Book Review - Tides by Mara Oudenes-Cruz Ramos

Amazon UK

Title: Tides

Author: Mara Oudenes-Cruz Ramos

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Review copy thanks to the author

Publisher: Brave New Books

Publication Date: 16th March 2015

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Sun, sand and waves, three words that summarize what life is like at Sea Glass Beach. The normally quiet village is hosting a surfing festival with the biggest names and brands in the sport. The Kalani siblings; a lawyer and an instructor, and their friends; an investor and a librarian, are surrounded by new visitors, unexpected situations and a tide of emotions as they find themselves as amateur contestants in the world of professional surfing.

Sun, Sea, Sand, Surf and Sex... what more could you want from a book? All set in Sea Glass Beach, this is the story of an unlikely team of surfers, who decide to take part in a professional surfing competition, that is being held in their small village. 

There are many characters in this book, and many viewpoints too. At times you can become slightly confused, but most of the voices are distinctive. There are the Kalani siblings, Luna, Skye and Dax, their best friend Kay. And then there is Dylan, he has come to the surf school to have a lesson to see if he likes surfing, bonds instantly with Skye and Kay, and soon shows what he is made of. 

Dylan has many depths, and seems to fit into the Kalani clan like an extra son. None of his new friends at Sea Glass Beach, care that he is gay, despite his own parents disowning him for it. He soon meets a man he likes a lot, and as a reader we learn a lot about Dylan's relationship with his boyfriend. For those that may have an issue with such a topic, there is only 1 gay sex scene in the book, and its easily skipped past if you need to. I am only mentioning it as it took me by surprise, so wanted to inform you ahead of time. 

The members of Team Kalani are amazed when they get to meet Blu, one of the worlds top surfers, and her turns out to be a down to earth guy, who much prefers hanging around the Kalani family than with the team his sponsors have put him with. 

There are a lot of romances in Tides, and various friendships developing into more. There is a real sense of family and extended family, and a whole lot of good feeling about the place. 

The boulevard at Sea Glass Beach is fabulous, and I could from the descriptions really believe I was there, and that I was following along with the surfing. Despite my lack of knowledge of surfing tricks, a fair amount of the terminology is explained within the story. 

I always knew surfing was technical but never realised just how involved the sport was until I read this, and it has made me more determined than ever, to try to learn at least once in my life to surf, or body board or similar. 

Due to the quantity of characters, it is very hard to feel like you know any of them in any real details, but at its heart this is an enjoyable romantic comedy, with a sports side to it. It is wonderfully light hearted and an easy read. I enjoyed Tides a lot. 

Thank you to Mara Oudenes-Cruz Ramos to contacting me and offering a copy of this book for an honest review. This was my honest opinion and review. 

If this sounds like a book you would like to read, check out Mara's lovely guest post for Rachel's Random Reads about surfing