Genre:
Women’s Lit/Contemporary Fiction
Description:
“Clipper
Beach, a contemporary romance novella by a debut author, takes you to
the small seaside town of Cape Harriet, and the luxurious Rising
Tides Inn, its crowning glory.
Sandhya, a
haughty Wall Street executive, faces a tough decision that will
affect her life. She arrives at the Rising Tides Inn for a brief
vacation.
James is a
handsome, enigmatic guest at the inn whose unpredictable behavior
puts Sandhya on edge.
Both are
imprisoned by their past, and are drawn to each other in spite of a
mutual hesitation to get involved.
Pete and
Zadie Strathmore are proud owners of the Rising Tides Inn. Their
hospitality extends beyond catering to their guests’ physical
comforts. They go the extra mile to pamper their souls.”
Author:
“Roma
Brooks writes stories featuring real life characters, the kind you
would come across in your own family. Her books will make you laugh,
cry, love, hate and bite your nails. She dreams of retiring to a
seaside town like Cape Harriet where the gentle waves of the ocean
lull you into sweet dreams.”
Appraisal:
Rising
Tides Inn sounds like heaven on earth. Ms. Brooks did a wonderful job
with her descriptive prose in setting up the scenery. Pete and Zadie
Strathmore, owners of the Rising Tides Inn, went above and beyond to
provide an elite feel to their exclusive Bed and Breakfast. This
particular week is generally a time they close down shop, for
personal reasons. However, they open their home to Sandhya, a woman in the midst of making a life altering decision.
Despite the
fact that portions of the story are told through Sandhya’s eyes, I
had trouble connecting with her character. The reader is told about
bits and pieces of her past, but there is little emotion conveyed. I
felt the same about James, except for one emotional outburst towards
the end of the story that is powerful; especially when we learn the
pain that caused the outburst.
Although Clipper
Beach is a unique story, I feel it is in need of a little more character development and plot consistency.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating:
*** Three Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 20-25,000 words
