** Buy The Red Bikini today! Amazon * B&N * GoodReads **
I was blown away by Ms. Christopher’s debut novel, The Red Bikini. A woman who was suddenly divorced her husband, was taking a break in beautiful “Sandy Cove” (Southern Californian’s will recognize this town!) at her sister’s place, and while she is taking some time for herself she meets the interesting, and younger, man named Fin.
The first half of the book lures you in with beautiful imagery of San, er, Sandy Cove and the Southern California lifestyle. I actually LIVE in SoCal so it was fun to take a trip through the beach.
You are slowly introduced to the main players that appear in Giselle’s life. From Coco, her beautiful daughter who is always cracking jokes, to Rabbit, the 23 year old surfer who teaches kids how to surf during the summer. You hear about Lia, her marketing minded sister (whom I can’t wait to read about in the next book!) and Roy, her ex-husband who screams of reality in an over-powering relationship that goes bad. While Giselle is out in Sandy Cove, Roy calls her to let her know that his Father has died and he wants her to attend since she’s out in California already.
To keep busy, Lia arranged that Giselle does a trade with Rabbit. She will take photos of his surfing lessons so Lia can help him create brochures about his business, while he teaches Coco how to surf in his grommet class.
Giselle & Coco’s relationship is sweet to read about, especially if you have kids and remember that sweet young time.
***
“‘You know who lives here?’ Coco asked Giselle, pointing at her largest castle. She had just trudged back up from the water’s edge from the millionth time with another pail full of sandy, murky water. The sun was sitting low on the horizon.
‘Who?’ said Giselle.
‘Me.’ She readied her pail with both hands to pour into the moat she’d created around the sand mansion. ‘And you. And Iggy. And a prince.’
‘A prince?’
She nodded solemnly. ‘For you.’.
Coco poured the water into the moat and sat back on her haunches, the sand granules sticking to her legs in circular patterns, while the water swirled briefly, then disappeared into the sand.
‘Oh.’ The wind swept the tendrils of yellow hair around her ears while she put together what just happened. ‘I guess we need soldiers.’ She scrambled to her feet and ran back to the foamy surf to look for pebbles and shells, which she collected the rest of the afternoon.”
***
The best part is Fin. Giselle is attracted to him but finds out that Fin is 28 years old compared to her own 35. She feels humiliated that the surfer boys are calling her a ‘betty’ and a ‘donna’ (Donna Reed!) even though it’s a compliment and when Fin introduces himself to her at a beach party he wants her to come to a ‘party’ with him because she is ‘older’, or more ‘his age’, so he can show off how responsible he is.
**
“Do you…date Lia?” she asked anyway, unable to keep the incredulity out of her voice.
“No, no.” Fin shook his head as if the idea were preposterous. “She’s not – I’m not… her type at all.”
At least they agreed on that much.
“We’re friends. She’s helped me out of a few jams. But this one – even she wasn’t right for this. But you…” He looked her up and down. “You’re perfect.”
**
So they decide on a trade. Giselle will attend his exclusive party where he needs to show off a responsible 30-something woman while Fin will go to the funeral with Giselle so she won’t be alone in front of her ex-husband.
**
She took a deep breath. All right. A gorgeous pro surfer, who had all these people here to see him – including at least forty stunningly beautiful women in very small bikinis – had just asked her on a date. Or, well, not really a date. An event. And she’d asked him to a funeral.
**
You get to know Fin more, and his motivations for why he needs an older, more responsible looking woman gracing his arm at some events. As well as Giselle and how she navigates learning more about herself and moving forward.
I loved this book. Learning more about surfing was an education and kept me enthralled through the whole book. I highly recommend you read the Red Bikini and Lauren Christopher is now on my ‘Must Read’ list!
** Buy The Red Bikini today! Amazon * B&N * GoodReads **
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