I really enjoyed this somewhat sweet romance. I voluntarily chose to review it. I've given it a 4.7* rating. There is a lot of sexual reference in this and I know I wouldn't want my young granddaughter to read this. Parts of it were funny and some serious. A real nice ending.

Leanna and Kurt have nothing in common. He's an organizer, she's a mess. He's reserved, she's loud. Yet somehow they work. They bring out the best in each other, even at their worst. Addison Cole proves that sometimes less is more. Simply irresistible.

My head was all over the place this weekend. I finished so many books, just felt too lazy to keep updating since most of them ended up being meh reads after finishing my Stephen King book. 

This was free via Kindle so I thought I give the first book in this series (Sweet With Heat #1) a whirl. Too bad that there wasn't a lot there to recommend it for me. I think that the problem was that both characters were boring and I just found myself becoming increasingly annoyed by the heroine who really should not own a dog due to the cavalier way she was going about things.

"Read, Write, Love at Seaside" (that title is making me twitchy) starts with a best-selling thriller author, Kurt Remington being interrupted by a woman who is about to drown trying to rescue her dog. Kurt is annoyed this is taking him out of prime writing time and seriously guys, there is a long sequence of him just listening to her struggle in the surf and I was wondering if the author was going to start off with someone dying or what. When Kurt finally rescues the stranger (Leanna Bray) she and her dog come in and make themselves at home. I just went eh for the first couple of pages hoping to get some sense of spark there or something, but nothing doing. 

Leanna feels like a blank space for Kurt to just have lustful feelings for. I wish I could care about Leanna and her jam making business, but I don't. 

The writing was really what pushed me to DNF this book though. There's no flow. All of the paragraphs are overly long and it's just wall of text coming at you. I felt like the first part of the book was trying to set things up, but it doesn't work that well. The dialogue is a little better, but I found myself becoming annoyed with a side character who acts like it's totally okay to tell two people they should totally be boning (yes that happened).

I was in the mood for a summery type of book, but just decided to let this one go. 

Fin.

DNF at 12 percent. It's just not that engaging and I'm bored by the two characters. The female character bugs me mostly because her dog almost drowned because she doesn't put a leash on it. 

I never read the steamier version of this title. However, when I heard Melissa Foster’s alter ego would release the cleaner version I was intrigued and jumped at the chance to read a copy.


What the story is about.

Kurt Remington is a best-selling thriller author, who takes his writing seriously. This dedication led to him living a reclusive life. His family was eager to see him move beyond the world he created in his books and embrace what real life had to offer. Currently, that was not on his list of things to do, however, when Leanna Bray literally swam into his life, he would come to realise that there is someone more captivating than the characters in his fictional world.


Leanna Bray’s focus is on getting her jam-making business off the ground and bring organisation to her life. As such, a relationship is not on her list of priorities. However, when Kurt came to her rescue, she may need to reorganise her list if only she can maintain some order in her life.


My Perspective


The story

Read, Write, Love was classified as a clean read and this was true to some extent. The author alluded to intimate encounters between the main characters, but there were no graphic descriptions. In addition, the language was clean, which I found refreshing.

There is no mistaking that this is the work of Melissa Foster, which is evident by the writing style. The story was sweet and emotional. This book is evidence that the author can write not only steamy romances but also ones where the bedroom door is closed. The story was engaging and perfectly paced, with fun, sweet and emotional moments.


The Characters

One of the things I associate with the author is good character development. I have never had a problem connecting with any of her characters and this was no different.

Kurt is a man that thrives on order in every aspect of his life. He is a perfect gentleman. What I enjoyed most about him were his patience and kindness. He was not keen on being disturbed, when in his writing zone, but the fact he willingly came out of the zone to rescue Leann and her dog demonstrated his caring nature. Leann is a free spirit, who is disorganised in every aspect of their lives. She takes each day has it comes and does not follow a specific plan. Kurt and Leanna were as different as night is from the day, but in spite of the differences, they made a great couple. They complemented each other well.

Kurt learnt the importance of having a balanced life while Leann discovered the importance of being organised especially in her business life.


The romance.

Their summer romance was sweet, passionate and flirty. This was not a love at first sight scenario. Their connection was established from their initial meeting, but their romance developed throughout the summer. I enjoyed how they related to each other throughout the story.


Recommendation:

If you are looking for a clean, but passionate romance story, if you want a story that has depth and filled with emotion then look no further. Read, Write, Love at Seaside has it all.