A Line in the Sand by Teri Wilson - Book Review

A Line in the Sand by Teri Wilson

Series: Turtle Beach #2 (Standalone)

Publication Date: 02nd August 2022

Genre: Rom-Com, Contemporary Romance

3 Stars 

One Liner: Cute Cover; Fast-paced; Time Pass Read 

*****

Molly Price is a mermaid at the Turtle Beach Aquarium. She loves her job, the laidback small town community, and her puppy, Ursula. 

Max Miller, a marine biologist, is the new arrival in Turtle Beach town. He has the huge responsibility of reviving the Turtle Beach Aquarium and preventing it from shutting down. 

Sparks fly with Molly and Max meet, but their relationship is more strained than happy. They are at loggerheads with each other, despite having the same goal of saving the aquarium. The community is right with them to help in any way they can. 

When a chance event makes them realize that Ursula the puppy can sniff out turtle nests in the sand. Will this be enough to save the aquarium? Will Molly and Max find love in each other? 

My Observations: 

The book is a quick read with a fair sprinkling of well-known tropes. The cute cover with a super cute pup is a definite bonus. 

The setting is lovely. The side characters are quirky, nosy, funny, and a bit annoying. This made the whole thing charming and cute. 

Now, Molly and Max are the main characters. While sparks fly from their first meeting, the characters feel undeveloped.

Molly is supposed to be a sweet, naïve, capable, and sweetheart. Yet, she comes across as whiny at times and acts more like a teen. 

Max is supposed to be the nerdy, serious guy who would learn to loosen up and live life. But he alters between being rude and sappy. 

The romance is supposed to be a slow burn, I guess (they don’t kiss until towards the end). But it doesn’t really give the slow burn vibes or anticipation. 

If the romance in a romcom is underbaked, it needs something else to keep the reader hooked. Here, it should have been the saving of the aquarium, but even that falls flat in the end. 

All those ‘supposed to be’ is where my issue is. The book has all ingredients for an engaging rom-com but doesn’t fully deliver. 

While I love Ursula, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, I don’t need to be reminded of the breed multiple times. 

The saving grace is that the story moves at a good pace and doesn’t require any brain work. 

To sum up, A Line in the Sand is a cute story if you want a familiar read. It is good but in no way great. 

Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, for the eARC. 

#NetGalley 

*****

*Rant Time*

Alright. I’m pretty much used to the misappropriation of yoga by the Western world. But it is not funny to name yoga asanas with comical English versions. Renaming asanas to Murder Victim Pose, Peeking over the shoulder into the phone (whatever!) is not funny. 

I get that the character wants to make yoga entertaining (and, of course, the other character finds it strange). But yoga is not entertainment. The spirituality is already lost. Please don’t mess it further. I’m sure some people will find it funny, but I didn’t. Just call it a workout session or give it a new quirky name. It is not yoga. Period. 

*****

P.S: This is the only book by the publisher I was approved for, and there goes my 0.0001% of getting approved again.