ARC Review: Coastal Elite (Brothers in Arms, #1) by Kate Canterbary

 

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Synopsis

Jordan Kaisall has problems.

Business problems, political problems, cheating ex-girlfriend problems. He knows that a week away from the Washington D.C. Beltway won’t do a damn bit of good for those problems, but his beach house in Montauk is exactly where he needs to be right now.

April Veach has plans.

Work plans, travel plans, try-everything-once plans. Montauk is keeping her plenty busy this summer between decorating wedding cakes and teaching yoga, and busy is good. But busy is also a lonely bed, and that wasn’t part of her grand plan.

After a weekend together, his problems and her plans take them in an unexpected direction.

 

 


Review

3.5 short, sexy, intriguing stars

The Walshes series made Kate Canterbary an insta-buy author for me, and I’ve been really excited to read this book – a standalone spin off. Jordan is the best friend of Will Halstead, and Will and Shannon both feature in this book – however you do not need to have read The Walsh series prior to reading this book (though you should, because it’s awesome!).

Jordan Kaisall is an ex-SEAL who was honourably discharged service after an injury left him medically unfit for service. In the years since he has thrown himself into setting up a security firm with Will, and he has become a workaholic as he relentlessly works to build the business. When his work is suddenly full of problems and his personal life starts to implode, he escapes to his beach house in Montauk, and there he meets beautiful local, April Veach.

April sees Jordan physically struggling with his injury and offers her help – she is a holistic therapist. Jordan has little faith that she will be able to help him with his pain, but he’s more than willing to put himself under her hands at any opportunity. Luckily, she feels the same and their chemistry explodes into a passionate and intense affair. Jordan falls hard and fast for free-spirited April, quickly realising that he feels more for her than he has for any other woman in his life, and wanting more and more of her.

She was all that I wanted. It was irrelevant whether it had been two days or two years. There was a weight in my chest, a gravity associated with finding someone who brought levity to my spirit and fire to my soul. It was all in there, gathering volume and intensity, and I didn’t know how I’d lived thirty-nine years without experiencing this.

I love April! She’s strong and opinionated, and she gives as good as she gets in the bantering and flirting with Jordan. She seems just as smitten with him as he is with her, and their raging lust quickly turns into a whole lot more as emotions become involved.

“You’re gonna break me,” she whispered, her words cracking on a sob.
“Only if you want me to break you,” I replied, peppering her forehead and cheeks with light kisses. “I promise I’ll always put you back together, honey.”
… “Always?” she asked. “No matter what?”
“Always,” I vowed.

There’s a great mix of fun, flirting, playful and sweet moments, and as the time approaches for Jordan to get back to real life, letting go seems like it’s going to be impossible.

I wanted to love this woman, and I wanted her to let me.

I really enjoyed the set up to the story. The characters were fantastic, and I loved their banter, flirting and obvious chemistry – and of course the sexy time was really hot. The direction of their story was enjoyable and really surprising, the book had twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and I thought it was so clever! The book has a bit of a mystery/suspense edge to it as it becomes apparent that Jordan’s security business appears to be the target of sabotage, and there are some great twists and turns as it all unfolds. But it’s the romance that drives the book, and there’s a great balance between the two.

The reason I’m not rating this book higher is because it felt so rushed. This was a really quick read (only 146 pages) and actually felt more like a novella, so I didn’t feel like I got the opportunity to really delve into the story as much as I would have liked – and there is so much happening! The relationship moved super-fast with very little build up, and though Jordan and April were clearly feeling it, unfortunately I didn’t. I love losing myself in a romance, but it all happened so quickly that I didn’t get as invested as I want to, and I felt a bit disappointed because the set up was great, the characters were wonderfully complex and the potential was there for Jordan and April’s story to be something truly amazing. It just felt to rushed to me.

But it’s a good read, and a great story, and I’m so glad I read it.

3.5 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

 


Brothers in Arms

A spin-off from the Walsh Family series

 

Coastal Elite (#1) (Jordan & April)
Review
Buy:  Amazon

Missing in Action (#2) (Wes & Tom)
Review
Buy:  Amazon

 

The Walshes

For more about Will and Shannon and the whole Walsh family, check out Kate’s Walsh series (it’s one of our faves!)

              

Underneath It All (#1) (Matt & Lauren)
Review
Buy:  Amazon  | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Paperback

The Space Between (#2)  (Patrick & Andy)
Review
Buy:  Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Paperback

Necessary Restorations (#3)  (Sam & Tiel)
Review
Buy:  Amazon USB&N | Kobo |iBooks | Paperback

The Cornerstone (#4) (Shannon & Will)
Review
Buy:  Amazon US | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Paperback

Restored (#5) (Sam & Tiel)
Review
Buy:  Amazon US | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Paperback

The Spire (#6) (Erin & Nick)
Review
Buy: Amazon US  | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Preservation (#7) (Riley & (it’s a secret))
Review
Buy: Amazon US  |  B&N  |  Kobo  iTunes

Threholds (#8) (the whole family!)
Review
Buy:  Amazon iTunes Kobo

 

Foundations – Bonus material
Review
Buy:  Amazon

Foundations is the Underneath It All (Matt and Lauren) novella featuring Six Years Later, the happy-ever-after novella originally published in The Walsh Brothers plus the Jenga, Cocktails, and Cookies novella originally available only to Kate Canterbary’s newsletter subscribers, and two additional bonus scenes.

 


About the Author

Kate Canterbary doesn’t have it all figured out, but this is what she knows for sure: spicy-ass salsa and tequila solve most problems, living on the ocean–Pacific or Atlantic–is the closest place to perfection, and writing smart, smutty stories is a better than any amount of chocolate. She started out reporting for an indie arts and entertainment newspaper back when people still read newspapers, and she has been writing and surreptitiously interviewing people–be careful sitting down next to her on an airplane–ever since. Kate lives on the water in New England with Mr. Canterbary and the Little Baby Canterbary, and when she isn’t writing sexy architects, she’s scheduling her days around the region’s best food trucks.

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