This novel is sort of an adult coming of age story. Cassie, raised by her aunt, does not know who her parents are. The plot centers on her dealing with the mental and physical decline of the only “mother” she has known while also dealing with tantalizing information about her biological parents.

I have mixed feelings about the character development. Little Lark, Cassie's four year old daughter, is the best. She is vivacious, so innocent, and loves to say what she's thinking. Shasta is a bit of a mystery. We read of her in her mentally declining months so we cannot understand her character from current actions. I wish there had been more fond memories from Cassie, revealing more of who Shasta had been.

One of the major messages of this novel is the need for community. Cassie was supported by many of Shasta's friends. There are many issues explored in this novel including infertility, spousal abuse, infidelity, dementia, surprises from DNA inquiry, and single parenting. I would have rather read of fewer issues, each with more intensity. I felt the issues were not explored as well and as deeply as they could have been.

This is a novel for readers who like women's fiction highlighting needs and the support we can offer one another.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Shaped by the Waves by Christina Suzann Nelson has Cassie George returning to Gull’s Bay, Oregon to care for Shasta. Cassie was working on obtaining her doctorate in marine ornithology when she received the call stating that her aunt, Shasta had a stroke and had Parkinson’s disease. When Cassie sees Shasta, she knows that it is time to move home with her daughter, Lark to care for the woman who raised her. Cassie received a package in the mail. It contains typed pages that are someone’s story. Cassie begins reading and soon becomes engrossed. As Cassie reads, she discovers that this story has ties to her life. Cassie’s life is about to change in more ways than one. Shaped by the Waves is not what I expected. I really wanted to enjoy the story, but I could never get into it. I found it slow going. Cassie is not a likeable character. She is stubborn, rude, and does not like to accept help even when she is overwhelmed. Cassie has a cute, precocious daughter named Lark. She is a smart cookie for four years old. I liked the humor that Lark added to the story. We get to meet various townspeople. Most of them are friendly and welcoming. They want to help Cassie with Lark and Shasta. They know they need to be creative since Cassie is bound to say no if they ask directly. Nora is the exception. She is Cassie’s high school nemesis. Nora is pregnant with her third girl, and she has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I found Nora to be just as frustrating as Cassie. I enjoyed the descriptions of Oregon. There is a lot going on in Shaped by the Waves. It can be hard to keep track of the people and the various storylines. I thought the story lacked cohesion and the pacing was slow (I saw snails waving as they passed me by). I felt that some information was lacking (such as Cassie getting pregnant). Some items are overly detailed, and others are missing key points. I thought Nora’s story would tie in with Cassie’s, but it really did not (I wanted to see the stories intersect). There is romance in the story as well. Cassie finds herself attracted to a coffee shop employee. Shaped by the Waves is a Christian story, but you have to search to find the mentions of faith, prayer, and church. Shaped by the Waves is an emotional novel. You will definitely need a tissue handy for a scene or two. I read Shaped by the Waves, but I was never able to immerse myself into the story. It is a book that I could have put down and easily never returned to. It had a predictability to it (it is easy to figure out who authored the story sent to Cassie). Shaped by the Waves has an expected, feel-good ending. I am afraid that I was not the right audience for Shaped by the Waves. I suggest you obtain a sample to see if it suits you. Shaped by the Waves is an expressive tale with a clever child, an ailing aunt, delectable coffee, pretty paintings, a caring community, scrumptious cookies, and a moving manuscript.

What a heart felt, touching story about community and family. In this fictional story about a child who was switched at birth we see the beautiful threads of adoption and familial ties being stronger than blood.

To my surprise, one of the characters was named Ainsley, which is my daughters name and that made the connection even more special to the plot. As Ainsley/Cassie searches for her biological mother, she works out pain and insecurity. The common love of a mother for her daughter runs through out this book. I admit, the middle of the plot seemed a little slow but I was already curious enough to finish the book.

This book is appropriate for teens and younger readers. I was given a copy of the book in exchange for my review.

What a fantastic story, I could not stop turning pages! Shaped by the Waves by author Christina Suzann Nelson has several compelling storylines woven together. I thought I had figured out who the author of the mysterious typed story delivered to Cassie was and I was wrong.

Family comes in so many different ways. I so enjoyed this story where all these long-time, small town friends were so loving and supportive of Cassie as she strove to care for her dying "aunt" who raised her like a mother, as she was also caring for her sweet and spunky 4 year old.

Themes of family, loss, friendship, forgiveness, second chances, and love laced with kindness, truth, and humor. Themes of returning home, and returning to the things that are most important, and helping young people find their way also play an important role.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Shaped by the Waves. I highly recommend this beautiful story! It is SO good.

Thank you to the author, Bethany House, and Net Galley for allowing me to read an early copy. All opinions are my own.

Christina Nelson knows how to write an emotion-tugging book!

At first, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy a book about a woman coming home to care for her aging aunt suffering from Parkinson's. It did take me a while to warm up to the main character Cassie, and I'm not entirely sure that I fully succeeded even in the end. She's quite stubborn and resistant to help from anyone, despite her exhaustion and being overwhelmed. She has an adorable young daughter Lark, who is precocious and added a great deal of comic relief along the way.

I think what made this book more compelling was the mystery surrounding Cassie's past. She receives a mysterious story and as she reads it, she starts to think that it might be about her. I was fully invested in the tale to find out how the story tied into Cassie's life. I'm not sure I completely bought the way everything came together in the conclusion and I had to read through it a couple of times to puzzle out the connections. I think my main problem was that there is a side storyline of another woman in town learning things about her own past, and for whatever reason I thought the two stories were going to end up being connected and they weren't. I kept trying to connect them the entire time and that's why I got so confused.

The two other things that elevate this novel are the emotional impact and the setting. The Oregon coast is my stomping grounds, and everything about the descriptions of the small town and the coastline were familiar and vivid. As Cassie grows to understand that her aunt's time is short, she has to come to terms with losing the woman who has functioned as her mother for most of her life. This is heart wrenching and the emotions are so real, I definitely shed some tears. I wished I had been able to know Aunt Shasta as part of the story, before she developed her illness, so I could have made a connection with her. As it was, we just get Cassie's point of view about their relationship and it lacks some depth.

Overall this is a very worthwhile read from a fantastic writer.

Cassie George lives in the tide of regret. Regret over relationship choices she made in college. But not the consequence of those choices—her four-year-old daughter Lark. Regret over the shame that’s kept her from Gull’s Bay, the tiny Oregon town that practically raised her. But she holds no regret over her unusual upbringing. Regret because she’s drifted away from her Aunt Shasta, the woman who raised her. But always pulled to the sacrificial love her aunt poured over her.

When her aunt’s health declines, Cassie walks away from her doctoral program in California to return to the one place she’s loved above all others. As she settles in, a mysterious package appears in the mail. A package filled with an anonymous manuscript with the power to rock her world.

A handsome new employee at her aunt’s coffee shop makes Cassie question the boundaries she set in place after conceiving Lark. But until she figures out the mystery of her identity, she won’t know how the past will shape her future.

Why I Loved this Book

As a narrator, Cassie represents the uncertainty a young woman struggles with as she learns to make adult decisions. She straddles a world between young motherhood, academia, and the antics of the aging community of Gull’s Bay.

At times, her life feels as chaotic as an ocean storm, but the quirky characters of Gull’s Bay always provide a safe harbor. This poignant, funny, and endearing novel will echo in your heart long after you close the cover of the book.

Fans of Emma St. Clair and Elizabeth Baylor Younts will love this book.

Loved the small town atmosphere with neighbors helping each other. The characters were likeable and interesting. A lot is going on throughout the book, the main plot plus several subplots. I found at times the story was confusing. Loved Lark! I loved Cassie's compassion for her aunt.

This is my first read by this author, and quickly became a page turner. The setting is a small coastal community in Oregon, Gull's Bay, having left her doctorate program in San Diego, Cassie George and her little Lark are heading home to take care of the Aunt that raised her.
The old term of a community to raise a child applies here with the "love" shown to Cassie, Lark and Shasta, but we dig deeper and facts unfold, and shows that kindness is repaid with kindness.
Did I figure out how this all meshed together ahead of time, no, I was surprised, but kept looking for answers, and feeling compassion for those that give the ultimate for the love of others.
I will now be looking for more books by this author.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bethany House and was not required to give a positive review.

An entertaining going-home-again story that could have used more fleshing out of both the backstory (I want to know more about how Cassie ended up a single mother) and the romance (I wanted more getting-to-know you moments). At least this Christian fiction made mention of faith/church/etc.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read by Christina Suzann Nelson, and I'm not too sure what to think about it. I've been mulling it over for a couple of days since I finished it and I truly haven't come to any solid conclusion.

The main character is Cassie George, the niece of Shasta. Cassie is working on her doctorate in marine ornithology when she gets the call that tells her Shasta has had a stroke and has Parkinson's disease. She travels from San Diego to Gull's Bay, Oregon, to take care of Shasta and when she arrives she finds that the situation is much worse than she originally thought.

Gull's Bay is a small community where everyone knows everyone else and their business. One of the first people Cassie meets upon arrival in town is her old high school nemesis, Nora, who has a sub-plot of her own.

There are plots, sub-plots, mysteries, heartaches, and just a bit of romance all included in this book. Because there is so much going on, it is a hard book to put down, but it is also a hard book to read and keep up with. It doesn't have a cohesive feel to it and is somewhat hard to follow. It is enjoyable once you get into it, but I think it could have been better. The setting was perfect, the characters were not as fleshed out as they could have been because of the level of activity in the book, and because there are so many characters who populate the book. Still 3.5 stars, rounded up to four.

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

SHAPED BY THE WAVES by CHRISTINA SUZANN NELSON
When Cassie George and her four year old daughter Lark move back to Gull’s Bay to help Aunt Shasta who has had a stroke and is struggling with Parkinsons and dementia, secrets come out about Cassie’s past that make her wonder who she really is. Shasta is the only mother Cassie has ever known and they have a really special relationship. Surrounded by the friendly people who made up part of her cchildhood, she is happy to feel loved and accepted again, even though she still feels guilty for the bad choices she made in the past. She soon finds herself overwhelmed by trying to do everything herself in caring for Shasta and Lark, and finds she needs to accept the help that is so lovingly offered to the three of them. Cassie has been studying marine birds, and the Oregan coast where she grew up plays a big part in her life. The beach, with its waves and seagulls, is the place she feels closest to God.
Nora Milford strives to be the perfect mother, but when her colicky third daughter is born she is close to falling apart. She has issues with her mother abandoning her for her other daughters, and finds it hard when one of her half sisters reaches out to her. As Cassie said about her and Nora’s lives, “Was it worse to have struggles everyone knew about, or to feel forced to always appear as if you had none?”
I love Marshall’s easy going nature and his strong faith in God. I also love Lark, who is such an outgoing little girl, wise and loving beyond her years, with her sense of importance due to her “employment “ at the bakery!
This is a story about sacrificial love, the importance of community, forgiveness of others and one’s self, and allowing God to take one’s burdens. There is suspense and romance in this inspirational book. I highly recommend Shaped by the Waves as a most worthwhile read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers.The opinionsi in this review are completely my own.

I read a lot of ChristFic romance novels, lol. (Ironic, since I'm single? IDK. Anyway, topic for another day.) And this was a refreshing change of pace; yes, there's a romance thread, but it's not at the forefront. The front-and-center story here is about family: where we came from, family by blood/by choice, etc.

The threads of dementia, caregiving for aging adults, and multiple condition management (in all its form) were both poignant and on point (I've watched family deal with this, both recently and a number of years ago). We've lived this up close and personal, and I felt Nelson really captured it well on all the levels.

I do wish we'd gotten to see more of Marshall; getting to hear his story was alluded to a few tines, and I didn't feel that he was entirely done justice in this regard (maybe in a future read? :D #hinthint).

BUT, that aside, _Shaped by the Waves_ is such a refreshing read, change of pace, and reminder in these times we live in: of the God that sustains us, and of what's really important in life. I will definitely read more of Nelson's books!

4/5 stars.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Cassie has returned with her 5 year old daughter, Lark to a small town on the coast of Oregon where she grew up. Her Aunt Shasta, who raised her, has Parkinson's and is in need of care. Shasta lives above the coffee shop she runs and the whole town is a network of friends that help each other. Cassie feels like she has returned to her safe place even amidst all the angst of seeing her aunt / surrogate mother in the midst of deteriorating health. Cassie becomes embroiled in the mystery of who her real mother was and how she ended up living with Shasta at a young age. This is a lovely book and keeps you guessing about the outcome while dealing with family issues in a thoughtful way.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my own honest opinion.