Sunset Island (Friends Book 1)

This is the first book in the Friends Collection.AJ writes this book like Ren paints her pictures. Takes a sketch and then fill in the colours, this is what we find with the characters that are so well described. Ren an artist who has it all money, an island, an inn and a successful business. The only thing she hasn't found is love after the loss of her partner. Lindy comes to live with her to write a book and Ren does the artwork. We are slowly brought through the story where both main characters open up to each other through her own unique way.Ms Adaire has managed to show us the sorrow, pain and love that these characters have for each other. With a cast of other well formed characters. Her brother Jack, Wife Marie niece Laura and her best friend Mallory.This book can be read as a stand alone story or as part of the Friends collection. I would suggest that you read the books as they were published so that you can follow this intriguing story.If this still does not wet your appetite then I would suggest you should buy this book just to find out how to make a delicious P & J sandwich,.

This is a love story - I know that may sound obvious but this one is very romantic. Ren and Lindy have been working together long distance for a while on Lindy's book. Ren is still recovering from losing her partner in an accident a few years before. They decide to work together for a year on Ren's island cut off (mostly) from other contact. The story follows their journey of self discovery and growth, realisation that there is love after loss and that you can find yourself even later in life. The creativity they share is lovely to read about and if anything I just wish the author would have given us more of them as a couple than we got - that's a small thing though and my only reason for giving it 4 stars and not 5. This isn't the book for you if you want lots of steamy love scenes - they do appear but quite late on in the book and in the context of the relationship between the two main characters. But if you like a good old fashioned romance where you are literally willing the characters to open their eyes and have the courage of their convictions - then this is the one for you - its really a 4 1/2 stars for me. its well worth a read.

This was a well thought out, well edited novel with great pacing and extremely good for a first novel.The two main characters Ren and Lindy are of an age that would appeal to any reader. The characters are well developed and the relationship is given time to evolve from friendship built up over many months. The author touches on a few subjects, such as loss of a loved one, coming to terms with your sexuality and family relationships with great thoughtfulness and sensitivity. In fact the author kept you so involved in their story that it only took a couple of evenings to read the book and it certainly was not short. I am really looking forward to reading further work by AJ Adaire.

I enjoyed the book but only gave three stars in my review, the reason for this is, I thoughtthe characters lacked depth and because if this the story took a long time to establisheda understanding of their characteristics.

Gorgeous story, beautifully written, believable characters and so closely in parallel with aspects of my own story that it was compulsive reading. Sensitive topics were tackled in the dialogue leaving me in no doubt the author knew her subject matter well. Highly recommended read; I have read another novel by this author and will now be looking to purchase a third!

This was the first book of A J Adaire's I have read. I loved the characters of Ren and Lindy and I do love a happy ending which is what I got. Looking forward to reading the next in the series and also her new book due next year

I really enjoyed Ren and Lindys story, it had its sad moments but kept me interested till the end. Ms Adaire makes the scenery so real, I could smell the salt in the air. Well worth the read.

So glad I took a chance on this book a wonderful romance ,well written the first in a series already purchased the next instalment Awaiting my Assignment. So take a chance and buy this book.

Fast paced and easy to read. You get invested in the characters very quickly. Will definitely be reading more from this author.

The fact that it took forever for Ren and Lindy to realize they where meant to be together made this book definitely worth reading. The tears flowed from early in the book to the end.

“Despite all the pain, you were blessed with a great love. Savor that. Cherish that. It’s not something everyone gets to experience—a great love.” “I’ve been very fortunate, really. I’ve been loved all my life, despite so many people having left me behind before I was ready to say goodbye. So don’t feel sorry for me.”+ • + • + • +Definitely not the story I was expecting after reading the description… but like, wow, was this a really, really, really good book!!

This is the First Book I believe written by AJ and I wish I had read it prior to reading many of her other books. This is a wonderful story of love, loosing love, rebuilding your idea of happiness and then letting yourself experience the wonder of falling in love once again. The setting is an Island owned by the main character and a woman who has always believed she was straight. The loss of a partner, friends helping friends and the realization that like all good things, Love can happen more than once in a life time is the basis for this wonderful read.I have been a fan of AJ Adaire's writing since I read her "It's Complicated" book. Her writing is descriptive and characters are just that - Great Characters. You can just close your eyes and imagine the scenery, the lust in their eyes and their passion in each and every one of her love scenes. The relationship begins slowly with much care in describing the inner feelings of each of her characters. You won't be disappointed with thisending either and hopefully do what I did and simply download another AJ Adaire book and begin to enjoy another great read!

If you want a simple, fun, easy to read book that makes you feel good about relationships and life then this book, and others by this author, may hit the mark. This book (and the two others I read in the series) have excellent characters that you fall in love with quickly. However, the books are not really exciting. There is no conflict, no real problem, and never any serious fear that the couples in the book won't "make it." Instead what you get is relationships that are perfect. Everyone communicates perfectly. Everyone explains their feelings perfectly. Everyone makes everyone else happy 90 percent of the time.A fun, breezy read for a rainy Sunday that you can finish in a couple hours. A great read if you've had a tough day or week or month and just want something light hearted and fun. If you are looking for romance there are just a couple, light scenes. This might be a bummer since the conversation is all detailed in the extreme but then romantic scenes are quickly glossed over. If this book had more in-depth romantic scenes it would be a serious redeeming factor. But I can't stress enough that the characters are lovable and it is a fun, light, romantic read.