Reviews:
- Paperbacks and Frosting: This book was a really fun read for me. I read it while on vacation myself and found myself unable to stop turning the pages, I was enjoying it that much. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for an escape from every day life. The cruise setting made me feel like I was enjoying a trip as wonderful and the characters were. The chemistry between the two main characters is perfect. I love when I can read a book and feel the electricity between two characters. I could definitely feel it with this one. Rated 4 1/2 cupcakes!
- Sarah Ballance: If ever I’ve read a book and wanted to climb right in and hang with the characters, Christi Barth’s CRUISING TOWARD LOVE is it. These folks are just FUN! A lighthearted, often laugh-out-loud contemporary romance that just might earn you a reputation as a serial guffawer, this book is a can’t-miss read for anyone wanting a bit of an escape from the ordinary. Both in setting and in style, CRUISNG will totally float your boat!
- Long and Short Reviews: I enjoyed this fun, witty, and romantic novel. Readers, if you enjoy a story with a reunited couple, then cruise towards your nearest outlet and get yourself a copy of this book! Rated 4 1/2 books!
- Reading Between the Wines: Once on the ship, you are introduced to some memorable characters. Barth’s writing gives just enough depth to make them feel real and bring the scenery to life so you feel like you are another passenger feeling the sun on your skin watching this drama unfold. Besides a great reuniting love story you get a little mystery thrown in with the fun and games. Cruising Toward Love is entertaining and well written. It will leave you feeling happy, which is a great reason to pick it up. Rated 4 wine glasses – fun and flirty!
Excerpt:
“Did you stop kissing me because you weren’t enjoying it? You see, I’ve dealt with the first time you rejected me, when you left all those years ago. There’s no need to rehash the past. But I don’t think I could bear you rejecting me a second time. So I have to know—did you not take me to bed the other night because I didn’t turn you on, or was it because I somehow wasn’t good enough at it?”
The world stood still while she waited for his answer. Zoe focused on the squawk of sea gulls and the muted slap of the surf at the base of the wall. The lyrical lilt of Spanish from the group of teenagers passing by. A low buzz which must be some exotic insect in the shrubbery along the path. Every sound in her immediate vicinity rang with absurd clarity—except the sound she waited on with bated breath—Nate’s reply.
“If you still don’t want me, just say so, damn it!” she burst out.
Was it anger that hardened the lines of his body? Disinterest? Annoyance? Zoe couldn’t get a read on him. Nate advanced slowly. She backed into the turret, the space tight and cramped even for her stature. Built for the far shorter men of an earlier century, Nate had to duck his head as he edged ever closer. His sheer presence commanded as much area as his physical body. Something, some emotion rolled off him in waves, shimmering like heat above asphalt on a summer day. Why couldn’t she tell what was going on in his head?
“The sky is blue,” said Nate, his face separated from hers by only a breath.
Huh? “Is that a military thing? Are you talking in code?”
“The sun rises in the east. Play with fire and you’ll get burned. These are all absolute truths. Indisputable facts. Well, there’s one more absolute you need to file away in your mental card catalog.”
Nate brought the lower half of his body so close Zoe felt the heat radiating from his legs. Despite the heat, her goose bumps had goose bumps. The anticipation of his touch brought her every sense to high alert. He raised his arms up, planted his hands on either side of her head to cage her in place. Then he tilted so his forehead bumped hers. Her field of vision narrowed to the indigo sea of his eyes, pupils flooding black in the shaded darkness of the narrow turret they shared.
“I want you, Zoe.” He forced the words out in a heavy rasp. “I wanted you the day we met. You wore a red ribbon in your hair, dropped a stack of books on my foot, and apologized adorably for ten minutes. All I could think of was wrapping the ribbon around my hand to pull you in for a kiss. I wanted you the first time we kissed, on the bridge in a storm. One by one, I licked off every raindrop that clung to your skin. I wanted you when I saw you covered in mud last Friday. Wanted you badly enough to crawl right into the mud to be with you. I want you now, and I will always want you.”
Zoe let her eyes flutter shut in preparation for a kiss. Such a heartfelt, utterly romantic speech could only end one way. Just as whipped cream hungered for a cherry, his words demanded to be topped off by a kiss. She didn’t care about the past. With a handful of sentences he’d put her insecurities to rest. Nate dazzled her, and she was ready for more.
What was taking him so long? From beneath her lashes she snuck a peek. No Nate. Hoping the knees he’d melted to jelly would hold her, Zoe scrambled out onto the dirt path.Twenty strides ahead, Nate bellowed at her over his shoulder. “Hurry up. We don’t want to miss the reading of the clue.”
From confusion to relief with paper hearts dancing overhead…right back to confusion, all in less than five minutes. Zoe trudged after him with one thought uppermost in her mind.
