As the Tide Comes In

WOW!

There are so many things about this story that are amazing. There are also some very, very sad aspects, so be prepared to need a lot of tissues. Trust me, though the story has sad, nay tragic, moments, there is so much depth, insight and truth to it, that you are drawn in and aren’t let go, even upon finishing the book.

Cindy Woodsmall and her daughter-in-law Erin have written a novel very different from Cindy Woodsmall’s standard fare of Amish life. Set in contemporary, secular communities, As the Tide Comes In opens near Ashville, North Carolina, then the plot moves to Georgia’s St. Simon’s Island.

Tara Abbott has been a foster child and well knows foster care life is fraught with nerve-wracking instability and heart-breaking insecurity. With great misgiving, at age eighteen, she agrees to care for her two newly orphaned half-brothers, becoming their adored “T-Mom.”

Around Tara’s thirty-first birthday, her little family’s cabin is demolished by a tornado. She is severely injured and hospitalized. After her release, and still reeling from trauma, she decides to visit St. Simon’s Island, where she and her brothers had once planned to meet. On the island, the effects of her injury resurface. She becomes confused and peregrinates aimlessly.

In her confusion, Tara’s fear, angst and her sense of God having disappeared are palpable. The Woodsmalls had me walking in Tara’s very shoes as she wandered the island and her soul wandered through despair. I marveled at the strength, resourcefulness and resilience that inched her forward, literally and spiritually.

God sends friends for Tara to encounter on the island, such as the “Glynn Girls,” best friends and occasionally friendly enemies. The Woodsmalls flesh out these secondary characters as zany, unconventional women, whose antics and sometimes hilarious escapades warm our hearts and penetrate Tara’s.

I know I can’t do justice to this book, no matter how or what I write in this review. The depth of tragedy, the transformative spiritual journey and the emotional intensity found in As the Tide Comes In are rarely experienced by absorbing a novel. The story skillfully moved me from tears to laughter to thoughtful reverie. All of us, at some time in our life, will experience distraught, terrible times in our lives, and the book’s impactful message is best expressed in the words of one of its characters, who admonishes that “God is love, and anything we think He did outside of how love would behave, we’re mistaken….”

I received this book from Waterbrook Publishers and the authors. However, I was under no obligation to post a review.

As the Tide Comes In (2018) by Cindy Woodsmall and Erin Woodsmall is the second novel in their contemporary Christian fiction series. (The first book in this series is The Gift of Christmas Past.) This book comes in all forms including eBook, and is 352 pages in length. With a full-time job and a very busy six-year old at home, this novel took me four days to read. I received a copy of this book in ARC paperback form from the publisher, WaterBrook. In no way has this influenced my opinion of the story. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. I give As the Tide Comes In 5+++++ STARS. This story is a Contemporary Christian Fiction novel.

As the Tide Comes In is a stellar novel. It is superbly written — the prose flows so beautifully. The characters are realistic and endearing. And, the plot is highly engrossing, so much so that I found I just could not put the book down. I enjoy Cindy Woodsmall’s novels, but the ones she has written with her daughter-in-law, Erin, are my favorite. And, As the Tide Comes In is without a doubt my favorite of their novels so far. It’s such a phenomenal story!

Tara is the best written grieving woman I’ve ever read. She is SO realistic. In this novel, Tara undergoes one of the worst losses a woman could ever experience in her lifetime. Her loss is completely unexpected and shocking. Two and a half months ago, I lost a man who was like my older brother. This loss, too, was completely unexpected and shocking. As Tara goes through her devastating grief in As the Tide Comes In, I felt like I was able to grieve with her. I felt like I wasn’t alone in these awful feelings I am experiencing. In my circle, no one seems to want to talk about Tim’s death. It’s like everyone is putting his death behind them and moving forward. I know everyone deals differently, but it’s only been 2 1/2 months. He was a HUGE part of our lives. I don’t understand how it can just be another event in the past already. Reading this novel has been one of the most beneficial and cathartic things I’ve been able to do since Tim died because it reinforces that my grief isn’t stupid, misplaced, or untimely.

My most favorite moment in the book came during a conversation between Tara and Gavin. Side note: Gavin is an exceptional hero. He may even be the perfect hero. Gavin is caring, patient, calming, genuine, and thoughtful. I found him to be the ideal hero to Tara’s deeply broken heroine. Now back to the original topic — at this point in the novel, Tara has reached the “why?” part of her grief. It’s the moment when one starts asking, “Why would God allow this?,” which is a perfectly natural question to ask. Tara tells Gavin, “I’m being told a lot of things, but a clear favorite is that all things work together for good to those that love God. So what are they saying? That [the death of my loved one] will work out for my good more than if [he’d] lived?” (234). I’ve purposely changed some words so as not to spoil anything, but what Tara is asking is what I’ve been asking. I’ve heard a lot of well-intentioned people say some of the most hurtful, asinine, and annoying things to explain away Tim’s death over the last two months. If I hear one more platitude, I will scream. God isn’t a murderer. He doesn’t take people away from others in order to make someone a better person. That is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. The best part of this fictional conversation, for me, is when Gavin answers Tara’s question with “I don’t know the answer.” YES! We don’t know the answer. Instead of trying to answer, maybe we just need to draw closer to one another and to God. We need to live life for a while like the one week in Job where his friends just sat next to him and didn’t say a thing. They just comforted their hurting friend by being there.

I really, really love how Tara and Gavin’s relationship developed. I like that it didn’t really go anywhere for a long while because Tara was so badly broken and Gavin is such a respectful guy. Gavin became Tara’s friend. Nothing more. He was able to be there for her when she needed him, and then he would go away when Tara needed space. He let her be her. Gavin respected Tara’s boundaries even when they didn’t make sense to him. Through this interaction, true, real friendship is able to blossom. Gavin was the right kind of friend for Tara. Yes, the relationship between Gavin and Tara develops further, but in due time and out of real love. It may actually be one of the most satisfying fictional relationships that I’ve ever read.

I very much appreciated the message of this novel. Woodsmall and Woodsmall point out throughout this excellent story that we are all vessels — broken vessels actually. Grief, in any form, doesn’t have to own us if we allow God to pour His love into our broken vessels. And, He wants to so much. It’s God’s heart to fix us! Once Tara realizes this she begins to take back her life. Her loss will always hurt, but LOVE will help her to a new day, a new experience, a new life. It’s all about love. I’m currently working on taking my life back from the clutches of grief. I’m going to God daily. I’m pouring my heart out to Him, and He is pouring His love into me. Some days I’m all good. Some days I’m not good at all. But, I am 100% positive that God’s got me and He will see me through just as He will see Tim’s wife, children, family, and friends through this time.

Phew! I am really sorry for such a LONG post. There is actually more that I could discuss because this book is just that good, complex, and beautiful, but I won’t because I want you to go read the book. As the Tide Comes In is a novel that will stick with me long after having read the final page. I truly feel this novel is a must-read for 2018!

Tara feels like she has loved and loss and this time it’s hitting her harder then anyone could have ever imagined. When she takes off to the one place her brothers planned on taking her and she seeks answers she wonders if she can find someone who may hold the key to her past and her future. Gavin and The Glynn Girls are a force to be messed with they love fiercely but they won’t be messed with either. Can the ladies help Tara find her way or will they be more of a hindrance than help?

I absolutely loved this book. First a warning it will pull at your heart strings so make sure you have a box of tissues close by. I loved how no matter what Tara was faced with she this fighting spirit in her even when she had nothing left. I loved how in this book that it wasn’t this love story all wrapped up in this perfect bow but something worth fighting for. I loved, loved, loved The Glynn Girls they were so much fun and I loved how the authors included there story in her as well If we could all be lucky enough to have that kind of friendship. This is a good clean read that faces some tough subject but just an amazing read, you won’t regret grabbing this book.

I received an advance copy from the publisher. I was under no obligation to post a review and have given my honest opinion

Yep … contemporary fiction again. 🙂

Characters: The characters in this book were weird … in a mostly good way. The authors did a great job portraying Tara’s grief over her brothers and her subsequent confusion. I’ve never read about such a confused character and found it really intriguing. At the beginning, I got all the Glynn Girls mixed up. I liked them, but sometimes their actions seemed a little immature and petty.

Language: Clean.

Moral: The themes were dealing with grief, God’s love, and showing that love to others. I wish the morals had been less vague though. And, yes, that’s a rather common complaint of mine. 🙂

Plot: Even though this book wasn’t suspense, it did keep my attention. I did feel like the end got a little scattered, but I can understand the authors needing to wrap things up.

Random comments: There was some odd stuff in this book, so this section might be a little longer than normal. First, I wasn’t a fan of Tara “visiting” her dead brothers in heaven. Second, the miraculous appearance of her brother’s rock in her hand at the hospital was just bizarre. Third, sometimes Tara heard her dead brothers speaking to her in her thoughts. Also, a divorced character got remarried, and one of the characters gave ghost tours.

Romance: Clean. A few kisses. I appreciated that Tara waited a while after her brothers’ deaths to get married.

Writing: I enjoyed the Woodsmalls’ style and thought it fit the story well.

Overall: I enjoyed this book and would like to give it closer to four stars, but I’m sticking with three due to the content discussed in my “random comments” section. I’d still recommend this book to readers of Christian fiction and contemporary fiction.

Probably one of the best books I have read this year! You are going to love the storyline and the faith messages in this book. Mystery, romance and inspiration, make for an unforgettable adventure !

Very well written.

No matter what genre’ Cindy writes she will touch your heart and emotions. I’ve been a fan for several years and she never disappoints. Wonderful characters, some are a little zany or eccentric but completely loveable.

This book will have you in tears, have you laughing at the Glynn Girls. Of these four Mamas, only one is our hero’s mother. Tara has lost everything that she loves and goes to St. Simon’s Island. There she encounters the Four Mamas, or better known as the Glynn Girls. Friendship, confusion, mayhem and a couple of practical jokers. Is that romance in the air?’

Come and join these amazing characters for a heartwarming read. I preordered this book through a local bookstore. No one solicited my review and all opinions are my lown. I loved this book and highly recommend it and anything else by Cindy Woodsmall.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in along time. It’s wonderful!

I enjoyed this book. Cindy Woodsmall normally writes Amish books so this was a nice change. Great 1st book outside of that genre.

Cindy Woodsmall has done it again. Another great book full of depth and heart and human emotion. This book touched on a subject I haven’t read about before… traumatic brain injury on top of great grief. I’ll admit up until about 1/3 of the way in I was confused. I was having a hard time following what was going on. But then it all clicked and made sense. I was glad I stuck with it. There were multiple things going on in the book. Some of which I thought was a little out of place and detracted from the story. I wanted more about Tara and Gavin’s story. I felt like some big details that would have been good to expound upon were just kind of glossed over. But what Ms Woodsmall does excellently is describe human emotion. She’s great at getting into the characters heads and writing that so the reader can get a clear picture. That was my favorite part of the book. I could relate to the characters even though I haven’t been through anything like this before. I liked this book a lot. Check it out and stick with the beginning. It’ll make sense eventually.

I received a copy of this book as part of the book launch team. This has in no way influenced my review. I was not obligated to write a review. All thoughts are my own.