An office worker in a tired marriage decides to spice up her life with swimming lessons and gets more than she bargained for when her instructor turns out to be a modern Greek goddess. Thin, unbelievable characterizations and borderline abusive relationships make this an uncomfortable read.

I didn't really like the book, not my story. Kind of weird

This is not your typical romance novel. This may not work to Brent's advantage as readers may be perplexed that what is being delivered is not necessarily what is expected of this genre, but this is an author I will be looking out for in the future.

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

Ok, it may have been me but I just couldn't get into this book no matter how hard I tried. I gave it 2.5 stars rounded it up to 3. Maybe I'm being a little harsh. I'm just not sure. I'll admit the cover attracted me thinking it was an under water story. Turned out to be swimming lessons. The book is mainly about self discovery at an older age. The writing was choppy at times (no pun intended), and the ending... well it just ended. My advice is read it, you might like it but I just couldn't. Enjoy!


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2184417499


https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3Q0BBQFRA2QZ7/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

What a weirdest book. I do not consider it a romance. Neither a book of comming out the closet. The stories of the two protagonists are outlined but in an incomplete way throughout the story. The dialogues are too brief and confusing that they do not contribute much in allowing you to follow the thread. There are too many thoughts and feelings of both main characters, that make the book a bit heavy. And so many phrases in French, if you do not have a bit of knowledge in this language can be annoying. You will not find a traditional romantic story, as I said, I do not know if the story is romantic at all. In my opinion, it is a book different from the usual ones that you might like. I did not like it too much.

A slow-burn self-discovery with a bit of romance. Helene’s pursuit of a healthy lifestyle leads her to an awareness of her attraction to her swimming instructor, Sylvie. Sylvie struggles with her attraction to Helene, observing that cats are easier. They struggle to take the plunge. It is a story of change, internal struggles, and insights about the truth of attraction.

Helene lives a normal, simple life; working by day in an office, writing poetry whenever she has the spare chance, and shopping with her brutish husband on Saturday. She has to undergo a huge lifestyle change and takes up riding her bike and taking swimming lessons. While she faces her fear of swimming with her instructor Sylvie, a greek goddess in the flesh, she's also facing a new and exciting attraction to the woman.

I had a hard time connecting to the characters and their love for each other. I finally realized that although this is a book written in third person it reads more like a first person story. Unfortunately I always have trouble connecting with novels written in that way. But if you have the chance definitely try out this book and see if the style works for you because the author has a really magical way with words. So much of the description is brilliantly vibrant, with poetic descriptions in full technicolor. I loved that aspect of the story.

There is definitely a lot of French. As someone who speaks French, I loved it because it really transported me to Belgium an helped me get situated in the story. It was a treat! The author does a pretty good job of following French thoughts with the english translation. But there are a lot of exclamations and a few smaller phrases that I feel would get lost in translation. It won't affect the story but may leave readers a little frustrated.

This was a great debut. I didn't fully connect to the story or the characters but the writer shows a lot of potential with a talent for beautiful descriptions, unique characters, and a really sweet romance.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A rather disappointing introduction to the writings of this author, for whom I had high expectations. The initial chapters offered a glimpse into a less conventional romantic journey, with a realistically imperfect heroine, who I quite liked. However, several aspects of the plot diminished my enjoyment of the whole-Sylvie's character was not sufficiently developed, I tired of the abusive behavior of Helene's husband and the end of the tale felt entirely too rushed. While Ms. Brent attempts to use spare language, an almost clinical quality to her writing at points deterred my full absorption into the reading experience. I hope for more in future work.

An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.

The story is not a typical romance kind of story and I liked that a lot. -it was refreshing to get a different take on a romance novel. However, I could not get used to the writing style - it felt like reading a police report... after a while it flowed more because i got used to it but it was not enjoyable to read for me. Writing styles are very personal though so for somebody else it could be a great fit. I Alamo didn’t like that a lot of the Dialoge was mixed in French and English... I think it was a bit overdone and distracting.

This is a debut book by Brent. I enjoy reading new authors, and giving them a chance to win me over. With this book I feel like I am struggling a bit, not quite sure what to think. It is very different, not your normal fluffy romance. I like different so that part intrigued me. This is a bit more of a cerebral read, even a bit of an artistic read. I’m trying to figure out what category this would go in. I’m guessing drama with a little romance.

Helene’s life is pretty stagnant. She feels overweight and unattractive. Her husband barely notices her except to scold her. After a medical scare, her doctor informs her she must work on loosing weight. She decides she wants to get over her fear and learn how to swim. When Helene finds out her swim instructor is a mysterious woman she has had a crush on from afar, she soon realizes her life will never be the same.

The writing style is a bit different and took a little time to get comfortable with. Once I got into the book, it started to flow more. This takes place in Belgium, so there were a lot of words in French. I only took one year of French in high school so I only understood maybe 1/3 of them. Although I will say the mix of languages really put you into the setting more than usually.

The character of Helene is really quirky. She is clumsy, a little neurotic at times, and also gets stuck in her head. I liked that she was not a perfect gorgeous character. The transformation of her growing confidence and taking her life back was a nice journey to go on. The other main Sylvie was likeable, but I didn’t feel like I got to know her as much. I knew she was Greek and loved her heritage, but I didn’t quite connect with her as much.

I think my main issue with this book was twofold. One, it felt like it was trying to be a romance, but it really wasn’t. Besides the swimming lessons and parts at the end, the characters really are on their own. You see what is going on in Helene's life and Sylvie’s separately. You know Helene has a crush, but I felt the connection was lacking. They needed more time together. And while you are in Sylvie’s head at times, you almost have no idea how she feels about Helene. She almost never thinks about her, when they are alone.

My last issue really was the ending. This book just abruptly ends. It was almost jarring. I felt like I was missing at least four chapters. And the book is pretty short already; I just don’t understand that choice. Nothing is really resolved, especially with Helene’s god awful husband. His character really had it coming, but nothing came, it was unsatisfying.

This was a hard book for me to rate. Parts I liked, but other parts didn’t work for me. I don’t think this book will be everyone’s cup of tea. If you like different, and a book that is artistic (that’s the best way I can describe it) this might be for you. I would be willing to read another book by Brent; I’m curious what direction she might go in next.

An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.