Member Reviews
Alexa Darin has written the Fantasy Vacation that most women dream about. In that fantasy, you dream of going to a tropical island (for whatever reason), meet the hotter-than-the-island hunk, and have a no-strings-attached vacation fling. Then you fall in love with said hunk; only to have something happen, because what's a romance without some kind of snag? And, finally have everything work out so you have your Happily Ever After. Yes, definitely a warm, delicious Fantasy to have right now with the weather turning cold.
I received an e-copy of this story for my honest review.
Love Trip by Alexa Darin is nothing more than bunch of cliché and absurdity.
There is nothing that you could not find in a typical romance story - broken heart, no desire to start new relationship, the future lovers hate each other, surprise relative, surprise pregnancy, pop-up surprise ex, total idiocy from otherwise intelligent person. The most irking thing about this absurd story is the surprise pregnancy - when the fifteen year old loses the embryo, everybody is worried about her loss, but nobody is asking how come the fifteen year old is actually pregnant, where were her grandparents and who is the sire? And when her father is moaning "how did I not see it?" I really wanted to scream - she was just couple of months pregnant, how could you have seen it, unless you have laser vision.
It was an absurd story, it wasn't even a light summer reading, it was just bad read!
(Source: I would like to thank the publisher and Net Galley for providing the review copy. This will not affect my reviews.)
A love story set in Caribbean Bay, when Taylor Grant wants to take a break from her life in Seattle she went to visit her sister. This short vacation changed her whole perspective in life and to be with the person whom she really loves.
What attracts me the most in the story is that its concept is about self-discovery, sisterly love, and true love. The characters in the story is imperfectly beautiful that I’m sure everyone could relate to. Paula, her younger sister, is funny and more matured than her elder sister. She lives in Caribbean right after she caught her ex-boyfriend cheating. The relationship between Paula and Taylor are so close that she is also her bestfriend. Taylor’s life in Seattle is somewhat a “perfect life” since she’s an Attorney and her job sustained her well (minus the fact that her boyfriend cheated). While Cole, who she met first in Caribbean, is very intriguing and his life seems exciting since he lives in the island.
Throughout the story, the character development is compelling because of their past life experiences and how they changed for the better. How living in the island could make you want to have a simple life. But it is not an overly dramatic story that you could teary eyed but it will melt your heart. The pacing is irresistible that you can’t put the book down.
However, what I didn’t like in the story is that the author seems like she wants to finish the story with a happily ever after that doesn’t fit well in the story. When Peyton, Taylor’s ex-boyfriend shows up and everything is a mess for her, the story became serious and riveting. She started to contemplate her life in the city or in an island. Then suddenly, it became perfect ending. Plus, the ending is a jumbled mess for me too, I want MORE. There’s so much explanation needs to be done.
I really struggled to mesh with the characters in this book, and ending up not finishing it about 50% through.
I was given an ARC of this book for my review. This book was hot! What was to be a one night deal for Connor, Kade and Tracey-Ann turns into a more permanent thing with a lot of ups and downs.
From time to time I like to check out new to me authors and the synopsis and cover of this book caught my eye and with it set in St. John (with a few side trips to St. Thomas), I knew I had to read this one. Full of humor, some seriously crazy insight, tempered with some touching heart-warming moments, and laced with some sexy times as well, Love Trip was a well balanced and fun romance set in one of my favorite locations.
When her boyfriend of five years dumps her via a note on a Starbucks napkin and her career life is in a downward spiral, Taylor Grant decides it is time to head to St. John to visit her little sister who changed her whole life two years ago and stayed in St. John after a vacation gone wrong. Taylor can’t understand how different Paula is and at first she has trouble understanding the “island life” but a few days in the company of retired PRB bull rider Cole McKenzie and Taylor begins questioning everything about her life.
There was something so special about the characters in this book and I’m not just talking about the hero and heroine, the group of rag tag friends who collected one another and became more family than friends really set this book apart. From all over the place all looking for something they hadn’t found anywhere else, St. John called to them and they made it their home. I enjoyed watching Taylor go from stiff, corporate lawyer to island girl with the help of the laid-back sexy Cole and while I do think they both made some mistakes there was no doubting the chemistry between them. I would have liked a bit more real conversation between them with neither one of them holding back what they were thinking or feeling, but I also can’t deny that I enjoyed the easiness of their relationship and the fact that they weren’t sure it was nothing more than a vacation fling.
A truly memorable romance full of the color, sights, sounds and flavor of the Caribbean, Love Trip was my first book by author Alexa Darin, but it won’t be my last.