The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith

Hi, readers! Today I'm part of the TLC book tour for Katy Simpson Smith's The Story of Land and Sea.

For ten years now John has raised his daughter, Tabitha, alone. His beloved wife, Helen, died in childbirth leaving the two of them to fend for themselves. And now Tabitha has taken ill. The doctor says there's nothing to do but wait and John's father-in-law says that he must pray. But John knows exactly what will heal his daughter - the same sea air that his Helen once thrived in. 

Wow, what a freaking downer of a book! That is not what I was in the mood for at all.

Katy Simpson Smith's fiction debut is set in Beaufort around the time of the Revolutionary War. It first tells the tale of John and Tabitha, then jumps back in time to introduce Helen before bouncing back to John and Helen's father. The Story of Land and Sea is not a straightforward narrative, but instead turned out to be little nuggets of story pieced together to make a whole. So rather than a smooth read it's very jarring and segmented.

The good thing about it is that it's fairly short. The bad thing about it, for me, is that I didn't really like it. Actually, the tale is interesting but the way it's told just didn't hook me.

Rating: 2.5/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here. For more on Katy Simpson Smith and her work you can visit her website here.