Book Review: Sink or Swim by L.A. Witt

Posted August 2, 2018 by shooting in Book Review / 8 Comments

sink or swim by l.a. witt

Book Review of Sink or Swim by L.A. Witt

Review by Lauren

Source: copy from Netgalley; all opinions are my own

Official Summary (add to Goodreads)

Alhazar Bukhari spent his Navy career in the closet. Now he’s retired, divorced, and hungry for the love he’s never had a chance to experience. He tries to put his faith in Allah to bring the right man into his life, but it’s hard to be patient after all this time.

Chaplain Dylan Pedersen spends his days counseling Sailors, and his nights with men he doesn’t know. Months after finally escaping an abusive relationship, he’s terrified of anything more than a physical connection. Maybe it’s a sin, but he’s too lonely to not let men into his bed, and too scared to let them into his heart.

When Alhazar’s civilian job brings him aboard the USS Fort Stevens, and his daily prayers bring him into Dylan’s chapel, the chemistry is instantaneous. Sex and friendship quickly evolve into more, but Dylan’s too haunted by his recent past to be the man Alhazar wants. Alhazar needs love, Dylan needs time, and if they can’t find some sort of balance, they’ll sink before they ever have a chance to swim.

Review of Sink or Swim

All the stars to this one! Sink or Swim is the 8th book in the Anchor Point series. As I state with every review, you can read these as standalones if you want but reading them in order means you’ll recognize previous characters in new books. In Sink or Swim, Alhazar used to be in the Navy but now has a civilian job working on the USS Fort Stevens, where Dylan is a Chaplain. I loved that while Dylan is Christian and Alhazar is Muslim, that’s never an issue between them. They might have different religions but they can talk about them with each other and each one respects the other’s beliefs. I loved this, and it would be amazing if the world was more like these two!

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Now, since religion isn’t an issue, there has to be something, right? Well, Dylan is only recently out of a long-term relationship…that was verbally and emotionally abusive. It might seem as if Dylan is moving a bit too quick by being with Alhazar, but I think it was handled well. It’s obvious that Dylan has things he needs to work through, including facing his ex, and this does interfere with what Alhazar is trying to build with him, but it never felt like drama for the sake of drama. In fact, most of their relationship is really good – and Alhazar shows Dylan that there are people out there that will be good to him, and that he deserves that too. By no means is it a one-sided relationship though – Alhazar might admit his feelings quicker, but he finds a partner in Dylan after having “fake” and doomed relationships in the past. Dylan may be a Chaplain, but he doesn’t judge Alhazar’s religion or past choices. I love that both of the men say they might be Muslim/Christian, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect, and that was definitely an overarching theme throughout the book.

Again, all the stars for this one! I loved it!

8 responses to “Book Review: Sink or Swim by L.A. Witt

  1. Sounds like an interesting plot; it’s great that it has a message that isn’t the religious piece. That conflict may have been too predictable; sounds good!

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