Addison Cole

Read, Write, Love at Seaside (Sweet with Heat: Seaside Summers Series)

Read, Write, Love at Seaside (Small town contemporary romance)

Bestselling author Kurt Remington lives to write. He spends twelve hours a day in front of his computer, rarely leaving the seclusion of his beach-front property, where he's come to finish his latest thriller - that is, until free-spirited Leanna Bray nearly drowns in the ocean trying to save her dog. Kurt's best-laid plans are shot when he comes to their rescue. Kurt's as irritated as he is intrigued by the sexy, hot mess of a woman who lives life on a whim, forgets everything, and doesn't even know the definition of the word organized.Leanna's come to the Cape hoping to find a fulfilling career in the jam-making business, and until she figures out her own life, a man is not on the menu. But Leanna can't get the six-two, deliciously muscled and tragically neat Kurt out of her mind. She tells herself she's just stopping by to say thank you, but the heart-warming afternoon sparks an emotional and unexpectedly sweet ride as Kurt and Leanna test the powers of Chemistry 101: Opposites Attract.Read, Write, Love at Seaside is a Sweet with Heat novel and conveys all of the passion you'd expect to find between two people in love without any graphic scenes or harsh language. If you're looking for a spicier romance, pick up the steamy edition, Read, Write, Love, written by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster. Addison Cole is Melissa's sweet-romance pen name.

Read, Write, Love at Seaside

Totally Addicted to Reading

I never read the steamier version of this title. However, when I heard Melissa Foster’s alter ego would release the cleaner version I was intrigued and jumped at the chance to read a copy.


What the story is about.


Kurt Remington is a best-selling thriller author, who takes his writing seriously. This dedication led to him living a reclusive life. His family was eager to see him move beyond the world he created in his books and embrace what real life had to offer. Currently, that was not on his list of things to do, however, when Leanna Bray literally swam into his life, he would come to realise that there is someone more captivating than the characters in his fictional world.


Leanna Bray’s focus is on getting her jam-making business off the ground and bring organisation to her life. As such, a relationship is not on her list of priorities. However, when Kurt came to her rescue, she may need to reorganise her list if only she can maintain some order in her life.


My Perspective


The story


Read, Write, Love was classified as a clean read and this was true to some extent. The author alluded to intimate encounters between the main characters, but there were no graphic descriptions. In addition, the language was clean, which I found refreshing.


There is no mistaking that this is the work of Melissa Foster, which is evident by the writing style. The story was sweet and emotional. This book is evidence that the author can write not only steamy romances but also ones where the bedroom door is closed. The story was engaging and perfectly paced, with fun, sweet and emotional moments.


The Characters


One of the things I associate with the author is good character development. I have never had a problem connecting with any of her characters and this was no different.


Kurt is a man that thrives on order in every aspect of his life. He is a perfect gentleman. What I enjoyed most about him were his patience and kindness. He was not keen on being disturbed, when in his writing zone, but the fact he willingly came out of the zone to rescue Leann and her dog demonstrated his caring nature. Leann is a free spirit, who is disorganised in every aspect of their lives. She takes each day has it comes and does not follow a specific plan. Kurt and Leanna were as different as night is from the day, but in spite of the differences, they made a great couple. They complemented each other well. 


Kurt learnt the importance of having a balanced life while Leann discovered the importance of being organised especially in her business life.


The romance.


Their summer romance was sweet, passionate and flirty. This was not a love at first sight scenario. Their connection was established from their initial meeting, but their romance developed throughout the summer. I enjoyed how they related to each other throughout the story.


Recommendation:


If you are looking for a clean, but passionate romance story, if you want a story that has depth and filled with emotion then look no further. Read, Write, Love at Seaside has it all.

Bestselling author Kurt Remington lives to write. He spends twelve hours a day in front of his computer, rarely leaving the seclusion of his beach-front property, where he's come to finish his latest thriller -- that is, until free-spirited Leanna Bray nearly drowns in the ocean trying to save her dog.

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This one was definitely not for me. Let's start with the good: it was definitely sweet. Now the not so good....

Leanna annoyed the crap out of me. She came across as flighty, immature, disorganized, slobby, and generally a disaster. At somewhere around age 30, I would expect her to have her act together a little bit more than this. I could not for the life of me take her jam business seriously. And she makes the jam in her kitchen in an apartment with dirty clothes and dirty dishes everywhere. Ugh gross. 

And she was a horrible dog owner - so horrible that she shouldn't even have a dog. No training, no discipline, dog runs off whenever and wherever he wants, does whatever he wants - ultimately he puts himself in danger, which is where the book opens.

Kurt is fine albeit somewhat of a stereotypical "grumpy reclusive writer type". He's so grumpy and reclusive that he listens to Leanna and Pepper the dog (who is white, so funny and quirky to name a white dog Pepper, eyeroll) struggle not to drown in the stormy surf in front of his beach house for quite a while before he reluctantly helps her out.

I'm also not a fan of insta-love, which was definitely a thing here. In terms of the "sweet with heat" thing, it was awkward. There were definitely some heated moments but then the scene would fade to black. It was almost as if it was originally written with explicit scenes that were just deleted at the moment just as things were getting really x-rated. I don't mind either way - "off page" or "on page" sexual content, but this just felt like some weird mix between the two. Like he strips her clothes off and has his hands all over her, then bam, it's the next morning.

I also felt the dilemma/conflict was really weak. She has her jam business and has to stay at the Cape and he has to return to NY because ...reasons.

Read, Write, Love at Seaside (Small town contemporary romance)

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