Blog Tour: Turtle Bay by Tiffany King {Review}
Turtle Bay
by: Tiffany King
Publication Date: Mar. 20, 2015
Publisher: A.T. Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e- ARC provided via the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 165 pages
Order Links: Amazon
My Rating: 4/5 stars
If you're a teenager in a small, rural area, how do you exist when your eccentric, free-spirited parents are the town freaks everyone laughs at?
For sixteen-year-old Rainbow Honeywell—or Rain, as she insists on being called—the answer was to become the queen of all pranks. She never wanted to be a troublemaker, but the label quickly stuck when everyone in Huntsville, Kansas, became a target. All she wanted was to deflect the negative attention off her parents, but Rain's plan backfired to the max, landing her in a heap of trouble with the local authorities and expelled from high school.
An unexpected inheritance offers Rain an opportunity for a new beginning when she and her family move across the country to the quaint beach community of Turtle Bay, Florida.
Determined to make the best of her second chance, Rain vows to walk the straight and narrow, hoping her parents will fly under the radar while she soaks up some fun in the sun, sandy beaches, and hot, tanned guys. Unfortunately, she picks the wrong new friends, and a late night party lands her back in the kind of trouble she had been hoping to avoid. As the newbie in town with a record, Rain takes the brunt of the punishment when an unforgiving judge chooses to make an example out of her and slaps her with enough community service hours to keep her busy until she is old and gray.
Facing the harsh reality of paying for the actions of others while atoning for her own past sins, Rain is paired up with Josh Shaw, a judgmental local lifeguard whose love for the beach and the environment is eclipsed only by his distaste for those who trash it. As far as Josh is concerned, Rain is guilty and got what she deserved, regardless of her side of the story. To make matters worse, a tropical storm sits in the Atlantic, threatening to wreak havoc on the small beach community.
Things slowly change as Rain begins to appreciate her surroundings through Josh's eyes, proving she is not the person he thinks she is. Their feelings for one another blossom as the tropical storm grows into a hurricane and bears down on Turtle Bay. With impending danger looming, the small beach community must come together in order to ride out the storm.
For sixteen-year-old Rainbow Honeywell—or Rain, as she insists on being called—the answer was to become the queen of all pranks. She never wanted to be a troublemaker, but the label quickly stuck when everyone in Huntsville, Kansas, became a target. All she wanted was to deflect the negative attention off her parents, but Rain's plan backfired to the max, landing her in a heap of trouble with the local authorities and expelled from high school.
An unexpected inheritance offers Rain an opportunity for a new beginning when she and her family move across the country to the quaint beach community of Turtle Bay, Florida.
Determined to make the best of her second chance, Rain vows to walk the straight and narrow, hoping her parents will fly under the radar while she soaks up some fun in the sun, sandy beaches, and hot, tanned guys. Unfortunately, she picks the wrong new friends, and a late night party lands her back in the kind of trouble she had been hoping to avoid. As the newbie in town with a record, Rain takes the brunt of the punishment when an unforgiving judge chooses to make an example out of her and slaps her with enough community service hours to keep her busy until she is old and gray.
Facing the harsh reality of paying for the actions of others while atoning for her own past sins, Rain is paired up with Josh Shaw, a judgmental local lifeguard whose love for the beach and the environment is eclipsed only by his distaste for those who trash it. As far as Josh is concerned, Rain is guilty and got what she deserved, regardless of her side of the story. To make matters worse, a tropical storm sits in the Atlantic, threatening to wreak havoc on the small beach community.
Things slowly change as Rain begins to appreciate her surroundings through Josh's eyes, proving she is not the person he thinks she is. Their feelings for one another blossom as the tropical storm grows into a hurricane and bears down on Turtle Bay. With impending danger looming, the small beach community must come together in order to ride out the storm.
Sun, sand, surf, cute boys, kissing.... what more could I want in a YA book? Turtle Bay comes through with all of these and I absolutely want to get in my car and drive down to Florida tomorrow. I really enjoyed this one. It was fun, sweet and made me long for the days of summer.
Our main character Rain has just moved with her rather eccentric parents to Florida in hopes of making a fresh start. Rain had gotten into some trouble and now she is looking to turn things around and hopefully find her niche in Turtle Bay, Florida. I really enjoyed Rain's character. King does such a great job of making her relatable. She's an everyday teen who wants to fit in and it's hard for her to do so with her parents being the way they are. I loved Rain's parents. They were awesome. Sure, they could be pretty over the top, so I definitely could see where Rain was coming from, but they do love their daughter unconditionally and Rain sees that, no matter how much they embarrass her with their antics. They have always marched to the beat of their own drum, so naturally as a teenager, it's hard for Rain to accept and embrace their weirdness. As the story progresses though, we see Rain have some very real moments with her parents and I like that their relationship is so open. Even when Rain is expressing her feelings to them, they don't ignore her- instead they listen to her and decide what they can do as a family.
Rain ends up finding herself in some trouble here in Turtle Bay not long after she moves there. Unfortunately, it was more of a wrong place, wrong time scenario. Still, Rain must face the consequences of her actions, which forces her to deal with a guy she met her first day on the beach, who was a real jerk to her. Josh is a lifeguard and an environmentalist and immediately makes assumptions about Rain's character. These two do not get off on the right foot and there is some serious angry tension between them. I ended up loving Josh though. It was wrong of him to make those assumptions about Rain, but things do get ironed out between them and I really ended up liking their relationship. It was sweet and they spend quite a bit of time together getting to know one another and helping out on the beach. Between him and Farrah, Rain really has it going on in the friend department.
I loved seeing Rain find something she was so passionate about. She loves to read and write, but she discovers she also loves helping out at the beach. The whole community comes together to help make preparations for an incoming hurricane and it was just awesome to see how amped up everyone was to ensure everything was ready. Even Rain's parents jumped in and started helping out too! The overall dynamic of this book was just a feel good one. I loved the sweetness of the story and that Rain ended up turning a crappy situation into an awesome one and she has found a home in Turtle Bay with her family and new friends. My only wish is that I could have read this one with my toes in the sand down on the beach....
USA Today Bestselling author Tiffany King is a lifelong reading fanatic who is now living her dream as a writer, weaving Young Adult and New Adult romance tales for others to enjoy. She has a loving husband and two wonderful kids. (Five, if you count her three spoiled cats). Her addictions include: Her iphone and ipad, chocolate, Diet Coke, chocolate, Harry Potter, chocolate, zombies and her favorite TV shows. Want to know what they are? Just ask.
6 comments
I love the sound of this one and it sounds like the perfect summer read. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Teresa! I love Tiffany's books and this one was adorable!
DeleteNever heard of this one, though I have heard of the author! I'm glad you enjoyed it, Jess :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent review! Hope you had a great week <3
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Thanks Alyssa! <3 It was a cute one for sure.
DeleteSounds sooo sweet! Tiffany King is a splendid writer, I'd very much like to check this one out. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes! It was such a sweet, cute read! Very perfect for spring/summer! I definitely recommend it!
DeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.