Book Review: Landslide (The South Beach Connection Trilogy #1) by A.R. Hadley

Landslide - The South Beach Connection Trilogy #1

by A.R. Hadley 

Goodreads

Amazon

One summer has the power to change everything.
One night, one choice, can alter life’s trajectory — cause the heart’s debris to slip and slide down the mountain.

After graduating college, rising photographer Annie Baxter relocates to South Beach, Florida.

A new start.

ONE CHOICE. 

A chance to leave behind her anxiety, her grief, and prepare her photographs for display in an art gallery. Annie is determined to mend her heart in the sand and breathe, commune with the stars and beach and old friends. 

Then Cal Prescott steps in front of her lens — a man twenty years her senior. An understated, sexy puzzle who may not wish to be solved. Cal is quiet. Strong. Eyes like the tides. Coming in, going out. Pulling her under.

They meet at a party. 

ONE NIGHT.

The chemistry cannot be denied. 

But they only have the summer. 

ONE SUMMER. 

One unforgettable connection.

But every June, July, and August must come to an end.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

She hated labels, but the complacent doctor had slapped her with one anyway. Two awful words encompassing a mess of complications: Panic. Disorder. It sounded like knots tangled up inside a dirty throw rug.

Like how old? George Clooney old? Or like, Father Christmas, white-beard old?

A woman always knew where he stood. Even if it was on the fence.

My Review:

I struggled valiantly with this one. The pacing and writing style were unusual with an abundance of short staccato sentences and incomplete thoughts, which kept me questioning and wanting the rest of the sentence yet was also quite frustrating at times. I was intrigued by the premise, storylines, and deeply flawed characters, but exasperated with their constant waffling – they were both often locked in inner debate and ran hot and cold with each other. Both seemed riddled with personal turmoil and tension. I know many of my fellow reader friends disagree but I don’t find high angst or constant conflict an enjoyable state or an entertaining read. However, their sensual chemistry was off the charts.  

Despite my frustration, I remain consumed with curiosity about the character of Cal.  He was far too aloof, contradictory, and a total enigma; yet oh, so alluring and hard to resist. Perhaps if I knew his shady secrets this would no longer be a problem.  My greatest consternation was with the character of Annie who I found more than a bit tedious and not all that endearing with the scattiness, daydreaming, high anxiety and overthinking every - little - thing. She was a hot mess and even her inner musings were scattered and often fractured thoughts that were difficult to follow. And then there is the issue of a cliffhanger.  Sigh. So, I’m intrigued yet remain conflicted.

Empress DJ

About the Author

Goodreads / Amazon

A.R. Hadley writes imperfectly perfect sentences by the light of her iPhone.
She loves her husband.
Chocolate.
Her children.
And Cary Grant.
She annoys those darling little children by quoting lines from Back to the Future, but despite her knowledge of the eighties and nineties pop culture, she was actually meant to live alongside the Lost Generation after the Great War and write a mediocre novel while drinking absinthe with Hemingway. Instead, find her sipping sweet tea with extra lemons on her porch as she weaves fictional tales of love and angst amid reality.

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