Air

Blue #2

by Lisa Glass

Being in a relationship with one of the hottest and most talented male surfers on the circuit is a dream come true… right?

Iris and Zeke get to travel to the most beautiful beaches in the world, competing in major surf competitions. Life should be perfect, but when Zeke is suspended from a surf tour in Hawaii, it’s clear there is some deep trouble in paradise. And then there’s Zeke’s romantic past: at every turn Iris is confronted by his old flames and his hordes of female fans.

Returning to Newquay, Iris finds that at home things have also changed. Her friends have moved on with their lives, and they sense Iris is keeping something – something bad – from them.

What really happened in Hawaii? Why was Zeke kicked off the circuit? And what secret is tearing Iris and Zeke’s relationship apart?

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Summer, Ebooks

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2015

About the author

Lisa Glass has always lived a stone’s throw from the sea, moving from Plymouth to Swansea – where she took an MA in Creative Writing – and finally on to Newquay in Cornwall, where she now lives with her husband, daughters and dog.

Apart from writing beach novels and surfing, Lisa is part of the team behind top UK book blog Vulpes Libris, which has reviewed over a thousand books and was singled out by Robert McCrum in the Observer as one of the best literary blogs.

Her debut, BLUE was published by Quercus in June 2014. The sequel AIR was published in 2015 and concluded with RIDE, published in June 2016.

Reviews

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick review today because I don't want to spoil anything. If you loved Blue you will adore this book too. Air follows their story as they go off to America surfing in competitions and promoting various surfwear labels professionally. I loved getting back this world and them and becoming immersed in it all once again. I don;t want to say too much that goes on but I am guarantee if you are anything like me you'll finish it and be incredibly frustrated because you'll want to move onto the next book straight away.

[ponczeq_book · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 dojrzalej się zrobiło

[Megalion · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a followup novel and from the synopsis, it didn't seem like reading the first one was necessary.

I don't think it is.

However, I ended up abandoning the book because the tone of the girl's thoughts and feelings felt wrong for what is revealed that happened in the first book.

It was also a bit too superficial for me. I like my YA books to have some grit to them.

Thank you to the publisher for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Crimelpoint · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poprzedni tom czytałam kilka lat temu, ale w końcu postanowiłam zabrać się za 2 część. Ta również jest bardzo lekka i przyjemna, ale trochę brakuje mi fabuły. Co więcej główna bohaterka strasznie mnie irytowała. Nie było tu też takiego klimatu jak w 1 tomie. Po prostu ta książka wydawała mi się o wiele mniej dopracowana.

[Scarlett H · Rating 5 out of 5]

before I read the book:

I think the book is going to be about a girl who is a famous surfer and she travels around the world with her boyfriend in surf competitions, they get into adventures and learn about each other. Maybe they have a fight and the main character makes the wrong choice and finishes her career for her boyfriend. I chose this book because I was looking for a book with romance and drama and this book has both those things as well as it being about teenagers traveling around the world. This type of book really interests me and makes me want to keep on reading.

Middle of book:


At the moment I am speechless about what is going on in my book (air). There is so much happening, the two main characters at the moment are in Miami, but all of a sudden they had this massive fight and now they are no longer relationship goals. I have most certainly fallen in love with this book as it has everything I could want in a book, the protagonists are teenagers, the book is modern and they’re surfers who travel around the world. There are so many cool factors. In my book the main characters name is Iris, she comes across many problems along the way to becoming a world class surfer and I’m starting to feel like I relate to her. At the moment I’m not enjoying the story line because the two characters (Iris and Zeke) have caused a bump in the story line. There is this new guy who came into the story when Iris ran away from the club because she saw Zeke (her boyfriend) kissing another girl. She got lost and somehow ended up swimming in the ocean, this group of guys came and offered to help her, at first she was a bit nervous but soon enough she learnt that they were really nice blokes. When she got back to her hotel with one of the guys Zeke found her, that’s when the drama began. I have so far really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to finish it!


End of the book:


This book was unbelievable, it was inspirational. I am not a reader at all but this book has completely changed my view of reading. It’s opened my eyes to reality and gave me an insight to what my future might be like. I’ve never been attached to a book like I have with this one. It has made me realise what the real reality is like and I have learnt a lot. This book had a lot of depth and meaning to it and i have never appreciated a book like i have with this book. I wouldn’t expect to learn from a romantic novel. I connected to the protagonist quite a lot as she gave me an insight of my future and how I can learn from her mistakes. I haven’t been bored throughout the whole story which is a shock to me. Only because i usually get bored of books and forget about them. I recommend this book to absolutely everybody in the whole wide world, this book teaches you life lessons and how you learn from your mistakes. I really can’t wait for her new book and i am 100% going to read it. All i can say is wow!

[Madelon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, this book kind of dissapointed me. I did like reading it, but the storyline was really dull. Not much happened and I think that was a pitty.

A full review will be posted on www.thebookdiaries.nl. (In Dutch)

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

review here

[u.a.z.a · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️

Ugh. What. The. Heck.

I was so disappointed with Iris and Zeke. They totally had lost the chemistry between them and their relationship is so toxic. Too many miscommunications happen in this sequel and I totally dreaded it when they’re being passive aggressive.

For Iris, I thought she was gonna change. Spoiler alert: She did not. And I felt like she’s getting worse in this book. She is still insecure and pathetic.

For Zeke, meh, I felt like I just didn’t care about him.

Compared to the first book, this one is less focused on surfing and more on the dramas.

The ending is alright tho so, since I already have the last book in this series, I’m gonna continue reading it. Here’s hoping for the better.

[Ania ❤️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bardzo schematyczna, a bohaterowie i ich zachowanie czasami stawało się irytujące (chyba że to ja oczekuje za dużo od 16-letniej bohaterki Iris), na plus natomiast uważam wątki surferskie, których mimo wszystko nie było jakoś dużo.
PS. Wątek z aligatorem był tak absurdalny i dziwny, że nie mogłam ze śmiechu.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved returning to Iris' world and seeing the next stage of her story develop. I read this really quickly - it was one of those books where I kept saying "just one more page... just one more page" until I finally finished it in the early hours of the morning.

[Zuzia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Przyjemnie się czytało. Fajna książka, ale trochę odchodzi od klimatu pierwszego tomu. Główni bohaterowie mnie czasami irytowali. Natomiast akcji nie brakowało. Mam nadzieje, że trzecia część będzie bardziej przypominać pierwszą część niż drugą.

[Ivette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pewnie gdybym była w wieku zbliżonym do wieku głównej bohaterki podobałaby mi się ta książka bardziej, ale i tak nie była ona zła. Głowni bohaterowie bardzo często strasznie mnie irytowali i zdecydowanie nie jestem ich fanką 🙈

[Vivien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than the first, I liked seeing the main character go through life challenges (even though a bit exaggerated) as a young adult travelling the world with not much life experience

[Kat Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, my heart...!

[CzariaMapla · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5
Zeke jest chory

[Julia Ludwig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pomysł na fabułę ciekawy aczkolwiek wydaje mi się, że autorka nie wykorzystała pełni jego potencjału. Główna bohaterka jest infantylna i ambiwalentna a wydarzenia w większości przypadków nie prowadzą do niczego. Należy też pamiętać, że jest to przekład z języka angielskiego więc być może nie oddaje on sensu w całości. Poleciłabym tę książkę 11-letniej sobie, która z zapałem szukała letniego romansu do przeczytania:)

[Ewelina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Straszne

[Cztery strony książki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Książka bardzo przyjemna, na pewno ucieszy czytelników lubiących wątki romantyczne. Zabrakło w niej jednak klimatu z pierwszego tomu, dużo mniej było tutaj opisów związanych z surfingiem.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read any books by Lisa Glass before this. In fact, I didn't even realize that this was part of a series (whoops). Fortunately, my lack of prior knowledge it didn't stop me from enjoying this book, though I imagine I would have enjoyed it more had I known of the events of the previous book and seen Zeke's and Iris's relationship grow from there. It also explains why this book's ending felt to me abrupt or more cliffhanger-esque, if it is part of a continuing saga (book 3 is due in 2016).

To use my ocean metaphors, I was swept away by the tide of professional surfing. I don't for a single second believe that Iris is 16 (she seems very old for 16, but hey, maybe teens these age are more mature--particularly if they are left on their own on the surfing circuit with their 19 year old boyfriend with a mysterious past). However, I liked that I was pushed right into the action, as if I was being told to climb on a board and hang on tight, the big wave is coming. If you're looking for heavy descriptions of surf competitions (a la Hunger Games: Aqua Edition), this isn't for you. It is, however, an exploration of a young person trying to navigate a world that moves quickly, and a relationship with someone under pressure to succeed. The irony of the professional surfing world is that a sport that seems so carefree and Zen-like requires tremendous concentration and courage, and what is seen as a hobby for some is the livelihood of others - one bad wave, or one wrong choice on land, and it can all go awry.

This would have been a perfect beach book or summer read. I felt like the author spent time doing research on this subject and the surf aspects didn't feel forced (though again, the age piece of the character feels forced - she feels more like she is in her early 20s). I'd be interested in going back and reading Book 1 Blue or picking up the upcoming book 3. I'm intrigued.

I'd say 3.5 stars for this book. Good escapism. Keeping the whole star rating at 3 because it did not stay with me - then again, it IS a book named after air!

[Brigita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Air in one morning, ditching work just to be able to read it the second I received it in my Kindle account. I was super impatient to read more of Iris's and Zeke's story because I knew it would be good.

Although there's a lot less surfing this time around, if anything, the novel is even more intense. All the emotional drama, the well-rounded characters, the guessing about Zeke was what drew me in and I couldn't put it down until I finished it.

The first thing that impressed me was how the two protagonists were the perfect mixture of their old characters and a few new traits that instantly showed that a lot has happened since Blue, that they live a different sort of life, that their relationship has changed. It was like meeting old friends that are just changed enough for you to want to know what has happened since you last saw them.

I loved how the tensions between Iris and Zeke escalated subtly as the story developed, leading to an intense finale. Zeke's secret was alluded to masterfully throughout the novel, but never too obviously so that once it was revealed it was just as much a shock to me as it was to Iris. It felt so real, the way Lisa Glass had Zeke and Iris struggle with how they went from barely knowing each other to practically living with each other. Such a thing can be really stressful for a young couple and I thought she wrote it so well. All those little things that people annoy each other with, the tiny problems that just keep piling up.

The linguist in me was again thrilled with how authentically young the language sounded, the dialects, the slang, the surfing expressions, all of it. The writing style is so effortless and perfect for a young adult novel.

I respect authors that I can rely on to deliver because I appreciate how difficult that is. But with Air, there is no second-book syndrome. If anything, I thought it was perhaps even more accomplished, especially character-wise, than Blue.

I’m sure I’ll be skipping work some time next June again when the third book in the series, Ride, comes out.

[C Exley Books (Cassandra) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Air is the Second book in the trilogy Blue.

If you loved Blue you will adore this book too. Air follows their story as they go off to surfing competitions and promoting various surf wear labels professionally. I loved getting back into this world.

Air doesn’t start right from where Blue finished, things that happened in between are mentioned throughout the novel to catch you up.

I loved how the tensions between Iris and Zeke escalated subtly as the story developed, leading to an intense finale. Zeke’s secret was alluded to masterfully throughout the novel, but never too obviously so that once it was revealed it was just as much a shock to me as it was to Iris.

I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.

Another great book from Lisa. I can’t wait to read Ride but not looking forward to the end of Iris and Zeke. I love this trilogy.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Blue in February, I knew that I would have to pick up the sequel when it came out in June. Thanks to Lisa Glass, I was able to get my hands on a copy almost as soon as it came out and as soon as it came I started reading it and I really did quite enjoy it.

Iris in this book is maturing(she’s still not really mature but still) and I found that extremely relatable. Being roughly the same age as Iris, I felt like I could completely understand her reactions to everything despite hating her for how she reacted.

Read more of my review at: https://thereadingfangirl.wordpress.c...

[lizeindisney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Air is the sequel to Blue, a surfing novel set in Newquay, Cornwall. Although Air doesn’t start right from where Blue finished, things that happened in between are mentioned throughout the novel to catch you up. The book starts when Iris and Zeke are having a little break in between contests in Miami.

I would definitely recommend these books to surfers and non-surfers alike. Blue was the perfect summer romance novel, and Air questions what happens when that summer romance becomes a relationship that struggles when summer’s over.

full review

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently Air by Lisa Glass is the second in a series and I accidentally opened up the Netgalley widget not knowing this, thus obligating myself to read and review this book. So because this is my year of clearing through as many eARCs as possible, I went in with an open mind to this YA surfing book. I do tend to enjoy books about girls who participate in sports, after all. Read my full review here

[T. Stedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It really shows the all the insecurities, problems and pain in a first love. Lisa really keeps the reader gripped masterfully. My only complaint was being left in suspense and having to wait for the next book, RIDE, not out until next June. A great read even if you're not a surfer.

[Sal · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHY. I can't believe it ended like that! Now I have to wait until JUNE 2016?!? To find out what happens next?! Cruel.

Although I do have a new growing favourite. SEB. I hope we see more of him in RIDE! This series is so much fun and really entertaining. Frustrating in a good way and very addictive!

Full review to come.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally chose this book based on the cover. It was so inviting and I wanted to be with that girl. At the time I was unaware of the first book. I sat down and read the book straight through. Great story leaving you with wanting more. I sure hope there is a third book because the ending was kind of sad, and I want there to be so much more for them.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was another great book from Lisa. i feel like the ages are getting higher as you go though the books. I would recommend it to people around 13-15 years of age. As it talks a bit about drugs and some girl problems. 12 years old should not read this book!

[Louise Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ending was a bit out the blue and disappointing but will see if all the pain was worth it by reading the next book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a place to end it on! And now I wait til June NEXT YEAR? Hot damn.

Full review soon. :)