Bethany comes thru again!

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Well, it's been quite a while since I've written a review and this book has been sitting on my desk just awaiting for me to write about it.

I've recently read Sand Dollar by Bethany Campbell, published in August 1992. It's a sea-worthy tale of deception, lust, and murder (okay, not really murder, but it sounded good). Whitney Shane heads out on a day-trip with her boss, Lawrence Mortalwood, and snooty colleague, Adrian Fisk. This trip takes place on a yacht with hunky Gabe Cantrell working as skipper. I'm looking at the picture of Gabe on the front of the book and I'm thinking he's a cross between Sigfried (of Sigfried and Roy fame) and David Lee Roth with shorter hair.

After a few hours at sea, Mr. Mortalwood decides he wants to take the wheel while Whitney and Gabe get busy down in the galley. Of course, Whitney is an executive and wouldn't dream of lowering herself with such a white-trash blue-collar man, but that doesn't stop him from making the moves. Eventually, for reasons that are currently escaping me, the yacht explodes and Gabe and Whitney are forced to save Adrian and Mr. Mortalwood's sorry asses.

They end up on a small island called Sand Dollar (which was the original destination, but I'll tell you more about that later) and are now obligated to take care of those two losers. Mr. Mortalwood is severely injured and Adrian has a broken ankle and can't walk.

Eventually we learn that Whitney grew up in the deep South, where her uncle Dub taught her all kinds of non-girly things, like how to wrastle alligators and take care of herself in the woods. This knowledge gets her noticed from the likes of Gabe, and he's eager to show his excitement in her skills, but she still snubs him. This only makes him disgusted with her and he starts getting jealous because Mr. Mortalwood has the hots for Whitney (or so he thinks).

The whole reason for going to Sand Dollar was to check it out for a potential resort. But there's also an eco-story here. Whitney, with Gabe's coaxing, soon decides that it would be a shame to destroy the naturalness of the island with a resort.

They eventually get off the island (in less than 5 days) and she and Gabe go their different ways. Gabe thinks she's just a cold executive, just like Mr. Mortalwood and Adrian. But ~ she quits her job because the ethics of destroying a natural place was just to much for her.

Fast-forward to a year later, and Whitney is working for herself in a modest office, doing independant consulting for small firms. Soon, Gabe shows up in her office, and says he needs a partner in his new business venture, Wild Places, Inc. What Whitney doesn't get is that he's actually looking for a life partner (until he spells it out for her!).

So, in a nutshell, it's an enjoyable read. I like beach stories, so this one was up my alley. I give it a two-thumbs-up. Bethany comes through for us after all.

Stay tuned for my next review. I'm not sure what I'm reviewing, but I'm sure it's going to be a doozy. In the meantime, go out and rent Footloose. It's hella good!

TTFN!

~ Kris