Review: Sea Breeze Series by Abbi Glines

So I warned you that you may be seeing Abbi Glines reviews all up on my blog after I read Twisted Perfection. I have been spending every spare minute reading her Sea Breeze series books over the last 4 days so I decided to a combined review instead of doing 4 separate posts.

Sea Breeze Series

Author: Abbi Glines

Breathe (Sea Breeze #1)
Sadie White's summer job isn't going to be on the beach life-guarding or working at rental booths like most kids her age. With her single mother's increasing pregnancy and refusal to work, Sadie has to take over her mother's job as a domestic servant for one of the wealthy summer families on a nearby island.

When the family arrives at their summer getaway, Sadie is surprised to learn that the owner of the house is Jax Stone, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world. If Sadie hadn't spent her life raising her mother and taking care of the house she might have been normal enough to be excited about working for a rock star.

Even though Sadie isn't impressed by Jax's fame, he is drawn to her. Everything about Sadie fascinates Jax but he fights his attraction. Relationships never work in his world and as badly as he wants Sadie, he believes she deserves more. By the end of the summer, Jax discovers he can't breathe without Sadie

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This book was not what I was expecting it to be at all but in a very good way. This was more of a young adult contemporary novel and after reading a few of her other books, I was expecting it to be more adult contemporary. However, I have been loving young adult contemporary novels lately so I was pleasantly surprised. I also really loved the characters in this book, especially Sadie and Jax. Sadie was such a strong young girl and I loved that she didn't love Jax because he was a rock star  but because of the person that he was. She hated the fame and loved seeing the real Jax that know one else knew. I was also really surprised by Jax because I expected him to be this arrogant rock star who was humbled by a normal girl. However, he wasn't like that at all. From the beginning, he was this sweet young guy who wanted to be normal and saw something in Sadie he had never seen in anyone before.

Sadie had such a rough life and when things got tough with her and Jax, my heart almost broke for her. I was glad that she had made friends and had a support system because when she needed them, they were there. Even though I felt like Marcus was selfish and used Sadie's pain to get an advantage for himself, I liked him in the end because he did what was right for her. No one deserved to be happy more than Sadie and I was glad that Jax wised up in the end.

Favorite Teaser:

"He closed his eyes tightly. 'You don't know how good thinking about it makes me feel, but now I am going to have a harder time going to sleep at night knowing I'm singing in your ears.' He opened his eyes to look at me, I saw something there I'd only wished for, or my heart was lying to me."~ Sadie (Breathe by Abbi Glines)

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Because of Low (Sea Breeze #2)

Marcus Hardy had hoped to enjoy a year away at college while he put the summer he’d rather forget behind him. But instead, he’s jerked right back to the coastal town of Sea Breeze, Alabama due to a family crisis. His dear ol' dad found himself a girlfriend only a few years older than Marcus. So now his sister needs help dealing with their mother who is mentally falling apart. The only bright spot to returning is the fascinating red head who sleeps over several times a week. The problem is she's sleeping in bed with his new roommate, Cage York. Willow “Low” Foster needs a place to live. Running to Cage’s apartment every time her sister kicks her out isn’t exactly a long term solution. Juggling her courses at the local community college and a part time job doesn’t produce excess income. But Cage has a new roommate and suddenly sleeping over at her best friend’s apartment isn’t such a bad thing. Not when she gets to see those sexy green eyes of Marcus Hardy’s twinkle when he smiles at her like he wants her there. 
Even though Cage seems a little territorial where Low is concerned, Marcus finds time to spend with Low without upsetting his roommate. Cage may use his small college baseball star persona to sleep with every hot female in his path but he’s still under the disillusion that when he’s through sowing his wild oats, he’s going to marry Low. Marcus intends to change that assumption for both Cage and Low. Until his carefully laid plans come crashing down with a revelation he never expected. He’ll have to choose between Low or his family. Because once the truth comes out.... there’s no other choice.

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I am really glad that Marcus got his own story because I wasn't a huge fan of his in Breathe but after reading Because of Low, I realized he was a really good guy who just fell for the wrong girl and he fell hard. He deserved his chance at love and that was exactly what he got. Marcus is a really good guy who clearly loves his family and will do anything for them. He is instantly attracted to Low and he can see that she has a tough home life. He has been trying to get over Sadie and Low turns out to be just the girl to help him do that. I loved Low because she was such a sweet and smart girl. She had such a tough life and never thought she was good enough for Marcus but she let herself believe that she could be and she was. I also admired her for being the only woman who wouldn't sleep with Cage. Even though he was a man whore, I loved that Cage had one woman he could really care about.

 The obstacles that Marcus and Low had to face were definitely unexpected and I once again saw the selfish side of Marcus that I didn't care for. Low deserved better than that and I was glad he finally pulled his head out to see that. No matter how different their lives were or what drama they faced, Low was definitely worthy of Marcus.

Favorite Teaser:

"I sat on the edge of the bed and cradled my head in  my hands. What the hell had just happened? And why had I not been able to reach her? Watching her bury herself in Cage's arms had been more than I could handle. The jealousy that he was the one she went to ate me alive. I was second best. Again. But this time it was ripping me apart. Sadie hadn't consumed me this way. She hadn't owned me. Low did." ~Marcus (Because of Low by Abbi Glines)

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While It Lasts (Sea Breeze #3)
Maybe driving home after a few (or more) shots of tequila had been a bad idea, but hell, he did it all the time. The cops had to have been freaking bored to have pulled him over. He wasn’t even swerving! That’s Cage York’s story and he’s sticking to it. Unfortunately, his baseball coach isn’t buying it. Cage has a free ride to the local junior college for baseball -- or he did, until he’d gotten a DUI. Now, Cage has to decide: does he drop out and give up his dream of getting noticed by a college in the SEC, and possibly making it into the Major Leagues -- or does he give in to his coach’s demands and spend his summer baling hay?Eva Brooks planned out her life step by step when she was eight years old. Not once over the years had she lost sight of her goals. Josh Beasley, her next door neighbor, had been the center of those goals. He’d been her first boyfriend at seven, her first kiss at ten, her first date at fifteen, and her first tragedy at eighteen. The moment she’d received the phone call from Josh’s mother saying he’d been killed along with four other soldiers just north of Baghdad, Eva’s carefully planned life imploded in the worst way possible. Cage isn’t real happy with his closet-sized bedroom in the back of a foul smelling barn, or his daily interactions with cows, but he knows that if he doesn’t make his coach happy then he can kiss his scholarship goodbye. Only a sick and twisted man would decide his punishment was to be working on a farm all summer. No hot babes in bikinis waiting to meet a Southern boy to make her vacation complete. Just him and the damned cows. Oh -- and an uptight, snarky brunette with the biggest blue eyes he’s every seen. But she doesn’t count, because as hard as he’s tried to charm her out of her panties - he’s pretty sure she’d rather see him hung from the rafters than let him get a taste of her pretty little lips.

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While it Lasts was definitely one of the more heart wrenching books of the series. I found myself tearing up already in the prologue and I hadn't even gotten to Cage & Eva's story yet. I really liked Cage in Because of Low so I was glad to read an entire story focused around him. Even though he is a man whore and player, you could always see a good guy in him because of how protective he was of Low. Just like Marcus, he could be selfish at times but he let her go because he knew Marcus was what was right for her. In the end, he was rewarded with Eva. 

I loved seeing the emotions that Cage goes through as he realizes that he has finally met a woman that he really cares about as something more than a one night stand. I was so emotionally connected to Eva and I loved that Cage helped her open up and love again. He made her feel things that she thought she could never feel again. These two were such an unlikely pair so the fact that they found each was really amazing to me. It did bother me that Eva let the opinions of other people skew her decisions and make her question being with Cage. It only made him feel like he wasn't worthy when really he just needed someone who could help make him a better man. In the end, Eva listened to her heart and made the right decision.

Favorite Teaser:

"When Eva had pleaded with me earler I'd almost cracked. The only thing that kept me from turning back to look at her had been the image of her with the other guy. She'd let him touch her and help her into the Jeep. He hadn't been snubbed. He was good enough. I couldn't do this with her. Being someone's dirty little secret hadn't bothered me until now. I didn't want to be Eva's secret. Things had been different with her. I'd felt something. It had been real. It had been more. So much more." ~Cage (While it Lasts by Abbi Glines)

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Just For Now

The day Preston Drake figured out that wealthy women paid well for a set of tight abs and a pretty face his life turned around. The run down rat-infested trailer he had shared with his alcoholic mother and three younger siblings was now only a place he visited to pay the bills and stock the pantry with food. He no longer worried about his family starving or living without electricity. The money he made entertaining rich older women more than covered his family’s needs and his own. He had it all figured out. Except… There was this girl.She was as innocent as he was tainted. Amanda Hardy wished her knees didn’t get weak when Preston walked into a room. She hated the fact her heart raced when he flashed his smile in her direction. He had a different girl in his bed every night. He was the kind of boy a smart girl ran from. So, why was she coming up with ways to get close to him? Even when it was obvious he wanted to keep her at a distance. Maybe her heart knew something the world didn’t. Maybe Preston Drake was more than just a pretty face.

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Out of all the books, I think I liked the plot in Just for Now the best. The situation that Amanda and Preston were facing was definitely different and it really made my heart beat to think about how they would get through this. We don't get the best impression of Preston in the other books so I liked getting into his life and seeing a side of him that isn't there from other's perspective. He is definitely messed up but after the glimpse we get into his home life, it is easy to see how that happened. However, when he really cares about someone, he loves hard. He took so much heat for going after Amanda but in reality, she pursued him relentlessly and he tried to push her away because he didn't think he deserved her either. 

I loved that Amanda didn't care what anyone else thought about Preston or that they were from completely different backgrounds. She saw into him when no one else did and she could see the person that he could truly be. She got to see the softer side, the side that loved his siblings more than anything and she was the only person he had ever let into his life like that. 

Favorite Teaser:

"The teasing lilt to her voice was sexy. Everything about her was sexy. And she had a small bag packed with her things so she could sleep over. I wasn't going to be able to control myself. I needed something from her. the emotions swirling inside me were taking over. Everything from attraction to gratefulness to relief. We'd conquered something together today. I wanted to celebrate. With her." ~Preston (Just for Now by Abbi Glines)

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As the series progresses, the men get more and more troubled and the books become less and less "young adult." I really liked that progression of writing from the author and the maturity of the characters along the way. I loved that each book had its own separate plot but the characters from the other books are woven into each story so well. I think the author made wise decisions when picking which characters to pull out of each story and make the focal point of the next book to keep the story flowing. I really loved the way this series was a companion novel series instead of written just as sequels. This allowed us to get to know so many more of the characters on a more personal level.