Official Review: Thin Places by Diane Owens Prettyman

[Heidi M Simone]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Thin Places" by Diane Owens Prettyman.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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With themes of faith, trust, and friendship, Diane Owens Prettyman tells the tale of two very different people that come together in a unique scenario in her C/T/M/H novel, Thin Places.

Being in jail for three years can drastically change a person. When Finn Tully is finally able to see a new future ahead of him, to be free, a cell mate named Calvary Thomas on death row sends him on a mission. A mission to seek Calvary's daughter, Chloe, and proclaim his innocence to her.

Chloe Gallagher (actual last name: Thomas) has been scrounging to maintain the only possession she has of her father, his boat, the Perpetuity. On this ship, Chloe is the captain and in charge. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. This strong-willed woman gets mixed up with some risky business, and now it is up to Chloe to lean on to Finn to help her sort everything out.

Told in the perspectives of both Finn and Chloe, the reader is taken through Finn's life in Texas, then Chloe's life in Washington. Though it seemed to have taken a while before the two protagonists meet, once they did, the story became a quicker read.

Unfortunately, there were parts of the novel that I did not enjoy. For instance, I feel the main genre of this book can be misleading. Yes, there are some scenes that involve crime and action, but I did not have that feeling of suspense, engrossment, or the desire to know more. There is some romance woven in the simple plot and being a romance fan, I felt it was forced and too coincidental in this read. In addition, the protagonist, Finn, was not one that I liked; I felt he was plain, clingy, and uninteresting.

There were some punctuational errors, including punctuation marks missing in a couple of instances. Then, there were a few word misuses. For instance, 'dose' instead of doze' and using 'and' instead of 'an'. I also found it distracting when the ship's name, Perpetuity, was italicized throughout most of the book, but not on a few particular pages. Perhaps another run through would catch these few mistakes.

Tweaking on the pacing and another edit would go a long way with Thin Places. Due to the reasons above, I rate this book a 2 out of 4 stars. For those who do like a light C/T/M/H read and do not mind some romance, you may find this enjoyable. However, for those looking for a more suspenseful read, you may want to pass on this.

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Thin Places
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[gali]

I saw this book on the list, but wasn't sure if it was for me. I am sorry you didn't find it enjoyable as you thought you would.

Thank you on the great review!

[Heidi M Simone]

Yeah, I saw it on the list for a couple of weeks too and wanted to like it. Oh well. At least it was a fairly quick read and it looks there are others we did enjoy it.

Thank you!

[bookowlie]

Thanks for an honest, insightful review. I also saw this book on the review list, but was put off by the prison angle. I know what you mean about "wanting to like it." Sometimes when I see a book on the list for a few weeks, it grows on me and I become more interested in reading it.

[Heidi M Simone]

Thank you, bookowlie. I think that's what happened to me. I saw it on the list for a few weeks and it kind of grew on me sounding more and more interesting. I'm glad I gave it a try, though, to at least curb my curiosity.

[bluemel4]

Thank you for the honest and detailed review. It seems like the book was trying to be too many genre's at once and as a result lost focus. I hope your next read is better.

[Heidi M Simone]

Thank you, bluemel4! This a good point - "the book was trying to be too many genre's at once". That might have been part of the problem for me. I hope I enjoy my next one, too! It seems promising!

[bookowlie]

Thank you, bookowlie. I think that's what happened to me. I saw it on the list for a few weeks and it kind of grew on me sounding more and more interesting. I'm glad I gave it a try, though, to at least curb my curiosity.

You gave lots of good, constructive criticism that the author can use in the future.

[Heidi M Simone]

Thank you, bookowlie. I appreciate your kind words. I hope the author sees it that way.

[bookowlie]

The premise seems very realistic, as I can see a man on death row wanting to let his daughter know that he is innocent. Telling the story through Finn's and Chloes' separate perspectives before they meet sounds like a good way for readers to get to know each character in depth.

I just noticed that this book was reviewed by two different members. It's always interesting to hear what different people's opinions of a book. Congratulations to the author for being showcased as the Book of the Day!

[L_Therese]

I really appreciate this review. I was disappointed with the book when I read the sample, and my feelings seemed to be on par with some of your comments. It was a technical error that poked the first definite hole in my this-is-going-to-be-a-great-book bubble, and the characters and couldn't intrigue me enough to draw me back in. From your review, it sounds like you had some similar disappointments.

[Heidi M Simone]

The premise seems very realistic, as I can see a man on death row wanting to let his daughter know that he is innocent. Telling the story through Finn's and Chloes' separate perspectives before they meet sounds like a good way for readers to get to know each character in depth.

I just noticed that this book was reviewed by two different members. It's always interesting to hear what different people's opinions of a book. Congratulations to the author for being showcased as the Book of the Day!

I didn't realize it was already reviewed as well. It is very interesting to see how people have different perspectives in their reads. There were also plenty of Amazon customers who enjoyed the read. It just wasn't for me, but I'm glad there are others that enjoyed it!

Definitely, congratulations to the author for being featured today!

-- 13 Aug 2016, 22:56 --

I really appreciate this review. I was disappointed with the book when I read the sample, and my feelings seemed to be on par with some of your comments. It was a technical error that poked the first definite hole in my this-is-going-to-be-a-great-book bubble, and the characters and couldn't intrigue me enough to draw me back in. From your review, it sounds like you had some similar disappointments.

Thank you, L_Therese. It definitely seems like a book that one can either love or not. Even though I am glad that there are others who have enjoyed the book (and potentially even more), it always nice to know that your opinions are shared with others. Thank you for your thoughts.

[kimmyschemy06]

That was a very honest review. I read the sample and I found it interesting enough. However, it is not really my type of genre so I think it is not for me. Great job on the review.

[Heidi M Simone]

Thank you, kimmyschemy06! I found the beginning interesting as well before deciding on this book. It's when Finn leaves prison and things start to unfold is what I didn't like. Thank you for thoughts.

[Amh73090]

I love this book review. Not exactly for what you had to say, although that was interesting too, but for the fact you only gave it 2 stars. As a new member it's nice to know people aren't just giving 4 stars to be nice.

-- 14 Aug 2016, 14:54 --

I love this book review. Not exactly for what you had to say, although that was interesting too, but for the fact you only gave it 2 stars. As a new member it's nice to know people aren't just giving 4 stars to be nice.