books but I could be wrong.
t’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.
Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels or anything in those genres – join them.
Happy Monday (well, as happy as a Monday can be…lol) everyone and I hope you all had a great weekend!!
This weekend was kind of laid-back for us. It was super hot on Friday. The temp was 96 with the real feel temp being 106. Miss R did have her horseback riding lessons but the lesson was shortened and the instructor asked for it to be earlier in the day (when it was more cooler).
Saturday, we hit Sam’s Club. Our pandemic supply of toilet paper and paper towels had finally been demolished (before the pandemic hit, I accidentally bought two things each of toilet paper and paper towels) and we needed more. Of course, once you’re there, you can’t just buy what you came for. We ended up with baguettes, a huge thing of grill spice, an 80 pack of water on top of the tp/paper towels. Then we came home and hibernated (aka watchedthe Olympics all day).
Sunday was a bit cooler. Miss B had her final 2 hours of driving (she drove highway and did fantastic!!). She completed the course and now we are waiting for September to roll around to get her permit (the DMV here isscheduling Teen 1 testing a month out). Then, she’s driving. Other than that, we relaxed.
We take Mama Cat (or Sarah, the rescue named her) to the vet tomorrow. It has been very stressful. I worried because of the heat (we opened our outdoor storage to help her cool down) and I currently worry because I’m afraid she’ll disappear. I also took out the cat carrier and found out that she is very food orientated. She likes treats and went right into the carrier when I placed treats in it. So, hopefully (knock on wood), I will have no issues with crating her tomorrow. After she is spayed and gotten shots, she is going to a friend of mine for temporary fostering. Then, when I get the email from the rescue, I take her to the transport and she goes off to her new life!!!
I finished 5 books last week which is really good for me. I am hoping to read 5 more this week also.
I have been writing books reviews like a madwoman. But, you guys have only seen two of them….lol. Even with me busting my butt writing, I am still behind 3 reviews….sigh.