Tidal
by Emily Snow
Summary: Now that Willow Avery is out of rehab, she's got one chance left to prove herself before she’s officially on every producer’s shit list. At least, that's what her parents and agent are claiming. She doesn't really give a damn if she never makes another movie or not—she just wants to get on with her life, get back to her friends, and find her next escape. But Willow is broke. And whether she likes it or not, acting is the only job she knows how to do.
When she accepts the lead in a beach drama, Willow finds herself in Hawaii. And in Hawaii, she finds Cooper, the gorgeous surfer hired to train her for her new role. With the bluest eyes she’s ever seen and the sexiest Australian accent she’s ever heard, Cooper’s different from the men she’s used to. He doesn’t want to use her. And he refuses to let her fail. But when an old friend re-enters Willow’s life—a friend whose toxicity she’s been drawn to time and time before and whose presence brings about the painful memories she's tried so hard to suppress—Willow will have to choose between the girl she was and the person she’s becoming. The lifestyle that helps her forget the pain and the guy she’s falling hard for.
*New Adult Romance*
Source: I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: June 2013 (paperback)
Review:
I loved Tidal! It was a wonderful love story that surprised me with characters I completely fell for who were multifaceted and complicated. Tidal is a must read New Adult Contemporary Romance and one that is absolutely perfect for summer and beach reading, especially since so much of the story took place on or near the beach.
Willow was a bit difficult to relate to at first because she was an actress leaving the rehab clinic at the start of the novel and I don’t think many readers can relate to what her life must have been like. I quickly felt like I got to know her and understand her as a person, though. She was a very complicated, but completely loveable person who needed the right people in her life to help her head in a better direction. I felt her pain, understood her anxiety, and rooted for her the entire novel.
Cooper was such a good love interest. A sexy, talented surfer with a dimple and an Australian accent? What’s not to love about that? But his personality was what really did me in. He was so passionate about the water and devoid of all dumb surfer guy stereotypes. He was real, down to earth, and incredibly sweet. He was a perfect mixture of the hard, knows-what-he-wants, gruffness that I like and the sweet, I-take-my-time, gentleness that I adore.
The supporting characters were wonderful, too. Miller, Willow’s bodyguard, was sweet, stern, but he really looked out for Willow at a time when she really needed it. Paige and Eric, Cooper’s friends, were such down to earth people who treated Willow like a normal person. Paige was so loveable the instant she was introduced.
The conflicts and issues the characters faced in Tidal were interesting and tough. Some of the issues were pretty serious, like Willow’s previous drug problem and the even deeper reasons that caused the drug problem, but I didn’t feel like the issues were overdone or overdramatic. Willow didn’t really fit the stereotype for the issues she had and didn’t walk around like she was fragile and going to break, even when she was. On the surface, Tidal was a story about a troubled actress and a surfer falling in love on a movie set, but it felt like so much more than that because of the characters. They surprised me by not being cookie cutter or predictable. Cooper and Willow’s relationship was sweet and fun, while also being deep and healing. Tidal had everything I could have wanted in a New Adult romance!
I haven’t read any other Emily Snow titles, but I’ve heard of her and I knew she wrote mainly Erotica romance. I have her Erotica title, Devoured, on my shelf to read, but I wanted to start with the New Adult since that’s what I’ve been reading so much of. I was surprised to see that Tidal was a much cleaner new adult title than I was expecting! It was steamy, but not nearly as graphic as what I’ve seen recently from other New Adult titles, which I loved. I think I was expecting Tidal to be more graphic due to the author being an Erotica author and the fact that so many other authors have blurred the lines between New Adult and Erotica. I loved that Emily Snow was able to write outside of the Erotica category so flawlessly. Obviously, I don’t have issues with graphic sex scenes, but I appreciate when an author can be flexible and write something different. She could have written a graphic New Adult and she didn’t, so I think that’s awesome.
I definitely recommend Tidal. It’s a New Adult romance that doesn’t weigh you down with too many issues or ends up being an excuse for the characters to get it on. It’s refreshing, sweet, and I couldn’t put it down!
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Giveaway
The publisher is allowing me to host a Giveaway for a paperback copy of Tidal!
Enter using the Rafflecopter form below! US Residents Only.
Giveaway ends July 30.
Labels: Giveaway, New Adult, Review
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