The Shore
by S.E. Brown
Series: The Shore, #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Ryan is a sweet, independent woman who has been betrayed more times than any woman should. All she wants is a week of rest, relaxation and beach time at the shore...but life isn’t ever that easy, is it? A desire to stick her toes in the ocean leads her to a sandy situation she’ll need some help getting out of, and little does she know that sand will change her life forever.
Cody is a down-to-earth, all-around good guy who, for good reason, has been out of the dating scene for quite a while. While stopping to help a stranded woman on the side of the road, he starts feeling things his broken heart hasn’t felt in years. Will his chivalry lead him to the healing touch he so badly needs?
Their story is a roller coaster of emotion with broken hearts, lost loves, and friends long forgotten. In the end, will Ryan finally let go of her past and trust again? Will Cody open his injured heart once more to love?
“You’re awfully quiet,” Cody said, squeezing Ryan’s hand and breaking her train of thought.
“You, too,” she answered.
Cody stopped and turned to face Ryan. He sank slightly in the sand as the waves brushed over his feet.
“I’ve been thinking about today. How much fun we had. How everyone seems to really like you.” He stopped for a moment, his eyes moving to her lips. “How I’ve wanted to kiss you. All. Damn. Day.”
Ryan felt the heat in her cheeks and her heart began to race. “Oh yeh?”
“Yeh,” Cody said quietly, slowly raising his hand and caressing his thumb over her cheek, each stroke getting closer and closer to her lips. He slowly ran his tongue over his bottom lip.
Ryan loved the color of his eyes, and the way they were looking at her, it was like he would do anything to kiss her.
“Whatcha waiting for?”
Cody grinned just the slightest bit as he raised his other hand, placing it on her other cheek and brushed his lips lightly against hers. When he pulled back and looked at Ryan, she was smiling, but he saw a want in her eyes, too. He slowly lowered his mouth to hers again and started with a light kiss that quickly deepened.
Ryan lifted her arms and circled them around Cody’s neck.
“God, he tastes wonderful, like chocolate and marshmallows,” she thought.
His tongue started to tease her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to him. Gently, their tongues played. Cody ran a hand down her back to her waist and pulled her closer. He wanted to feel her body against his. Her lips were so soft and the way she felt… His cock began to stir and he knew he needed to stop.
Cody began to pull back, adding a couple of soft pecks on Ryan’s lips as he ended the kiss. He looked into her eyes.
“Hi,” he said quietly.
This was a wonderful read, and although there was some drama and a touch of angst, it maintained a light feel throughout that made this a great read! This wasn’t exactly a second chance romance, but watching these characters come together after some shared history was a wonderful backdrop to a love story that was emotionally charged and filled with lots of sweet, a bit of heat, and some moments that had my heart aching.
From the moment Cody helps liberate Ryan’s car from the sand you just know he is going to be one of those heroes that makes your heart swoon and make you want to do a girly sigh. And even though he’s still trying to patch up his heart from a tragic past, once he meets Ryan you can tell he really wants to begin moving forward with his life again.
Ryan has some serious trust issues that stem pretty far back, and is afraid of having her heart broken…again. And although there was a point where I wanted to give her a good shake, I didn’t have to – that role was written into the story in the form of Madison, Ryan’s best friend, who wasn’t afraid to call Ryan out when she needed it and forced Ryan to confront many of her fears and own up to her mistakes. I loved having this dynamic between the two friends!
Ryan and Cody together were just so sweet. They fit together perfectly even though there were issues that they both needed to deal with before they could truly commit to one another. Watching Cody put his past to rest had my emotions all over the place, from the tears that threatened as he confronted the pain of his past to my happy heart seeing the hope for his future, I loved seeing him take the steps to move forward. Ryan had a different set of demons she was dealing with, and although I wasn’t happy with some of her choices or decisions, I did love the fact that she did ultimately step up and deal with her issues and admit her mistakes. And that letter…*sigh*…you’ll have to read this one to find out the significance of it, but, just...*sigh*
There was a "realness" to the characters, and even though there were some angsty/drama filled moments, things were resolved fairly quickly with minimal senseless communication issues (which for me means I didn't want to slap the heroine all that often). This kept the book light (in a good way) and made it easy to read that left me with a satisfied smile at the end and the hope that there won’t be that long to wait for the next book! A great read I would recommend to anyone looking to lose themselves in a wonderful love story!
I received a copy of this book from author for an honest review.
Print: Barnes & Noble
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