Friday, October 4, 2013

Azure (Drowning in You) by Chrystalla Thoma



Title: Azure (Drowning in You)
Author:  Chrystalla Thoma
Published:  September 2nd 2013
Page Count:  220
Genre:  NA Romance
Shelf:  Review Copy
Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis:

A terrible mistake haunts college student Olivia Spencer. To escape the past, she travels to the Mediterranean island of Crete, hoping for the courage to start anew.

By the sea, she meets sexy and enigmatic Kai. But there’s more to Kai than meets the eye — and nobody wants to talk about it. The locals shun him, accusing him of magic. Kai, apparently, belongs to the sea, no matter how crazy that sounds.

Kai isn’t free to be with her or live his own life, and this is how he will stay, unless Olivia can break his curse and save him — in doing so atoning for those she failed in the past.

Contains mature content. Ages 17+

Excerpt:

Kai marched up to her table and whipped out his notepad, not looking at her. He stared at it as if it held all the secrets in the universe. “Why aren’t your friends with you?”

His cold tone was like a slap. “Do I have to answer the question or will you get me something to drink anyway?”

He glanced up, brows arching, and swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I was just... When I saw how far you swam...” He shook his head and lowered his gaze. “Never mind.”

Hell. He’d been really worried about her. The anger left her as fast as it had come. “Markus had a heatstroke. He’ll be fine. Kirsten is nursing him back to health.”

He nodded, a jerky movement. “What can I get you?”

“A lemonade, please.” She waited but he didn’t look up, only nodded again and turned to go. “So you’re Panos’ little cousin.”

He stopped, his broad back to her, muscles bunching across his shoulders. “What did he tell you?”

“That I should hook up with him because he’s a man and you’re still a boy.”

His stance relaxed and he shook his head. “He’s an idiot.”

She snorted. “He’s very funny.” Damn, she felt weird, talking to his back. And ass. His cute ass. “And he’s nice. Like you.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Sure I do. You help me. Look out for me. You seem nice.” And hot. And kinda sad.

He turned around, his pretty lips pressed tight. “Appearances can deceive.”

“Then yours is particularly deceptive.”

A smile flickered at the corners of his mouth and she took it as a good sign. “Look, I know appearances aren’t everything. That all that shines isn’t gold and all that.”

“Is that why you threw your gold ring into the sea? Was it a fake?”

She bit her lip and shook her head. The ring had come from a true place, a true feeling — only not hers. At least she thought so. “It’s a long story.” And she didn’t feel much like talking about Justin, especially to Kai.

He took a step toward her, his gaze intense. “I have to work.”

“Oh? Sorry I’m keeping you.” She glanced around at the other tables. Nobody seemed to be looking for a waiter. “You’d better go, then.”

“I finish my shift at four.”

Was that what she thought it sounded like? “So you wanna go for a coffee afterward?”

“Yeah, sure.” He tapped his pen on the notebook, head cocked to the side, his eyes gleaming. “I want to hear the story. Will you be here?”

“I’ll come back,” she promised and watched him go, biting her lip nervously.

Holy hells, was that a date?

My Review:

This novel definitely has a good pace to storyline ratio. Although the pace of the different scenes varies, it always matches well with the action at hand. It’s a very smooth read. It’s also a mythologically sound novel. Thoma ensures to present all background information to her readers, and where it differs from common myths she elaborates to draw us further in. It was so well put together that I found myself believing in the myths and legends that surround this story.

This author’s enticing and elaborately crafted descriptions paint a world for you to walk through, whether you’ve visited Crete or not. Everything is presented in detail, without breaking the flow of the story itself. Thoma also wraps everything up into a HEA that definitely brings tears to your eyes, and by this point in time had become unexpected as well.

Thoma had me intrigued by her characters. They were out of the ordinary, yet completely approachable. The main characters in this novel are quite well developed. You get to know them slowly but fully. It was like meeting someone for the first time in real life. The supporting cast was just that, supporting. They were there to help the main characters along, and were never developed in any manner that would overshadow the main couple.

Overall, this was a very unique novel that I had trouble putting down. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the storyline, the mythology, and how this talented author put it all together for her audience.

Add to your Goodreads shelves.
Buy online via Amazon.

About the author:

Chrystalla is Greek Cypriot (hence the strange name) and likes writing about bratty, angsty boys and spunky girls in fantasy and science-fiction worlds. She writes mainly for a young adult public but not only (heed the warnings!)

She's currently preparing a non-fiction book about dragons, because the truth must out, and is juggling two series ("Elei's Chronicles" and "Boreal and John Grey").

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