Review of "Still Rock Water"

I had the pleasure of reviewing “Still Rock Water” by Francene Stanley.  It was an excellent book and I thought I would share my review with you.
This is the story of Liliha.  As a housewife and mother of two teenaged girls on the sunny coast of Australia all seems well.  Then her erratic husband suddenly leaves her for another woman.  With the help of old friends she leaves the pain behind and relocates to the shores of England from where her family originated.  She carries with her a moonstone ring with a hidden history and the power to pull her into other people’s bodies for a short time.  Life is difficult for her as she has to leave her children in boarding school in Australia and can only see them on holidays.  Liliha struggles for money as a grown woman with few employable skills.  She loses the ring for a period and some of her self-confidence along with it.  She has opportunities arise for love but she does not want to be controlled or hurt again.  Throughout the book her strong beliefs and resiliency carry her through.  The author does an excellent job of emphasizing the deep feeling of betrayal Liliha feels in her divorce and shows how it tempers her judgment of all men and their intentions.  One catastrophe after another befalls her and still she carries on when so many would give up hope.  Even when happiness is right there to be had, she hesitates.  Her heart has been wounded and has a hard time accepting that something good could be on the horizon.  Liliha’s character has great depth and variation.  As a reader you find yourself rooting for her and feeling sorrow in her failures.  This is a book that draws you in.  Though I am fortunate not to know the pain of betrayal and divorce, the picture painted in the story is clear and distressing.  To overcome such upheaval and start a new life in a foreign land shows grit and determination.  If you like strong female characters with a dash of mysticism, this book is what you have been waiting for.