Blurb:
Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she'll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.
Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He's never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime . . . or if they were meant to live a world apart.
Review: 2.5 Stars
I was pretty excited to read this book. I have a soft spot for stories involving finding love abroad. I was also eager to read about a love story taking place in Melbourne. I didn't spend a long time there, but I have fond memories of visiting many of the sites in Melbourne, mentioned in the book.
As well as the Great Ocean Road.
Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book didn't extend much beyond those aspects.
Do you every have the dilemma of having to be around your friend's partner after your friend has complained about said partner? It is hard not to hold a grudge on the friend's behalf, even long after the friend has gotten over whatever led to the complaint to begin with. The friend has the benefit of making up with their partner or seeing the issue that led to the complaint as a negative incident mixed into several positive memories. In contrast, you're just stuck with the negative complaint and have to swallow it to not let it affect your friendship.
That's kind of how I felt about Bran. He didn't do enough to win me over and did some pretty shitty things, which stuck with me more than anything that may have attracted Natalia to him. Even the chapters with his POV did little to make him seem like a decent guy. Sure, he has a past and that has affected his current behaviour. But, at some point in the novel, he has to turn things around to make me want to root (or as they say in Australia, to barrack) for him.
Aside from my dislike of Bran, I had a bit of a hard time with the writing. I found it choppy. The transition between scenes was abrupt at times.
There are two more books in this series. I'm not sure that I'll be reading them. But, in looking at the online reviews, most others felt more positively about the series than me.
A review copy was provided from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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