Paradise City (The Paradise, #1) (Paradise City)

by C.J. Duggan

[lizarodz]

4.5 Stars

As I’m a big fan of CJ’s Summer series, I couldn’t wait to read Paradise City. I knew we were going to be a great match and I was not wrong. Not at all.

This book is more like a mature YA than straight NA. This might change with Paradise Road since it seems like Dean will play a more prominent role. Lexie is a hoot! Being in her head was hilarious! She comes from Red Hole, a farm in the middle of nowhere and she’s been homeschooled her whole life. She moved with her aunt, uncle and cousin Amanda to Paradise City to attend school for the first time ever. In Lexie’s head, high school is a production from a Disney movie and overthinks, overanalyzes, and romanticizes everything. As I said, hilarious. She sort of falls into “interest” with Luke Ballantine, one of the resident surfer-bad boys in year twelve, a Kirkland boy.

“I may have been from Red Hole but at least we had the common decency to treat each other with a bit of respect. Even my drunken Uncle Eddie was more sociable toward a dog tied up outside the pub then anyone I had stumbled across in the last few days, including my own cousin. Maybe it was something in the water?”

Ballantine is dreamy, sweet, mysterious, a bit insecure when it has to do with his brother, a surfer and he gets in trouble in school constantly. Lexie and Ballantine’s relationship moved kind of fast and furious. What I found weird is that Lexie and Ballantine are attracted to each other, but hardly talk to each other. Don’t get me wrong, their moments together are fun, their dialogue entertaining and priceless, but I wish there would have been more of that.

“Oh-my-God-what-the-hell-was-that? I yelled, breathing erratically.

Ballantine laughed. “It’s probably just seaweed.”

I felt it again causing me to claw and scream at Ballantine. If he had been a tree I would have climbed him…. “Let me out” I screamed, fear carrying me through the water…”

I love the story, Lexie’s predicament and ‘newness’ in everything she saw and experienced. I loved the town, the school, Laura, Boon and even cranky Amanda. I appreciate that Amanda’s parents are vigilant (or try to be) and so are Lexie’s. Even though the story takes place in Australia, it was really easy to understand and follow. As always, Duggan’s writing is always refreshing, gripping, and amazing.

Something I didn’t like was that Ballantine and his brother Dean are at ‘war’ and we don’t know why. Not only that, but Dean seems to be interested in Lexie as well and that is no-no between brothers (I’m sure that’s written in stone somewhere.) I see a triangle coming on and I’m not too excited about it.

Overall, Paradise City was a great book! I’m glad that this is a duology because I can’t wait to know what happens with Lexi and Luke next!