BOOK REVIEW: Making a Splash by Joanne Rock

Harlequin Blaze  Aug 23 2011

224 pages By Joanne Rock


BLURB ON BACK OF BOOK:

Jack Murphy’s Law: When things go wrong, get it on…
 Alicia LeBlanc is ready for a new life. Tonight, she’ll be on a catamaran and on her way to running a B and B in Maine. But when the catamaran reaches open sea, she thinks she must be dreaming—because Jack Murphy has just slipped into her bed, and is picking up where he left off five years ago.…
It was an honest mistake, really. Navy Lieutenant Jack Murphy simply got into the wrong bed. Now that they’re on the open water, Jack and Alicia have endless opportunities to explore the carnal side of seafaring…and work out all that unresolved sexual tension, completely and thoroughly! But once they hit land, will their hot, steamy chemistry dry up?

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Making A Splash from Joanne Rock is a breezy, easy summer read. Perfect for a long afternoon at the beach.
Jack Murphy comes from a testosterone laden family with six strapping brothers and an prominent father. Rich and handsome as are all the brothers, Jack is home after a four year stint in the Navy. Jack is having a few regrets, the big one, how he turned his back on Alicia LeBlanc when he enlisted.

Alicia has moved on with her life after Jack, she's been dating and now is eager to start her own business in Bar Harbour Maine. A bed and breakfast venture that has her excited and eager. Jack's brother Keith offers to take her up the coast to Maine in his catamaran. The two brothers work out a sly bet and Jack, also a capable seaman, takes Keith's place on the boat.
By the time Alicia awakens, not only is she at sea, but finds the man of her heated dreams, in her bed. Jack was really here. And she is not happy about it.

Jack and Alicia had an intense college romance that seemed to scare them both with the intensity. Both turned away for different reasons, Jack more than anybody. He had his reasons for enlisting which are revealed later in the story. But Alicia though it was all about her, him wanting to get away from her.

Past bitterness comes to the surface, but so does the intense desire. Jack and Alicia were interesting characters if not a touch self-absorbed. But I chalk that up to their youth. They are bother older now, life knocking them around the last four years. Can they forgive the hurt, and give in to the desire?

They certainly give in to the desire part, some heated scenes between the two as only a Blaze can deliver. That desire has them both examining deeper feelings. When they both finally get around to talking, it is revealed why Jack suddenly enlisted. Turns out, it was not such a sudden decision.

As a Blaze romance goes, this is a fine read. The characters engaging, the sex hot, the 'at sea' scenes very real. I could almost feel the sea breeze on my face.

3 out of 4 for the book