Riding the Wave - Lorelie Brown

Riding the Wave by Lorelie Brown
Series: Pacific Blue #1
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Source/Format: Publicist for review (Thanks!) || e-galley

[I received this book for review from the publisher. This in no way affects the thoughts expressed in my review.]

With a make-or-break world championship on the line, professional surfer Tanner Wright has come back to the coastal California hometown he left a decade ago, carrying only his board and the painful knowledge of his father’s infidelity. Now that Hank Wright is dead, Tanner intends to keep the secret buried to spare his mother and sister the burden.

The last time Avalon Knox saw her best friend’s brother, she was fourteen and he was a twenty-year-old surfer god. She’s never understood or respected the way Tanner distanced himself from the family that has embraced her. But now she has the professional chance of a lifetime: to photograph Tanner for the competition—if he’ll agree.

Out on the waves, they find in each other passion that’s impossible to resist. And Tanner’s not the only one trying to move forward from his past. As the competition heats up, secrets get spilled, and lust takes over. How close can Avalon get to this brooding surfer…without getting burned? (from Goodreads)

If I'm in just the right mood for a romance, they have the tendency to really work for me - and that's what happened with Riding the Wave. It's the first book I've read involving surfers and surfing that I've ever truly enjoyed, which is certainly remarkable. I devoured this one in the course of half a day, and it left me with images of cold drinks, warm sun, hot sand and refreshing waves lapping against the shore. Oh, and did I mention the steamy romance?

What makes this novel wonderful is that it's just plain fun to read. Sure, there are serious issues afoot - Tanner's knowledge of his father's illegitimate child, his subsequent distance from his mother and sister to protect them are just two of many more. But Brown writes Tanner & Avalon's story with a light hand, easily trading off between serious, playful and hot and steamy from chapter to chapter.

But really, my favorite part is the romance! The chemistry and romantic tension between Tanner and Avalon (two really awesome names, by the way) is seriously smoking hot. It helps that I liked both characters a lot as individuals: Tanner, the brooding, hot surfer boy with mad skills, and Avalon, the cheerful observer who worms her way into situations so that she can help with a solution. But seriously, they had some pretty steamy moments that left me blushing on the subway as I read them!

I have a very minor gripe with this novel, mostly having to do with the drama. It was escalated every now and again until it finally hit its stride, only to peter out in a way that didn't seem to warrant the amount of build-up. I'd have preferred a teensy bit more of a resolution with a certain issue, if you ask me.

It pleases me that Riding the Wave is the first in the series, since there are a few secondary characters (like Sage) that I wouldn't mind getting to know a little better! I liked this one a whole lot. If you're searching for a new summer romance to take to the beach (or on vacation to wherever), then Riding the Wave could possibly be the one for you.