4.5 Stars

Although Oceanside Marine is the fourth title in the Kendall family series, it can be read as a standalone, and was actually my first time reading anything written by Jennifer Ann.

Oceanside Marine is a well written, sweet, and fast paced read told from multiple points of view, that features the characters of Katie and Braden.

Braden is an enigmatic character quite cocky and arrogant at times, but with a sweet, loving and caring side. He's an intelligent, former marine with a reputation as a ladies man, but really he's searching for his own happy ever after. Although he's only in his twenties he's quite mature, determined and knows his own mind and is not afraid to go after what he wants.

Katie is a single mother in her thirties with two adult children. She's kind, caring and down to earth and at a point in her life where she can finally focus on herself rather than her two boys.

Their relationship is complex and kind of forbidden due to their age gap and their family ties, as Braden's older sister is married to Katie's younger brother.

A really lovely, and thoroughly engaging contemporary romance that focuses on family and love, with a bit of drama and angst I was completely captivated and cannot wait to read more by Jennifer Ann in the future.

Oceanside Marine is a steamy, but sweet and romantic read that we would expect from this author. This is the 4th book in this series and although it can be read as a standalone, I would recommend reading the whole series. The characters are well developed and the story line flows well. I always like the characters in these books and feel like I know them personally. If you like your romances steamy, sexy and a little bit funny at times, you'll thoroughly enjoy this book!

This is the forth book in the series by this author. You are always guaranteed a fantastic read with this author. This book will have you hooked from the first page till the very last one. This author has a fab way of bringing you exceptional characters and a story that flows perfectly. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.
Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Note, this kind of contemporary romance “large age difference” is not a trope I am familiar with. Went into it with a open mind or at least tried to. It was interesting to say the least, Branden made me laugh at some scenes but other scenes i just could not get into. Though I am pretty sure the reason is due to using a trope I am not familiar with. You may find more enjoyment of this book compared to me! It was definitely the blurb that caught my eye.

This is a voluntary review, I do not get paid for this & my thoughts are my own!

I have to say I do not have an issue age differences when reading books unless it gets into that taboo squidgy area, which this book is not. This book was very well written and Braden was so into this older woman. He had been wanting her for years. After reading this in the beginning of the book I had to sit and think if I thought about anyone like this when I was in my 20's like that, especially someone whom I knew I would have to see at all the family dinners and things. I couldn't actually come up with one but it sure gave me an appreciation for his lustful dedication as well as the fact that that youthful lust eventually turned into more for him. The fact she had kids just a little younger than him maybe didn't play into his view of the relationship much but I liked how he was written. It felt honest and he was just fantastic.

Evelyn went from hot to cold and I honestly could understand. That has to be one of the most frightening types of relationships a woman can get into. There are so many factors to take into consideration as well as the ramifications. The way she was written she was extremely cautious but she also very much wanted to fall. Some of her actions and reactions made sense and some didn't but that is what makes the book great. Add in all the connected family and this book is has some drama to get us out of the constant reminder of I shouldn't that Evelyn goes through.

All in all it was a good read and the characters felt like they could be real people with these problems. The plot was a touch repetitive with Evelyn's worries but it was a nice sweet read.

DNF at 39%

I really liked the sound of this book (so I requested it from NetGalley).

Young sexy Marine Braden Kendall is living the single life in Southern California. Katie Walker was a teen mum, now the mother of two grown men is vaguely related to Braden by marriage. Although each has harboured a bit of a crush on the other the age gap and their circumstances have been a barrier - until now.

First Jennifer Ann did a great job showing the age difference between them, basically by making Braden sound like an immature jerk. I lost sight of the number of times he used the F-word, I have just searched the book and the F-bomb is used 143 times! The way he speaks about women (even when he is ostensibly being nice) is off-putting and juvenile.

I stopped and started this a couple of times but I really didn't like Braden and had to DNF at 39%.

3.5 stars

Even though this is the first time I've read anything in the Kendall Family series, Oceanside Marine filled in enough of the blanks that I never felt lost as far as how the supporting characters fit into the story.

While I enjoyed many parts of this, I became a little tired of the preoccupation with Katie, at 35 being older than Branden who is the younger brother of her friend, Evelyn. This seems to be the predominant message throughout the first half of the story. Yes he's younger, but if their ages were reversed? Nothing much would be said about that. Is it an interesting twist (she being older with two grown sons and he being just a little older than the oldest son)? Yes, but I started becoming a bit weary of that point.

Also, dropping the designer names...just a little pet peeve of mine. Other ways to convey the character's economic status.

Luckily, the second half did not focus so much on their age difference but rather on him showing her he was a mature young man. The second half was much better than the first!

Thank you NetGalley and Barclay Publicity for providing me with an advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

Fresh out of the Marine Corps, Braden Kendall has settled into a comfortable routine in SoCal with his 3-legged dog and a handful of good friends. Despite being undeniably handsome and perceived as a lady’s man, he’s lonely and tired of meaningless hookups. After becoming pregnant in her teens, Katie Walker dedicated her life to raising her two sons, putting any romantic notions aside until they flew the nest. Now that she’s on her own and free to date, she struggles with putting her needs first.

Though Katie and Braden aren’t related by blood, their families are intertwined by marriage, making a relationship seem forbidden. Katie always found the cocky Marine attractive, but their considerable age difference made him off limits. Little does she know, Braden has been crushing on her for years and can’t get enough of her quirky personality. When they meet up in Vegas for a family celebration, Braden offers to show her a good time unmatched by anything she’s experienced. Once Katie decides she wants more of what he’s offering, can she survive a judgmental society, her insecurities, and the scrutiny of those closest to her?

**************************************************************************************************

There were a couple times in this book that I wanted to knock Katie out and take Braden myself. Maybe it's because I'm an older woman and I KNOW how hard it is to find a guy who is that perfect and I'm sitting here scratching my head. She frustrated me so much sometimes that I wanted to toss my kindle at the dog...poor doggy (I wouldn't do that) I tossed a pillow instead and it was because she was scratching constantly and bothering me!! I wanted to also take little jerkface (Allen) and rip him up by his underoos and give him a wedgie so bad, he'd quit acting like a self-centered 5-year-old to his mama. These were just some of the thoughts running through my mind at 5 a.m. in the morning while I'm reading this book. I can't wait for Asher's book!!! I'm already drooling over his description...Anywho, there's ALOT of sex in this book - like my kindle caught on fire at some point and I had to spit on it to put it out...It was that serious. It singed off my eyebrows and now instead of having 2...alas, I only have one. It's that HOT! You think I'm joking but if all men are to be rated by Brendan's standards then EPIC FAIL. Ladies, this is why we read fiction - because in real life NO man will measure up. Just saying. You have a hot marine, who can go all night and not stop, loves older women AND he loves injured dogs and wants to be a physical therapist??? Find him and I'll marry him...Immediately!!! Buy this book...Immediately!

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

Braden is a mid-20s hot, muscled young man just released from the military. He lives in California, on the coast and loves it. He has the reputation as a ladies man but lately those meaningless hook ups aren’t enough. He’s ready to settle down.

Katie is a mid-30s, single, never been married, mom, with two boys in their early 20s. She has lived her life for her boys. Now that they are pretty much grown, she is looking for a man in her life.

Katie’s convinced Braden is too young for her but has always been attracted to him. Braden has been interested in Katie for a while now. Complicating things even more, Katie is Charlie’s sister, and Charlie is married to Braden’s sister. Katie’s not giving in and Braden’s not giving up.

This book is told in both Braden and Katie’s POV. I enjoyed watching Braden convince Katie that they can make it work. There was a little drama but it was worked out pretty easily.

This is my first book by this author but the fourth in the series. I read it as a standalone without any problems but I think it would have been a better read if I had started at the beginning. Overall a sweet, quick, light read. I look forward to the next in series.

I voluntarily reviewed and ARC provided by NetGalley.

Younger man/older woman storyline. H was closer to h's sons ages than h.

I liked Braden. He was sexy, sweet, mature, and he wanted Katie. Maybe he didn't understand or wanted to understand the implications of a potential relationship with Katie but he was all in. Loved seeing him go after Katie without a lot of alpha hero BS.

I went back and forth on Katie. I understood where she came from regarding the age difference and family ties yet she also frustrated me with her "I want him but I shouldn't" repeat. That's probably why I didn't rate it higher.

This is my first book by author Jennifer Ann and when I started Oceanside Marine I didn't actually realize that it was part of a series. However, I didn't feel lost and I think this book can be read as a standalone.

This book had great characters and a good storyline and of course some hot sexy scenes. I look forward to reading more from this author and more about the Kendall family in this series.

Jennifer Ann's fourth book in the Kendall Family series can be read as a stand alone. While I found the supporting cast stories interesting the writing wasn't enough to compel me to go back and read each prior book. A younger marine out the service has had a thing for the older sister of his brother-in-law since he met her. She's older than him with two grown sons closer to his age. The dynamic between these two characters just never clicked into place for me. I felt no connection and thought the heroine played up her age way too much. She treated the hero as if he were her child throughout the story and not in any kind of sexy way, in my opinion. I had wanted her at some point to stop bringing up the age different or calling him a "little shit" which made her whole tone condescending. I felt sorry for the hero most of the time and couldn't understand his affection for her as more than an infatuation. However, there were parts where I thought he could shine but some of his actions didn't match up to ex-military status. It was like he was being shown as a child sometimes and I didn't quite get it. His relationships with his family was a shining point as well as other secondary characters. Oceanside Marine unfortunately just wasn't a story for me.

loved it

WOWZERS this book is smouldering! My first book by Jennifer Ann and it won't be the last. I enjoyed this thoroughly from the first page. Great characters and storyline and of course some great sizzling sex. I now want to know more about the rest of the Kendall family.