Beach House No. 9, Christie Ridgway ~ book review

Beach House No. 9 would have been the perfect beach read had it been warm weather and summer-time here. Instead I was able to use it as an escape on a chilly day. I curled up on my couch and practically read it in one day, to be honest.

The Harlequin romance titles often get a bad rap. They're smutty. They're cheesy. They're all these things and when you carry one around with you you want to hide the cover because you don't want people to see what you're reading.

Well, those days are gone, my friends.

Beach House No. 9 has a pretty cover, as you can see above. Although I will admit that I don't like seeing "characters" portrayed on book covers like that. I prefer sketches or silhouettes, or shots where you don't see their faces. I struggled through my reading with avoiding that part of the cover. Because to me Griffin and Jane don't need faces until I get to know them. Until I create my own images for them.

And despite my reaction to the cover, I was still able to do just that.

Jane is persistent. Stubborn. Strong-willed. Smart. And beautiful.

Griffin is intense. Stoic. Rude. Crass. Harsh. And hot.

Yes. Hot.

Ms. Ridgway did a great job at creating a sizzling chemistry between the two as they got to know one another. Jane pushed forward, ever the professional, finding a way to make her mark. Griffin pushed back. After he realized avoidance wouldn't get him what he wanted, he changed course. Pushing back caused sparks. Steamy sparks.

He's a wounded soul. She can't help herself.

Or can she?

Can he?

They're an interesting pairing and neither truly WANTS to connect with the other. Jane simply has a job to do and needs Griffin to do it. Griffin doesn't want to do his job, and uses his ability to twist Jane into knots to get out of it.

Can these two make anything work? Is it worth it to see if they will even try?

I think so. For 7.99 it's a pretty decent price for the story you get.

Ridgway also has a few more books to this series and I expect we'll meet Griffin's twin brother Gage and see his connection with Skye and what she might be hiding, along with the mention of Vance and Layla (whose names I had to look up, but expect to see again) as Vance fulfills his promise to Layla's father who lost his life in the military. There's a lot of intensity in Beach House No. 9, with some mentions of PTSD, flashbacks, struggling relationships and some family madness thrown in for good measure.

Today I'm able to give away either a copy of Beach House No. 9 or one of the next two, Bungalow Nights and The Love Shack.

So to enter simply comment below and tell me which book you'd like to win of the three.

And happy reading!

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