Sun Kissed: An Orchid Island Novel

Orchid Island #1

by JoAnn Ross

From New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross comes the first in a new series set in paradise. From its soaring mountain peaks to its turquoise lagoons, Orchid Island, the jewel of the Pacific, offers endless opportunities for romance to bloom.

 Lani Breslin has had it with the mainland rat race. A free spirit in an eccentric family, she’s returned to her Orchid Island home to live an idyllic life. And if her brother happens to send along a yummy hunk to seduce her? That’s just fine with Lani.

Police detective Donovan Quinn’s last case nearly killed him. Burned out and still recuperating from an injury, he escapes to the tranquility of Orchid Island to reboot his life. It’s a sweet surprise to discover Lani has blossomed like one of the island’s tropical flowers, even if the Bro Code says you shouldn’t crave moonlit kisses from your best friend’s sister.

As Donovan struggles to resist Lani’s charms, matters get more complicated when her best friend’s fiancé goes missing and he finds himself caught up in a chase involving the F.B.I., sunken treasure, and pirates. But it’s not easy solving a mystery when he keeps stumbling over his heart and may have to choose between the opportunity of a lifetime or a lifetime in Paradise with the woman he loves.

Sun Kissed is a stand-alone sequel to Sunset Point.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Christmas, Contemporary Romance

268 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 24, 2015

About the author

New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross has written over a hundred novels for a bunch of publishers. Two of her titles have been excerpted in Cosmo and her books have also been published by the Doubleday, Rhapsody, Literary Guild, and Mystery Guild book clubs.

A member of the Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll of best-selling authors, she's won several awards, including Romantic Times's Career Achievement Awards in both category and contemporary single title.

Currently writing a new Honeymoon Harbor series for HQN set on the Washington peninsula, that will launch in April, 2018, JoAnn lives with her husband (her high school sweetheart, who proposed at the sea wall where her Shelter Bay books are set), in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Cruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author: JoAnn Ross
First published: 2015
Length: 257 pages, 3109 kindle locations
Setting: Contemporary. Orchid Island, Hawaii.
Sex: Explicit. Infrequent.
Hero: Police Detective. Divorced.
Heroine: Jane of All Trades
Linked series: Follows on from Sunset Point, book 10 of the Shelter Bay series.
Trigger: Donovan's partner commits suicide before book begins.
Includes: excerpt from Sunset Point

A fun little romance. Not a lot happens. A rather rapid romance,a bit convoluted and forced but enjoyable enough. Fun background characters creating a nice world to return to. Heavy (interesting) treatise on Hawaiian history.

A good read.

Orchid Island:
Book 1 Sun Kissed - Donovan Quinn and Lani Breslin

Shelter Bay:
Book 1 The Homecoming - Sax Douchett and Kara Conway
Book 2 One Summer - Gabriel St. James and Charity Tiernan
Book 3 On Lavender Lane - Lucas Chaffee and Madeline Durand
Book 4 Moonshell Beach - J.T. Douchett and Mary Joyce
Book 5 Sea Glass Winter - Dillon Slater and Claire Templeton
Book 6 Castaway Cove - Mac Culhane and Annie Shepherd
Book 7 Christmas in Shelter Bay - Cole Douchett and Kelli Carpenter
Book 8 You Again - Meghann Quinn and Adam Wayne
Book 9 Beyond the Sea - Conn Brennan and Sedona Sullivan
Book 10 Sunset Point - Tess Lombardi and Nate Breslin

References:
Author's website: http://www.joannross.com
Author on w’pedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JoAnn_Ross

(ISBN …)

-CR-

[Linda Smatzny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice romance set on an island near Hawaii. The main characters are Lani Breslin and Donovan Quinn. Donovan is a police detective from Portland, Oregon. Lani is the sister of Nate Breslin, a novelist who lives in Shelter Bay. Donovan is also a close friend of Nate and is staying in his beach house on Orchid Island. The book was a quick easy read.

[Susan Villers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

I was so disappointed because Nate and Tess's story was so wonderful, but this one just left me bored. It was too straightforward. There wasn't enough tension or conflict.

[Debbie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stopped.

[Jane Thomson · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the description of Hawaii and some of the cultural aspects, this story lacked a coherent plot. The mystery was a side bar that did not really engage the reader; it did not feature in the story as it usually would in a story by JoAnn Ross. I found the main characters lacked depth - hence, I did not care about them enough. The section of her novel Sunset Point which closed this book sounded much more interesting.

Disappointing.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too too predictable and the mystery really did not involve either major character. There were several continuity issues that bothered me. Once Donovan says he wants to spend he day with Lani and then says he has to work on mystery. I loved the way it started but it just went downhill for me.

[Tracy Rudd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

Love this book because it had both romance and mystery. I would read it again!!! I hope she writes more about these two..

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually really enjoy this author, but I had trouble getting through this one.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed and look forward to the next one in the series.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little island romance, predictable but the setting and characters were likeable and engaging.