The trip of a lifetime is far from smooth sailing
Jamie Johnson is going to sea for the first time in his life. Atlantic Star is one of the most luxurious cruise ships in the world, and a two-week trip to Iceland offers Jamie the perfect escape. His life has been on hold since the death of his husband and a working holiday onboard a state-of-the-art ship is an opportunity to explore the world he’s been hiding from. A chance to think about his future and decide what he wants to do with the rest of his life.
When Dexter Fordyce steps onboard, all he wants is a good time. The cruise is his first holiday in years, and workaholic Dexter is ready to relax and enjoy himself. If he can manage a little fun with someone like Jamie, even better. Jamie is flattered by the attention. Dexter is handsome, charming and great fun and proves impossible to resist.
Jamie’s hopes of romance died with his husband. The prospect of a shipboard passion is attractive, but Jamie’s heart has been broken for too long and he can’t take the risk of falling in love. With stormy weather ahead, the two men are set for a voyage they will never forget.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he said, gazing into the night. Straight ahead he could see nothing but dark, the blackness was complete, but leaning on the balcony and looking down, he saw the moderate swell of the ocean and the white-capped waves hitting the side of the ship.
“We’re moving at a fair speed,” Jamie said, glancing at the wake they gave off.
“I suppose we have to, to cover the miles.”
Jamie stepped near to him, their upper arms touching as they stood against the railing.
He’s regaining his composure, Dexter thought.
Somewhere inside Jamie was a desire to be loved again, Dexter was sure of it. To be desired and wanted and not to spend the rest of his life alone. His love for Tyler could never be doubted, but Jamie was too young, had too much of his life remaining, to be on his own forever.
Dexter took a mouthful of champagne and swallowed, choosing his words. “I know this is new for you, and that it can’t be easy. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to, or aren’t ready for. What I’m trying to say is this is all up to you. How much or how little we do together, you decide. I won’t push you into anything.”
Jamie took a deep breath and sighed. He moved his hand from the railing and put it on Dexter’s waist. “I know what I want. And he’s standing right here.”
Dexter turned to face him. How handsome, how striking he looked, in the early hours of the morning, so far out to sea. He caressed Jamie’s face with the tips of his fingers, along his cheek and the lean length of his jaw. “You’re taking my breath away right now; I hope you realise that.”
Jamie put his own hand on top of Dexter’s. “Let’s go inside.”
I hadn’t read any of this author’s previous works when I picked this one up, so didn’t really have any set expectations for this book or the writing style. From the blurb, I thought Storm Warning had the potential for a great hurt/comfort story with maybe a touch of excitement from the storm of the title. In the end, it didn’t wind up being quite my cuppa.
I did like the characters well enough—Jamie more so than Dexter, but given Jamie’s backstory I think anyone would be hard pressed to not like him, and I find myself fervently hoping he would find blissful happiness again. Dexter is a bit of a playboy, which could have played well against Jamie’s emotional story but fell a bit short of that for me. While once they advanced to the physical aspect of their holiday their chemistry showed and ran hot, I didn’t feel that emotional connection I was hoping for. Maybe it was the short time frame of the book’s events, maybe it was Dexter’s personality (I found him to be the type to jump to conclusions and more of a “live in the moment” guy which didn’t quick click for me with Jamie’s serious demeanor).
As for the supporting characters, I thought Dexter’s mother Davina was the best. While loud and brash, saying whatever is on her mind, she also provides great insight to both Dexter and Jamie to help move things along with them. And as for the storm that I thought might bring excitement, it was more of a way to facilitate the advancement of Jamie and Dexter’s relationship.
There was one odd portion of the story that was brought up at the end involving some of the other supporting characters. It kind of felt out of the blue, even if it did explain something about those characters that happened earlier in the book. It seems like it might have been a way to point towards another connected future story, but left things feeling slightly unfinished here.
Overall, Storm Warning didn’t quite hit my buttons, but was a nice way to pass the time so was a 3-star read for me. This book is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.
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