I found this story to be interesting by stepping into the life of a well known and popular Pastor. It is a good reminder that those who are called to serve also need time to step away and have a family life. I was not anticipating the ending and I was actually pleased the book ended as it did. The question is, what happened next?

Intriguing story with real struggles and complex characters that made me think and ponder what I would do in their situation.

I really enjoyed “The Surface of Water” by Cynthia Beach. This book started a little slow, and I really wasn’t sure where it was going. But once I got into the first few chapters, I was hooked! I couldn’t put it down! It turned into a mystery and I really thought I figured it out. However, there was a huge twist at the end. The characters were well developed. This book had emotions and mystery. I highly recommend this book.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

This is a new to me author that I'm glad I read her book. It's one that I will remember for awhile both for the message of the book itself and it's characters. I loved her style and will definitely be reading more by this author in the future. Will recommend to my friends as well.

From the moment I met Trish, I was fully invested. I felt her pain, hurt and uncertainty. Cynthia Beach paints an incredibly realistic portrayal of the devastation celebrity church culture creates emotionally, spiritually and physically. The pacing is perfect. The moment I finished, I immediately wanted to go back and reread it to catch the nuances I missed.

When I attended a Chicago megachurch in my twenties, the pastor was definitely larger than life--even briefly speaking to him was like getting to meet someone super famous. Often, we forget that those on that toxic pedestal are actual people and as such, they have a history. This is one such story.

Highly recommend!

Note: while the ending is satisfying, she does leave a few loose ends which I understand will be explored in the sequel. Yay! I can't wait!

An interesting, enjoyable and hard to put down! This book explores in many different layers the story of a megachurch pastor. Riveting, relevant and a great ending.

The formatting of this book was atrocious. I get that it’s an eARC but it was practically unreadable. As such, I was continually taken out of the story and just did not have a good reading experience.

The book was okay. It was seemed to move very slowly and was slightly confusing to follow what was going on at first. Typical story of what happens now a days.

A deep and thought provoking book. It opened my eyes to the struggles of church employees, worldwide. As a church employee I felt it was just my church that had these types of issues, but was disturbed to see it so widespread. A reminder to pray for our leaders.

The description of this book caught my attention from the start because there seems to be more and more megachurches making headlines these days—and not because of the good they are doing in their communities. Matthew could be the right person to lead Calvary but the success of a lead pastor also depends upon the staff and congregation supporting him and when power & isolation become tools for leadership, it’s easy to see how quickly things can unfold. This book will make you think!

The story was interesting to think about. It gave me an insight into the lives of what it may be like to be a pastor at a megachurch. It was intriguing to think about the disparity between the church and those living so close to the church.





Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The opinions are my own