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Tropical Getaway
Roxanne St. Claire brings to life the beauty and danger of the Caribbean in her stunning debut novel, blending intrigue with white-hot passion for a suspenseful, sultry read.
Ava Santori is cooking up a storm in the family restaurant in Boston's North End when a call from the Coast Guard brings shattering news: her beloved brother was lost in a shipwreck. Determined to find out why the ship was steered into a hurricane, Ava packs her bags for the lush isle of St. Barts -- where she puts the blame squarely on the broad shoulders of the ship's owner.
Dane Erikson built the luxurious Utopia Adventures cruise line from the ground up and he's not about to let it sink. Enlisting Ava to help discover the truth about the doomed "Paradisio," he finds himself unbearably tempted by this fiery, impetuous woman. And as their investigation causes danger to close in, he and Ava find their hearts leading them to the same place...straight into each other's arms.
Ava Santori is cooking up a storm in the family restaurant in Boston's North End when a call from the Coast Guard brings shattering news: her beloved brother was lost in a shipwreck. Determined to find out why the ship was steered into a hurricane, Ava packs her bags for the lush isle of St. Barts -- where she puts the blame squarely on the broad shoulders of the ship's owner.
Dane Erikson built the luxurious Utopia Adventures cruise line from the ground up and he's not about to let it sink. Enlisting Ava to help discover the truth about the doomed "Paradisio," he finds himself unbearably tempted by this fiery, impetuous woman. And as their investigation causes danger to close in, he and Ava find their hearts leading them to the same place...straight into each other's arms.
369 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
48 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
Roxanne St. Claire
265 books1,833 followersI don’t know about you, but when I check out an author's bio, it’s usually because I’ve read a book I liked and wondered about the person behind it. Let's skip the formal bio and I'll give you the inside scoop on who Roxanne St. Claire really is.
First of all, call me Rocki. Everyone does. Evidently, when my mother brought me home from the hospital I seemed too scrawny and small to pull off “Roxanne” (she’d read Cyrano de Bergerac while pregnant or I would have been Judy) so they called me Rocki.
I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, the youngest of five (overachievers, every one), and fell in love with words and stories the summer I read Gone With The Wind. That year, for my twelfth birthday, my parents gave me a typewriter (with italic font – it was the coolest thing) and from that day on, I’ve had my fingers on a keyboard, pounding out love stories for fun. My AP English teacher taught me the two most important lessons an aspiring author ever needs: 1) verbs are the key to life and 2) a writer should get a real job. After attending UCLA and graduating with a degree in communications, I tried acting and television broadcasting. Oh, they aren’t real jobs? I learned that the hard way. I changed my last name from Zink to St. Claire because a news producer told me Roxanne Zink had too many harsh consonants for a TV personality – apparently Katie Couric didn’t get the memo. I got some fun gigs, and even met Tom Hanks when I did a guest appearance on Bosom Buddies. I liked on camera work, but wasn’t too crazy about starvation, so I moved to Boston and got that “real” job. In fact, I placed my foot on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder and didn’t look down until I’d climbed all the way up to the level of Senior Vice President at the world’s largest public relations firm. On the way up, I met the man of my dreams in an elevator. Two years later – in the same elevator! – he asked me to marry him and I wisely said yes.
I stayed in PR, moved to Miami, had a few babies, lost my home in a hurricane, built another one a few hours north and all along, I kept writing my “stories” for fun. One night, I read a particularly fabulous romance novel that changed my life for good. That night, I decided I wanted to make someone else feel as whole and happy as that author made me feel. (Everyone asks! It was Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.) With two small children and one big “real” job, writing my first novel wasn’t easy, but I did finish a manuscript that managed to get the attention of a literary agent. She told me to do one thing and one thing fast: write another book. (The first one is usually a “learner” book, honestly.) That second manuscript sold to Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books and was released in 2003 as Tropical Getaway. Since then, I’ve written almost thirty more, in multiple genres, and long ago replaced the corporate ladder with the rollercoaster of publishing as a full-time novelist. Finally, writing is my real job.
Today, I live in a small beach community in Florida with my husband and two dogs. Our kids are off to college and law school, which means my nest is empty! I spend my time writing, working with the kids at my church, enjoying my husband's gourmet cooking, and hanging with my many writer friends. Of course, I love to read. I’m still crazy about words and stories and hope to write at least a hundred books in my lifetime. And, yes, verbs are the key to life. My favorites? Love. Work. Believe.
xoxo
Rocki
First of all, call me Rocki. Everyone does. Evidently, when my mother brought me home from the hospital I seemed too scrawny and small to pull off “Roxanne” (she’d read Cyrano de Bergerac while pregnant or I would have been Judy) so they called me Rocki.
I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, the youngest of five (overachievers, every one), and fell in love with words and stories the summer I read Gone With The Wind. That year, for my twelfth birthday, my parents gave me a typewriter (with italic font – it was the coolest thing) and from that day on, I’ve had my fingers on a keyboard, pounding out love stories for fun. My AP English teacher taught me the two most important lessons an aspiring author ever needs: 1) verbs are the key to life and 2) a writer should get a real job. After attending UCLA and graduating with a degree in communications, I tried acting and television broadcasting. Oh, they aren’t real jobs? I learned that the hard way. I changed my last name from Zink to St. Claire because a news producer told me Roxanne Zink had too many harsh consonants for a TV personality – apparently Katie Couric didn’t get the memo. I got some fun gigs, and even met Tom Hanks when I did a guest appearance on Bosom Buddies. I liked on camera work, but wasn’t too crazy about starvation, so I moved to Boston and got that “real” job. In fact, I placed my foot on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder and didn’t look down until I’d climbed all the way up to the level of Senior Vice President at the world’s largest public relations firm. On the way up, I met the man of my dreams in an elevator. Two years later – in the same elevator! – he asked me to marry him and I wisely said yes.
I stayed in PR, moved to Miami, had a few babies, lost my home in a hurricane, built another one a few hours north and all along, I kept writing my “stories” for fun. One night, I read a particularly fabulous romance novel that changed my life for good. That night, I decided I wanted to make someone else feel as whole and happy as that author made me feel. (Everyone asks! It was Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.) With two small children and one big “real” job, writing my first novel wasn’t easy, but I did finish a manuscript that managed to get the attention of a literary agent. She told me to do one thing and one thing fast: write another book. (The first one is usually a “learner” book, honestly.) That second manuscript sold to Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books and was released in 2003 as Tropical Getaway. Since then, I’ve written almost thirty more, in multiple genres, and long ago replaced the corporate ladder with the rollercoaster of publishing as a full-time novelist. Finally, writing is my real job.
Today, I live in a small beach community in Florida with my husband and two dogs. Our kids are off to college and law school, which means my nest is empty! I spend my time writing, working with the kids at my church, enjoying my husband's gourmet cooking, and hanging with my many writer friends. Of course, I love to read. I’m still crazy about words and stories and hope to write at least a hundred books in my lifetime. And, yes, verbs are the key to life. My favorites? Love. Work. Believe.
xoxo
Rocki
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 6, 2011
It started like a worst nightmare...With, literally, my worst nightmare in fiction—a bitch of a heroine. Then it turned out she wasn't as much of a bitch than on a loooong guilt-trip looking for someone, anyone to blame...And then she got stupid. Or she was stupid before, but I just didn't know it until the author showed it to me. Because let me tell you something about out valiant Ava Santori. She wasn't the brightest bulb in the box as far as character-judging went...Or learning from her own mistakes...Or jumping to conclusions...
Her "act-before-thinking" attitude alienated her brother five years ago, but did she learn anything from that? Nope, she went on doing whatever she wanted without thinking about consequences.
She quickly realized Dane (the hero) wasn't the bastard a lawyer wanted her to think he was, but did that improve her attitude toward him, did it alleviate her suspicion. Nope, she continued not trusting him, because for some reason he found her attractive and she thought he had an ulterior motive. Yeah, girl, it's called "get into her pants"!
She realized (in the course of the book), she was a very poor judge of character, but did that stop her from trusting the wrong people? Nope, she assumed, because the villain treated her nicely, he was the good guy...While she suspected the hero of having ulterior motives (again, the "get into her pants" ploy) for "seducing" her. There actually was no seducing until after the life-or-death situation (that luckily didn't happen at the very end).
And it is because the life-and-death situation didn't happen at the very end, that this book got the rating it got. Because by then I've grown rather fond of out idiotic heroine (though she did act mostly like a teenager and not a mature over-thirties woman), and I somehow learned what made her tick. And I really liked her toward the end, though the whole unwillingness to compromise, while the hero had to completely change, grated a little.
Lucky for me, there was more to this story than just the heroine (whom I actually liked in the end). There was the hero, for starters. Dane Erikson. Tall, blond (though I don't really fall for blond Vikings), green-blue eyes...Yummy, sexy, hot, obsession-inducing Dane Erikson. He had it all. The looks, the charm, the heart, the money, the hotness...The right flaws that made him seem real, appear human. And he knew when he was wrong, accepted it, and said he was sorry. The heroine didn't have that quality.
Then, there was the setting. The story took place in the Caribbean, for Pete's sake. The freaking Caribbean. White, sandy beaches, aqua-blue surf, half-naked men, top-notch ships, VIP treatments...What's there not to drool about? Did I mention Dane Erikson was there? ;)
And third, the suspense. The suspense part. Was. Absolutely. Fan-freaking-tastic. I loved the pacing of it, the slow unraveling of the mystery, the uncovering of clues, the guessing game of who else might be involved, the guessing game of what really happened in the middle of the hurricane...Loved it. I actually loved a mystery/suspense sub-plot where two normal people played P.I. They were a "tycoon" and a cook and they tried to solve a huge and rather dangerous mystery.
Did that make it a bit unbelievable? Strangely not. Because their efforts were written the way one would think a normal person would go about solving something like that...Gather clues, gather enough evidence, and then go to the police. They didn't try to take the bad guys themselves, they sought help. And they sought it (thanks to Dane) when they really had something tangible to show and not just because they overheard something (a-la Ava).
So, was it perfect? No. In a perfect book the heroine would've been reasonable. But then I would not have enjoyed it that much. There's something to be said about heroines I severely dislike. The stories are never boring.
Granted, it wasn't prefect, but it certainly wasn't bad. Quite the opposite, really. Wonderfully written and well-paced, this was a gripping story augmented by colorful characters and setting. A keeper and highly recommended.
Her "act-before-thinking" attitude alienated her brother five years ago, but did she learn anything from that? Nope, she went on doing whatever she wanted without thinking about consequences.
She quickly realized Dane (the hero) wasn't the bastard a lawyer wanted her to think he was, but did that improve her attitude toward him, did it alleviate her suspicion. Nope, she continued not trusting him, because for some reason he found her attractive and she thought he had an ulterior motive. Yeah, girl, it's called "get into her pants"!
She realized (in the course of the book), she was a very poor judge of character, but did that stop her from trusting the wrong people? Nope, she assumed, because the villain treated her nicely, he was the good guy...While she suspected the hero of having ulterior motives (again, the "get into her pants" ploy) for "seducing" her. There actually was no seducing until after the life-or-death situation (that luckily didn't happen at the very end).
And it is because the life-and-death situation didn't happen at the very end, that this book got the rating it got. Because by then I've grown rather fond of out idiotic heroine (though she did act mostly like a teenager and not a mature over-thirties woman), and I somehow learned what made her tick. And I really liked her toward the end, though the whole unwillingness to compromise, while the hero had to completely change, grated a little.
Lucky for me, there was more to this story than just the heroine (whom I actually liked in the end). There was the hero, for starters. Dane Erikson. Tall, blond (though I don't really fall for blond Vikings), green-blue eyes...Yummy, sexy, hot, obsession-inducing Dane Erikson. He had it all. The looks, the charm, the heart, the money, the hotness...The right flaws that made him seem real, appear human. And he knew when he was wrong, accepted it, and said he was sorry. The heroine didn't have that quality.
Then, there was the setting. The story took place in the Caribbean, for Pete's sake. The freaking Caribbean. White, sandy beaches, aqua-blue surf, half-naked men, top-notch ships, VIP treatments...What's there not to drool about? Did I mention Dane Erikson was there? ;)
And third, the suspense. The suspense part. Was. Absolutely. Fan-freaking-tastic. I loved the pacing of it, the slow unraveling of the mystery, the uncovering of clues, the guessing game of who else might be involved, the guessing game of what really happened in the middle of the hurricane...Loved it. I actually loved a mystery/suspense sub-plot where two normal people played P.I. They were a "tycoon" and a cook and they tried to solve a huge and rather dangerous mystery.
Did that make it a bit unbelievable? Strangely not. Because their efforts were written the way one would think a normal person would go about solving something like that...Gather clues, gather enough evidence, and then go to the police. They didn't try to take the bad guys themselves, they sought help. And they sought it (thanks to Dane) when they really had something tangible to show and not just because they overheard something (a-la Ava).
So, was it perfect? No. In a perfect book the heroine would've been reasonable. But then I would not have enjoyed it that much. There's something to be said about heroines I severely dislike. The stories are never boring.
Granted, it wasn't prefect, but it certainly wasn't bad. Quite the opposite, really. Wonderfully written and well-paced, this was a gripping story augmented by colorful characters and setting. A keeper and highly recommended.
September 19, 2016
This was Roxanne St. Claire's debut novel and is my first book by her too. It is a wonderful romantic-suspense, although I was way more into the Hero, than the heroine. The plot was different from your typical story line and I really enjoyed how the heroine, while having many moments that veered close to the TSTL line, never crossed it.
Ava has been notified that her estranged brother Marco has been lost at sea during a hurricane. On the heels of that devastating news an ambulance chasing lawyer tries to enlist her for a class action lawsuit against the ships owner, Dane. Ava travels to St. Bart and finds herself not only attracted to the devastatingly handsome Dane, but also involved in the real reason the ship went down.
Dane has never met a woman like Ava. Even when she thinks him responsible for her brothers' death, he can't stop wanting her. When she realizes he isn't responsible and that there is great danger, she has to fess up and apologize. Dane has to protect her, even if she doesn't want that.
Ava has been notified that her estranged brother Marco has been lost at sea during a hurricane. On the heels of that devastating news an ambulance chasing lawyer tries to enlist her for a class action lawsuit against the ships owner, Dane. Ava travels to St. Bart and finds herself not only attracted to the devastatingly handsome Dane, but also involved in the real reason the ship went down.
Dane has never met a woman like Ava. Even when she thinks him responsible for her brothers' death, he can't stop wanting her. When she realizes he isn't responsible and that there is great danger, she has to fess up and apologize. Dane has to protect her, even if she doesn't want that.
May 20, 2010
This was the first St. Claire book that I've read. After hearing so much "buzz" about her Bullet Catchers, I came across this book and decided to start at the beginning of her career. I have to honest, I wasn't all that impressed.
Here are my complaints:
1. Ava Santori
2. Ava Santori
3. Ava Santori
(sorry if I'm being redundant)!
This is a fast paced, thrilling, on the edge of you seat book that has a really lousy heroine. Dane Erikson is to die for, but one has to ask "Why Ava?". Ava has come to St. Barts after her estranged brother Marco dies in a hurricaine. A lawyer has planted seeds of doubt in her mind that the owner of the cruise line her brother worked for intentionally sent the vessel into the wake of the hurricaine. There is money to be made, so the lawyer recruits Ava to speak to the other "victims" families. Dane is not only the owner of Utopia Adventures, but he was Marco's best friend. I felt much more sadness coming from Dane about Marco's disappearance than I ever did from Ava. Ava comes across very shallow, emotionally vacant, and as a mercenary. Very unattractive qualities in a female lead. Dane comes across as the "whole package". Brillant, successful, gorgeous, rich, compassionate, and giving. His "too good to be true" image shined the light too brightly on Ava's flaws (which proved to many for me to recommend this book).
I hope that Bullet Catchers have better taste in women than Dane Erikson.
Here are my complaints:
1. Ava Santori
2. Ava Santori
3. Ava Santori
(sorry if I'm being redundant)!
This is a fast paced, thrilling, on the edge of you seat book that has a really lousy heroine. Dane Erikson is to die for, but one has to ask "Why Ava?". Ava has come to St. Barts after her estranged brother Marco dies in a hurricaine. A lawyer has planted seeds of doubt in her mind that the owner of the cruise line her brother worked for intentionally sent the vessel into the wake of the hurricaine. There is money to be made, so the lawyer recruits Ava to speak to the other "victims" families. Dane is not only the owner of Utopia Adventures, but he was Marco's best friend. I felt much more sadness coming from Dane about Marco's disappearance than I ever did from Ava. Ava comes across very shallow, emotionally vacant, and as a mercenary. Very unattractive qualities in a female lead. Dane comes across as the "whole package". Brillant, successful, gorgeous, rich, compassionate, and giving. His "too good to be true" image shined the light too brightly on Ava's flaws (which proved to many for me to recommend this book).
I hope that Bullet Catchers have better taste in women than Dane Erikson.
September 15, 2009
My very first "trip" with Roxanne! Her books have been an auto-read for me since the "Getaway"! She doesn't disappoint and her stories and characters are interesting and solid. I think she has done a great job of building a solid base.
April 20, 2009
Great book! Picked up a copy at my local bookstore, that had been signed by the author, because she's a local, so I wanted to read it. I thorougly enjoyed it! Very enjoyable... highly recommend.
May 21, 2013
Great book. What a hero and heroine. Loved the suspense. Loved the family dynamics.
August 1, 2018
Fans of Roxanne St. Claire will love her first book. The title doesn't do the book justice. It is much more than a tropical getaway. It is a fast paced, suspense filled thriller that has plot twists and turns to keep the reader on the edge of her seat. DEA agents, missing persons, romantic suspense, this book has it all plus all the feels readers have come to expect from Roxanne St. Claire.
August 9, 2021
2.5 stars
July 16, 2024
excellent!
A good story with love,suspense and a happily ever after. One of the better books I’ve read in quite awhile
A good story with love,suspense and a happily ever after. One of the better books I’ve read in quite awhile
April 24, 2025
DNF @ 52%
I had a problem with the FMC, who was stubborn to the point of stupidity at times.
I had a problem with the FMC, who was stubborn to the point of stupidity at times.
May 23, 2014
I started this book warily. The heroine seemed too impulsive, prone to act before ever thinking, kind of adrift, without any personal purpose despite being close to 30, and full of prejudices. All in all, non too likeable.
Then I quickly came across the usual sprinkle of French sentences, all jammed with grammar, syntax, spelling mistakes or just being word-by-word inadequate translations. Honestly I am not even sure one French sentence was right in the whole book, even through there were many of them.
But I really liked how the plot quickly evolved from the nasty lawyer trying to build a lawsuit against the cruise owner to an investigation of wrongdoings and trafficking on board the ships across the Caribbean. Some of the bad guys were rather obvious and once again the heroine seemed to border the TSTL status, but at least she remained consistent.
And there was the hero, Dane. Self-made tycoon, estranged from his family, commitment-phobic, discriminating womanizer, but smart, reliable and deeply trustworthy for his friends. Also gentleman enough not to take profit of traumatic experiences to get into a lady's pants. And once more consistent through and through.
I was surprised to see the investigation being over at more than 100 pages before the end, but there were a few surprises and more than a few emotional scenes after, in which Dane realized what a "normal" family life and links could mean, at least more normal than his. As well as his and Ava's struggles with short vs. long term relationship and commitment. And that felt just right, much more so than the clichéd epiphany some womanizing hero usually gets after "his woman" got in a life and death situation, that we read so often about and that bother me so much.
On a side note, Max Roper from the Bulletcatchers is there as a guest star.
Then I quickly came across the usual sprinkle of French sentences, all jammed with grammar, syntax, spelling mistakes or just being word-by-word inadequate translations. Honestly I am not even sure one French sentence was right in the whole book, even through there were many of them.
But I really liked how the plot quickly evolved from the nasty lawyer trying to build a lawsuit against the cruise owner to an investigation of wrongdoings and trafficking on board the ships across the Caribbean. Some of the bad guys were rather obvious and once again the heroine seemed to border the TSTL status, but at least she remained consistent.
And there was the hero, Dane. Self-made tycoon, estranged from his family, commitment-phobic, discriminating womanizer, but smart, reliable and deeply trustworthy for his friends. Also gentleman enough not to take profit of traumatic experiences to get into a lady's pants. And once more consistent through and through.
I was surprised to see the investigation being over at more than 100 pages before the end, but there were a few surprises and more than a few emotional scenes after, in which Dane realized what a "normal" family life and links could mean, at least more normal than his. As well as his and Ava's struggles with short vs. long term relationship and commitment. And that felt just right, much more so than the clichéd epiphany some womanizing hero usually gets after "his woman" got in a life and death situation, that we read so often about and that bother me so much.
On a side note, Max Roper from the Bulletcatchers is there as a guest star.
August 16, 2010
Ava Santori goes to St. Barts for a memorial service for her estranged brother Mario, who was lost at sea after their luxury sailing ship was destroyed in a hurricane. Ava learns Mario was engaged, and his fiancée is expecting. Ava falls for the ships owner, Dane. Together, they find out some of the ships kitchen employees are in a drug smuggling scheme, and the ship was actually blown up by them, at that through the events that transpired, Mario is still alive. They find him in a hospital unconscious, get proper medical help, and everyone lives happily ever after.
September 13, 2016
This is a well written debut book. I read a few of her later books first and I wouldn't have known this was her first if someone hadn't told me. I didn't care for the hero calling the heroine "princess" all the time. Seems condescending even once they got together.
I did love that Ava and Dane tried to fight their attraction and they didn't jump into bed together right away. Roxanne St Claire built up their tension until they had to accept that it wasn't going away.
I did love that Ava and Dane tried to fight their attraction and they didn't jump into bed together right away. Roxanne St Claire built up their tension until they had to accept that it wasn't going away.
June 28, 2009
A getaway indeed. St. Claire's novel is intriguing as it is mysterious in its suspense. A lot different from other voices in the romantic suspense genre, this book is a promising read as it delves deeper into the lives of the protagonists and they are inadvertently drawn together as the story closes. For me however, it failed to make an impression. 2/5 stars.
September 17, 2013
I really enjoyed this story. I like how it seemed nothing came easy for Dane and Ava, but yet they made it through. I loved all of the twists and turns, and just when you think they couldn't possibly take more....BOOM. One of the reasons that RSC is such a brilliant author, she keeps you on the edge of your seat.
December 8, 2013
Ava Santori is a chief in the family restaurant business and gets a call regarding her long lost brother. Her brother is lost at sea and receives a call to go to a tropical island to discover what happened. She meets her brother's employer Dane Erikson and sparks begin to fly. Plot is weak but good story.
May 29, 2011
I thought it was a good read. I liked it very much. This author was a first time read for me, and I would read more from her.
December 16, 2012
Don't remember much about this one.
March 2, 2016
Once you get into this book, the story really hooks you in. It was very hard to put this book down.
July 21, 2016
Good read.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews