Review of Sip Lake

[Jsovermyer]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sip Lake" by joseph basara.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Owen Cloud accepted his childhood friend’s invitation and moved to Cypress Lake, or Sip Lake as the locals called it. He was content with his life, renting a one-room cottage and working as an orderly at the local hospital. Sip Lake by Joe Basara is Owen’s story, written in first-person and narrated by Owen himself. He meets many interesting people, tries to attract the notice of his “wish-fish” dream-girl, Tina Gardenia, and hopes someday to be a published author. Will his life turn out the way he hopes?

Owen is a realistically written character. He is a competent and skilled worker at the hospital, but he makes a few mistakes. He is kind, trustworthy, and a good friend to his neighbors and his patients. He thinks he is unattractive, describing himself as having “kinky red hair and a pug nose.” However, others are attracted to his intelligence and caring personality. My favorite part of the story is when something causes Owen’s mind to wander to a book he has read or his favorite television show. He often breaks into song. It was humorous when he tried to make a joke, and the other characters don’t understand his literary reference. For example, someone mentioned their family came from Rome, New York, and Owen asked if all roads lead there. It was refreshing to have characters talk like real people. I felt I had a lot in common with Owen.

Sip Lake is a character-driven novel with many characters, perhaps too many. I sometimes got them mixed up and was confused. However, I liked their funny names like Rush Rivers, Minnie Many Eyes, Vera Peach, Berry Cooter, and Cindy Kelp. The book is professionally edited, as I detected only a few minor grammatical errors. These errors didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the story.

Readers who like character-driven stories will enjoy this book. It is sweet and comical, with an authentic true-life feeling. If you prefer action-packed adventures, this is not the book for you. It is an adult book, not suitable for children because of mild profanity and sexual innuendos.

I am rating Sip Lake by Joe Basara with three out of four stars. Because of the grammatical errors and sometimes confusing characters, I felt I couldn’t give it a perfect score. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and thought it was a well-written novel deserving of three stars. I highly recommend this book and think you will enjoy it too.

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Sip Lake
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[Astral Magi]

The cover makes me want to read it. In the review it also mentions that the characters talk like real people and there is even a bit of humor, which is fabulous. I am adding this to my bookshelf. Thank you for the lovely review.

[Paluk Pathania]

I honestly can't take my gaze away from the book's cover since it appears to be so beautiful! I completely agree that having too many characters may cause confusion and distract you. Thanks for your review!

[Hykaryh]

I really like your review. Made me want to read this book. I am soo curious abaut the caracters and the story.