"Shaped by the Waves, by Christina Suzann Nelson

 "Shaped by the Waves, by Christina Suzann Nelson

Cassie George is barely staying above water as she works to get her doctorate and raise her daughter. But she stubbornly keeps swimming to prove a few bad decisions haven't ruined her forever. Plus, it's all a great excuse to stay away from the small Oregon town she fled in shame years prior. But when she receives a call that the aunt who raised her has had a major health crisis, she knows it's time to return.

Cassie is surprised to be more welcomed by the quirky seaside community than she expected, even if there's still tension between her and her former classmate Nora Milford. But she still can't help feeling unsettled and is mystified by a mysterious package that appears, full of typed pages that tell the story of an anonymous woman's life. As her curiosity sends her on a journey toward truth, Cassie will discover that who she thought she was and what she wants for her life are both about to change.

This book had so many layers to it, that it felt as though you were peeling back one layer after another.  It's as though the author was drip feeding you clues to the next part of Cassie's story.  You had to keep on reading to know what happened next.

Then add in illness and a mystery and it would leave even the strongest of us feeling all out of sorts.  That's what Cassie's life is all about.  Despite it dealing with serious topics it wasn't an unhappy story to read, it did have it's bright moments.

I will say I couldn't decide what the point of Nora's character/story was in the scheme of things?  Maybe I missed something when reading the book.  I would love to know how the author came up with the idea for this book.  It was interesting, and not something I would have thought about before.

Stars out of 5 : 4.5  After I finished the book I felt there was a lot more stories to be told about the people living in Gull's Bay.  This book should be first in a series, too my mind. 

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".