Cover Image: Seascape

Seascape

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Member Reviews

A solid slow burn romance set against a beautiful background of nature and sea. You'll even learn a thing or two about nature and animal conservation. A nice read for a cold rainy weekend.

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You make a list, I make a list, we all make a list. I appreciate the ah ha moment Brittany James, the chemist had in regard to what she does for a living. When she jumped in her Lexus and drove to the small town to figure out what she wanted to do next, she got much more than she expected. Tess Hansen, the marine biologist, has a strained relationship with her family but when they need her, she responds. This read is about the environment and the importance of doing our part. It is also about family and friendship. The story is told very well with a descriptive picture of the environment and the unique people. The romance with the character self-talk provided a foundation for why the characters were doing what they were doing. For example being logically and sequential by making lists.

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Marine biologist Tess Hanson has returned to her home town near Forks to take care her father after he injures his back. Tess has very little in common with her family and has had very little contact with them since she left and the thought of returning back to the boring small town of her youth fills her with dread.
Chemist Britt James has spent her career defending environmentally insensitive companies until she develops a conscience mid case and literally runs away from her career, girlfriend, home basically her life in search of something meaningful. She ends up near Forks and as Tess and Britt's lives cross paths there's immediate chemistry.
I felt that this book would have been better if they had of engaged with each other more and I would have preferred some wittier dialogue between the two. But overall I really enjoyed this book.

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This was the second book I picked up from this author, the first was years ago with Blindsided, and I have to say I totally forgot I read that one until I recognized 2 characters she brought back in Seascape. Since I am reviewing this newer one, I'll leave Blindside out of it (but it was a pretty good book if interested).

With Seascape I had a hard time keeping my focus for the first 30% of the book, there was very little, and I mean very little dialog, more just setting up the understanding of the characters-how they got to where they were a few weeks into the timeline. If you like books with more narrative, third person then this is the book for you. Even as I progressed, the book overall had little dialog so I really had a hard time liking the characters. It all felt more like someone was just reading about 2 people and no interaction between them really.

It wasn't a bad book, the author does a wonderful job describing the surroundings, and the areas of Washington State. And you do get a feel for each character individually, but I didn't not come away with a great impression of them together, interacting.

I'll keep an eye out for more books by this author (like I said I enjoyed Blindsided) but I'll definitely check reviews before purchasing.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own

You can find my amazon review at the link below for CC-Very slow burn

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A charming romance. Solid without being stolid. The two leads are well nuanced and have good back stories that keeps the characters interesting. The wild life details, especially the facts about the orcas were great and added to the enjoyment of the story. What was the game her dad was playing, can I get it, it sounded like lots of fun?

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Seascape by Karis Walsh is a contemporary romance about two women who meet accidentally when both wind up in the rural area of Washington’s Northern coast. Marine biologist Tess Hansen is there against her will, forced to come and help her ailing parents in the small town that she escaped from when she went to college. She misses her life at Evergreen College even though she does go to work trying to help the local orcas. She resents having to come back to a place that holds bad memories for her. Chemist Britt James is hoping the isolation will help her figure out how she can make amends for the environmental damage wrought by the chemical company she worked for.

Karis Walsh is an exceptional author. She describes such a beautiful setting that I wanted to push my way into the pages of the book and experience the place first hand. The main characters are well-developed and easy to relate to. Most of the secondary characters are as thoroughly established.
I did have some problems with the story. The book was marketed as a contemporary romance, but there was really not much romance in this story until near the end of the book. The characters hardly communicate for most of the first half of the book. This story was really about the two main characters coming to grips with their pasts and, especially in Britt’s case, trying to find a better future for themselves. I would have loved to see them help each other more, and talk to each other more. There was really very little conversation between the two. This novel needed more dialogue and more interaction between the main characters. I truly believe that would have made it a much better story.

I do want to mention one more positive element of this book. It is something that many reviewers including myself often forget to talk about, but it really is an important part of the book, and that is the cover. A cover can influence sales since it is often the first thing a person sees when they are looking for something to read. A good cover can mean the book catches the eye of a potential buyer. A bad cover could mean the buyer moves on without checking the book out further. I felt the cover of Seascape was beautiful, colorful and eye-catching, exactly what you need to catch the buyer’s eye. To Sheri at Hind Sight Graphics, you designed an excellent cover for this book. Congratulations!

To those of you who like novels that have the characters doing an awful lot of soul searching and you don’t mind a lack of romance in the story, you might like this one. If you are looking for a lot of romance, this might not be for you.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

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I have to admit I was disappointed in this book. It wasn’t a bad read, I would say average, but I really like Walsh and was hoping for more. Walsh is a very steady writer of books that make me feel comfortable, unfortunately that comfort was missing this time. It didn’t really feel like a Walsh book in all honestly.

I enjoyed the Pacific Northwest setting and felt it was used well in the book. On the other side I do think the job of being a killer whale researcher was a bit of a disappointment. I enjoy reading about marine animals and was excited about what I might learn. Walsh is always good at selecting interesting jobs for her characters and actually educating us a bit, but it fell flat in this book. Conservation for the orcas never really went anywhere. There was also a bit about wolves, but again that didn’t go anywhere either. It felt like a bunch of wildlife teases.

The other issue for me was the romance. It was the kind that is very introspective. Where the characters think about each other often, but don’t actually talk to each other much. There was not enough dialogue in this book for me and I was becoming bored. I don’t remember ever being bored from a Walsh book. She may write about things that are not very exciting, but she knows how to prevent boredom. Basically, this was a new and unpleasant feeling for me while reading one of her books.

I can’t personally recommend this and it disappoints me to say that. I do want to mention if you were a fan of her book Blindsided, the two mains from that book make a good length cameo in this one. This is not a bad read just not what I’m used to by Walsh.

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Karis Walsh is a very good writer but to be honest this one is not one my favourites. One main character is Tess, a marine biologist who is goes back home to help look after her father as she's the only one of the family who can help. The other is Brittany, a chemist in a crisis of conscience that decides to give away the money she earned all these years from getting her company off the hook from lawsuits for environmental damage.

When these two women meet there is an instant attraction. The problem is that the whole book felt more like a personal growth journey for both of them and not a love story. There are some great descriptions of the animals and the environment but the interactions and the dialogue between the MCs was minimal and that caused the story to fall flat after some point. Tess and Britt think about each other a lot but they don't interact with each other.

Overall the book is well written, I just wasn't able to connect with the main characters and the lack of dialogue made the reading a little bit boring.

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I loved this story. A believable story about two different women trying to find their goal in life. In the end it all comes together and makes sense. Along the way you learn interesting information about the chain of life and the importance of the survival of the killer whales, otters, wolves and even a fallen tree. The characters are rich, likeable and very interesting. The dialog is crisp, funny and very clever. The romance grows at an even pace and has some interesting twists. Although the love scenes were a bit limited but very realistic......But a bit limited. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

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I enjoy reading books from Karis Walsh because I can count on there being animals or environmental related pleasures. This was no different and I enjoyed reading about the Orcas. It was a little difficult for me to dive into though. If you're looking for a slow burn romance, this is the book for you. Great writing and a nice story. I would recommend.

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Tess Hansen is a marine biologist who seems to be ponderously self-absorbed. Somehow, we cannot connect to any character who is not being nice to a partner (even if it is a one-night stand), especially when the partner is really nice. The first chapter of the book has Tess doing just that. Plus she is quite an ass with her perfectly ordinary family. So, right away we developed a dislike.

Britt James is a chemist with an R&D lab who is suddenly hit by the damage her company is doing to the environment and is shaken to the core. She runs away into nowhere to find a way to correct the wrongs she has been a part of and find something that she is passionate about. Britt is a much better written character and is quite likeable too.

The initial attraction between them seems forced, especially the pining that they do for each other without having really interacted. For almost half the book, their growing feelings of each other were too disquieting as there seemed to be no basis.

After about 65% to 70% the book gets a little more involving. However, we couldn’t particularly like Tess right till the end. Britt, on the other hand, grew more and more likeable. The secondary characters, though not particularly developed, were nice enough.

On the whole, this was not a book that we could really get into. A two-and-a-half rounded down to two.

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Walsh is a wonderful writer, and I've thoroughly enjoyed some of her previous novels, but this wasn't one of her best works. The book’s well written, and obviously well researched, but just didn’t do anything for me personally, and I had trouble connecting with the characters.

MC Britt is a chemist for a major corporation, and she's going through a crisis of environmental consciousness. MC Tess is a marine biologist, headed back to her hometown (reluctantly) to look after her sick dad. The two meet in Forks and are attracted to each other from the start. Unfortunately, they don't spend much time together, and even when they are together, I didn't find them any more compelling or enjoyable.

Walsh paints a beautiful picture of the scene, the animals, the environment, etc, but she just didn't make me love either of the characters. It's a beautiful portrait of the environment and scenes, but there's very little dialogue between the characters and Unfortunately, that caused the story to fall flat, and honestly... it became boring with the lack of interaction between MCs. IF you chose to read this as more of a story of individual growth, and I think you will enjoy it, but as a romance, it didn't work for me.

3 stars.

**Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.**

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I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

Tess is a Marine Biologist that is taking a break to help her father after his fall. Her mother does not have the strength to look after him and her sister is pregnant. Britt is a Chemist that decides to give away the money she earned after she got her company off for environmental damage.

Both characters end up in Forks and the attraction is almost instant. The story line flowed well for me. I even learned a little about Orcas (my favourite whale) and the author tells you about the environment as well, which I found interesting. The author really done her research for this book.

I highly recommend giving this book a read, especially, if you are into the environment and/or whales.

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I love all Karis Walsh books but this wasn't one of them.

Tess is a marine biologist and Brittany is a chemist.

I enjoy learning about environment and orcas but the romance between them wasn't all that engaging because all they did was think about each other more then they spent time together.

So it was hard to get into the book but even though I didn't enjoy it I will still recommend this book because I love the author.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I just finished an ARC of #Seascape by Karis Walsh and loved it start to finish! This cute romance is set in the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest with the fantastical orcas of the Pacific drawing the characters together. A perfect read for a stormy west coast night!

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I liked the book not my fav by this author but it's an ok read I took one and half day. At the middle I got so board with britt she's complaining a lot about being indecisive or being lost. She was over the top, whole thing got so exaggerated in my opinion. Nevertheless it's well written and very educational, tho sadly i was not fully interested in these parts so I skipped them. the end was cute. however. Wished I knew their age.

thank you for giving me a free copy in exchange of an honest opinion

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I just love a romance where the location provides a sweeping epic background that becomes a major character to the story itself. Seascape does just that as the Washington state coastline and it’s wildlife provide an exotic setting for Brittany and Tess. The author does an outstanding job of immersing you in the senses surrounding the sea and wilderness and I really felt I could smell the salt air and hear the waves crashing on the rocks. Brittany hopes this peace and nature’s beauty will help guide her to a different life’s purpose other than as an expert witness to the dubious chemical company she defends in court over shady environmental infractions. If you’re an animal and nature lover this story will appeal to you in spades. Tess and Brittany’s battle to detour around impropriety while trying to maintain professionalism in the midst of undeniable chemistry becomes an entertaining dance of two hearts on a terminal collision course. They are both likable and relatable in their imperfect ways in addition to being exceedingly accomplished in their scientific fields. Getting lost in their romance amidst the beautiful coast was so worth it.

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Tess receives a call from her sister to say that their father has fallen and she needs to return home to care for him because their mother doesn’t have the strength and she’s pregnant. Reluctant barely describes how Tess feels about returning to the small town she grew up in, let alone how she feels about being in proximity to her family. The only positive is that, as a marine biologist, she will be close to her beloved orcas. Brittany is a chemist who has spent years as a specialist witness in defence of her company's unethical chemical dumping policies until one day she has a clarity of vision of what she has perpetuated.

I really enjoyed the environmental aspect of this novel, in particular learning about orcas and wolves. I don’t mind slow burn romances but not when the slow burn happens separately. Tess and Britt have very little interaction for most of the book. They spend a lot of their time thinking about each other but only a little with each other. This is more about the growth of two individuals; Tess coming to terms with her ideas around relationships with both family and partners, and Britt looking at her life in relation to the environment and her part in it.

In the end I was frustrated by their lack of interaction and didn’t fully appreciate their growth because of it. It’s still well written but not one of my favourites by Walsh.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

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This is not my favourite Walsh story. It was ok, but I just couldn’t really get into it. Tess is a marine biologist who is taking a sabbatical to help look after her father, Britt is a chemist who has a crisis of conscience and decides to give away all of the money she earned getting her company off the hook for environmental damage. They both end up in Forks and are attracted to each other pretty much from the get go.

I didn’t find either character compelling, and didn’t think that improved when they were together. Tess spends a LOT of time spouting exposition about the environment and at risk animals, which got old fast (I’m all for saving animals/enviromental protection but found the way this was presented in the story a bit boring).

Tess’s family issues are also nothing new, although the scenes with her sister lent some interest. In all honesty I found Melissa and Justin and Alex and Jim to be the most entertaining parts of the book. Oh, and Cupcake the puppy was cute.

The book’s well written, and obviously well researched, but just didn’t do anything for me. Maybe if I’d been able to connect with either main character it would have been better, but for me this was just an average read, and it took me a few days to get through it. 3 stars.

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This book is classic Karis Walsh. Her ability to paint a picture in your mind with her words is unparalleled. She depicts such beautiful environmental and animal scenes. I have never been disappointed by one of her books. I appreciated the realistic struggle she presented for each of the main characters and their growth individually and together. Other reviewers have hashed out the plotline so I'm going to keep this short. This is a well written book that is well worth your time.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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