ARC Review: Beach House No. 9 by Christie Ridgway
Author: Christie Ridgway
Title: Beach house No. 9
Release: January 29, 2013
Series: Beach House No. 9 #1
Reviewer: Lil
Source: Harlequin / NetGalley
| Book DepositoryWhen book doctor Jane Pearson arrives at Griffin Lowell’s beach house, she expects a brooding loner. After all, his agent hired her to help the reclusive war journalist write his stalled memoir. Instead, Jane finds a tanned, ocean-blue-eyed man in a Hawaiian shirt, hosting a beach party and surrounded by beauties. Faster than he can untie a bikini top, Griffin lets Jane know he doesn’t want her. But she desperately needs this job and digs her toes in the sand.
Griffin intends to spend the coming weeks at Beach House No. 9 taking refuge from his painful memories-and from the primly sexy book doctor who wants to bare his soul. But warm nights, moonlit walks and sultry kisses just may unlock both their guarded hearts….
Christie Ridgway makes it very easy to review her books. Always well written with characters you can’t help but to fall in love with. She fills her writing with emotion and passion and keeps the reader engaged from cover to cover. I absolutely loved Beach House No.9. A love story filled with depth and truly hilarious moments kept me giggling out loud.
Griffin Lowell our leading man had me at hello. He is sexy, smart and a little dark. Yes he has his issues after spending a year embedded with troops in Afghanistan but Ridgway has kept from falling into the hole so many authors do when they can’t seem to keep the pathetic out of the angst. I have read several books recently that I would have loved if the author could have been a little more realistic with their interpretations of human emotions.
Jane Pearson is so likable!!! She is sassy, funny, and a no nonsense kind of girl. After being hurt and disappointed by a past love she is determined to get her life back on track. The youngest child of a scientist she grew up in the shadows of her uber smart brothers. Deemed silly and emotional by her father, Jane tries to keep her emotions in check. I think we have all tried to talk ourselves into staying emotionally detached at one time or another in our lives. Not easy, especially when we are madly attracted to the other person.
The last three books I read I didn’t review because I did not finish them. Why you ask… the female lead drove me crazy! I understand it is hard to build a female character who is strong yet has flaws or insecurities. There is a fine line between justifiable angst and me throwing the book against the nearest wall. Christie Ridgway has fine tuned her writing over the years from good to outstanding and her female leads are proof of that every single time.
The secondary love story between Griffin’s eldest sister Tess and her husband David is a look into a marriage torn apart by growing older and real world insecurities many experience in their late thirties. For me, as a reader, I feel secondary story lines can make or break a book. Christie is able to not only tell Tess and David’s story in a lush and in depth way but we also see a true tapestry of a family and those they love. Tess and David though separate are deeply entwined both on and off the page with the lead story in BH#9.
Ridgway has a talent for getting the reader hooked from the first page with her subtle hints of the journey to come for her characters and the reader. I find myself drawn deep into the world she has created. Ridgway has a tone to her writing that keeps me grounded in a reality that is not only believable but addictive. I am already mourning the end of this series knowing it’s a trilogy. I want to dive deep into cool waters of Crescent Cove and not only follow the story but be part of the story. The laughter, the love, and the crazy hot passion that jumps off the page of Beach House No. 9 had me wishing it was a never ending summer vacation.
Thanks for the review. I am looking forward to this one!
You’re welcome! Today was release day!