Where the Ocean Meets the Sky by A.R. Hadley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
We’ve all experienced loss of some kind, have past traumas that we have or haven’t dealt with, and deserve to find our happiness in life after experiencing all that. The emotion in this novel is so overwhelmingly strong, it was like I was feeling everything these characters felt, Annie was so relatable and I loved that.
Where the Ocean Meets the Sky by A.R. Hadley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed reading this second chance romance story. This is an author that I have enjoyed reading their books from the first one. I enjoy her writing skills and her attention to details that make the stories realistic. This book is no different. This is a well written story where one summer could change everything for two people. I enjoyed how they pulled me into their world with ease and kept me engaged to the end. The characters bring their world to life with their chemistry and growth. This is a fast paced story that is hard to put down. A story that will pull at your heartstrings in parts and hope that they find their HEA in others. I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it.
Review by @bjwagner
Where the Ocean Meets the Sky by A.R. Hadley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3 Stars
Where the Ocean Meets the Sky (The Ocean Series) by A.R. Hadley. This isn’t the first book that I have read by Ms. Hadley, so I thought I knew what to expect- something emotional and angsty…. and she did deliver that.
This is a companion novel for/with ‘The Ocean In His Veins’ – which is where I started this journey. Cal and Annie are such well-developed individuals with their own baggage, quirks, flaws, and personalities. They have been lovingly crafted into ‘real’ individuals who pull us into their emotional story.
This story touched me, but also frustrated me, because I found it hard to connect with the characters and become fully invested in them or the outcome of their story the way I would have liked to. And I’m not sure why exactly. This has all the ingredients that would normally grab me- but it didn’t. So, I have decided to revisit it again in a few weeks to see if I still feel the same way, or maybe I’ll find that I was just having an ‘off’ reading day this time around.
Don’t let my opinion and lack of connection put you off grabbing a copy for yourself and making up your own mind though.
Happy Reading…
Thank you, A.R. Hadley!
Reviewed by @angelahayes
Where the Ocean Meets the Sky by A.R. Hadley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Please note that there are trigger/graphic content warnings so check them out before you start reading.
I enjoyed the first book in this duo and went on to read this one straight after. Where the Ocean Meets the Sky is the second book of a two-book duo although it can be read as a standalone. I do suggest you read this book first before reading this book The Ocean in His Veins otherwise you will be missing out on getting to know Cal as the first book goes through his life from 16 to 45 years.
In the end of the first book Cal met a woman that he felt something for. He is quite a bit older than her, but age doesn’t matter if it is love. Unfortunately, they both have their own demons to work through before a HEA could ever happen.
Annie is not coping from her brother’s death. But she has decided that she has to try to move on, but it means she needs to confront her demons. Now that she has met him she wants to overcome her past and hope for a future but is one summer all they will have?
Cal finally finds someone who he wants to get to know better but he still has to fully overcome his demons.
This book is just as interesting as the first book, and I still had moments of frustrations with both the MC’s. But it was good to see them confront their demons, their doubts, their fears, their loss and becoming comfortable with who they were.
Once again there are a lot of emotions in this story that was heartbreaking and made my heartache.
I look forward to seeing what else AR brings to the table.
Reviewed by @jennadb
The Ocean in His Veins by A.R. Hadley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Please note that there are trigger/graphic content warnings so check them out before you start reading.
The Ocean in His Veins is the first book of a two-book duo although it can be read as a standalone. Where the Ocean Meets the Sky is the other book in this duo.
A.R’s narrative flows well and is simplistic in its telling but makes for an interesting read. It is an emotional tale with grief, sadness, longing, love, and trust issues and so much more.
Cal had lots of flaws and vulnerabilities making him seem more real. I have mixed thoughts about Cal, he frustrated me no end, but he is dealing with his demons. Trying to drown out his feelings by partaking in all the world had to offer instead of listening to his soul. At times I wanted to hug him and take away his pain then I wanted to smack him silly and knock some sense into to him. I put the book down in frustration so many times, but I kept picking it back up because I wanted to know what happened with him.
Follow along as one boy goes through life and into an adult not finding what he thinks he needs but that may all change when she comes into his life. To find out though we need to read the next book Where the Ocean Meets the Sky which is where I am off to.
Reviewed by @jennadb
The Ocean in His Veins by A.R. Hadley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a book that is part of a two book series. It can be read as a standalone but I would suggest reading the other book as well. This is a great series that you don’t want to miss. I enjoy this author’s writing skills as well as her attention to details that make her characters pop. This book is no different. This is a well written story about Cat and how he is learning to see life differently. He is waiting for a perfect wave and some peace inside. Will he find either of them? I enjoy his character and what he brings to the story. I enjoyed watching his growth throughout which made the story easy to read. A fast paced story that is emotional in parts but will have you turning pages fast. I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book.
Review by @bjwagner
༻••༺•BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE •༻••༺
A woman grieving the loss of a loved one. A man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Does one fateful summer really have the power to change everything?
Rising photographer Annie Baxter is ready for a fresh start when she makes her way from New York to the sparkly sands of South Beach. A recent college graduate, she has no plans other than to distract herself with sun and surf, pictures and friends.
Then a man named Cal Prescott steps in front of her lens…
When he first spots Annie on the stairs of his best friends’ home, he’s enamored.
It doesn’t matter if they only have the summer. Or if twenty years separate them. They soon find that nothing — not temporary circumstances, panic attacks, or an age gap — can keep them from starting what their hearts desire.
Follow Annie and Cal on a journey of love, loss, and what it means to give up defining themselves.
Author Note: Previously published in 2018 as The South Beach Connection Trilogy: Landslide, Wanderlust, and Continuum — Where the Ocean Meets the Sky combines those three books into one, as the author originally intended. Although heavily edited, combined, and relaunched since their initial release, the overall story remains. Literary fiction meets contemporary romance — a love made in the stars. A connection not to be forgotten.
200,000-words — over 800 pages. Part of the two-book series: The Ocean Series. Either book may be read first. The reader must choose. This is the main title. Contains graphic content that may trigger some readers.
Click here to view the Book Trailer for Where the Ocean Meets the Sky (The Ocean Series) by A.R. Hadley
A.R. Hadley writes imperfectly perfect sentences by the light of her iPhone.
She loves the ocean.
Chocolate.
Her children.
And Cary Grant.
She annoys those darling little children by quoting lines from Back to the Future, but despite her knowledge of eighties and nineties pop culture, she was actually meant to live alongside the Lost Generation after the Great War and write a mediocre novel while drinking absinthe with Hemingway. Instead, find her sipping unsweet tea near a beautiful garden as she weaves fictional tales of love and connection amid reality.
༻••༺•BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE •༻••༺
He’s a surfer. A loner. A man on a quest to rid himself of pesky feelings.
After his grandfather passes away, Cal Prescott begins to see life differently.
Money wants his attention, women beckon, and the pursuit of success becomes a cycle he can’t seem to break.
Follow Cal from age sixteen to forty-five, from 1985 to 2014, from the tangerine fields of Ojai to the neon streets of Miami Beach — from being ready to take on the world to hitting the bottom of the sea.
Cal spends half his life waiting for the perfect wave to break over the horizon, looking for comfort, searching for peace — and he’ll chase every last drop of water … until he finds release.
Author Note: Part of the two-book series: The Ocean Series. The Ocean in His Veins may be read as a companion to the main title Where the Ocean Meets the Sky or as a standalone. Please be advised that reading this story first may change the way Cal is initially perceived in the latter book. This can be good or bad, depending on the reader.
Literary fiction, not romance. The characters and their intense and realistic actions drive the plot. 76,000-words. The Ocean in His Veins details Cal’s life from age sixteen to forty-five. The story ends the night he meets Annie in 2014. Contains graphic content that may trigger some readers.
Click here to view the Book Trailer for The Ocean in His Veins (The Ocean Series) by A.R. Hadley
A.R. Hadley writes imperfectly perfect sentences by the light of her iPhone.
She loves the ocean.
Chocolate.
Her children.
And Cary Grant.
She annoys those darling little children by quoting lines from Back to the Future, but despite her knowledge of eighties and nineties pop culture, she was actually meant to live alongside the Lost Generation after the Great War and write a mediocre novel while drinking absinthe with Hemingway. Instead, find her sipping unsweet tea near a beautiful garden as she weaves fictional tales of love and connection amid reality.
The Letter Carrier by Laurie L.C. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This coming-of-age story is told through the eyes of 12 year old Michelle Naget, as the Germans march through France during WWII. The Naget family’s life is turned upside-down when they are forced to endure the Germans taking over their home and becoming servants to the enemy. I was hooked on this story from the beginning and couldn’t put the book down. The reader is shown what the family went through in the ravages of war without the explicit details, but lets us in to the emotional experience. The story is also brought to life knowing it is based off of the stories and French documents from Michelle Naget. It’s hard to imagine what it was like for the Naget family, but the author does a wonderful job bringing it to life for the reader. This is definitely a book you should read!
Reviewed by @bilberrysweet
Brandy Vaughn, August 2022
see all my reviews
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~ BOOK SPOTLIGHT ~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
A Person Could Disappear Here by Terri George Author
BUY NOW – https://amzn.to/2F3mXwK
#APersonCouldDisappearHere #FreeonKU #TerriGeorge #mustread
Hosted by Itsy Bitsy Book Bits
Genre – Literary Fiction/Crime/Thriller
Page Count – 210 pages
Cover Designer – Terri George
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/…/44078001-a-person-could-disappe…
None of us can truly know all we would be capable of until we are driven to it.
When the man Abbey met on Facebook turns out to be anything but the caring, thoughtful and romantic person she thought him to be, she finds herself trapped in his isolated house on the outskirts of a small town in western Nebraska. Despite her overwhelming despair and the chances of her escaping being somewhere between slim and none, Abbey knows she has to get free… Or die trying.
Back home in London, England, no texts or calls from Abbey has alarm bells ringing for her flat-mate. When Abbey fails to make her return flight, Cristina heads to the states to search for her best friend, but where does she even begin to look for her?
A Person Could Disappear Here is a tale of courage in the face of overwhelming odds, never giving up hope, friendship, secrets and lies.
Prisoner
From a small child I’ve loved to lose myself in stories. I’m a firm believer that if heaven exists, it contains every novel ever written and has big squishy sofas to curl up on and read for all eternity.
Before I started writing novels, my comedy play, The Magazine was performed at The Bush Theatre in London, and my poetry has been published in several anthologies. However, I knew what I really wanted to write were novels. With several unfinished manuscripts languishing in the depths of my computer’s hard drive, it was my discovery of erotic romance that led me to ponder what my ideal romantic hero looked like. And thus, Nick Frost was born, and the epic love he shares with Mia spanning three books of Frost Trilogy. Then, after being nagged by my readers, of course I had to write Aiden and Jen’s love story in the FT spin-off, Torn.
After that I delved into the world of full-on erotica, but, as much as I enjoyed writing it, I knew I wanted to write other genres because, along with my hope that if an afterlife exists I can spend mine in a divine library, I’m also a firm believer in not being pigeon-holed. Which is why I made my first foray into literary fiction with A Person Could Disappear Here, because, for me, writing is all about the characters and their story rather than genre.
As English as they come, I believe there’s nothing that can’t be solved, resolved, overcome or celebrated better than with a nice cup of tea. (preferably with a lovely slice of Victoria sponge cake with real buttercream icing) From Rachmaninov (whose piano concertos I often listen to while writing) to Aerosmith, my taste in music is best described as eclectic. And I make a mean chocolate cake.
