EVERSEA (Butler Cove #1) by NATASHA BOYD

Jenny:  Gitte, you know me!  I’m a sucker for fictional Hollywood romance stories – I just adore the Hollywood star meets small-town girl theme,  it’s magical and I love it.  Imagine meeting your heart throb hero in real life.  Sigh……Well, I am a romantic after all!

Now, notice I say “fictional Hollywood” stories.  One thing I don’t like is when ‘real life‘ invades my fictional world so first up, kudos to Natasha Boyd for keeping real celebrity names out of this book which enabled Eversea to have a world of its own. A world which possessed  a wonderful storyline, engaging characters, gorgeous hero, emotion and sexual chemistry!

I have say, Eversea did start off a tad shaky for me.  The premise of the story: Hollywood golden couple starring in a big fantasy movie franchise, the co-star and girlfriend Audrey, has an affair with her older married Director and the Hollywood heartthrob in questions is originally from England…….. Remind you of anyone?  Yes? Well due to the detailed descriptions and mannerisms of Jack, it was obvious he was based on RPatz. And herein lies the reason behind my shaky start with Eversa. You see, part of my ability to become completely immersed in a fictional world is be able to picture my own vision of the characters, especially the hero.  I don’t like to have a preconceived picture of what my hero should look like and as it was very obvious who Jack was based on I did initially find I wasn’t connecting to the characters within the story the way I should be.  Now, I am a Rob Pattinson fan, but I didn’t want to picture him as my Jack.  However, this is something personal and whilst a lot readers may not have an issue with it, unfortunately I did and because of this it did take me a while to eventually settle into the story.

However, I am pleased to say that once I did settle into Eversea I was there the rest of the way, invested in the story that was Jack and Keri Ann and really enjoyed spending time with them.   What about you Gitte?  Did you have the same initial issues as me?

Gitte: Yes I did, absolutely and I’ll get back to my issues in a minute. Let me start by saying though, that I thought this story was well written and overall I quite enjoyed it.  Also, the fact that this Author stayed away from name dropping real – life celebrities was spot on as we stayed in the land of fiction.  The Author kept me reading till the end, involved in the story.

Now, I know many Authors have someone in mind, someone their male character is based on. We see this all the time.  However, for me it was taken too far in this story. It was pretty clear who the muse was and what ‘celebrity scandal’ was the base of the storyline. Unfortunately though, I’m not a fan and as I was picturing this couple throughout, it ruined a part of my reading enjoyment of this story. Absolutely use a muse, however, when it’s kept so factual that everything you know about this person bleeds into the pages, well, the story is in danger of losing the readers who haven’t got that love of the muse and real life entering the fictional world. This was the case for me; however, I’m most likely part of a minority.

I did love the whole ‘dream’ of how a gorgeous movie star falls for the regular girl next door. It’s a dream we all had growing up isn’t it Jenny?

Jenny:   Absolutely Gitte! I love these type of stories and Eversea was such a delightful read which satisfied all my romantic needs.  Hollywood heartthrob Jack Eversea, takes off and goes into hiding to escape the scandal and invasion of his privacy his girlfriends tryst has caused.  He hates the Hollywood scene and feels trapped in a life in which he has no control over and decides to drop for a while and seek refuge at his friend’s beach house.

“They spin the story, create your life and if they take it away then you’re nothing. You don’t exist.”

It is there he meets Keri Anne. A young girl who lost her parents and has made sacrifices for others and carries a lot of self-doubt and is dumbstruck and in awe when she realises Jack Eversea is in her town. A friendship ensues, secrets and moments are shared and their feelings take them both by surprise.

Keri Ann opens her heart and herself to Jack – Keri Ann is inexperienced in relationships and despite knowing Jack has another life which doesn’t include her she takes that leap and gives her heart.

“I don’t want to be anymore. Afraid, I mean.”

Jack has issues from his past, plays his cards close to his chest and trusts few yet he is drawn to Keri Ann and experiences feelings he hasn’t felt before. He is in awe of her and becomes disenfranchised with his Hollywood existence. He realises for the first time in a long time yet he has commitments and what does that mean for these two?

“I’ve never met anyone so sure and so strong in who they are……it’s epic.”

Will he break her heart or will he be the man she has waited for?

“I would survive it. He was just a boy, at the end of the day.”

Gitte: I loved how Jack met Keri Ann. The setting, the scene and the emotions were all written really well. For me, Keri Ann was the strong character in this story. She had a unique voice and a perfect mix of common sense, vulnerability and strength. Yes, at times I found her age to be a factor in actions and opinions; however on the whole her character came across very real and believable.  My pet peeve once again reared its ugly head and I didn’t understand the need for it in this story. There was no apparent reason for a woman Keri-Ann’s age to flash the V- card.

As for Jack, he’s the tortured heart throb of Hollywood, trying to escape. The initial friendship he strikes up with Keri Ann was funny, sweet, passionate and thrilling.

“It’s amazing that you seem to have no idea how fucking beautiful you are.” – Jack

The chemistry was without a doubt there as they move unto the unsafe grounds of a relationship.

“So you don’t trust who you are inside anymore?” – Keri-Ann

“Exactly…You can’t see what you want, what you feel, whether you’re any good at what you are doing….” – Jack

Jenny:  Once I overcame my initial issues with Eversea, which I must point out were purely personal and have no bearing on this author’s talent or the story itself, I settled into what was to become a moment to escape and it was an escape I did enjoy.  It was a moment to immerse myself in  a well written story with engaging characters, whose banter was fun, there were moving moments and the chemistry between Jack and Keri Ann was felt on every page. Jack’s POV, whilst small, absolutely won me over! It was perfectly placed and ensured I will be there for book two!

I will say though I didn’t consider the ending to be a cliff-hanger. To me the story just seemed to end midway.  To the point where I actually backtracked my Kindle thinking I had missed something.  

If you love your romance with a Hollywood theme, if you love sexual chemistry between characters in overdrive then I suggest you pick up Eversea now!  A captivating read. Overall, how did you feel about Eversea Gitte?

Gitte: Overall, yes I did enjoy this story. It certainly was an escape. A sweet dream journey of ‘hot famous guy’ falls for ‘normal’ small town girl; their chemistry palpable. It was full of swoon worthy moments and the banter between Jack and Keri-Ann was spot on. I have to say Jack’s POV sealed the journey for me; I loved hearing his voice and wanted more!  We can’t wait for the next installment!

“’Love was taking a chance in life’…or was it ‘life was taking a chance at love’?…Or maybe it’s ‘go for it, you only live once..”