Low Tide Bikini (Pleasure Island - Bikini Quartet, Book One

 

LYLA DUNE

Edition read: Kindle edition, Composesum Publishing, LLC, 2013.

How acquired: No idea.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: At work one day I took my break and then realized I’d left my book at home. So I grabbed my iPad and scrolled to the very bottom of the books in my Kindle app, and this was the book waiting there the longest.

Initially I was a little put off by the heroine, Sam, for a stupid reason I’ll admit. She meets Brock, who is English but has been living in Wales, and when he asks where the loo is she doesn’t know what he means. And I was thinking everyone knows what that means, right? And then there was this exchange:

“Who retires at thirty-eight?”

“Pro rugby players?”

“Rugby?” What the heck was rugby? If she’d never heard of it, it couldn’t be that darn popular. But then again, if it was some kind of sport, that’d explain why she wasn’t familiar with it.

Ok, maybe she’s not familiar with it, but she’s never even heard of it? But then I told myself that there might actually be Americans who don’t know what a loo is, or what rugby is, and who might not know what Brock means when he uses other English words and I needed to get over it. Fortunately that was a short-lived thread in the book and after that Sam didn’t seem to have any trouble understanding Brock.

And after that I got pretty caught up in the story and I really liked Sam and I really really liked Brock. They both have issues to overcome, though I felt Brock’s weren’t really addressed or discussed by the two of them as much as Sam’s were. She eventually opened up to Brock about hers, and in the end he went to great lengths to accommodate her issues, at the risk of losing her, but she never seemed to give any thought to his issues. And at one point his issues did nearly cause him to lose her, but he mentioned his issues and then they moved on without actually talking about why he acted the way he did.

Regardless, I was pretty invested in their romance, I laughed several times, and I might have even teared up when the wonderful resolution came. I definitely want to read the rest of the books in this series.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Brock Knight, a retired rugby player from Wales, moves into his new beach house in North Carolina before Samantha Carlisle has a chance to relocate. When he spots her shagging trophies, he's not sure he wants her to move out. After a devastating breakup, Sam has sworn off men. In an effort to keep her distance from her sexy new landlord, she pretends she prefers women. Will Brock convince her to stay, or will she convince him she's gay?

With an ostrich farm and a slew of naughty naked seniors, Pleasure Island is loads of fun. If you like romance with plenty of sizzle and giggle, this book is for you!

Lead Changes

 

RENEE ROJAS

Edition read: Pdf, independently published 2023.

How acquired: Discovery

First line: Her mother always said that she could ride before she could walk.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: The premise of the story is what drew my interest. Kelsie is divorced from a man who is cruel and very controlling. She’s made a life for herself and her son, Ryan, but her ex still uses fear and intimidation to try and control her, constantly threatening to take her son away from her, despite not bothering to exercise his visitation rights. Her best friend convinces her to take a vacation at a dude ranch, where she meets Chance, and begins to find herself again.

At times the writing, and more specifically the dialogue, felt a bit stiff and formal. The characters rarely use contractions when talking, which often disrupted the flow. I think that some authors feel that not using contractions gives a more literary illusion, but most people do not, or I guess I should say don’t, speak that way, and to me it makes the characters a little less relatable. If they were high society or it was an historical time it might feel more natural, but for everyday people in contemporary fiction it can sound awkward.

Regardless, Kelsie is an interesting and likable character. Throughout the book the reader is given glimpses of what her life was like with Tim, as he seemed to love and cherish her until they were actually married, and then skillfully chipped away at her self-confidence, isolating her from her friends and family, making her dread doing anything to anger him and eager to please him and keep him happy. I can’t speak to the authenticity of her character as an abused wife, having never been in her shoes, but she felt real, and her reactions to Tim’s actions felt realistic.

Chance was nice enough, though there didn’t really seem to be much actual chemistry between them. And for some readers, that may not really matter. My reading leans mostly towards romance, and I tend to look for it even in other genres. But while I would have liked for Chance to be more involved, ultimately this is Kelsie’s story, and the focus was rightfully on her and her journey to letting go of her ex, chasing her own dreams, and learning to be happy.

I’m not sure if this is the author’s debut, but she has crafted a nicely plotted story and despite my criticism above, shows promise.

*received a free ARC from the author via Discovery*

Goodreads Synopsis:

Trapped in an abusive marriage, Kelsie Harris had been forced to trade her dreams of professional barrel racing for a life filled with fear and intimidation. Even after her husband files for divorce, the continual chokehold that he has on her and their ten year old son doesn't fade.

But, when Kelsie wins a week long stay at a dude ranch in central Arizona in a raffle, she not only fears stepping out of her comfort zone, but also her ex-husband's wrath for disobeying his demands.

Afraid of trusting others, she has built a wall around her heart that she deems unbreakable. But, as she gets to know Chance Masters, her trail boss for her week at the ranch, she begins to question her belief that all men are cruel and abusive like her ex-husband

In just seven days, Kelsie not only finds her true self again, but is also reconnected with her love for horses. Most of all, however, she becomes faced with an opportunity to love again, and must decide if it is worth pushing her fears aside and take a chance.