Review: Love on the Boardwalk by Christi Barth

Title: Love on the Boardwalk by Christi Barth
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Word Count: 51,000
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Author

Summary:

Atlantic City is the perfect place for detective Bradley Hudson to nurse his broken heart. A week of beer and strippers is sure to erase his former fiancée from his memory for good. What he didn’t count on was running into a sassy redhead from his past. Maybe a rebound romp is an even better plan…

Trina Trimble, private eye in training, is thrilled to be reunited with the hottie she almost hooked up with last summer. She’s undercover on her first solo case, but there’s always time to lock lips with a sexy cop. Besides, a fun fling with Brad doesn’t have to last beyond his week in town.

Brad and Trina are supposed to be just flirting, not forging a new forever. Brad’s still healing, and although Trina changes careers the way other women change shoes, she has finally found her calling in her new life of disguises and stakeouts. But when an irresistible job offer threatens to lure her away, Brad will need to decide to let her go or bet it all on love and risk his heart again.

The Review:

Love on the Boardwalk by Christi Barth is a very cute, lighthearted romance set in Atlantic City. This easy to read sequel to Love at High Tide features the characters introduced in the previous novel, but it can be read as a standalone.

Brad Hudson is in Atlantic City trying forget that he should be on his honeymoon when he recognizes Trina Trimble in a very unlikely place. Trina is working undercover in a strip club for a private investigator and she too is pretty surprised when she is recognized by her best friend’s boyfriend’s hot cousin. A walk on the beach eventually leads to sizzling vacation fling but can their attraction lead to something more permanent when Brad and Trina go back home?

Trina and Brad could not be more different but this is what makes them a great couple. Brad is a by the book cop while Trina is a pretty footloose and fancy free. Both have a few things weighing on their minds and their different perspectives are very helpful when it comes to making some much needed decisions. They each appreciate the difference in their personalities and while Trina helps Brad loosen up, Brad’s input is invaluable when it comes to Trina’s future. Trina is full of enthusiasm but her fun loving attitude makes her character feel a little superficial. Brad is much more serious and the issues that he is dealing with provide him with the emotional depth that Trina lacks.

Love on the Boardwalk is a fun romance that is delightfully entertaining. Trina and Brad are engaging characters and their love story is flirty and full of sexual tension. A little bit of intrigue energizes the plot and infuses Trina with some much needed confidence. Christi Barth perfectly wraps up the story with a wonderfully romantic conclusion.

All in all, Love on the Boardwalk is a lovely feel good story that fans of contemporary romance are sure to enjoy!