This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Susan Lobban
Laura married
Matthew and it has been seven months of bliss, so when she discovers a secret
from his stag night it is more than she can bear.
Looking for an escape she jumps at the chance to fly off to the Florida with her best friend Marty. A holiday filled with endless cocktails and fun is just what she needs to forget her woes. Further distraction comes in the form of sexy Cuban scuba diver Leo. Laura’s instant attraction to him knocks her flying and she falls hard.
As the end of the holiday draws near, Laura does not want to leave. Why go home to heartbreak, when she can see happiness on the Key West horizon.
The novel begins with Laura being whisked away to the beautiful Florida Keys in order to leave her marital troubles behind. She has just found out that her husband had a momentary lapse of judgement which has resulted in another woman having his baby! Straight away I felt sympathy for Laura and kept thinking throughout “what would I do?” This storyline sets it apart from the usual holiday read, as it is not the usual frothy fare you would expect.
At first I found this book slow to get into as there are only so many descriptions of holiday drinking and scuba diving I can read – the underwater descriptions were not exactly riveting. The first part of the book detailing the girls holiday, although necessary, did not hold my interest. However, the moment Laura decides to extend her holiday and leaves her friends at the airport the story picks up.
I enjoyed reading as Laura’s life in Key West becomes less of a dream and more of a reality. I particularly liked how Matthew is not far from her mind and their history together interjects with her new romantic feelings for Leo. Rather than make me feel sorry for Matthew I despised him more for hurting his already fragile wife and like Laura I found it hard to believe that her friends and family would even consider understanding his point of view. Throughout the book I felt you never knew what Laura would decide and just as you thought a final decision is made an almighty turn in events knocked me (and Laura) sideways!
I am sure I am not the only one that has ever thought it would be great to leave your worries behind and stay on holiday and in this book we get to find out what it could be like. The fact that Laura is really struggling with whether she can return to her marriage gave the story substance when it could have just followed the route of sun, sea and sex. I thought this book would be a Tequila Slammer but it turned out to be a refreshing, more satisfying Mojito!
8/10