Book Reviews

Book Blurb

One is trying to heal a broken heart, the other, a broken family.

 

After separating from his partner of nine years, Palmer Simpson flees to the island of Oahu to pursue a carefree life of surfing. There, he meets Riku Usami, a more skilled surfer—but one with a bad attitude and a boatload of family drama. A contest between the two men leads to friendship and the possibility of something more meaningful. When a tsunami threatens the island, a friend is stranded out on the waters of the deadly Banzai Pipeline. Palmer and Riku must face the dangers of the barrel waves and the looming forces of nature in order to get their friend to safety. If they survive, they’ll have to contemplate what their future together will look like after the storm blows through.

 

 

States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

Book Review

Hawaii and surfing are at the center of this story full of adventure, new discoveries, and interpersonal drama. The plot takes quite a few twists and turns before it becomes clear what is actually going on between the two men whom Palmer meets and what their role in his life will be. Expect lots of surfing, soul searching, and a main character determined to figure out what he wants in life – after his partner of nine years cheats on him and his old dream of spending most of his time surfing seems within reach.

Palmer has had a rough time, and while moving to Hawaii could be seen as “running” from his life as a science teacher, he has dreamed about living there for quite a while. Fulfilling his dreams is not easy, however. He meets Dill, another surfing enthusiast, and they get along well enough to become surfing buddies, even though Dill is an advanced surfer. Then Palmer meets Riku – a well known surfer who seems to hate him on sight – until Palmer comes to his rescue at a gay bar one night.

This opens the door to a more personal exploration, but Riku insists that Dill can’t find out. Between the mystery of why Riku has an issue with Dill, a few close calls when the waves get higher than Palmer is comfortable with, and a threatening tsunami, this story certainly kept my attention. The setting is beautiful and quite a few places that are mentioned reminded me of previous visits to Hawaii and made me want to travel there again.

If you like stories about men redefining their lives, if Hawaii is your thing, and if you’re looking for a read full of personal and natural drama, then you might like this novella.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 116 pages/40137 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	01-February-2017
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/pipelines-in-paradise-by-foster-bridget-cassidy-8116-b