Review: Castle of Water

Note: Top Shelf Text received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

Before we begin, I'll just say this:

Please read this book.

If you trust me, and trust that I will not lead you astray, then please put Castle of Water on hold at the library. Or go right now to your preferred book-buying destination and secure yourself a copy, because this book is going on my top ten list this year and it deserves to be in the hands of more readers.

If that's not enough to get it on your TBR, let me tell you a little about it (but not too much because -- it's one of those books).

This novel follows Sophie, a french architect who was on the way to the second leg of her honeymoon with her new husband, and Barry, an American and former investment banker who quit his job to follow in the footsteps of his favorite artist. Sophie and Barry meet on the tarmac of a small airport in Tahiti, and neither thinks anything of it -- they are acquaintances, bound for the same small island. But when the plane goes down, they are the only survivors, and they must learn how to live on a tiny, unmarked island in the middle of the South Pacific.

I want to tell you that I have terrible anxiety when it comes to flying, and I was worried this story would be hard to read because of it, but that wasn't a factor for me at all. I also want you to know that even though this novel tells us the story of two people in an awful and morbid situation, it has so much humor and eloquence and it made me both cry and laugh as I read.

As soon as I turned the final page, I leapt up from my chair, walked around the house making noises and all kinds of exclamations (I have a friend who was visiting at the time and had to witness this), and then promptly sat down to email Dane Huckelbridge, the author, to thank him for putting this in my hands and to tell him that it gave me all the feelings.

Trust me on this one, friends. I have received many, many messages already from readers who took my advice and loved it just as much. I hope you join us.

Bottom-Line Rating: 5/5

Title: Castle of Water

Author: Dane Huckelbridge

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2017

Price: $15 on Amazon

ISBN: 125009822X

Format: Hardcover

Source: Author Submission