Review of The Rock at the Bottom

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Jess Bendele
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Review of The Rock at the Bottom

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[Following is a volunteer review of "The Rock at the Bottom" by Cynthia Hilston.]
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Rock at the Bottom by Cynthia Hilston was such a touching and heartfelt read. I knew as soon as I started reading that Stephen, the book's main character, would have some sort of happy ending; or so I thought. As I read on my sympathy for him grew and I was delighted for him when he was pleased and wanted to beat him over the head when he made bone-headed mistakes in his marriage to Julie. Throughout the whole first part of the book I just felt bad for the guy. He had a hard childhood and thought he found his home with Julie, but when they kept having trouble conceiving and their marriage fell apart my heart broke for him all over again. He wasn’t an angel by any means, but I felt he deserved happiness because of all the abuse he endured in his childhood. I was curious about what he was sentenced to when he got into the wreck that killed 3 and was a bit surprised when the author just kind of glazed over the details of his sentencing.

One minor thing that made me cringe was when the author described the state of Stephen’s appearance and home. I just wanted to reach through the pages and give the place a thorough dusting. I loved that he met Lorna and how their story came together. I thought it was sweet that they both had a checkered past, but it drove me nuts that they refused to reveal it to each other until Stephen/Tristan shaved his beard and got a haircut. The curveball in this story was one I didn’t see coming until Lorna mentioned how her parents died, then I couldn’t believe it and had to finish the book right then. I was half surprised but half expecting the book to end the way that it did, but that being said I was very pleased with it as well. This book was full of peaks and valleys and kept me coming back for more.

I recommend this book to anyone who has come from a broken world, just to see that through the darkness there is always light at the end as long as you keep your faith and allow that light to shine through you. I give this book a four out of five stars. There were a few grammatical errors and I feel the ending was a bit rushed and vague after Lorna and Tristan had their falling out. Overall, it was a truly impactful read!

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The Rock at the Bottom
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