A different look at cultural and religious differences between the Israeli and Palestinian people in the 1940’s. I had high hopes for this one, but it was just ok. The author writes well, but it’s as if we are standing outside of the story for so much if it. I kept waiting to be taken in deeper, to become a part of it, but unfortunately I was kept on the surface. Not a bad book, just not as good as it could have been.

I thought the premise of the book was promising but the execution was lacking. I felt I was being told a series of events rather than seeing a story unfold. I liked that the women embraces their sexuality but the sex scenes made me cringe with how clinical they sounded. This book has a lot of potential with the plot and characters, however, the writing made it hard for me to get into the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Replenishing the Sea of Galilee” is a first time read by Wagih Abu-Rish, a new author to this reader. I have had my share of misses this year with reading works from new authors, and this is one that missed its mark. I found myself at times not wanting to finish this book and skimming over chapters because the story was not well-written, the abundance of graphic intimate language, and non-believable content. The description did not portray what I was expecting in this novel. The family saga was just not there from a Middle East point of view...looking forward to the learning experience. I totally get the direction of the plot but somehow it lacked in the delivery for me as a reader. The struggle to finish this story was “real”.

Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for my fair and honest review.

I think the book could have been longer because it tried to fit a gigantic amount of detail and plot into a short number of pages. I liked the first few chapters of the book the best and the detail dedicated to the characters. I would have liked more description of the relationships, rather than moving very quickly from one event to the next.

I was excited for this book because honestly, I crave Palestinian stories but this wasn’t what it promised to be. The storylines felt choppy and it was extremely slow. I couldn’t connect with it

Well… I really wanted to like this book. In terms of its story, I would give it a strong 4 stars, but I absolutely could not get over the writing. The dialogue felt very juvenile at times, and a lot of expositional/descriptive parts of the story were super repetitive. I generally love these sweeping generational historical fiction novels, but the writing of this was truly abysmal and it really took me out of enjoying the story, which really had good bones unfortunately :/

Maybe I shouldn’t have tried reading this so soon after something I really enjoyed. The writing was stiff and dry and nothing snagged my interest.

I did not finish this book. The poor writing , and too much emphasis on sex is not what I expected from a book on the Palestinian, Israeli conflict.
Thanks NetGalley , the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.

I really wanted to like this book but, sadly it just got worse and worse. It was so disjointed, almost as if different authors wrote sections of it. I have never read a family saga centered around sexual practices.

nd that was what I came for. I love a good family saga. I love the idea of exploring the cultures and religions of the Middle East.
Unfortunately, barely a couple of chapters in, this is a did-not-finish for me. Stilted sentences. Rushed over family history only to spend paragraphs on awkward graphic sexual descriptions. Subject matter of a priest wanting to teach a teen to have sex is not very palatable. Should have at least come with a warning.
As always, grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC, but unfortunately mostly because it stopped me spending money on this!