Beach House No. 9
Grade : C+

One of the more difficult types of reviews to write is one where I like the characters, and I like the author’s style of writing, but I have problems with the plot devices and the pacing. I dither back and forth on the grade because there is a lot I do like about the book. But when it all comes down to it, those two things impact the book enough to make it only slightly better than an okay read. That is what happened with Beach House No. 9

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Even being an ultimate professional, Jane found herself falling down the slippery slope of propinquity into intimacy with Ian Stone, a charming successful bestselling author and her client. Late nights working together lead to cozy dinners and confidences. And Ian was not shy about publicly giving her credit as his muse. But it was all a sham. Now Jane feels like her reputation depends on her successful completion of this next assignment, which is galvanizing struggling writer, Griffin Lowell.

After being embedded with American troops in Afghanistan, all Griffin wants to do is forget, especially since the woman he was involved with met her death there. But in a weak moment he agreed to his literary agent’s request that he accept help from a professional “book doctor” since he has a looming deadline. But no matter how many people push and prod him, like his nosy, cranky nonagenarian neighbor, or his interfering meddling sister, or this librarian looking book doctor, he needs to deal with his demons his own way. And right now that doesn’t involve revisiting his time with the troops.

As Griffin and Jane bob and weave around each other – Jane is determined to get him to put pen to paper, and Griffin is focused on running her off - they have to deal with this sizzling attraction between them. Jane knows it would be idiotic to get involved with another client. She has her career to think of. Griffin is fully cognizant that letting a woman get under your skin and then acting on it is not the way to get rid of her. But some things are just larger than life.

Starting the book, I was impressed with Ms. Ridgway’s writing. The opening scene, while not completely original, is fun. As the story moved forward, I found both Griffin and Jane extremely likeable. Although, I thought of Jane as foolish and a person who talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk. This is a small thing because I suspect Ms. Ridgway created Jane’s history, so there would be more of a "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" scenario or conflict. Still, the dialogue is engaging, and there are some cute ripostes. The chemistry is believable and the sex scene nicely steamy.But the conflict keeping the two apart started to annoy me about a third of the way through the book. At that point I wondered if they were going to do this forward one step and back two all the way through the story. The conflict doesn’t evolve, it is just quickly resolved at the end, and ultimately for me it really wasn’t strong enough to carry the whole book.

There is a secondary romance involving Griffin’s sister, Tess, who has come to the beach to get away from her marital crisis. Again I had issues with the conflict and found it weak. How can people stay married if something like this becomes a big deal? And how can someone after over a decade of marriage – a good marriage - suddenly start thinking the way her husband did?

This is a series book, and the next two books will be released closely behind this one. I liked the setting – who doesn’t like the beach - and thought that the setup for the next two books was handled well.

But while there is plenty I liked, the pacing of the story and the internal conflicts didn’t work for me. If you are a fan of Ms. Ridgway’s work, then you may not have the issues that I did.

Reviewed by Leigh Davis
Grade : C+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : February 5, 2013

Publication Date: 2013/02

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