Turtle Soup

by Danielle Thorne

Sea turtles may be endangered but after an encounter with marine biologist, Jack Brandon, nothing will stop Sara Hart from naming her deli, Turtle Soup. When Jack takes a job at the Georgia Aquarium, Sara finds the environmental poster boy at her door, hungry and carrying a chip on his shoulder. Neither thinks the other has what it takes, until a scuba class reveals what lies beneath the surface.

Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Romance

161 pages, ebook

First published September 4, 2010

About the author

Danielle Thorne is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of inspirational small town romance. She also writes historical romance and YA non-fiction. A graduate of BYU-Idaho and Ricks College, she has over twenty-five years of experience in her wordcraft. Danielle lives south of Atlanta, Georgia, with family, friends and felines. Find out more about her and her books at daniellethorne.com.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 40%. I just wasn't into it, and the characters were annoying. I had a hard time following what was going on and where the story was going. Too bad, because I love turtles.

[B.J. Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turtle Soup by Danielle Thorne is 21 Chapters of romance set in Georgia with a Caribbean visit, published by the author, Smashwords Edition, Copyright 2010. Sara Hart and Jack Brandon collide, and she ends up with his planner, his little black book. When she discovers he's a marine biologist who works at the Georgia Aquarium and researches sea turltes, she decides to name her deli Turtle Soup. From their first encounter, they conflict instead of click. Sara takes a scuba class and Jack turns out to be a diving-instructor hero in more ways than one. They can't see eye-to-eye on land, but underneath the beautiful water through their diving masks, their vision becomes clear.

Add Jack's eighty-year old secretary and a jealous redhead to the mix. Will Sara and Jack ever reconcile their differences? Sara's deli struggles. Will she be able to survive and save it? What will become of the homeless man who sleeps against the wall of the deli's backdoor? And can Sara overcome her fear of water, after losing both her parents to a drowning accident, long enough to become a certified diver? Worse, when Jack gives up on Sara and leaves Georgia to return home to his boat in the Caribbean, will Sara's Caribbean vacation cost her niece her life? Will Jack give up on Sara for good, or can an underwater world and an old sea turtle friend change their conflicting views?

Once I started this novel, I didn't want to put it down. It's creative and original with a different type of hero. I found the Georgia Aquarium and sea-turtle research interesting, and the author's underwater descriptions allow the reader to experience diving with vivid detail. It's not just another romance, but it's a sea-turtle one I thoroughly enjoyed.

This novel is available at Barnes and Noble as a Nook book for only $4.99, which is the way I enjoyed it. Don't miss the author's beautiful blog at http://www.daniellethorne.com/turtle-..., and if you don't have an ereader, you can download the novel as a PDF file and read it on your computer. You may visit Danielle Thorne on Facebook. A free Nook app is available for download on your iphone from Barnes and Noble. The book has a beautiful cover that will make you want to dive right in and discover the Caribbean treasure in a wonderland of underwater diving. Catch Turtle Soup and a free recipe at the end of the novel for Turtle Soup's cherry whip.

[Gail Pallotta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Brandon and Sara Hart literally run into each other at the airport as Turtle Soup opens. Jack spills some of his belongings, including his little black book. Sara picks it up. After she discovers that Jack’s sea turtle foundation is down the street from the place where she’s starting a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, she decides to hand deliver his book. Unknown to Sara and the reader Jack’s trying to cope with the loss of his fiancé. Unfortunately, she was killed in a diving accident he believes he could have prevented. He’s neither appreciative nor friendly, when Sara returns his lost possession. Because Sara feels he treated her rudely she retaliates by naming her restaurant Turtle Soup. From that point encounters between Jack and Sara are a series of misunderstandings, miscommunications and confrontations, even though each is attracted to the other.
The tension Danielle Thorne creates between Jack and Sara along with the heart and humor she puts into the story keep the reader turning pages and wondering when the two ever will get together. Mrs. Thorne has such great insight into both the male and female minds. Reminiscent of a Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock movie, this book is fun to read. I highly recommend spending time with the characters in this sweet, uplifting romance.

[E.A. West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara and Jack clash every time they meet, but they definitely have an attraction to each other. As Sara struggles with her business and dive lessons, Jack struggles to survive charity politics and overcome past hurts. At times, it seems like they will never get their lives together and get together romantically.

Turtle Soup is a wonderful sweet romance full of humor and heartbreak, not to mention descriptions so vivid you can almost smell the soup (no turtles were harmed, however). Danielle Thorne has written an amazing story that draws the reader in from the very beginning. I highly recommend Turtle Soup to anyone who love sweet romance. I look forward to reading more of Danielle's work.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sweet romance about an unlikely couple who have to overcome a series of misunderstandings and past hurts in order to truely appreciate one another. I like how they have to recognize the different ways men and women react to situations and each other in order to overcome the prejudices they have against one another.

[Dawn White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. Every time I had to put the book down I couldn't wait to get back to it. The descriptions made me feel like I was watching the story from the inside. Can't wait to read Danielle Thorne's other book The Privateer.

[Our Book Confessions · Rating 2 out of 5]

I anticipated a lot of witty banter from the premise of this book and the plot sounds adorable. The book is very clean, but not really my cup of... soup. The witty banter came across more like verbal onslaughts  which were too harsh to create any romantic tension. I had a hard time following the conversations and determining who was throwing which barbs.

The characters were written authentically with genuine problems and interesting backgrounds. I couldn't reconcile however the two sides of Jack. I kept hoping for a satisfactory explanation for his behavior but was left feeling like the Jack at the end was a completely different person than the jerk through out the book and there was no bridge to connect the change. 

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[Terressa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet little story. I liked the story line and character development.

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists,
and/or authors, including Netgalley. I am not required to write positive
reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this
in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

[S Hromas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good read

It finished a little fast and characters that could not stand each other somehow managed to turn on a dime and fall deeply in love. A pet peeve of mine is when characters don't have money but somehow are able to take spur of the moment trips. Those are the main reasons it's a 3 star and not a 4 star.

[Tiffany Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book, but I had a hard time with the characters. They seemed to hate each other for no real reason. It was kind of hard to follow and I never fell in love with Sara and Jack. I probably won't reread it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a free copy. It was an enjoyable quick read. Clean romance. The male love interest was a jerk at times and I had a hard time really liking him entirely but the ending was sweet.

[Heather Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a more recent book by this author and loved it, so I hoped this one would be as good. It wasn't. I didn't like Jack. He was a jerk-rude and didn't treat women well. Talk about PMS for men. He was all upset that Sara didn't tell him about her cafe, but they weren't at a place in their relationship, I didn't think, that she would confide in him. Sometimes the dialogue between characters was confusing. I didn't know what they were talking about and I had to flip back to see if I'd missed pages. There were some typos also. It was clean with a few swear words. I liked the idea for the story, it was just not very well executed.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pretty enraptured by this book. I didn't realize how far I'd gotten into it after I just picked it up to start it. Though I generally prefer historical fiction, this is my favorite of Danielle's books.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Thanks for the good read Danielle! I need more from you!

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was really charming. A bit reminiscent of "shop around the corner." Loved the sweetness with the realities of life.