Review: Breathe (Sea Breeze #1) by Abbi Glines

Breathe (Sea Breeze #1) by Abbi Glines

Published May 16th 2011 by Wild Child Publishing

Sadie White's summer job isn't going to be on the beach life-guarding or working at rental booths like most kids her age. With her single mother's increasing pregnancy and refusal to work, Sadie has to take over her mother's job as a domestic servant for one of the wealthy summer families on a nearby island.

When the family arrives at their summer getaway, Sadie is surprised to learn that the owner of the house is Jax Stone, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world. If Sadie hadn't spent her life raising her mother and taking care of the house she might have been normal enough to be excited about working for a rock star.

Even though Sadie isn't impressed by Jax's fame, he is drawn to her. Everything about Sadie fascinates Jax but he fights his attraction. Relationships never work in his world and as badly as he wants Sadie, he believes she deserves more. By the end of the summer, Jax discovers he can't breathe without Sadie.

My Thoughts
When Sadie White moves from Tennessee to Alabama with her pregnant, single mom, she immediately begins to take over the family responsibility of keeping a roof over their head. That includes becoming the hired help for the famous rock-star Jax Stone. Sadie works hard to prove herself to her new boss Ms. Mary in the hopes that she’ll give her a chance to keep her job throughout the summer while her mom waits to give birth.

During her time at Jax’s house, she runs into him a few times and eventually the hired help and the rock-star strike up a romance that can't be denied but can ultimately put Sadie's job at risk.

After recently diving into The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines, I was eager to try the Sea Breeze series to see if her characters and plot development were just as engaging as my first reading experience. I’m happy to share that Glines definitely has a knack for creating a steadily paced novel that’s filled with an interesting cast and off-the-charts chemistry.

I really enjoyed the dual perspective between Sadie and Jax. Despite Sadie carrying the majority of the narrative, it made the storytelling more engaging to get Jax’s perspective from time to time.

The only element I had a small issue with was with Sadie’s age and her actions with Jax. It would have been nice to age this character not as a minor of seventeen, but easily making her one year older considering the fact that Jax was nineteen and well they get busy from time to time. It didn’t bother me enough to chuck the book, but why couldn’t Glines have made her eighteen?

Other than that, Breeze was an enjoyable and quick read with likeable characters and an engaging narration. I look forward to reading Marcus’s story because I really liked him in this book. On to the next installment!

3.5 Suns

Review & Signed Book Giveaway: The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys #1) by Abbi Glines

The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys #1) by Abbi Glines

Published October 30th 2012 by Simon Pulse

Get seduced by a sizzling account of attraction and betrayal in this previously self-published phenomenon.

There was something wicked about Beau that drew me to him. What was wrong with me? Why did I want to sin so badly?

Ashton is getting tired of being good, of impressing her parents and playing ideal girlfriend to Sawyer Vincent. Sawyer is perfect, a regular Prince Charming, but when he leaves town for the summer, it’s his cousin Beau who catches Ashton’s eye. Beau is the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, and even though he’s dangerous, Ashton is drawn to him.

Beau loves his cousin like a brother, so the last thing he wants to do is make a move on Sawyer’s girl. Ashton is off-limits, absolutely. That’s why he does his best to keep his distance, even though he’s been in love with her forever. When Ashton wants to rekindle their childhood friendship in Sawyer’s absence, Beau knows he should say no.

Ashton and Beau don’t want to hurt Sawyer. But the more they try to stay away from each other, the more intense their urges become. It’s getting way too hard to resist… 

My Thoughts

Absolutely engaging!

I’ve had The Vincent Boys on my bookshelf for some time. Not quite sure why I’ve put it off for so long seeing as many of my trusted book friends have read and enjoyed this book. Well, better late than never and let me tell you… I finished it one sitting.

Ashton, Sawyer and Beau have been best friends since they were kids. However, when Ashton and Sawyer becomes an item, Beau takes a step back and regrets never sharing how he truly feels about Ashton. But, she’s his cousin’s girlfriend now, and Beau knows he’ll never be good enough for Ashton.

When Sawyer leaves for a few weeks during the summer, Ashton and Beau rekindle their friendship and inevitably their feelings for each other surface with a powerful punch. Ashton knows that the right thing to do is to salvage the relationship between these two boys, but Beau knows what he can and can’t live without.

I really enjoyed this dual narrative between Ashton and Beau. It was nice to get a different perspective of Beau’s feels directly him, which proved to be revealing and rewarding. I really liked this character and felt his emotional struggle of loving his cousin’s girl. Beau was definitely the underdog in this story, and whenever the underdog comes out slightly ahead, I find myself applauding enthusiastically.

There were a couple of reasons I took one star off my rating. First, I wish Beau and Ashton would have waited to start exploring their feelings for each other until after Ashton had a chance to break it off with Sawyer. I really didn’t like the cheating element to the story. Secondly, I would have liked to see the targeted bullying handled differently between Sawyer and Ashton. Sawyer should not have let that happen despite how hurt he was and I know Ashton was a strong enough character to defend herself. That was a bit disappointing to see that play out. However, those are very minor details compared to how much I enjoyed the overall story.

Very engaging! I can’t wait to jump into the next installment!

4 Suns

I am giving away a signed paperback copy of The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines. This giveaway is open to US Residents only. Please fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win.

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines

Today Waves of Fiction is participating in the blog tour for Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines hosted by AToMR Tours.  Check out the awesome giveaway from the author and our review for this fantastic book!

Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines

Release date: April 22, 2013
Purchase Links: Amazon & Barnes and Noble

About the book:

Life outside of her house was a new experience for Della Sloane. The dark secrets of her past weren’t something she ever intended to share with anyone. They would never understand. No one would ever get close enough to find out. Besides there was always a chance she’d go crazy sooner than they expected…

Woods Kerrington had never been one to be attracted to fragile females. They seemed like too much work. He wasn’t in it for the work just the pleasure. A night full of naughty fun had been exactly what was on his mind when he’d laid eyes on the hot little number that didn’t know how to pump gas and needed some help.

What he didn’t know was she was as fragile as they came.

The carefree girl who spoke her mind and didn’t care what the world thought of her was more breakable than he could ever imagine...

 

My Thoughts:

I'm incredibly grateful to Abbi Glines for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. She did NOT disappoint! In fact, this is my favorite of this series.

Della Sloane has lived a very sheltered life. She's hiding dark secrets from her past, worried people won't understand. In order to break free from the past - she sets out on a journey to experience life and do as many new things - before the crazy inevitably takes over.

Woods Kerrington works for his father's country club and in order to move up the reigns to his rightful place in the company, he's been given the ultimatum of marrying someone he despises - just so the families can merge their businesses. He's not used to falling for damsels in distress and was only looking to have a one-night-stand when he has an encounter with Della. Their brief encounter while she's passing through town will be a night neither of them will be able to forget.

Fast forward a few months and Della ends up back in town, and looking for a job at Wood's country club. Now Woods is faced with feelings he never thought he'd have for this broken girl who has blown him away with her carefree attitude. He knows there's more to her and he's dying to get to know her better. But there are obstacles in the way of both of their happiness and he will have to make a decision about what is more important in life.

This book starts off SMOKING hot and just keeps getting hotter. Woods and Della have an undeniable chemistry that sizzles off the page. I loved Della and that even though she has been through some horrible experiences in her past - she was a strong character who was fighting for a chance at happiness. And bless Woods' heart for wanting to take care of her and be the man she deserved. He just melted my heart more and more as the book went on.

Fair warning to all readers - there is a cliffhanger. But it was the type of cliffhanger that I can handle. Without giving much away, I would encourage people NOT to let the fact there is a cliffhanger deter you from reading this book! I was still pleased with how it ended, knowing there will be a continuation of the story!

I was so excited for Woods to get his own book. I loved him in the first two books and wanted to see him find love. He is just every bit as swoon-worthy and more in Twisted Perfection. How you can't read this book and absolutely ADORE him is beyond me. This is a must read if you've started this series. You will love it!

4.5 Suns

About the author:

Abbi Glines was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She grew up in the small town of Sumiton, Alabama where she left the summer she turned eighteen. She didn’t get far… she chased her high school sweetheart down to the coast and she’s been there ever since.

Abbi now lives in the quaint southern town of Fairhope, Alabama with her three children and husband Keith (the high school sweetheart she chased after). Her life is never dull and Keith always makes sure there is another “experience” for them to explore.

Books published by Abbi include The Vincent Boys and the USA TODAY bestseller The Vincent Brothers, Breathe, Because of Low, the USA TODAY bestsellers While It Lasts and Just For Now, The Existence Trilogy that includes the USA Today Bestseller Ceaseless, and The New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal bestseller Fallen Too Far and Never Too Far.

When Abbi isn’t locked away in her office typing away she is hauling her kids to and from their many social activities. You could say her second job is the Glines Kids personal chauffeur. It’s a rather illustrious job.

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