Sunscreen & Coconuts

by Eliza Lentzski

Midwest-to-Boston transplant, Mercy Lewis, has always been responsible. Cautious. Careful. She wore sunscreen to the beach. A lifejacket on a boat. She only crossed the street at crosswalks. She enjoyed life in moderation, and she didn’t indulge. So why is she having such a hard time remembering that when she meets a beautiful expatriate on a tropical island?Mercy had been promised Christmas in the Caribbean; she never imagined she would get so much more.

Genres: Romance, Lesbian Romance, Lesbian, LGBT, Contemporary, Fiction, Christmas

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2018

About the author

Eliza Lentzski is the best-selling author of sapphic fiction, romance, and erotica including the Winter Jacket and Don’t Call Me Hero series. A historian by day, Eliza is passionate about telling the stories of marginalized communities.

Born and raised in the upper Midwest—a landscape that often shapes her novels—Eliza now lives in Boston with her wife and their cat, Charley.


Reviews

[Diane Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

**' Writing's like a love affair: the beginning is the best part...'

Outstanding read!
'SUNSCREEN & COCONUTS' takes a look at the fragile architecture of Love and also is a moving examination of those sacrifices couples have to give into to make their relationship a success. To readers,both Ms.Lentzski's storytelling and writing i do believe reaches new heights in this book because of her searing depiction and indepth analysis of both Kate & Mercy on their family issues and struggles throughout their teenage years to present. Theirs is the story of an intense,impossible and passionate Love at first glance on the island where one can coexist with her pride and sense of loyalty -- also with the desire to live beyond and among the island's isolation. While the other lives in Boston and was only there on vacation. Another factor about their love affair is that it was marked by the ever-present choice of staying on the island or moving back home,a choice either had to decide if both wanted a Life together. The hope of a common future shatters into individual and incompatible goals,as the dilemma of 'Living or Leaving' is confronted with humor,irony and a dose of melancholy. Highly recommended to everyone!

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this so much more since Lentzski has written some great books and the character of Mercy had my curiosity piqued but as it turns out I don't like her a whole lot.

I thought this would be a story about an overly cautious woman who learned to take chances, leaps of faith and fell head over heels for someone. You know, like a How Mercy Got Her Groove Back type of thing. Nope.

Instead I found myself too annoyed with her hot & cold behavior towards Kate and her doormat personality when it came to her so called best friend's behavior.

You know your bestie sleeps with anything that has a heartbeat, yet you get 1 room with 2 beds? Also what kind of massive jackass do you have to be to lock your best friend out of her room for two nights without knowing or seemingly caring where she spends the night?

I just couldn't connect with the characters in this book. Adding to that, the plot was utterly predictable and I started zoning out quite often. This book just wasn't for me I guess. Overall rating ends in a 2,5*.

[vacatedboat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. I have a very up and down relationship with Lentzski’s work. I loved her Winter Jacket and DCMH series. Her standalone books, however, for the most part leave me feeling ‘meh.’

My biggest issue with ‘Sunscreen & Coconuts’ was the narrator. As this is written in 1st person POV (which I love despite popular opinion), it would have been helpful to like the narrator, Mercy. Instead, I found her judgmental and indecisive. Her friend Racy tends to push her to do things that would otherwise frighten her or make her uncomfortable…and Mercy finally does them, yes, but it takes a lot of convincing from outside sources. I’m just not a fan of wishy-washy characters.

I adored Kate, our MC's love interest, as she’s adorkable and quirky. I’m not sure I understand what she sees in Mercy, honestly. The chemistry here was a little off. Lentzski writes great sex scenes, as always, but the emotional side of the equation left me wanting.

Anyway, the basic premise here is that Mercy and her best friend, Racy, go on vacation to Caracao during Christmas. While there, Mercy meets Kate, who has lived on the island for 7 years, and through Mercy’s internal dialogue, we have to read her unedited opinions on Kate. She finds her attractive, but judges the way she dresses and lives. They end up having an awkward fling anyway that I felt like only even started because of Mercy's ego (she though Kate had a crush on Racy, so to appease her ego, she initiated sex with Kate). When the vacation is over and Mercy heads back to Boston, their little affair comes to an end. This is a romance, however, so of course they meet up once more and stuff happens. Stuff I’ll leave unsaid, otherwise no one will need to read the book themselves to find out what that stuff happens to be.

I recommend this for a light read and fans of Lentzski’s, but it does have its flaws. I found myself skimming some parts because the text or what was happening just didn’t interest me. There are some proofing issues, but nothing so major that it detracts from the flow. Overall, a decent enough read if you don’t mind wishy-washy characters and aren't looking for anything too deep. I think I just prefer Lentzski's angst, so my opinion may be a little more harsh than other's.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite from this author but still a good read. I'd recommend the Winter Jacket Series before this book.

[hubsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What kind of tickled me is that I was saving this one to read while on a beach vacation, and started it on the plane....and finished it while still on the plane, haha. So I wasn't actually under the influence of sunscreen and coconuts at any point during this read.

MC Mercy is a grade school teacher who is pretty reserved, kinda boring, very single. Her extremely annoying best friend Racy insists they go to Curacao for a week resort vacation over Christmas, and this is where she meets Kate. Awkward, quiet Kate who dresses like a 14 year old boy in massively large clothing. I gotta admit, I didn't really like any of this part of the story and struggled with it. There was zero chemistry between the two, and Racy's behaviour was so abhorrent I cannot believe Mercy didn't shove her in front of a caravan. She just took it again and again and for some reason, remained her friend. I really have trouble with secondary characters that are this obnoxious.

But the story took a turn off the resort, and this is where it gained points. Kate isn't all she seems. Some surprises happen and definitely mended some of the cracks from the former. I understood a little more of why she lived the way she did (kinda). I do still feel her story could have been given way more oomph in order to make her and Mercy more believable as a couple. Solid 3/5.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it!

I am a big fan of Lentzski books and after reading the blurb on this book she posted on Goodreads I could not wait to read it. Its a vacation type romance with a heck of a lot of awkward moments, unreliable but good best friends, and a main character that you like at first, hate the next minute, then kove at the end.
The story is told by Mercy, a first grade public school teacher who doesn't know how to stop being responsible and just be. She meets Kate, a coconut artist, while on winter vacation in Caraco (pretty sure I spelled that wrong) and there "vacation romance" wasnt exactly typical in any way, shape, or form, which I have to admit I loved.
Well, enter the real world and the return to Boston and Mercy thinking she will never see Kate again. Wrong. I cant say much more than that but i enjoyed the book.
I did hate how Mercy got in her head so much which is why I bumped it down to 4.4 (yes just short of that star round up) but it is a solid 4.4 stars. Fans of hers will, i think, enjoy this book. And like most of her other stories, its a kU read so definitely worth the read if yoh have the time.

[Farah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is available on KU and only cost 4 dollars.
It was hard warming up to Mercy but Kate, I fell hard for her at the drop of the first coconut.
Their sex scenes were off the Everest, I kid you not. Especially when Mercy brought Kate to her 1st orgasm. She asked Kate to watch as she... You get the picture.
There was this scene where Kate invited Mercy for breakfast. When Mercy entered the diner, Kate was already there and she'd bought muffins, bagels, scones, scrambled eggs and pancakes for Mercy because she didn't know what Mercy liked. I read that scene many times, fine, the sex scenes too!
I highly recommend this book, especially if you have KU.. A gentle reminder, Kate is mine.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book about a first-grade teacher and the artist she meets on the island of Curaçao while on vacation, but the relationship between Mercy (teacher) and Kate (artist) felt forced. While Mercy gets cudos for teaching in a public school in Boston, relationship-wise, she was not very likable. She was always in her head (okay, so we all do that sometimes), but Mercy did it all the time.

My biggest issue with Mercy was she couldn’t get past the fact that when Kate came out to her (wealthy) family they accepted her for who she is. When Mercy came out to her family ( while she was in college) her family essentially told her to “don’t call us, we’ll call you” and she no longer speaks to them. She resents Kate because she had it too easy. Really, WTF. This is someone you care about.

I’ve read other books by this author (Sour Grapes ) that were good, but this one fell flat.

[Len · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t have enough. There should be a sequel.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Eliza Lentzski.....but this didn't work for me. I just did not like it. I thought the characters were lame and the chemistry severely lacking.

2.5 stars rounded up....because I love this author and will continue to read everything she puts out there.

[Pinkdturtle tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my fav book by Eliza. I didn’t like Kate, I couldn’t get passed it.
Typical lesbo romance, I love these fluffy story lines but this time my head wasn’t having it.
I like Eliza’s writing style, it’s quite bold and honest lol especially on the sexual parts.

[Marian Snowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this a 3.5. The writing was good and the tropical atmosphere was really evocative, but I just couldn't get myself to sympathize with the main character. I did really appreciate the way the narration was so immersed in Mercy's super-cautious outlook, though. It took good advantage of first person in doing that, but at the same time it put me off because I just wasn't very interested in Mercy herself. I honestly didn't find the arc of the romance very romantic. In the end, I think this was a well-written and well-constructed novel about characters and a relationship who just weren't my type.

[girl-on-fire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really don't get why Kate liked Mercy well maybe because of the mind blowing orgasm she gave. Nevertheless, the writing was very good as what would I expect from my favorite Lesfic author. It was just an okay read for me.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tantalizing, humorous romance

This is a very fun read. It has it all....warmth, anticipation, colorful settings, humorous dialogue and unpredictability. I was concerned in the beginning of the 2 main characters involvement. I didn't think they had much in common or chemistry. But this good author, with a clever plot, developed the relationship most satisfactorily. You definitely want them together. Clever plot, worrisome middle and pleasant, satisfactory ending.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercy Lewis, a 1st grade teacher, is convinced to take a vacation with her friend, Racy. She has some trouble letting herself go until she meets a local woman that scooters her outside the comforts of an all-inclusive resort.

Overall, it was well written and entertaining. I read it in two days.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars.
As usual with Lentzski it was a really great read! Always keeping me on my toes guessing what was going to happen next.
Still not my favorite of hers, the protagonist was a little too stiff for me.

[Maze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have much preferred another installment in the Dont Call Me A Hero series opposed to this. Don't get me wrong, the writing was good and descriptive but there was no real chemistry between the two main characters. No passion, no sexiness. Nothing that made me look forward to the next page. Maybe the next book will be better. Bring on Julia and Cassidy please.

[Steph Reads Faerie Smut · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good

I liked this book but I expected more from the “Not Your Hero” author. Mercy was kind of annoying at times and Kate was fun, but really inconsistent to me.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little romance and a bit of fun.

[Alison Hine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has its moments...

This book has a charming setting and tells a lovely tale. Early on, I was put off by the writing style, which is sometimes awkward and wordy. And almost all the way through I was frustrated by the narrator’s constant denial of her own feelings, her almost obsessive commitment to avoiding a relationship with a woman she clearly desired.

But as the novel progressed, I found myself delighted at various points, where, despite herself, Mercy experiences moments of joy and fulfillment. She had me smiling and feeling happy - at least for a little while.

Those moments - and the way things are resolved at the end - prompted me to give the novel three stars.

[Doug Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vacation fling turned serious can be a fun story line. This one has the drawback that the main character Mercy spends a great deal of time being unnecessarily nasty to many of the people in her life. It's not entirely clear why Kate remains interested.

[Elaine L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love it!

I’ve tried to read Eliza Lentzski’s other fiction series—Winter Jacket and Don’t Call Me Hero before this book, and found that I couldn’t pass the first 20% of both aforementioned. But somehow I really really like *Sunscreen and Coconuts*. It is so well written, it has convincing relationship development, and that comes with the humor which is superb! Even though I often felt the heart gripped by the intertwining between the main characters, there were more times I was so amused by the hilarious dialogues and chuckled all the times. This was indeed a very enjoyable read. I guess after this book I will need to revisit those I left unfinished by Lentzski.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book feels quite odd to me, and I’ve unsuccessfully tried to review it for the last two months, but my thoughts have been too disjointed to get down onto paper. I’ve completely restarted this stupid thing about four times and even reread the book a month ago to see if my first impression would stick (it mostly did). If this attempt, lucky number five, doesn’t end up panning out, then I’ll be forced to post an unedited mass of confused ramblings and leave it at that. Gotta move on at some point. I haven’t admitted defeat yet though, so let’s fuckin do this. 

…..

There are definitely things I enjoy here. As usual, the writing itself is great, and I like the premise a whole lot (mostly). The sense of humor works well too, for the most part—“pet fish, Greg, mourns” especially got me real good. It also feels like a more complex story in terms of the setting and environment—circumstances have justifications behind them now. That hasn’t always been the case in Lentzski’s past books, so I particularly like this. And finally, bonus points are earned for being half set in Boston, Massachusetts, objectively the best city and state in this shitty, godforsaken country (don’t even pretend they aren’t—and yes, I know Massachusetts is a commonwealth). But there are things I dislike as well. Mercy is the source of my odd, somewhat conflicted feelings, and Kate sometimes feels off too. There are also some minor plot things I don’t care for, but nothing outright horrible.

In the end I think I’m torn on my overall opinion, though. This book feels so weird to me (I’m guessing this feeling is all just a me thing and not an everybody thing, though).

I’m really fond of the idea of an elementary school teacher going on vacation and having an extended fling and later relationship with an local artist. It’s a good fantasy—“What if I meet a girl on this trip and we fall in love” is something I think before every vacation, so it’s nice to see it actually happen. And I like that Mercy and Kate are a teacher and an artist, because for like the last three generations my family has almost exclusively been made up of educators or artists of some sort (or some combination). On both sides. I don’t know, it just made me smile to see. 

What I don’t particularly like about this set-up is the “uptight meets free spirit; they temper each other (maybe) and fall in love” trope. It’s a variant of “opposites attract,” and I don’t always like how that kind of trope is executed to begin with, but this version is the least appealing to me and ever present in the media I’ve consumed. Which makes me dislike it all the more. Besides that, a lot of opposites attract stories don’t seem to understand that it’s similarity that attracts, and nuance is a thing that exists. So not only is this something I’ve seen a whole lot and feel ambivalent towards, but many times it’s done mediocrely or simplistically. When it’s done well there’s a good chance I’ll enjoy it though, despite my tastes and the overexposure. After all, “enemies to lovers,” another variant of opposites attract, is by far my favorite romantic trope.

And in the end I don’t think Mercy and Kate’s relationship is devoid of nuance. They definitely feel like kindred spirits of a sort. Mercy, who’s an over-thinker, a shameless nitpicker and pretty much an uptight tsundere (oh no, I’ve outed myself as an anime nerd), and Kate, who doesn’t know who she is and presumably has some angst around that, but is quite good at hiding it—both are people who are uncomfortable with themselves. I like that they have this in common.

And I definitely relate to that uncomfortableness they both deal with—it’s called anxiety and it sucks ass. Something about it in this book feels off to me though, particularly in regards to Mercy, and I can’t fully articulate what that is. It’s complicated. I don’t know—my anxiety is less “personality trait” or “transient phase of life” and more “mental disorder diagnosis,” so that probably skews my frame of reference some. The level of uncomfortableness Mercy is at is far lower than mine (than mine can be—it’s controlled now for the most part), and I can’t really tell if that’s a good, bad, or neutral thing.

Like I said though, Mercy feels odd to me in general, and in the end I don’t find her very likable. She starts out well in the beginning—I don’t overtly dislike her at least (she’s odd though), and I do enjoy her grumpy demeanor quite a bit—but three quarters through the book things change. That pre-walk-of-shame scene where she tells Kate “don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think it’s worth the trouble” before running away is so mean. Throughout that whole scene she’s so unconcerned with how Kate feels—it’s just so dislikable. And then after, Kate donates a buttload of money to Mercy’s school, presumably to try and win her over! Like, what IS that? Why do you still like her, Kate? What’s the draw? Do you really believe in fate that much?

Yeah, Mercy knows she’s a shithead for doing that—even Racy calls her out on it—but the fact that Kate doesn’t address it at all later feels weird to me. (Then again, she didn’t flinch when she insulted her clothes either, but those circumstances are different.) Mercy seems to be someone who isn’t very honest with herself, and maybe Kate realizes this—maybe she knows that Mercy didn’t really mean it in her heart of hearts. In that case I can see why Kate would donate all that money, but why not get an apology from her later on too? (Or at least make an offhand, passive-aggressive joke about it.) I think she deserves one, and from a wanting-to-have-a-healthy-relationship perspective, it just feels off that she didn’t get it. Plus, having Mercy’s meanness go pretty much unaddressed solidifies her as unlikable to me. I’d feel completely differently about it if it was actively a learning or punishing moment for her. I don’t know, am I just being sensitive with this stuff? There’s a good chance that’s the case—my low self-esteem and insecurity are the stuff of legends.

And on the topic of that generous donation, ARE YOU LITERALLY TRYING TO BUY SOMEONE’S LOVE, KATE EMERSON??? That’s pretty much what it feels like. Sure, that shitton of money goes to a good cause and everything, but still. It feels too close to extortion. Like, “I paid your bills for you; now sleep with me, peasant.” I think there’s a subtext of expectation attached to an action like that in this context. What are you trying to do with this, Kate? Are you trying to get Mercy’s attention, or show her what a nice person you are in a way that she can’t refuse and will definitely be indebted to you for? (Or are you perhaps being recklessly impulsive?) Because you’re doing both! If I were Mercy, I’d feel like you’d put me in a situation engineered to make me feel like I owed you something, and that would make me bristle. Sure, I’d feel grateful toward you for securing my job, but I’d be pretty suspicious of you too, and I probably wouldn’t want to start a relationship. To be clear though, I don’t think Kate’s intentions are nefarious, and it’s obvious the money doesn’t mean much to her, but I don’t think that matters to me. I still don’t like it. I happen to be weird with money and debt though (similar to Mercy), and I tend not to like big surprises. 

So I get why Mercy turns Kate down again during breakfast at that diner, but not for the reason she says. I wanna talk about that whole situation too, though. Broadly, she says they’re too different to work out; specifically, that while Kate claims to be a starving artist, her mega-rich family would definitely help her out if she ever needed it, and they’re accepting of her, while Mercy’s family disowned her when they found out she’s gay. This doesn’t make much logical sense, but it’s chalked up to Mercy’s personal resentments—fair enough, I guess (although you bet I’m bringing this up later). I’m surprised Kate lets it go so quickly, though. She went to a good amount of trouble to see her again, and that argument would be easy to poke holes in. Maybe she can tell Mercy isn’t gonna change her mind at that moment? But still… I don’t know. (This is more of a nitpick than a criticism.)

More than these things though, Mercy’s personality doesn’t feel right to me. I have trouble relating to her—and in and of itself that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; you don’t need to relate to every character personally—but like, I actively don’t understand her. What we might have in common is dwarfed by the difference in how we deal with it. Like, I obviously won’t begrudge her being a nitpicker, but nitpicking things online is far different than nitpicking them irl. Habitually doing it in real life is I think the sign of either obliviousness or not caring what people think of you—because trust me, that shit wears thin pretty quick. At best you seem like an uptight, un-fun pedant, at worst a mean-spirited, perpetually unhappy complainer. Why would you knowingly want to present yourself like that in public? Online it’s different—there’s the illusion of anonymity. You can be as nitpicky as you like and nobody has to know, plus people don’t care about random anons anyway—well, as long you aren’t an outright asshole or troll. In real life I’m usually an agreeable person—I’d even go as far as to call myself a people-pleaser or mediator—but that doesn’t preclude me from also being an over-thinking nitpicker. Even if stories are the only things I care enough about to nitpick really seriously in the first place. I like it when they’re vibrant, and expansive, and make sense, and stand up to being contemplated critically. (Am I perhaps expecting too much from my romance novels? I promise this isn’t a dig, just an honest question that I think about a lot.) Most of my other anxious, overthinking behavior is either pretty vague (thanks, GAD) or socially related, and I’ve gotten pretty good at not letting it show when it’s bad. I think I might be similar to Kate in that way.

Anyway, Mercy doesn’t strike me as oblivious or uncaring-about-how-she-comes-off enough to explain how much of a shameless nitpicker she is, and she also doesn’t seem like an anxious enough person to be that generally nitpicky in the first place. In fact, she seems to be the opposite—as socially aware as the average person and sometimes disliking how she comes off. And like I said before, her anxiety seems pretty standard. But in all likelihood Mercy doesn’t necessarily need to fit this framework I’ve laid out to make sense—I’m not an expert on anything here—this is just my perspective on her as someone who’s similar in some ways.

Also, those resentments she has—the ones she cites as her reason for turning Kate down in that diner—I don’t really like how she deals with those either or how they fit into her arc. Again, I’m not begrudging her having a chip on her shoulder—I have one as well. But we differ again in how we deal with it. I may be bitter about certain aspects of my life (oh boy, am I), but I’m completely self-aware of it too. I know this bitterness is inside me, and I know at times it might cause me to be self-pitying, or jealous, or resentful, and I know this isn’t a good thing. I know it generally isn’t fair of me to take these emotions out on people, because I know they deal with their own shit too, and I know it isn’t their fault if my issues happen to be “worse” (but to be honest, I’ve still had it easier than most). In real life I try to not let these resentments of mine show, and it honestly isn’t that hard. You can’t logic away the emotion—I still feel self-pitying or jealous or resentful sometimes—but it’s usually pretty easy to logic away deliberate actions based on those emotions, at least for me. And again, complaining about this stuff online is different than irl—it’s the fact that Mercy was acting on her bitterness in real life that I have an issue with it. It makes her seem selfish, and like her meanness, it doesn’t feel changed at the end of the book. Or at least, the change doesn’t feel deserved, and I don’t get it. There isn’t a satisfying payoff for either of these set-ups.

But this does pose a question: Does the protagonist of a story need to be likable? No, I don’t think so—there are definitely contexts and genres where a dislikable protagonist works really well—however, I don’t think straight-forward romance is usually one of them. The romance is the whole point of a romance book, and a dislikable protagonist or love interest is kind of antithetical to the enjoyment of that. The whole thing becomes fake-seeming and unappealing. But this doesn’t mean romance protagonists have to be flawless—I think that having flaws is the whole point, really—there just need to be consequences and development accompanying them. We have to be able to see why the romantic interest and the protagonist are into each other, despite or even because of their flaws. And we have to see a change taking place. One that feels real.

Setting this aside though, one thing I do like about Mercy is her tsundere-ness, despite it being wrong of me call it that, as she’s a character in a western book written by an author who’s probably unaware of that trope or Japanese pop culture in general (as far as I know, anyway—surprise me, Eliza Lentzski), but I think it sort of fits for at least one of the definitions. Like, Mercy is attracted to Kate from the beginning, but she’s also sort of annoyed by her and snarky and combative towards her before she softens up and allows herself to be friendly and like her. It isn’t a perfect fit—among other things, I think part of the reason she’s combative is because of that failed sex they had, and a true tsundere wouldn’t need that sort of reason to be all tsun~ tsun~. But she definitely embodies the spirit of one in that she’s uptight to the point where she can’t be honest with herself about her feelings until pretty much the end of the book. (This might be an explanation for why she uses her resentments to justify them not dating, but there’s still no satisfying resolution.) I kind of like that about her, despite myself. This type of tsundere-like character isn’t aaall that common in the West, so it’s something different. Also, that meanness of hers that I didn’t like is a separate thing from this tsundere combativeness—tsundere are all bark and no bite, and are usually the straight man in a comedy. They aren’t actually mean, typically. *Sorry not sorry for exposing any normies to this lame weeb shit, but it had to be done. This is very important analysis, trust me.*

Wait! I'm not done yet! This overlong monstrosity continues in the comments!

[Cassandra Lemard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, light read!

While I love Eliza Lentzski's books, especially the winter jacket series and second chances; i felt like there was something missing in Sunscreen & Coconuts. Don't get me wrong, i read the book cover to end But didn't quite feel the chemistry between the two main characters, hence the four start rating. With that said, there was moments where I literally laughed out loud.

Sunscreen & Coconuts tells the story of Mercy and Kate. Mercy is reserved, never takes risks, plans ahead and is unbelievably responsible, then there's Kate who prides herself in living in the moment, the risk taker, and hardly worries about the day after tomorrow. They both meet in Curaçao, when Mercy's best friend Racy whisks them off for a much needed Christmas vacation. Whilst on holiday Racy is shacked up with her holiday romance, leaving Mercy locked out of their hotel room, Kate is on hand to offer her shelter more than once. And here starts the holiday adventures, which leaves both characters with unanswered questions.

Worth a read!

[Gosia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a combination of romance, quirkiness, free life on an island that we all secretly dream about, and challenges real life throws our way. I really liked the unconventionality of both Mercy and Kate, both of them lived their life to the fullest of their own ideas and tried to get as much as possible of it. The romance is slow, but that makes it more believable. So, okay, some actions of the main character are... weird, and Kate doesn't disappoint at times either, but those are still believable, and actually quite charming at the same time. What I would love more is to get the better explanation of the friendship between Mercy and Racy, because what happened there really had the dynamic between "look at me, look at me and only me!" and "chill and too forgiving."

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty and sexy; my favorite combo!

This was a fun, fast-paced read about two unlikely women unable to avoid each other for long. Whether that happens to be fate or coincidence doesn't matter, as the sweet message of taking chances and letting loose takes over as the main theme of the book. Kate, a carefree, long-time vacationer, manages to get Mercy, an uptight school teacher, to do things outside of her comfort zone...even fall in love. The dialogue all around was my favorite part because all the characters seem like real people with real emotions and desires. The steamy sex scenes definitely were the cherry on top of this lesbian rom-com sundae though.

[monica.b.czuba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunscreens and Coconuts

The story was definitely one anyone would read on holiday or anytime when feeling a little down.This was about a teacher called Kate whose friend Racy who informed her she had booked their holiday to Curacoa an island in the Caribbean and it was all inclusive . Now the fun begins . It had me laughing at some of the things they did separately.
The author Eliza Lentzski did a great job writing this book. Well worth reading and recommended to others to get it.l

[Lesbian Romance Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercy is a first-grade teacher from Boston. She heads down to Curacao for winter break. She's very safety oriented and responsible to a fault. Kate is a laid back character who enjoys the sunshine.

I felt there was romance with the wrench thrown in that made sense. Do you follow love or what you know?

Minimal grammatical errors. I do wish the Epilogue took place further along the timeline, maybe a year.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curaçao Romance

I'm a fan of Eliza Lentzski's, especially the Don't Call Me Hero series. This book stretches her range into another area of lesbian fiction. Sunscreen & Coconuts focuses on two people, Mercy and Kate, who have vastly different personalities and reside seven hours from each other by plane. Yet they strike up a vacation romance that turns into more. Thanks to the author for the wonderful descriptions of Curaçao.

[Jessica Roberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I wasn't sure about the description for this book, but I have quite a collection of this authors other works, so I checked it out. I was not disappointed. Even though I was frustrated with Mercy at times, Kate was thoroughly awesome and I enjoyed the evolution of a relationship between the main characters. I appreciated the humor woven into the story and the sex was hot. One bit of future advice would be for better editing. There were many misspellings.