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Finnsbury #1
Ladyfish
Can love blossom beneath the waves of the Florida Keys? Or will the shadows that haunt two strangers prove too much to survive?
Scuba diving instructor Olivia Zuckerman loves guiding tourists under the water almost as much as she loves guiding women to her bed. Coerced into picking up a new trainee from the airport, Oz has no idea that her life is about to change in every imaginable way.
Daniela Finnsbury-Sterling, Finn to her friends, is trying to break away from an overbearing father, a man intent on making her life fit his plans. Desperate to make her own way, she escapes to Florida to train as a diving instructor. She knows it won’t be easy. She knows her father will do anything he can to force her back into line. Unfortunately, she has no idea exactly what anything will be!
Scuba diving instructor Olivia Zuckerman loves guiding tourists under the water almost as much as she loves guiding women to her bed. Coerced into picking up a new trainee from the airport, Oz has no idea that her life is about to change in every imaginable way.
Daniela Finnsbury-Sterling, Finn to her friends, is trying to break away from an overbearing father, a man intent on making her life fit his plans. Desperate to make her own way, she escapes to Florida to train as a diving instructor. She knows it won’t be easy. She knows her father will do anything he can to force her back into line. Unfortunately, she has no idea exactly what anything will be!
264 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2012
6 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Bramhall
28 books298 followersAndrea Bramhall wrote her first novel at the age of six and three-quarters. It was seven pages long and held together with a pink ribbon. Her Gran still has it in the attic. Since then she has progressed a little bit and now has a number of published works held together with glue, not ribbons, an Alice B. Lavender certificate, and a Lambda Literary award cluttering up her book shelves.
She studied music and all things arty at Manchester Metropolitan University, graduating in 2002 with a BA in contemporary arts. She is certain it will prove useful someday… maybe.
When she isn’t busy running a campsite and hostel on the North Norfolk Coast, Bramhall can be found hunched over her laptop scribbling down the stories that won’t let her sleep. She can also be found reading, walking the dogs up mountains while taking a few thousand photos, scuba diving while taking a few thousand photos, swimming, kayaking, playing the saxophone, or cycling.
She studied music and all things arty at Manchester Metropolitan University, graduating in 2002 with a BA in contemporary arts. She is certain it will prove useful someday… maybe.
When she isn’t busy running a campsite and hostel on the North Norfolk Coast, Bramhall can be found hunched over her laptop scribbling down the stories that won’t let her sleep. She can also be found reading, walking the dogs up mountains while taking a few thousand photos, scuba diving while taking a few thousand photos, swimming, kayaking, playing the saxophone, or cycling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 8, 2016
2 1/2 stars. This book was just OK to me, pretty much down the middle. There were parts I enjoyed and plenty I didn't. I liked the romance between the two mains, they actually dated and got to know each other a bit. I liked OZ, but she was suppose to be a player. I didn't get that from her at all, she seemed ready to be in a relationship with no issues to me. Daniela, seems like a decent character, but she gets so much stuff dumped on her constantly, I'm not sure how shes suppose to actually function.
At first, I thought to put this book in the category of a thriller, but its seems better suited as an Action-Romance. To me a good thriller has some mystery, and some twist and turns. To me this book was straight forward, you know who the "bad guys" are and so do the main characters. The "good guys" know the "bad guys" plans, and the "bad guys" know what the "good guys" are doing. Everything was unfortunately pretty darn predictable, and that's probably my biggest disappointment.
Also, I was a bit bummed about the diving. There was lots of diving prep, but not a lot of actual underwater/ocean diving scenes. As I have never dived, I was hoping to go on and underwater adventure. Unfortunately, the story turned into more about the "bad guys" and the diving was left behind.
I can't really recommend this book, but I can't not either, it's really so down the middle. As of now I won't be reading the sequel. In the future that could change if I get desperate for reading material.
At first, I thought to put this book in the category of a thriller, but its seems better suited as an Action-Romance. To me a good thriller has some mystery, and some twist and turns. To me this book was straight forward, you know who the "bad guys" are and so do the main characters. The "good guys" know the "bad guys" plans, and the "bad guys" know what the "good guys" are doing. Everything was unfortunately pretty darn predictable, and that's probably my biggest disappointment.
Also, I was a bit bummed about the diving. There was lots of diving prep, but not a lot of actual underwater/ocean diving scenes. As I have never dived, I was hoping to go on and underwater adventure. Unfortunately, the story turned into more about the "bad guys" and the diving was left behind.
I can't really recommend this book, but I can't not either, it's really so down the middle. As of now I won't be reading the sequel. In the future that could change if I get desperate for reading material.
April 15, 2019
I’ve loved every Bramhall book I’ve read so far but this one, not so much. There were things I really liked and others I disliked just as much. I’m still interested in reading the second book in the series, though. The MCs were very good and I’m not completely ready to let go of them.
November 5, 2012
One of the best books that I have read this year!
Starts with a bang and never let's up for the entire book. Loved the characters of Oz and Finn, loved the setting and the plot was like something out of a good Jack Higgins novel.
For a first book, this was amazing. The quality of the writing and pacing of the romance was superb. It takes real skill to balance the genres of romance and thrillers so well.
I cannot wait for the writer's next novel - whatever it is I'm sure that I will love it.
Starts with a bang and never let's up for the entire book. Loved the characters of Oz and Finn, loved the setting and the plot was like something out of a good Jack Higgins novel.
For a first book, this was amazing. The quality of the writing and pacing of the romance was superb. It takes real skill to balance the genres of romance and thrillers so well.
I cannot wait for the writer's next novel - whatever it is I'm sure that I will love it.
February 13, 2017
I must say I'm quite a Bramhall fan. I heard the second book before I heard this one and really liked it. Maybe this was where I went wrong. So for me, the story was predictable, but that's as much as I expected, so it shouldn't account for the feeling that I didn't like it as much as the second.
I'll make a few guesses here: I thought Oz didn't pull off the player thing at all. She might have been one on the first pages of the book, but as soon as she saw Finn she was healed. She is also supposed to suffer from the emotional baggage of her last mission (Navy) where a person close to her lost his leg and an innocent person got killed. Yet she is the coolest kid on the block when they get kidnapped. No fear of messing up, no freezing ... I would at least have expected something there.
Finn herself is so sweet and self-assured, she seems emotionally healthier than Oz, even though she suffered through a childhood without love. Shouldn't she have problems with trust? Yet, she trusts this "player"?
Still, I liked both characters a lot, but I think the emotional struggle is much better depicted in book 2.
So if you read this little series, don't start with the second or just read Swordfish (you really don't need Ladyfish to understand it.).
Oh, and as this is for the audio-book. I must say even though I liked the second book more, I liked this narrator better. Finn had the Manchester lilt and Oz sounded American. That wasn't the case in Swordfish.
I'll make a few guesses here: I thought Oz didn't pull off the player thing at all. She might have been one on the first pages of the book, but as soon as she saw Finn she was healed. She is also supposed to suffer from the emotional baggage of her last mission (Navy) where a person close to her lost his leg and an innocent person got killed. Yet she is the coolest kid on the block when they get kidnapped. No fear of messing up, no freezing ... I would at least have expected something there.
Finn herself is so sweet and self-assured, she seems emotionally healthier than Oz, even though she suffered through a childhood without love. Shouldn't she have problems with trust? Yet, she trusts this "player"?
Still, I liked both characters a lot, but I think the emotional struggle is much better depicted in book 2.
So if you read this little series, don't start with the second or just read Swordfish (you really don't need Ladyfish to understand it.).
Oh, and as this is for the audio-book. I must say even though I liked the second book more, I liked this narrator better. Finn had the Manchester lilt and Oz sounded American. That wasn't the case in Swordfish.
September 30, 2012
What a great first book. Well-written. Characters are well-devolped. Strongly suggest this one.
April 18, 2017
The voice actress Heather Wilds did a fantastic job in this one in my opinion. The British accent was one I could listen to forever. Of course the material she worked with didn't hurt. Finn is quite possibly the cutest character around. Really enjoyed it. Swordfish is on deck.
December 27, 2013
Rather ho-hum until the last 20%, when the action (in and out of bed) picks up and doesn't let up till the end.
Things I liked about the book:
* Diving info appropriately detailed but not boringly so
* The science behind Finn's research seems solid. It could be total BS, but it had me fooled. :)
* The big and badass final confrontation--totally saved the book for me
Things I didn't care for:
* Stock supporting characters -- world-domination type bad guy, evil henchmen, even an
* The plot was very predictable for most of the book. Not much excitement or surprises in the first 80% of the book. Couple that with the turtle-paced romance and I got myself a record-breaking book--took me 10 days to finish--the longest ever for a romantic lesfic. :) It is a well-written book though, so I stuck till the end.
Things that could have been done better (little nitpicks):
* Finn's English-ness was never apparent, other than her surname and the initial mention. All throughout, I imagined her to be an innocent All-American girl next door. And the name Oz--cute, but I had to mentally remind myself the setting was the Florida Keys and not the Great Barrier Reef. :)
* One of the main themes of the book is Finn's journey of assertiveness and independence, actively encouraged by Oz...but all throughout, Oz repeatedly calls her 'baby' :)
Overall, an above average read. I like the author's second book better though.
P.S.
Things I liked about the book:
* Diving info appropriately detailed but not boringly so
* The science behind Finn's research seems solid. It could be total BS, but it had me fooled. :)
* The big and badass final confrontation--totally saved the book for me
Things I didn't care for:
* Stock supporting characters -- world-domination type bad guy, evil henchmen, even an
* The plot was very predictable for most of the book. Not much excitement or surprises in the first 80% of the book. Couple that with the turtle-paced romance and I got myself a record-breaking book--took me 10 days to finish--the longest ever for a romantic lesfic. :) It is a well-written book though, so I stuck till the end.
Things that could have been done better (little nitpicks):
* Finn's English-ness was never apparent, other than her surname and the initial mention. All throughout, I imagined her to be an innocent All-American girl next door. And the name Oz--cute, but I had to mentally remind myself the setting was the Florida Keys and not the Great Barrier Reef. :)
* One of the main themes of the book is Finn's journey of assertiveness and independence, actively encouraged by Oz...but all throughout, Oz repeatedly calls her 'baby' :)
Overall, an above average read. I like the author's second book better though.
P.S.
June 24, 2022
This book took me a long time to finish. I found myself reading a bit and then stopping. I’m not sure why. It was mostly a thriller with some romance thrown in. I just didn’t connect with the main characters although their environment was interesting. Diving. The ocean, the Florida Keys are fun and interesting places. The writing was good, so it kept pulling me back until I finished it. Not sure I will read the next in the series.
Read
May 14, 2024DNF.
December 17, 2017
This is the first book I’ve read by Bramhall. It’s well written enough for me to want to check out more by her, but I can’t say I really loved this. I liked the characters well enough, but the mystery portion of this was pretty two dimensional and not well constructed. It lacked believability, and the bad guys were pretty stereotypical. It certainly isn’t well constructed enough to warrant a sequel, but apparently there is one.
June 24, 2023
2,5/5
I rolled my eyes to much reading this book.It bored me so much that I was fighting to keep my eyes open.Genuinely didn't cared for Oz character and neither for their relationship that I could find in the streets
I rolled my eyes to much reading this book.It bored me so much that I was fighting to keep my eyes open.Genuinely didn't cared for Oz character and neither for their relationship that I could find in the streets
January 29, 2024
Excellent as an audiobook. Left me hanging so that I had to continue with the next book swordfish!
October 6, 2012
Great debut novel. Good pace, keeps on revving. And the author knows a thing or two about diving!
March 3, 2020
"Ladyfish" is a quick read about a sweet lesbian romance set in the Florida Keys and centered around the local scuba diving culture. I can see this making for a popular summer read, and my audio book version narrated by Heather Wilds is performed really well. I finished this in less than three days (!), which is significant for me.
Olivia "Oz" Zuckerman is a retired Navy diver turned diving instructor, who has a string of lovers but no true loves. Daniela "Finn" Finnsbury-Sterling is a British lab researcher who signs up for Oz's accelerated diving course to try and start a new life in the States on her own, and she has not officially come out yet so has never had a girlfriend or even kissed a girl. I like how their relationship develops and all of their scenes alone together are really great, especially the chapter spent in the Everglades. Even though Finn is a bit too naive to be believable, all of the thought processes written from Oz's perspective are great.
As cute as their budding relationship is, however, there are many messed up things in this book that really sour the experience. A third of all straight men mentioned in this book are evil rapists, and half of the sex scenes in this book are rape scenes, specifically of men raping women. I don't know what these scenes were supposed to narratively achieve, and so I was just left extremely disturbed which really brought me out of the story each time. I feel like everyone who was accepting of the main couple's sexual orientation were portrayed as flawless angels, and all those who were homophobic were pure evil incarnate, which doesn't seem realistic at all and comes off as just bad writing.
Overall, some of this is written well but some of it is rather disturbing. All of the rape stuff should have been cut and then the tension could have focused on the fighting biological warfare part. The action sequences are written well, and I could see this being made into an "Atomic Blonde"/"James Bond" kind of action movie. Love me some BritishXAmerican romance, and that scuba diving lesbian romance is what got me to rent the book in the first place.
FYI, there's an obvious hook at the end for a sequel, which is call "Swordfish".
Olivia "Oz" Zuckerman is a retired Navy diver turned diving instructor, who has a string of lovers but no true loves. Daniela "Finn" Finnsbury-Sterling is a British lab researcher who signs up for Oz's accelerated diving course to try and start a new life in the States on her own, and she has not officially come out yet so has never had a girlfriend or even kissed a girl. I like how their relationship develops and all of their scenes alone together are really great, especially the chapter spent in the Everglades. Even though Finn is a bit too naive to be believable, all of the thought processes written from Oz's perspective are great.
As cute as their budding relationship is, however, there are many messed up things in this book that really sour the experience. A third of all straight men mentioned in this book are evil rapists, and half of the sex scenes in this book are rape scenes, specifically of men raping women. I don't know what these scenes were supposed to narratively achieve, and so I was just left extremely disturbed which really brought me out of the story each time. I feel like everyone who was accepting of the main couple's sexual orientation were portrayed as flawless angels, and all those who were homophobic were pure evil incarnate, which doesn't seem realistic at all and comes off as just bad writing.
Overall, some of this is written well but some of it is rather disturbing. All of the rape stuff should have been cut and then the tension could have focused on the fighting biological warfare part. The action sequences are written well, and I could see this being made into an "Atomic Blonde"/"James Bond" kind of action movie. Love me some BritishXAmerican romance, and that scuba diving lesbian romance is what got me to rent the book in the first place.
FYI, there's an obvious hook at the end for a sequel, which is call "Swordfish".
February 16, 2018
Good book
I really enjoyed reading this story. I liked the character of oz and she and Finn seem to be quite the match.
I really enjoyed reading this story. I liked the character of oz and she and Finn seem to be quite the match.
November 21, 2012
I enjoyed Ladyfish for the adventure love story that it was. I though Andrea Bramhall did a wonderful job of bringing the two worlds of SCUBA diving and love together perfectly. There was just enough information regarding SCUBA that the reader could understand and dive with the characters under the beautiful waters of the Florida keys, making the setting real without overloading the reader with the technicalities of diving. The intrigue action of the story was fun and kept me turning the page. The author did an excellent job of tying up all the pieces and then tempting us with more. Looking forward to the sequel and more adventures with Oz and Finn.
November 24, 2012
This was fairly amateurish, it was like fanfiction. The romance wasn't developed enough nor was the action/suspense part of this book. I only cared about the romance & it was worst part of the story. The characters fell in love so quickly when they hardly had much interaction.That was the weakest part of this story, the interaction between oz & Finn. Their emotions & reactions felt disingenuous.
December 27, 2012
I loved Andrea's characters and the awesome details had me yearning for a beach and learning to scuba dive.
books-i-ll-most-likely-never-finish
June 4, 2016Not sure why I picked this up, but meh. Not reading on.
July 13, 2023
2/5
Audiobook narrated by Heather Wilds.
Finn leaves the UK to get away from her controlling father. She joins a diving instructor programme and meets Oz, her trainer. They grow closer as they discover the true reach of Finn's father.
- I actually really enjoyed the beginning of this book, the bits about the diving school and the "getting to know you" phase of the book. I think if there had been more focus on that side of things I may have enjoyed the book a lot more. Sadly the plot took more of an espionage/violence turn which I didn't really enjoy.
- The characters felt really flat. There are a bunch of military and mafia type characters who all felt like they'd come out of a cheesy parody. Oz and Finn were better rounded but I don't think Bramhall captured their full potential.
- So for most of the book, this was a cheesy and reasonably light book. (Spoilers) Then an important side character is shot, there's lots of violence and particularly I really disliked the sexual assault elements. The ending felt rushed and honestly, after a massively traumatic experience, I'm not sure my first instinct would be to have sex with my partner.
Started well but not my cup of tea. If you like a bit of grit and you're prepared to put up with slightly stereotypical mafia-esque villains then you may enjoy this more than I did.
Audiobook narrated by Heather Wilds.
Finn leaves the UK to get away from her controlling father. She joins a diving instructor programme and meets Oz, her trainer. They grow closer as they discover the true reach of Finn's father.
- I actually really enjoyed the beginning of this book, the bits about the diving school and the "getting to know you" phase of the book. I think if there had been more focus on that side of things I may have enjoyed the book a lot more. Sadly the plot took more of an espionage/violence turn which I didn't really enjoy.
- The characters felt really flat. There are a bunch of military and mafia type characters who all felt like they'd come out of a cheesy parody. Oz and Finn were better rounded but I don't think Bramhall captured their full potential.
- So for most of the book, this was a cheesy and reasonably light book. (Spoilers) Then an important side character is shot, there's lots of violence and particularly I really disliked the sexual assault elements. The ending felt rushed and honestly, after a massively traumatic experience, I'm not sure my first instinct would be to have sex with my partner.
Started well but not my cup of tea. If you like a bit of grit and you're prepared to put up with slightly stereotypical mafia-esque villains then you may enjoy this more than I did.
November 4, 2019
So this book had some potential but I think it took on too much. I thought the premise was great. I'm a scuba diver so I was interested in how scuba would be incorporated in the story. That was good. I liked the characters as well, but then things really went sideways. The whole plot with Finn's dad and his shadow history with Oz's family being the good guys. Then you got a plot for world terrorism, MI-6 and an abduction from a Naval Base and I felt like the story didn't know what it wanted to be. Was it romance, action-adventure, espionage, thriller, or combination.
While I thought that some of the plot pieces were done well, I thought there were others that deserved more time to develop. Then there was the ending where a monkey wrench was thrown into Finn's whole world view.
I got this for free on audible escape and I don't feel compelled to read the sequel at this point.
While I thought that some of the plot pieces were done well, I thought there were others that deserved more time to develop. Then there was the ending where a monkey wrench was thrown into Finn's whole world view.
I got this for free on audible escape and I don't feel compelled to read the sequel at this point.
December 12, 2018
I don't think I have ever been so angry at the book ending - where in the book did this say "First in a series?" Or any mention of Finnsbury No 1? It doesn't! This is an addition when she decided to write book 2. Pathetic and Bold Strokes should know better. Look on Amazon under Ladyfish!! At no point does it say Book 1... I totally feel cheated. (PS: I loved it up to the epilogue! but don't tell anyone, let me stew in the juices of anger.)
June 26, 2018
2.5 stars, it may have been more if the blurb in anyway reflected the actual book. The blurb made it sound like a light summer read and almost immediately someone is being shot in the head and then there are terrorists and biological weapons.
January 18, 2020
DNF at two/thirds of the way through. I just absolutely cannot with the 'I want to keep you safe so I'm leaving you and conveniently ignoring that I will die and then you probably will too' trope. Nope.
June 18, 2020
Tried listening to the audiobook. Couldn’t make it past the second chapter. Narrator spoke way to slow, and when she spoke as Oz, she had absolutely no inflection to her voice. Will maybe try again in book form.
January 21, 2022
This is the first book I have read from this author and I thought it was ok/good. A bit predictable both in the story and characters but a sweet romance with some suspense. I enjoyed it enough to order the next two books by this author and look forward to seeing how she develops as a writer.
January 2, 2021
So bad it's good? Ridiculously over the top but entertaining if you read it as a parody.
February 22, 2021
Exciting, thrilling and romantic.
February 8, 2024
A nice surprise, I was not expecting this to be as exciting as it turned out to be. I liked it from beginning to end and am looking forward to the next one.
March 10, 2021
Absolutely loved it. Wish there were more to the Series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews