There has not been a book from Kingsbury that did not feature the Baxter family since Brush of Wings, which released in 2017. I have been hoping for a Kingsbury stand alone for a long time. That time is finally here.
She was a child caught in a riptide and he was a teenager on vacation with his family. He dove in to save her, and that single terrifying moment changed both their lives forever. Ten years later Jack Ryder is an agent with the FBI and Eliza Lawrence still lives on that pristine island, an untainted princess in a kingdom of darkness and evil.
After waiting years for a Kingsbury stand alone, I wish I could say I loved this one. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good read. The plot is interesting but what it lacked for this reader was emotion. Past Kingsbury novels have seen the use of many tissues. A Distant Shore did not even see me getting teary eyed, much less crying my eyes out. I feel Kingsbury spent too much time talking about trafficking (I’m not saying this isn’t an important topic because it is) and not focusing on developing her characters and their reactions to the events going on around them. I’m an emotional person and want the emotion and character depth every time.
A Distant Shore read like a mystery novel to me, which is not something I believe Kingsbury has tackled before. Because I saw it as part mystery, I was looking for a twist, something unexpected. It was disappointing that there was no surprise and that everything went exactly as I predicted it would.
The relationship between Eliza and Jack did not work for me. I know they had a connection, but their feelings came too fast for me because I don’t feel they really knew each other. I guess I wanted to see a connection that was more than the rescue years ago and I do not feel as if I got that. I did like that a look forward is given at the end of the book. I liked knowing well down the road how the characters were doing but wish I could have felt that connection to them throughout the entire book.
This book has something just under the surface that just did not quite peak out for this reader. It has good bones but did not grab me as I had hoped. Fans of Kingsbury should be on the lookout for an angel 😊
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewer: Jennifer
Title: A Distant Shore
Author: Karen Kingsbury
Release Date: April 27, 2021
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