Ah, Lolita, my little Lo... No wait, that was my last review. But while we're on the subject, did anyone else notice the similarity of format? A person who has been arrested, telling their story to a jury/lawyer as part of their defense... But that is where the similarities end.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. Ms. Rogan is a good writer, but I can't say she's a good storyteller; there's a big difference. There are several poetic sentences, and wonderful insights about life and people. Ms. Rogan did not rush the ending—it was nicely drawn out. It's obvioous she poured her heart and soul into the novel.

In the story, Grace Winter, the protagonist, is on trial for murder, and yet she is calm, placid, naive, clueless... The only thing believable this woman did was to intentionally "accidentally" meet a wealthy man (who was already engaged), and steal him away. She was portrayed as a victim all the way through to the end. Larry Brooks of Storyfix wouldn't like that!

The novel, on the whole, could have and should have had so much violence, tension, and fear, but it really just skated over the surface of the narrative; just try to imagine 21 days at sea in an overcrowded boat with dozens of scared, hungry strangers! The narrative timeline felt disjointed to me, jumping back and forth and forth again between the past, the lifeboat, and the trial, sometimes all in the same paragraph. Also the dialogue did not ring true to the time period (1914).

Lastly, and I don't know why this hasn't been talked about more, is the undeniable similarity to the Alfred Hitchcock movie, also calld The Lifeboat, which was written by John Steinbeck. In all the press I've read about his book and author (everywhere from People magazine, to Oprah Magazine, to the New York Times!), I've not heard her give any credit to either of those men. Coincidence? Yeah, no.

I'd like to give this 2 1/2 stars, but I'll round up to Three stars because I feel a connection to Ms. Rogan: a wife, mother, and self-taught author throwing her heart out there for people like me to critique. Keep writing!