Chasing Swells

Drenaline Surf Novella #1

by Nikki Chartier

This novella was pulled from publication in late 2019. It is no longer available.

The book is being rewritten as a full-length novel with multiple changes, set to release summer 2020.

----------------------------

Summertime visits with her dad is Kaia Anderson’s favorite part of the year. With the recent retirement of long-time tour surfer Neil Harper, her surf-coach dad has been frothing for the next surf star to call upon him. Unfortunately, this new surf star has overlapped with Kaia’s plans, which have been relocated to St. Catalina Island - a remote tropical paradise with choppy cell service, little Wi-Fi, and no connection to the California summer she’d dreamed of.

If it can be damaged, Dominic Richardson has probably had his hand on it. His reputation, his family’s name, and his longstanding friendship with the Drenaline Surf crew have all been ruined. Surfing the best swells on the planet with a stellar coach in his corner, Dominic’s slowly revamped his surf career and his family’s reputation. The only thing he’s missing is his former surf crew, the West Coast Hooligans.

Kaia is over Dominic before she even meets him. She doesn’t appreciate a spoiled, rich kid uprooting her summer, but Dominic doesn’t play into Kaia’s agenda to prove she’s right about him. He’s determined to be on his very best behavior and prove to everyone that he’s not the guy in the tabloids - and he might just make Kaia believe in him too.

Genres: Romance

Unknown Binding

First published May 21, 2020

About the author

​Nikki Chartier is a young adult/new adult author. She writes everything from beach reads about surfers to witchy reads for Halloween lovers. She is an avid surf fan (who always wants Gabriel Medina to win), a dream-chaser, and a collector of crystals. She lives in the southern USA with her family.

I do not hang out on Goodreads often, so please see my website (http://www.nikkichartierbooks.com) for all updates and true links to my backlist.

Reviews

[Namina]

Feels so good to go back to the Drenaline Surf spirit on a hot summer day. Missed the beach vibes, hot summer boys and the overall tribute to Shark.

Really loved the story (expected nothing less from a Nikki Godwin book). Looking forward for the next one in the series.

[Tanya]

Kaia is a high school senior looking forward to spending another summer with her dad, just like they always do. Unfortunately, he has other plans. This year they’re headed to the remote island of St. Catalina, a tropical paradise that may not even have reliable internet. Needless to say, Kaia isn’t thrilled. She’s already upset about her summer being turned upside down, and the last thing she needs is a cocky, rich surfer boy making things even worse. A little internet stalking and a whole lot of attitude are exactly how this story begins.

Dominic may come across as a spoiled rich kid with a big ego, but beneath the surface he’s determined to prove he deserves the surfing sponsorship he’s chasing. Surfing isn’t just a hobby for him, it’s the career he wants. He’s moody, grumpy, and has no interest in dealing with Kaia or her attitude. He’s simply there to surf.

Kaia quickly befriends Sloane, the hotel manager’s daughter, and their friendship helps turn what she thought would be the worst summer into one she’ll never forget. As the story shifts from enemies to lovers, readers also get a touch of forbidden romance, forced proximity, and young love. For a young adult romance, I really appreciated that both Kaia and Dominic built genuine friendships on the island. Sloane and Will were fantastic supporting characters who brought even more heart to the story.

The story gives Dominic a satisfying redemption arc while Kaia experiences her own journey of self-discovery. Throw in a small-world connection, found family, and the beautiful island setting, and it all comes together into a relaxing summer read. I especially loved the surfing scenes, the resort atmosphere, and the cozy nighttime bonfires that captured the perfect summer vibe.

Overall, this was a sweet, feel-good read. It took me a little longer than I would have liked to finish, but I still enjoyed every minute of this short, heartwarming story.

[Devin Torres]

Let me preface this by saying I wanted to hate Dominic so so so much. I love the Hooligans and although I've read all the books in the series and he had "redeemed" himself I was still hot. But, once again, I fell in love with his character. Getting to read about his growth and struggles while away from Horn Island and the Cove definitely gave the missing piece to his behavior that we got to see in WYA (because I was definitely thinking he had some come to Jesus revelation that was a total act 😂)

Kaia had to grow on me. I thought it was funny she had Dominic pegged as spoiled when a lot of her behavior seemed selfish, BUT at her age and with those circumstances it makes the story real and believable. In the end I loved that she was able to grow as a person and that her growth wasn't solely based on her relationship with Dominic.

Overall, another great work from Nikki Godwin. Now to patiently wait for Kale's story and 2.0 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[Kee :)]

We’re back in this amazing world following the West Coast Hooligans! This book was focused on Dominic (surfer) and Kaia (surfer’s coach’s daughter).

I needed a summery book and this was the perfect pick for my mood. I fell in love with Crescent Cove earlier this year and I’m hoping (fingers crossed) I fall in love with Horn Island.

I loved how the book mentioned some of the characters from Drenaline Surf series and how it all tied in together. I liked the adventure of Kaia and Sloane randomly road tripping to the Forbidden Reef and them meeting some friends. I also liked Dominic’s and Will’s interaction.

BUT✋ this book was wayyy too short. I desperately needed more of it. Desperately. The little bit that I got I enjoyed reading about, it was just too little.

And of course since this is the first book in the spin off series I am going to continue.

[Potato]

I really liked that characters from the past were given more screen time, but the ending just seemed a bit abrupt to me. I feel like Dominic and Kaia's relationship could have been given more depth if their "Do I want to be with him/her" conflict was given more emphasis, because them just ending up together right then and there after they weren't sure yet didn't seem complete.

[Pilar Garcia]

I liked it but didn't know it was a part of a serie so I feel like I couldn't fully understood it.