Ocean Breeze, Little Squeeze by Jenna Byrnes
Title:Ocean Breeze, Little Squeeze 
Author: Jenna Byrnes
Publisher: Noble Romance
Buy the book: Publisher
Blurb:
Big X, little x, question mark, dot. The child’s rhyme runs through Lucas Sinclair’s mind. He can still feel the light play of his sister’s fingers across his back, dancing along to the words. Unsettling, considering his twin, Laurie, had been abducted fifteen years earlier and never heard from again.
Ocean breeze, little squeeze. In a small, ocean-side cottage that shouldn’t be filled with memories, Lucas attempts to start a new life. It’s harder than he expects to move on. Indications are that Laurie has returned and isn’t the carefree child she used to be.
With a therapist trying to help him, and a private investigator who can’t seem to let go of the past, Lucas confronts his demons. He’s not sure where his sexy next-door neighbor fits in, but Tristan Conner seems to know a lot more than he’s telling. Someone is terrorizing Lucas. Can it really be Laurie—or worse yet, one of the three men he’s come to trust?
Review:
The premise of Ocean Breeze, Little Squeeze is decent and a little creepy which enticed me to read the book. Unfortunately the story is very predictable and relies on bland stereotypes instead of injecting a new, interesting twist. The writing is competent enough but the undeveloped characters, obvious plot holes, and foreshadowing similar to a neon sign pointing to the answer ultimately ruined the book for me. With more sex scenes than characterization, readers who are looking for an uncomplicated, quick, erotic read may enjoy this more than those looking for a well thought out and executed creepy thriller.
Lucas Sinclair has never really recovered from the disappearance of his twin sister sixteen years ago. Although he and his family moved on, they never stopped looking for Laurie. When Lucas’ parents die in a tragic car accident, he decides to move to the beach and start therapy to try to get on with his life. However Lucas’ life is complicated as he deals with an uncomfortable therapist, a lingering ex-boyfriend, and a sexy new neighbor. When Lucas starts to find clues his sister may be alive, he doesn’t know who to trust.
The plot of the story revolves around Lucas’ belief that his sister is still alive and trying to get in contact with him. The clues he finds suggest someone is playing with Lucas to make him believe this but he doesn’t know which of the people in his life could be doing this. The story sets up three different men – his therapist, his ex, and the new man – to play a guessing game of who could be tormenting Lucas and why. Unfortunately the identity of the culprit is foreshadowed extremely early on so readers aren’t going to be surprise when they predict the right answer. Furthermore, the story always takes the predictable and obvious choice whenever trying to be creepy or chilling. The actions of the characters make very little sense given their scant characterization but rely on the classic stereotype such as seen in B movies when the main character can’t see how a person close to them is trying to kill them but everyone else can.
Furthermore the characters never stray from their identified small roles. The therapist, the ex, and the neighbor never materialize with any depth or background. They exist in story just to add sex, plot, and action but never connect with Lucas or the reader on any meaningful level. Their later actions often contradict earlier information which is supposed to keep the culprit a secret and the reader wondering. Unfortunately I found these plot devices weak and ineffectual, ultimately ruining the main romantic connection since it made no sense. Lucas bounces between the three men with no sense of direction or confidence as he allows each an amount of control over him that he fails to take for himself. When he finally declares love for one of the men after the first time they have sex, he still doubts the man’s intentions. So he’s in love after a few days yet thinks the man is trying to kill him. He can’t let go of his past but never truly knows the men in his life. These actions left all the men in the book bland, uninteresting, and ultimately frustrating with their lack of insight and intelligence.
The ultimate culprit is very classically evil and there are few people he hasn’t killed. He turns from a decent appearing guy into a psychopath almost at the flick of a switch and the explanation is incredibly weak and obvious. Perhaps others can buy more into this but it felt too much like a bad thriller at this point for me to be able to suspend disbelief and buy into the final reveal. Contrasting this failed thriller aspect are several sex scenes that are erotic and fun but fill the story with more sex than characterization. None of the men really develop thus the story seems to rely on sexual chemistry to create a lasting romantic connection. This isn’t very successful, leaving the final couple too haphazard and quickly thrown together.
Overall the book is mostly clean with few mistakes and the writing is decent enough, but nothing really stands out. Combined with the poorly executed thriller and bland characters, this story failed to deliver a good read for me. Others may not be bothered and can read the story with an enjoyment of the hot sex and predictable thriller and still be entertained. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me but if this sounds like something you enjoy, check it out.
