The Big Break

by Cara Lockwood

Sometimes you just have to dive in… Since the tsunami nearly ended his career a year ago, extreme surfer Kai Brady has kept a dark he's terrified to get back on his board. With everything he's worked for on the line, Kai needs a miracle…and a kick-ass trainer. That "miracle" is single mom Jun Lee. Jun Lee can see that the heartbreakingly gorgeous surfer who'd selflessly rescued her son when disaster struck now needs to be saved himself. But the attraction between them proves to be a force stronger than the ocean, and just as dangerous.

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2016

About the author

I've written more than 30 books in a number of genres: chick lit, romance, suspense, paranormal and young adult. My debut novel, I Do (But I Don't) was made into a Lifetime Original movie.

I grew up in Mesquite, Texas, which for those of you who like livestock shows, is the home of the Mesquite Rodeo. Ironically, Mesquite was named after Mesquite trees, only none of them now exist in the city, which is about fifteen minutes east of Dallas. No, I don't own a pair of cowboy boots, although I do own quite an impressive collection of black shoes. My Dad is a third-generation Japanese-American, and my mom is a second-generation Texan who's mostly English.

I went to school at the University of Pennsylvania, only I'm not sure how I got in. I think these days they only accept students who can solve String Theory. Anyway, I majored in English, and because my dad said "and just what are you going to do with an English degree?" I went to work for the school newspaper. After college, I spent four years as a newspaper reporter, working for an overly excitable editor who sent me running anytime the police scanner went off. I was working insane hours for next to no pay. I was actually sent to cover a grass fire on my 25th Birthday. Let me tell you, it smelled bad. I think some mice may have lost their lives. But that was about it in terms of excitement. Happy Birthday to Me.

So, I decided after I had taken to hiding from my editor in the bathroom at the office anytime the police scanner went off, that journalism probably wasn't for me. I went to work for a marketing firm and discovered that most everyone else didn't stay until ten o'clock every night writing up their riveting story about grass fires. I also decided that I would take advantage of that free time to write some fiction. That's when I started writing "I Do (But I Don't)." A year later, I finished it, thanks to the help of my friend, Shannon, who wouldn't let me slack off and kept asking me for chapters.

And that's how I became a writer. Except that it still feels weird to say, "I'm a writer." I keep expecting to wake up tomorrow and have to go cover another grass fire.

I'm married and live with a blended broad of seven near Chicago, where I'm hard at work on my next book!

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay read. I loved the Big Island of Hawaii setting. I liked hero Kai and thought his being a champion Big Wave Surfer who's now afraid to get back on his surfboard after he suffered through a trauma in a tsunami a year ago, was pretty interesting. Heroine Jun's young son, Po, was adorable. But Jun was just too annoying and grated on my nerves as the book progressed. She was too stubborn with her "my way or no way" attitude and was unreasonable. Her 4-year-old son, Po, was also traumatized during the tsunami and was still trying to move on from it, but whenever someone tried to help Po, Jun would get angry with them because she wanted to be the only one to help Po. She seemed to care more about her pride than what was best for her son. I also got tired of the way she ran hot and cold with Kai. The book had an interesting premise, but I just never warmed up to Jun.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - 4 stars

Both Jun and Kai are flawed, flawed characters. Jun is trying to raise her son on her own, after being rejected by her tiger mother, who died shortly after. They never reconciled, leaving Jun wounded and defensive. Her mother was perfect and wise, and Jun obviously screwed up by listening to a smooth talker when she was 19 and ending up pregnant and abandoned by both the father AND her mother.

Kai saved Po, Jun's son, during a tsunami. A pro surfer, his leg was broken in several places during the disaster. Kai lives for surfing, and can't imagine life without it. However, the very proud man is having a great deal of difficulty admitting that he's now afraid of the water. He's been spending most of the year since the tsunami and his accident in a drunken haze, screwing around and sleeping with any tourist who crosses his path.

Jun and Kai have to learn to trust themselves and each other in this moving story about an athlete who just can't quit, and a single mother who just can't learn to trust.

[Kate Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A world-class surfer needs to know when to quit, but even after a crash that wreaks his knee, Kai Brady doesn't want to quit. Instead, he hired Jun Lee, who asks him to meditate, stop eating junk food, and refrain from sex. What?!

When Kai finally agrees to all her rules, he considers himself healed--after all, he is now surfing again and doing well. But he also wants to create a family with Jun and her little boy, but she can't allow herself to want him--except in her dreams.

When will Kai see that Jun is more important than surfing? More importantly, when will Jun agree that life with Kai is what she also wants?

[Ｙｅｓｓｅｎｉａ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars