Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novella
Kage spends his vacation in Puerto Vallarta to decompress after his most recent tour as a Marine in Afghanistan. Doing his best to avoid large crowds, small spaces, and loud noises, Kage wanders into a bar where he meets Zach. Zach has just graduated college and is soon to begin his life as an adult with responsibilities and a new career. An instant attraction brings these two men together for a short summer fling. And in just a few days, Kage and Zach discover new things about themselves and each other that make it hard to say goodbye.
Kendall McKenna’s Waves Break My Fall is a wonderful summer read. I almost wish I had been under an umbrella on the beach while I read it.
The two main characters are very well written and easy to fall for. Kage is a rough-around-the-edges Marine who only wanted to be left alone to process the things that happened while he was in Afghanistan. He’s abrasive and rude. He’s described as being “bad at small talk, and his casual speech was laced liberally with swear words.” Zach is a recent college graduate who is learning what it means to be an adult. He is young and beautiful and very understanding and patient towards Kage. I loved that these two characters were both strong men – physically, mentally, and emotionally. The chemistry between Kage and Zach was so intense it had me blushing at times. And while there was instant attraction between the two, instant love didn’t play a role in this story. I truly enjoyed these two together.
I could actually see this story playing out in real-life, which is always a winner for me. The events were very realistic and the dialogue was not cheesy at all. I can actually picture the just-home Marine and the recent graduate meeting on vacation and bonding. The descriptions of the location were easy to imagine as well, and made me want to visit Puerto Vallarta.
My only problem was that I wish it would have been longer. I wasn’t ready to stop reading when I reached the end. But like most summer flings, the book had to end, although, I would definitely read more about these two in the future if that book were written.
