Publisher: Samhain
Publish Date: Out Now!
How I got this book: eARC from publisher
Brooke Lowry has a mission: fly to Tahiti, pluck PR nightmare Dylan Schell out of whatever party he’s in, bring him home and clean up his image.
It was her idea for Jackson Cole clothing company to sponsor the pro surfer. But the chances of saving this deal-and her career-look pretty slim when she finds the sexy party boy “shooting the curl” with two beach bunnies.
Dylan is finally getting back on track, and the next big event would put him over the top…if it wasn’t being held in San Amaro, where he’d be forced to watch his best friends Matt and Corey tie the knot and move on without him.
He’ll do anything to keep that from happening, including taking shameless advantage of a tropical cyclone-three days cut off from civilization-to distract the lovely Brooke into his bed.
Despite her moment or three of weakness, Brooke won’t be deterred. And suddenly Dylan finds himself facing a lot of things-his hometown, his past, and something he didn’t see coming. Love.
Warning: Check it, dude, this book contains a bad boy surfer who gets slammed by fierce waves but gets back up, a buttoned-up woman who learns to chillax, and some righteous shreddin’ the gnarl.
*blurb from Goodreads*
I’m a big fan of sports romance books, but I think this might be the first surfer book I’ve ever read. And I have to say, I’m pretty impressed.
Brooke loves her job as a PR rep for a large surfwear company, but her push to hire Dylan is starting to put her in hot water. Between his injury, okay performances, and numerous drug, alcohol and sex addictions, Dylan has become more of a PR nightmare than the spokesperson they hired. When Brooke gets sent to retrieve Dylan and keep him out of trouble, she will have her hands full with way more than she expected.
Dylan is at a decent spot in his career, but his personal life is unraveling faster than he imagined. Now that his number one sponsor is after him to clean up his act, Dylan is going to have to head home and face the two people he doesn’t want to see: best friend Matt and his fiance Corey. But with Brooke at his side, Dylan figures that he might just be able to pull off a fake smile and keep everyone in the dark to what is really wrong with him. The last thing he expects is the desire to keep Brooke firmly at his side, forever.
One of the things I really liked about this story was the relationship between Dylan and Brooke. When they end up getting stuck together on a tropical island in the middle of a hurricane, of course they end up between the sheets. And boy oh boy, is their time together fun and sexy. Add in the fact that Dylan is the epitome of laid-back surfer boy, while Brooke is little miss prim and proper, these two go together so perfectly.
Since I hadn’t read any other books in this series, I did feel a little lost when it came to the dynamics between Dylan, Matt and Corey. I didn’t feel as if Jamieson went into a lot of detail about their history together, and instead glossed things over a bit. I was a little confused about what happened, and although I figured it out in time, it did leave me a little hesitant as to where Dylan stood with both his best friend and his fiance, and Brooke.
I also thought that the PTSD that Dylan had after his accident could have been better explored, especially since it seemed as if he still had some lingering problems. I liked that Brooke was there for him when he needed her, and that she was able to help him move past it. I just wish we could have seen that play out a little more on the page.
I was so glad that one of the supporting characters really got what was coming to him. I loved the way Dylan helped to save Brooke’s job and work sanity, all while doing his “big gesture” and proving to her just how much he valued her in his life. It was super sweet and heroic and I loved it.
All in all I thought this was a wonderful read. I loved the surfer culture, and although we didn’t get to see much surfing in action, it was still a neat take on the sports romance genre. I thought Dylan and Brooke were super sexy together, and I loved the juxtaposition between her buttoned up ways, and his relaxed attitude toward everything. They were a wonderful fit and so fun to read.
I give Slammed a B