But the riptide of their attraction jeopardizes more than just their ideological values. Can Avery and Finn be together without giving up what they care about the most?
Kathryn Nolan is definitely an author to follow, and from the moment I heard about Riptide, I knew I wanted to read it. There was something about this book that intrigued me.
And well, I was mind-blown, transported into a beautiful story, that went beyond a romance, raising awareness about protecting and respecting the world you’re living in, to fight for what you believe fiercely, written such in a smart way, witty, quirky, and so captivating, entailing and challenging. A bit of fun with a strong hint of hotness. Right up my alley!
When an estate project, as building a luxury hotel, drawn attention and instilled indignation, be sure to have both parties who tried to win, without hesitating to play dirty with banter and chemistry off the charts! Game on!
Finn and Avery … enemies, but definitely so much more!!!
I have to admit, I had the biggest crush on Finn, really. The author know how to write about sexy surfers, laid back, charming and so endearing men.That character was more to meet the eye. More deep that people would know. More everything. I had a blast reading about him, honest, passionate and dedicated to his family, to fight for what seems right to him. And Finn on a mission definitely something. A great something. The other things that made me fall in love with this fictional character was his bluntness, a man with such a big heart and not afraid to take the leap. I liked that . A lot!
Avery seemed to be Finn’s opposite in everything. When you read about her, you know that appearances could be deceiving, less predictable that I would have imagined. She was not the kind of woman to let people down, and after her childhood and memories she tried so hard to run from, it was like she had to face it again. Maybe a bit uptight first, Finn was bringing the best I. Her but also the worse, pushing her buttons like no one else. Knowing exactly where to. But the little firecracker wasn’t the kind of person to give up.
It goes without saying that Finn and Avery in the same place could ignite and literally burn the room! It was no natural, explosive, one argument leading to another one. Both stubborn and passionate, no one would make them break and submit. This mix of sexual frustration fueled their debates, motivated each other to win.In spite of their “hatred” for each other, there was some respect, and value of their opinions, even if it was far from their ideals. To meet in the middle, to learn from their mistakes, to understand each other. In the middle of this war, both revealed their personalities, learn more about themselves, and let’s be honest enjoying being each other’s pusher, motivator.
What about the sexy bits?? I was just melting … and chemistry was not enough to describe how their relationship was. Each moment was right on point, amazingly sexy, intense and smoking hot, Finn was dirty talker and domineering guy, balancing perfectly with Avery, who needed someone to take care, to be in charge for once.
Without hesitation, one of my fave reads this year so far!! Don’t hesitate to take a chance on Riptide! You won’t be disappointed!
Fun, a lot of sexy back and forth, amazing characters, some freaking swoony and hot moments! Just addictive! This book is just golden, I definitely have a crush and his name is Finn Travis … le freaking sigh.
Highly recommended!
Hey there! My name is Kathryn. I love writing and reading, yoga and camping. I’m a big fan of slow-burn sexual tension, mostly inspired by my (adolescent) obsession with The X-Files. I also write #SexyShorts 🙂 Great question! A few things inspired Riptide. I listen to NPR a lot and there was a week where they were featuring stories about the environment, and several of them featured situations like Riptide: big corporations, environmental effects, daily protests. I’ve participated in political protests myself and understand the total passion and intensity of those moments. I also live in California and spend a lot of time camping along the coast in small beach communities. I became really interested in the tension between tourism, the environment and local residents. I also was curious about the relationships that might build between protesters and the people or issues they’re protesting: how can you spend every day together, in an intense and passionate situation, and not develop a deeper connection? There’s a humanizing element there that I was captivated by. Finn? Definitely. One of my favorite parts of being a writer are the small sparks of inspiration that happen so randomly throughout your day. I was at a concert late last summer and there was a super hot guy in front of me: total Finn. Laid back, backwards hat, tank top. His mellow happiness and total joy were so attractive to me–he seemed charming, but not sleazy. He was happy and present in the moment–a real kick-back-on-the-deck-with-a-beer kind of sexy. I became a little obsessed with him–but also, because I’m a romance novelist at heart–I immediately began thinking what he’d be like in bed. And I loved this idea of going home with a mellow, happy, easygoing guy who turns dominant and kind of filthy behind closed doors. Thus: Finn was born. Avery, not so much–only to say that my top-secret day job is high-stress and high-pressure, and many of her stressed-out/overworked moments mirror my own 🙂 My favorite food also is breakfast burritos and Bob Marley is my favorite artist…so we do share that too! Hmmmm….not so much research, I guess I just love crafting and building sexual tension so, so much. It is my absolute favorite part of writing and so once I have characters in mind and have a sense of their personality (and whatever conflicts might be keeping them apart) the sexual, sexy, hot-tense times tend to flow through my fingers faster than I can keep up. Also, Finn and Avery were so natural to me: I could not get them to stop talking to each other, which I loved. I love seeing characters really fall for each other and connect–have real, silly, serious, natural conversations. Those two were super chatty! I’m a combination of Avery and Finn. For most of my non-writing career, I’ve worked on issues of economic justice, especially around housing and wages for low-income people and families. I also come from a blue-collar family: many of my family members (including my father) worked in factories that paid well, which allowed my brother and I to have a lot of opportunities. Those same factories also have a terrible track record with the environment, so I see and feel both sides of the environmental-justice debate. At the end of the day, I’m all about jobs that pay well for people so they can thrive, economically, and create a future for their children that is happy and hopeful. And as a big camper-hiker-traveler, I also want the world to be around and beautiful for those same children. That’s why the ending (which I won’t spoil) to Riptide is important to me: showcasing compromise, creativity and innovation around complex social issues. Understanding two different, but valuable, perspectives and meeting in the middle. From the time I could hold a pencil until my early college days, writing was my whole world. I actually received a small creative-writing scholarship to attend college, and wrote poetry, fiction, newspaper articles, essays, nonfiction. I wrote and wrote and wrote. And then, early in college, gave it up–for good. So much so that it was years into my relationship with my husband before I casually mentioned: “Oh, I guess I was, like, a writer but whatever.” I showed him some of my older stuff and he really liked it. We were in the car one night, about 4 years ago and it was right before November, which is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). We were joking around and he said “You love romance novels. What if you tried to write one?” I laughed about it and discarded the idea, but a few weeks later we were in an airport and he bought me a pen and a journal. And said: “let’s outline this”. And that became my first romance novel (which is shoved away somewhere for later use) and I did NaNoWriMo, and then I did it again. And that’s when I started waking up at 5:00 am (my magic time) and writing most mornings…no matter how tired I am. To me, there is no greater joy than early-morning, cup of coffee, sun rising, and words. The other thing I would mention is that my very best friend in the whole world is a fabulous writer and editor and she helps me brainstorm, reads drafts 1-4, copy edits and formats. And is absolutely amazing. 7. What is your most favorite thing in writing and why do you love it? I love that writer’s high: when, for whatever reason, words are tumbling out of your fingers faster than you can even process. And when you read back what you wrote, you love it. 8. How do you process writing books, do you have a ritual? Yes! And I’m actually trying something new this time around for my next book…although who knows how long I’ll keep it up 🙂 Usually I get an idea, write an entire first draft, read it over, feel like it’s terrible, write it again, send it to my best friend, THEN I’ll make character charts and conflict charts and “plot” it out and make an outline, then I’ll re-write for the 3rd time and then a fourth time. This time I’m going to try this new thing the kids are calling “plotting” ahead of time…I’ll see if it works. Hoping it’ll cut down on one of those many drafts 🙂 9. Can you talk about your next project? Sure! I’m still fleshing things out, but I believe my next project will be set in Big Sur: a funky, bohemian, artist-community along the coast of California. It’s going to be about a super shy, nerdy, quiet bookstore owner named Calvin and a flirtatious, funny, gorgeous Hollywood model named Lucia whose on set there for a photoshoot. A huge, almost-Biblical storm comes through, trapping them there and then…who knows what comes next? 🙂 10. Last question: I’m going to tell a word and you’ll give me the first one that comes to your mind. If I say Riptide? Sexy surfers 😉 Thank you so much Kathryn Nolan! |
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