Kath Engebretson

Genevieve and her husband Peter are recovering from a family trauma and have decided to go on a cruise in an effort to heal the rift between them. Genevieve strikes up a conversation with another passenger by the name of Thomas. Morbidly obese and seemingly lonely, Thomas has a number of health concerns but he's a great listener and their friendship starts to take root.

Throughout the nineteen days of the cruise (informing the title of the book), their conversations begin to deepen and we learn about Thomas's complicated family history, and more about Genevieve and Peter's loss.

Genevieve and Thomas are on a cruise from Sydney to Honolulu via New Zealand and I loved the realistic descriptions of life at sea on a cruise ship. The variety of activities and happenings on sea days and port visits made me long to go cruising again after this pandemic is over. Some of you might recall that I recently read another book set on a cruise ship, and you'd be right, however The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton was a thriller and quite different to Nineteen Days.

Nineteen Days is a book about friendship, loneliness, the power of listening, the importance of family and the strength of love in the world. A poor decision by the main character at the very end of the book jerked me out of the story at a critical point, and while it didn't impact the characters or the ending at all, it ultimately cost a star in this review. Nineteen Days is written by Australian author Kath Engebretson and it was an entertaining read that made me long for the high seas again.

* Copy courtesy of Atlas Productions *… (more)