Review: As Beautiful as The Bay

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When Sam Pankhurst returns to Blue Penguin Bay after a five-year absence, his plan is to help his father run the family bakery until he can find someone else to take over. Then he’s going to return to his job as a pastry chef on a cruise liner, traveling around the world. Settling down in the bay and making the same old loaves and muffins until the day he dies isn’t his idea of a dream future.
Then he meets Ginger Cartwright. Feisty, confident, and as beautiful as the sub-tropical Northland bay that most people think of as paradise, she has a touch of vulnerability that makes him want to take her in his arms and protect her from the world, especially once he finds out about her troubled past.
Torn between desire, duty, and the ever-present urge to escape from his father’s constant disapproval, Sam finds himself unable to resist Ginger’s charms. But when the bay is hit by a tropical cyclone, everything is turned upside down. Will Sam stay and rebuild his old life? Or is it the perfect opportunity for him to move on?

Genre: contemporary romance

Publication date: July 2017

Mature content: yes

Review: As Beautiful as the Bay is book two in the Blue Penguin Bay series and closely follows As Deep as the Ocean (read my review here) - though it can be read a stand alone.

In terms of plot, I found As Beautiful as the Bay richer and with a lot more potential than book one.

It is, however, a rather short story and I felt it could have been a lot better developed if there weren't so many (and so long) sex scenes. Ginger's description of her previous relationship has a familiar 50-Shades-of-Grey vibe and, to be honest, my impression was that half of the scenes were added more to bring the book in line with what was selling at the time than to showcase the real connection between Sam and Ginger.

I'm rating it with four stars because I really loved Sam and Ginger as a couple, but I don't think it deserves a higher rating than that.

Happy readings,