Review of Deceptive Calm
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Emily Barthel
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- Latest Review: Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper
Review of Deceptive Calm
[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper.]
Deceptive Calm held my attention, engaged my emotions, had an odd tone, and a great plot. I'm giving it four out of five stars for those reasons. The beginning was slow, but Vanessa's perspective was so interesting. The culture of the Deep South during the days of Martin Luther King Jr was described excellently. I thought the first scene in the book set a great tone for the rest of the story. However, there were a lot of historical facts and references that were difficult for me to enjoy. Reading through pages of historical accounts got a little boring.
Some of the events in the book were very emotionally triggering for me, and I think they would be for most women. The way the author described sex was very stiff and somehow emotionless, while still stating what the character was feeling. I don't know if it was intentionally awkward and disorienting, but that's how it came across. The majority of the dialogue also had an odd cadence. I haven't been able to figure out what about it is so strange to me. At the beginning of the book, I thought maybe this was the author's way of showing an older southern accent and cadence of speech. But then other characters who weren't southern also spoke with an odd tone, and still later in the book after decades had passed the tone was the same. I wonder if this was intentional on the author's part, because it does make the book stand out in my mind. I considered that the author may speak that way, since even some of the narration of events was worded in a similarly odd way. Maybe the author has a southern accent and way of speaking. I was able to enjoy the book regardless of this strange tone.
The plot throughout the whole story completely engaged me. The villain was detestable, I cheered for the heroes, and I felt for Vanessa very deeply. A lot of the characters were one-dimensional, and some of them were kind of major characters. I think some more depth for some of the main characters would help the story have a more finished feeling to it, but Vanessa had a good amount of dimension, and so did Trisha. The actions of the characters were all plausible and seemed realistic to me; mistakes, especially, were made in realistic and understandable ways.
The ending of Deceptive Calm was satisfying, but I wished there had been a little more written about what happens after everything is settled. It felt a little abrupt, thought I felt that way throughout the story many times. For the most part, it suited the storyline for things to happen that way. I enjoyed the book, and I still want to read more of the story even though it's over.
******
Deceptive Calm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Deceptive Calm held my attention, engaged my emotions, had an odd tone, and a great plot. I'm giving it four out of five stars for those reasons. The beginning was slow, but Vanessa's perspective was so interesting. The culture of the Deep South during the days of Martin Luther King Jr was described excellently. I thought the first scene in the book set a great tone for the rest of the story. However, there were a lot of historical facts and references that were difficult for me to enjoy. Reading through pages of historical accounts got a little boring.
Some of the events in the book were very emotionally triggering for me, and I think they would be for most women. The way the author described sex was very stiff and somehow emotionless, while still stating what the character was feeling. I don't know if it was intentionally awkward and disorienting, but that's how it came across. The majority of the dialogue also had an odd cadence. I haven't been able to figure out what about it is so strange to me. At the beginning of the book, I thought maybe this was the author's way of showing an older southern accent and cadence of speech. But then other characters who weren't southern also spoke with an odd tone, and still later in the book after decades had passed the tone was the same. I wonder if this was intentional on the author's part, because it does make the book stand out in my mind. I considered that the author may speak that way, since even some of the narration of events was worded in a similarly odd way. Maybe the author has a southern accent and way of speaking. I was able to enjoy the book regardless of this strange tone.
The plot throughout the whole story completely engaged me. The villain was detestable, I cheered for the heroes, and I felt for Vanessa very deeply. A lot of the characters were one-dimensional, and some of them were kind of major characters. I think some more depth for some of the main characters would help the story have a more finished feeling to it, but Vanessa had a good amount of dimension, and so did Trisha. The actions of the characters were all plausible and seemed realistic to me; mistakes, especially, were made in realistic and understandable ways.
The ending of Deceptive Calm was satisfying, but I wished there had been a little more written about what happens after everything is settled. It felt a little abrupt, thought I felt that way throughout the story many times. For the most part, it suited the storyline for things to happen that way. I enjoyed the book, and I still want to read more of the story even though it's over.
******
Deceptive Calm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper
