The year is 1997 and 18 year old Porter has been left devastated after his first love, Kane, chose a life in the army over a life with him in Surf Bay. With his broken heart, he had to find a way to rebuild his life.
17 years later and Porter has it all. He has the handsome deputy Sheriff boyfriend, the adorable daughter and he runs the surf club, but Porter's life is far from perfect. His relationship is filled with abuse and his surf club is failing.
Kane can't stop thinking about the decision he made on that dark night when he was 18 and finds himself back at his mother's little pink house, ready to face his past. When Kane comes face to face with his old flame, deep and buried feelings start flooding back and Kane is faced with the same difficult decision once again. Porter, or the army?
Can Porter resist the first love who shattered his heart? Can Kane find a life of his own without ruining someone else's? Can Porter juggle his heart, his family and his business, without losing everything?
For all of you who have been waiting for today (release day for the second in the Surf Bay series), Porter's story is no let down. In fact, it is my favourite Ashley John novel (read) to date.
Porter was an interesting character in Lost and Found. He is the kind of secondary character that catches my eye - supposedly the carefree owner of the surf shack, Oliver's boss and friend. Yet even in the first book there were hints that things weren't quite as happy and settled as he made them out to be. I liked this hook, I was ready for Porter's story (as I am for Michael's the next in the series).
This book flits between two time frames, current day and 1997. In 1997 we see eighteen year old Porter have his heart broken by his one true love, Kane. In 2014, we see the sparks that fly when they re-meet for the first time in seventeen years.
Ashley John has been clever how his character's are in relation to each other, how the friends and relatives dynamics work. I like series where, even if the focus characters change, we still catch up with old favourites and learn more about them as the books unfold. Each story unfurls different layers which leads to a richer reading experience. He is also clever with how he tells his story, feeding us bits here and there, playing with our emotions. Sad, happy, loving, hating - it's all there, as is the need to find out what is happening to Porter and why he's letting it happen.
Surf Bay is a series I'm going to enjoy. It's the kind of series that makes you feel as though you're greeting old friends when you open up the pages. Occasionally, I wish he'd cut out some of the reporting clauses and stuck with 'said'. Yep, show don't tell. It's a little thing really, a simple fix. Please don't let this put you off reading these books - the story dragged me in and I found myself needing to read more.
I really can't wait for Michael's story - at the moment I want to hate him...but I feel that by the end of the next book I will understand and love him just like I do Porter and Kane, and Oliver and Charlie. I love watching this writer grow with each book he writes, it makes anticipation of the next one to come even better.
Find out more about Ashley John on Goodreads.
An arc of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
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