Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review The Houseboat I was really excited to read this book as it sounded so interesting Unfortunately there were multiple aspects that made it a 2 star book There was a ton of fishing and I feel there was too much focus on that instead of plot and development One of my issues was the book felt very stiff to me and very formal and I wasn t able to connect with the book which is probably why I didn t enjoy it as much as I thought I would It felt closer to a series of events being told through a third party with a lack of emotional development or interesting dialogue The thing that made me the most uncomfortable was the maturer sexual content I d recommend changing the rating or removing the scenes all together as I felt it was highly inappropriate for 13 year olds to be French kissing and bulges in their pants along with no doing the hanky panky as Bud said The ending felt overly quick and I felt very disconnected Thank you to NetGally and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review The Houseboat arc review Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review. 12 year old Jeremy has recently lost his parents in an accident.

This is the story of Jeremy a teenaged boy who loses both his parents in a tragic car wreck His attorney has found an estranged uncle who has agreed to take Jeremy in Uncle Bud is a science fiction writer who lives on a houseboat on Lake Cumberland in Kentucky While Jeremy and his Uncle Bud gradually learn to get along Jeremy finds love but must deal with loss again Jeremy becomes a reluctant hero and faces twists and turns in his relationship with Uncle Bud The HouseboatThis was somewhere between coming of age and slice of life I feel like I learned a lot of things about boats and fishing that hopefully I ll remember Gotta write that stuff down Jeremy loses his parents at the tender age of 12 His family has left him a decent amount of money but he has no relatives or close family friends to take him in. Enter Uncle Bud He lives on a houseboat Can you imagine It sounds cool to me in my 30 s not sure how I d have felt at 12 Jeremy is a good kid and he s agreeable though so he should be a good fit. Jeremy has never heard of Bud He s been estranged from his family for longer than Jeremy has been alive Why And why is he willing to step up now I liked this and it was a quick read I didn t feel a lot of emotion behind it and Jeremy seemed younger than 12 to me He wasn t bursting with personality and is now living with his estranged uncle on his houseboat. The writing was very monotonous and stiff Aside from the endless dialogue there was very little to break up all of the telling of things that were happening which was a rinse and repeat of mentioning that the uncle was writing them eating a meal and washing their dishes or doing an activity such as swimming fishing or playing basketball. I think this story would have done better if it was a historical piece set in the late 80 s or something because the characteristics didn t feel suitable for the 2023 setting. I can t imagine 12 year old kids being overly polite with every single response shaking hands with other kids their own age putting on loafers or having a phone but not once mentioning social media or the internet It felt too formal and not of the right generation. The whole thing with the DNA was a last minute effort in trying to close out the story in a meaningful way but the delivery came across the same way you would ask someone about the weather lacking any emotional build up The Houseboat

The Houseboat By S.E. Stanley

English

135

Kindle Edition

.

:

Which happens I suppose It was a fine evening read and threw a few loops in there. Throughout the summer Jeremy learns new skills that include fishing and diving and has his first summer fling with a girl