Seabreeze Inn
by Jan Moran
The common formula of modern beach read romances is too funny. A flawed, plain heroine finds herself going on a spontaneous vacation (for one reason or another) and the very first man she meets she finds very attractive. He’s serious, bordering on brooding, has a “caveman-caretaker” job like architect or chef, and always smells of a combination of clean scents and “man”. Seabreeze Inn is almost a spoof of the genre. Had I not been in the mood for a good laugh, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. But laughter aids digestion, so I read on. In the first pages, we learn that the protagonist has inherited an old inn her husband spontaneously bought without telling her. He was a scoundrel who used up all their money before he died, and so she has to fly to southern California and sell the house. While on the airplane, she stresses to the readers how she wants nothing to do with men and has no desire to ever date or marry again. When she debarks, she meets her real estate agent, who just happens to be her old high school crush. Before the end of the second chapter, she’s noticed the color of his eyes and the scent of his cologne.
If you like really light beach reads that have extremely unrealistic twists to them, you can check out Seabreeze Inn. At least the characters are varied and interesting. However, I like my books to have a little more substance to them, or at least a degree of believability. Next on your list should be The Summer We Read Gatsby, a similarly styled novel.
If you like really light beach reads that have extremely unrealistic twists to them, you can check out Seabreeze Inn. At least the characters are varied and interesting. However, I like my books to have a little more substance to them, or at least a degree of believability. Next on your list should be The Summer We Read Gatsby, a similarly styled novel.