Spin-off Saturdays: On Saturdays, I will review a series that is a spin-off series. It is recommended that you read the original series first in order to get the most out of the spin-off series. Here is this week’s offering:
Sea Breeze Meets Rosemary Beach Series is a spin-off of the Sea Breeze Series and the Rosemary Beach Series
SERIESous’ Top Picks: Favourite Author, Most Read Author
Series: Sea Breeze Meets Rosemary Beach
This is a spinoff of the the Sea Breeze Series and the Rosemary Beach Series.
Author: Abbi Glines
# of Books: 3 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Connected
Complete?: Unsure
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Drama
Heat Rating: really warm
Point of View: First Person, Alternating
Publication Date: February 2017 – ongoing
Source & Format: Own & Public Library & Scribd–eBook
WARNING: If you have not finished the original Sea Breeze and/or Rosemary Beach series, this review may have spoilers!
**This post was originally published as a Series Review of the first few of the series. It has now been updated to include the newest publications in the series.**
My Expectations?
Well, I’ve been waiting for this series since I finished the last book in the Sea Breeze Series nearly 3 years ago, before the Rosemary Beach Series was completed. You see, we got this little epilogue that features the leads of Like a Memory and I knew from those few pages that another epic series was on the way.
I didn’t expect this series to be released in 2017 but I couldn’t wait to dive in. Watching the offspring of all the couples I’ve fallen in love with over the years get their own chance at HEA? Not everyone gets that chance with their favourite series.
How Does It Compare To The Original?
It’s like the perfect hybrid between the Sea Breeze and Rosemary Beach Series. You’ve got the slower, sweet nature of the Sea Breeze stories but it has that dash of over the top drama Rosemary Beach is known for.
And everything is so intricate! These character’s all intersect each other in interesting ways and it just gets you invested in finding out what happens next.
Not to mention, entirely addicting reads: just like their predecessors.
Anything I Didn’t Like?
In particular with Like a Memory, there is one dramatic twist I could have done without. I feel like it just took things a little too far and it actually caused me to rate the book lower than I would have up until that point.
I also felt like these stories did a lot more telling than showing when it comes to the romance. I wanted to see why these couples wanted to be together and not just be told that they had these deeper feelings.
My Expectations for the Rest of the Series:
Damn, I hope everyone gets a story 😛 I’m always entertained by anything Abbi Glines reads so I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
–June 10, 2020– Book #3: Best I’ve Ever Had
I hate to use this word but it felt sloppy; this just felt underdeveloped to me.
I’ve been anxious for this book since our lead has been such a big part of the first two books. I was excited to get their redemption story of sorts. But we really didn’t get much. Their past (specifically the last year) was alluded to briefly before being revealed in the last few chapters to little fanfare. Flashbacks to his time away would have helped me to see how he had evolved as a person.
The romance was far too fast. They had chemistry but how the “I love yous” got tossed around after 2 encounters was a little much for me.
This might be where I part ways with Abbi Glines. I’ve loved her work in the part but my last few encounters have left me angrily disappointed.
Series Rating: 3/5
Like a Memory 3.5/5 | Because of Lila 3.5/5 | Best I’ve Ever Had 1/5
Fans of (either) original series will love the next generation. But for those entirely new to Glines’ work will surely become invested in seeing the origins of this series.
Read if You Like: drama, contemporary, romance
Avoid if You: dislike soap opera-esque drama
- Keep Me Still by Caisey Quinn (Keep Me Still Series #1)
- More Than Forever by Jay McLean (More Than Series #4)
- The Goal by Elle Kennedy (Off Campus Series #4)
Synopsis for Like a Memory (from Goodreads):
One memory.
One special summer.
The one thing Bliss had lost herself in when the fear and sickness were too much, moments never to be damaged by the harsh reality that followed… until now.Bliss York didn’t live a normal teenage life. She didn’t go to Friday night football games, walk the halls with her friends every day, go to her prom or even walk to receive her diploma. It had all been taken from her the fall that she was fifteen years old and she was given the diagnosis no one ever wants to hear.
She had leukemia.
Seven years after spending a summer with a girl who he knew would always be his first love and the one who got away, Nate Finlay returns to Sea Breeze to help his fiancé open her new boutique clothing store. When the new employee walks in Nate is taken back seven years to the girl he thought he’d love forever. The one who never answered his calls or returned his text. The one who shut him out completely with not even a goodbye and broke his heart.
They’ve each become someone different. No longer the young teens with stars in their eyes. But does that matter when your heart still says that’s the one.
