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A review by avalydia
The Sea Ain't Mine Alone by C.L. Beaumont
3.5
Well, this book was something else, as James would say. It takes place on the beaches of both California and Hawaii, and the descriptions are so vivid, you can practically smell the salt. James and Sydney have a whirlwind romance (despite clocking in at over 500 pages, most of the book takes place over like... three weeks) and the author does an excellent job of developing their relationship, from that first glance on the pier to the last surfing scene as newlyweds .
What the book really could have used was a good editor.
At 538 pages, this was way too long for a romance where, in all actuality, not much happens. Two surfing competitions, some sex scenes,James moving in with Sydney, and the two of them getting married at the end . Most of the page count is from the writing itself, with beautiful but overwrought descriptions of practically everything under the sun: the sky, the water, the sand, their bodies, memories of events that happened earlier in the book, etc. I'm not joking when I say that 100 pages could have been trimmed from this alone.
On top of that, multiple scenes were written as flashbacks for no clear reason (eg, a character wakes up and then thinks in extensive detail about what happened the night before, even though the last chapter had been about that night before cutting off... so why not just write the scene as it took place that night?). Similarly,the two anal "sex" scenes were written as the characters dirty-talking about it, one time when it hadn't happened yet and another when they were recalling the sex they'd had the night before. Like... why not just write it when they were actually doing it? Very confusing choices.
Finally, there were some surprisingly basic mistakes, eg, dialogue like "blah blah." he said (with a period instead of a comma).
Overall, the book was still really good, with a unique setting/time period/sport - not a lot of surfing romances out there! - and the author's talent for making you feel like you were right there on the beach with the main characters. But sometimes, less is more.
What the book really could have used was a good editor.
At 538 pages, this was way too long for a romance where, in all actuality, not much happens. Two surfing competitions, some sex scenes,
On top of that, multiple scenes were written as flashbacks for no clear reason (eg, a character wakes up and then thinks in extensive detail about what happened the night before, even though the last chapter had been about that night before cutting off... so why not just write the scene as it took place that night?). Similarly,
Finally, there were some surprisingly basic mistakes, eg, dialogue like "blah blah." he said (with a period instead of a comma).
Overall, the book was still really good, with a unique setting/time period/sport - not a lot of surfing romances out there! - and the author's talent for making you feel like you were right there on the beach with the main characters. But sometimes, less is more.