Review: H2O the Novel by Austin Boyd & Brannon Hollingsworth

H2O the Novel by Austin Boyd & Brannon Hollingsworth

AMG Publishers - Nov. 02, 2011

Amazon / Goodreads / Christianbook

About the book:

H2O is a contemporary crossover women’s novel that tells the story of Kate Pepper, a successful young business woman in Seattle whose life is suddenly—and strangely—turned upside down. Unexplainable visions torment her every time she gets wet. Sinking into despair, frantic to avoid water at any cost, Kate ultimately finds romance and redemption through the advice of simple people who love her for who she is, not what she was.

Kate Pepper has it all . . . a razor-sharp intellect, perfect health, stunning beauty, a wildly successful career, and all the money she can spend. Or rather, she thinks she has it all.

Despite the perfect shell, there’s something dark inside Kate. Terrible visions send her into a deep depression and her world crumbles. All her business savvy and elite connections don’t make a difference; she has lost control.

Who will save her? Xavier, her predatory boyfriend? Or Candice, the Down syndrome waitress at her favorite coffee shop? At the bottom of her dark well, desperate to get out of the water, there’s nowhere to reach but up.

H2O—a fascinating allegorical look at success, sanity and spiritual redemption in a young woman’s relationship with water.

My rating:

My thoughts:

What would you do if you suddenly started having visions when you got wet? Visions so powerful you lost touch with the world for that amount of time. Would you avoid water at all costs - or learn to live with it?

That is exactly what happened to Kate Pepper. She used to love getting wet, but when she suddenly starts having visions whenever she comes in contact with water, she finds herself fearing water and trying to avoid it at all costs. But how can you live without water? Will anything good come out of all this turmoil?

H20 is the first book I've read by Austin Boyd or Brannon Hollinsworth. Even though I haven't read that many fantasy books, I really like the genre and H20 was great!

From the beginning pages of H20 I found myself liking Kate and disliking Xavier (Kate's boyfriend) - he just seemed like such an uncaring and mean person! I couldn't understand why Kate stayed with him when he treated her the way he did.

Though some might think Kate's visions were weird, I actually really liked them (especially the later ones). Most were of Biblical events; like Jesus' baptism, Peter walking on the water to Jesus, the woman at the well, etc. - I really liked that. They were told really well and even brought to mind some things I never thought about.

While H20 was interesting and enjoyable from the beginning, it was when I got halfway through and Kate started talking to WRKRJC that H20 became really good and the pages went by much faster! I understood the characters more and I started wondering who WRKRJC was and what the letters meant.

Throughout H20, whether through Kate's visions or actually spoken, there was a story of forgiveness and how Jesus can make you clean!

I think H20 is best suited for ages 16 and older because of some of the things mentioned - although none of it is bad, it might not be appropriate for younger readers.

Overall, I really enjoyed H20 and recommend it if you enjoy fantasy novels with a good message. I look forward to reading O2, the next novel in The Eternal Elements!

*Thanks to Brannon Hollingsworth for my review copies. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*