Review: Blue - Lisa Glass

Blue by Lisa Glass, published by Quercus Children's Books in May 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
Surfing is sixteen-year-old Iris’s world, and when the ultra-talented Zeke walks into her life, it soon becomes her passion.

Over one amazing summer, as she is drawn into his sphere, she experiences love, new friendships, but also loss, with an intensity she never dreamed of.

But is Zeke all he seems? What hides beneath his glamorous and mysterious past? When Iris decides to try for her own surfing success, just as her ex-boyfriend comes back into her life, she will test her talent, and her feelings for Zeke, to the limit.

Review:
'Blue' by UK author Lisa Glass sounded on paper like the perfect summer read with plenty of sun, sand and romance. I was looking forward to starting it but although there were some things I really liked about this book, there were other aspects which left me feeling a bit flat by the end of the story.

I loved the UK setting and the fact that I knew so many of the places mentioned in the book from Newquay and Exeter to the gorgeous Fistral Beach.  I could almost imagine walking along the beach and dipping my toes into the water.  Lisa Glass did an excellent job of capturing the beauty of the characters' surroundings and I felt completely transported as I was reading. 

I normally really enjoy books which feature sports in some kind of way but I have to admit that I've never been a big fan of water sports and I felt at times like there was just too much surfing lingo in the book.  This didn't particularly grab me and I felt took some of the focus away from the relationships between the characters.

I thought that Iris was an extremely likeable main character but I didn't fall for Zeke who is a surf champion who she meets at the beginning of the book.  Instead of being a full on romance between the two, the story is more about their love of the ocean and their passion for surfing.  The lure of the waves is something that neither of them can resist.  I missed the sparks and sizzle which I normally enjoy between the two protagonists but if you like your romance sweet and clean that this might well be for you. 

The ending was very exciting and the pace of the story stepped up a notch but it wasn't quite enough to get me to fall in love with 'Blue' like I had been expecting to.  I originally thought that this was a standalone but the sequel is due to be published by Quercus later in the year.