Review: The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels

The Amazon Blurb: A reclusive bookstore owner hoped shed permanently buried her family's sensational past with a new name. But when the novels she once shared with an old crush begin appearing in the mail, its clear her true identity is about to be revealed, threatening the new life she has painstakingly built.

The Words Between Us was an automatic yes because there were books on the cover. Isn't that awful? Oh, well. Such is life. But the more I read it, the more I wondered, why did I let a cover sway me so much? The story was a first person time-slip with a really cool plot which I really liked. However, the story contained a bajillion slangy uses of crap and heck, as well as a ton of alcohol and one character who was pretty sleazy. For a Christian book, I felt like there wasn't a ton of great content that would make me want to recommend this to my friends. I enjoyed reading it, and it was a captivating story, but it just wasn't for me, and I don't think I'll be reading it again. The ending, too, was iffy, as the MC and her boyfriend-but-not went to live on an island together doing research. Maybe I missed something, but overall, I wasn't as impressed as I wanted to be. Which makes me sad, because I was so down for this book! I wanted it to be the best thing since sliced bread, and it wasn't. (I feel awkward writing a not-good review, but I'm supposed to be honest, right?) It was a good distraction from homework, but I didn't feel elated at the end. I did really enjoy all the literary references throughout the story/stories. That was really good. And Sarah's project at the end was pretty neat. Bottom line: This is the first 3.5 star book I've had in ages. But who knows, it may be what you like. Everyone is different.

I received a copy of this book from Revell Reading Program.